Message of
ayatollah Khamenei to Youth in Western Countries

Humiliating rich cultures and insulting the most honored parts of these,
is occurring while the alternative culture being offered in no way has any
qualification for being a replacement. For example, the two elements of
“aggression” and “moral promiscuity” which unfortunately have become
the main elements of western culture, has even degraded the position
and acceptability of its source region.
So now the question is: are we “sinners” for not wanting an aggressive,
vulgar and fatuous culture? Are we to be blamed for blocking the flood
of impropriety that is directed towards our youth in the shape of various
forms of quasi-art? I do not deny the importance and value of cultural
interaction. Whenever these interactions are conducted in natural
circumstances and with respect for the receiving culture, they result
in growth, development and richness. On the contrary, inharmonious
interactions have been unsuccessful and harmful impositions.
We have to state with full regret that vile groups such as DAESH are the
spawn of such ill-fated pairings with imported cultures. If the matter
was simply theological, we would have had to witness such phenomena
before the colonialist era, yet history shows the contrary. Authoritative
historical records clearly show how colonialist confluence of extremist
and rejected thoughts in the heart of a Bedouin tribe, planted the seed
of extremism in this region. How then is it possible that such garbage
as DAESH comes out of one of the most ethical and humane religious
schools who as part of its inner core, includes the notion that taking the
life of one human being is equivalent to killing the whole humanity?
One has to ask why people who are born in Europe and who have been
intellectually and mentally nurtured in that environment are attracted
to such groups? Can we really believe that people with only one or two
trips to war zones, suddenly become so extreme that they can riddle the
bodies of their compatriots with bullets? On this matter, we certainly
cannot forget about the effects of a life nurtured in a pathologic culture
in a corrupt environment borne out of violence.
On this matter, we need complete analyses, analyses that see the hidden
and apparent corruptions. Maybe a deep hate- planted in the years of
economic and industrial growth and borne out of inequality and possibly
legal and structural prejudice- created ideas that every few years appear
in a sickening manner.
In any case, you are the ones that have to uncover the apparent
layers of your own society and untie and disentangle the knots
and resentments. Fissures have to be sealed, not deepened. Hasty
reactions is a major mistake when fighting terrorism which only
widens the chasms. Any rushed and emotional reaction which
would isolate, intimidate and create more anxiety for the Muslim
communities living in Europe and America- which are comprised of
millions of active and responsible human beings- and which would
deprive them of their basic rights more than has already happened
and which would drive them away from society- not only will not
solve the problem but will increase the chasms and resentments.
Superficial measures and reactions, especially if they take legal
forms, will do nothing but increase the current polarizations, open
the way for future crises and will result in nothing else. According
to reports received, some countries in Europe have issued guidelines
encouraging citizens to spy on Muslims. This behavior is unjust
and we all know that pursuing injustice has the characteristic of
unwanted reversibility.
Besides, the Muslims do not deserve such ill-treatment. For
centuries, the western world has known Muslims well- the day that
westerners were guests in Islamic lands and were attracted to the
riches of their hosts and on another day when they were hosts and
benefitted from the efforts and thoughts of Muslims- they generally
experienced nothing but kindness and forbearance.
Therefore I want you youth to lay the foundations for a correct
and honorable interaction with the Islamic world based on correct
understanding, deep insight and lessons learned from horrible
experiences. In such a case and in the not too distant future, you will
witness the edifice built on these firm foundations which creates a
shade of confidence and trust which cools the crown of its architect,
a warmth of security and peace that it bequests on them and a blaze
of hope in a bright future which illuminates the canvass of the earth.
Seyyed Ali Khamenei
Message of
ayatollah
Seyyed Ali Khamenei
Leader of The
Islamic Republic
of Iran
21 st
The bitter events brought about by blind terrorism in France have
once again, moved me to speak to you young people. For me, it is
unfortunate that such incidents would have to create the framework
for a conversation, however the truth is that if painful matters do not
create the grounds for finding solutions and mutual consultation, then
the damage caused will be multiplied.
The pain of any human being anywhere in the world causes sorrow
for a fellow human being. The sight of a child losing his life in the
presence of his loved ones, a mother whose joy for her family turns
into mourning, a husband who is rushing the lifeless body of his
spouse to some place and the spectator who does not know whether
he will be seeing the final scene of life- these are scenes that rouse the
emotions and feelings of any human being. Anyone who has benefited
from affection and humanity is affected and disturbed by witnessing
these scenes- whether it occurs in France or in Palestine or Iraq or
Lebanon or Syria.
