, on Sunday condemned the West's "double
standards" in a letter to the youth of America and Europe following the
Paris attacks that killed 130 people. The following is the full text of his letter as published on his website.
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The bitter events brought about by blind terrorism in France have once again, moved me to speak to you young people.
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.
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.
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.
Sayyid Ali Khamenei
8th of Azar, 1394 - 29th of Nov, 2015
Read Ayatollah Khamenei's first letter to the youth in the west here.
Tony Dickinson
ReplyDelete2015-11-17 21:07
I am a white Englishman and agree the western countries European, The U.K. and the U.S.A. have nothing to be proud about our past behavior. But most of the evil deeds especially things like slavery and colonisation by the so called British empire and spain were perpetrated by the aristocracy and ruling classes, not the peasants and working classes who were treated near enough as slaves by our own rulers. I am a christian and have good moslem friends. And they agree today's terrorists like islamic state are just cruel sadistic misguided murderers who don't represent the majority of the islamic nations. Nowhere in the Korran does it say go out and kill innocent people in the name of Allah.