In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
To the Youth in Western Countries,
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I
genuinely believe that it is only you youth who by learning the lessons
of today’s hardship can be barriers in the misguided path that has
brought the west to its current impasse.
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.
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.
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.
Any
rushed and emotional reaction which would isolate, intimidate and
create more anxiety for the Muslim communities living in Europe and
America not only will not solve the problem but will increase the chasms
and resentments.
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.
Sayyid Ali Khamenei
8th of Azar, 1394 - 29th of Nov, 2015