Without a doubt, the one-and-a-half billion Muslims also have these
feelings and abhor and are revolted by the perpetrators and those
responsible for these calamities. The issue, however, is that if today’s
pain is not used to build a better and safer future, then it will just turn
into bitter and fruitless memories. I genuinely believe that it is only
you youth who by learning the lessons of today’s hardship, have the
power to discover new means for building the future and who can be
barriers in the misguided path that has brought the west to its current
impasse.
It is correct that today terrorism is our common worry. However it
is necessary for you to know that the insecurity and strain that you
experienced during the recent events, differs from the pain that the
people of Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan have been experiencing
for many years, in two significant ways. First, the Islamic world has
been the victim of terror and brutality to a larger extent territorially, to
greater amount quantitatively and for a longer period in terms of time.
Second, that unfortunately this violence has been supported by certain
great powers through various methods and effective means.
Today, there are very few people who are uninformed about the role of the
United States of America in creating, nurturing and arming al-Qaeda, the
Taliban and their inauspicious successors. Besides this direct support,
the overt and well-known supporters of takfiri terrorism- despite having
the most backward political systems- are standing arrayed as allies of the
west while the most pioneering, brightest and most dynamic democrats
in the region are suppressed mercilessly. The prejudiced response of the
west to the awakening movement in the Islamic world is an illustrative
example of the contradictory western policies.
The other side of these contradictory policies is seen in supporting
the state terrorism of Israel. The oppressed people of Palestine have
experienced the worst kind of terrorism for the last sixty years. If
the people of Europe have now taken refuge in their homes for a few
days and refrain from being present in busy places- it is decades that a
Palestinian family is not secure even in its own home from the Zionist
regime’s death and destruction machinery. What kind of atrocious
violence today is comparable to that of the settlement constructions of
the Zionists regime?
This regime- without ever being seriously and significantly censured by
its influential allies or even by the so-called independent international
organizations- everyday demolishes the homes of Palestinians and
destroys their orchards and farms. This is done without even giving them
time to gather their belongings or agricultural products and usually it is
done in front of the terrified and tear-filled eyes of women and children
who witness the brutal beatings of their family members who in some
cases are being dragged away to gruesome torture chambers.
In today’s world, do we know of any other violence on this scale and
scope and for such an extended period of time?
Shooting down a woman in the middle of the street for the crime of
protesting against a soldier who is armed to the teeth- if this is not
terrorism, what is? This barbarism, because it is being done by the armed
forces of an occupying government, should not be called extremism? Or
maybe only because these scenes have been seen repeatedly on television
screens for sixty years, they should no longer stir our consciences.
The military invasions of the Islamic world in recent years- with
countless victims- are another example of the contradictory logic of the
west. The assaulted countries, in addition to the human damage caused,
have lost their economic and industrial infrastructure, their movement
towards growth and development has been stopped or delayed and in
some cases, has been thrown back decades. Despite all this, they are
rudely being asked not to see themselves as oppressed. How can a
country be turned into ruins, have its cities and towns covered in dust
and then be told that it should please not view itself as oppressed?
Instead of enticements to not understand and to not mention disasters,
would not an honest apology be better? The pain that the Islamic world
has suffered in these years from the hypocrisy and duplicity of the
invaders is not less than the pain from the material damage.
Dear youth! I have the hope that you- now or in the future- can change
this mentality corrupted by duplicity, a mentality whose highest skill
is hiding long-term goals and adorning malevolent objectives. In my
opinion, the first step in creating security and peace is reforming this
violence-breeding mentality. Until double-standards dominate western
policies, until terrorism- in the view of its powerful supporters- is
divided into “good” and “bad” types, and until governmental interests
are given precedence over human values and ethics, the roots of
violence should not be searched for in other places.
Unfortunately, these roots have taken hold in the depths of western
political culture over the course of many years and they have caused
a soft and silent invasion. Many countries of the world take pride in
their local and national cultures, cultures which through development
and regeneration have soundly nurtured human societies for centuries.
The Islamic world is not an exception to this. However in the current
era, the western world with the use of advanced tools is insisting on the
cloning and replication of its culture on a global scale. I consider the
imposition of western culture upon other peoples and the trivialization
of independent cultures as a form of silent violence and extreme
harmfulness.
In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
To the Youth in Western Countries,