To the Youth in Europe and North America
نامه رهبر انقلاب به جوانان اروپا و آمریکای شمالی
In the name of
God, the Beneficent the Merciful
The recent events in France and similar ones in some other Western
countries have convinced me to directly talk to you about them. I am
addressing you, [the youth], not because I overlook your parents,
rather it is because the future of your nations and countries will
be in your hands; and also I find that the sense of quest for truth
is more vigorous and attentive in your hearts
I don’t address your politicians and statesmen either in this
writing because I believe that they have consciously separated the
route of politics from the path of righteousness and truth
I would like to talk to you about Islam, particularly the image that
is presented to you as Islam. Many attempts have been made over the
past two decades, almost since the disintegration of the Soviet
Union, to place this great religion in the seat of a horrifying
enemy. The provocation of a feeling of horror and hatred and its
utilization has unfortunately a long record in the political history
of the West
Here, I don’t want to deal with the different phobias with which the
Western nations have thus far been indoctrinated. A cursory review
of recent critical studies of history would bring home to you the
fact that the Western governments’ insincere and hypocritical
treatment of other nations and cultures has been censured in new
historiographies
The histories of the United States and Europe are ashamed of
slavery, embarrassed by the colonial period and chagrined at the
oppression of people of color and non-Christians. Your researchers
and historians are deeply ashamed of the bloodsheds wrought in the
name of religion between the Catholics and Protestants or in the
name of nationality and ethnicity during the First and Second World
Wars. This approach is admirable
By mentioning a fraction of this long list, I don’t want to reproach
history; rather I would like you to ask your intellectuals as to why
the public conscience in the West awakens and comes to its senses
after a delay of several decades or centuries. Why should the
revision of collective conscience apply to the distant past and not
to the current problems? Why is it that attempts are made to prevent
public awareness regarding an important issue such as the treatment
of Islamic culture and thought
You know well that humiliation and spreading hatred and illusionary
fear of the “other” have been the common base of all those
oppressive profiteers. Now, I would like you to ask yourself why the
old policy of spreading “phobia” and hatred has targeted Islam and
Muslims with an unprecedented intensity. Why does the power
structure in the world want Islamic thought to be marginalized and
remain latent? What concepts and values in Islam disturb the
programs of the super powers and what interests are safeguarded in
the shadow of distorting the image of Islam? Hence, my first request
is: Study and research the incentives behind this widespread
tarnishing of the image of Islam
My second request is that in reaction to the flood of prejudgments
and disinformation campaigns, try to gain a direct and firsthand
knowledge of this religion. The right logic requires that you
understand the nature and essence of what they are frightening you
about and want you to keep away from
I don’t insist that you accept my reading or any other reading of
Islam. What I want to say is: Don’t allow this dynamic and effective
reality in today’s world to be introduced to you through resentments
and prejudices. Don’t allow them to hypocritically introduce their
own recruited terrorists as representatives of Islam
Receive knowledge of Islam from its primary and original sources.
Gain information about Islam through the Qur’an and the life of its
great Prophet. I would like to ask you whether you have directly
read the Qur’an of the Muslims. Have you studied the teachings of
the Prophet of Islam and his humane, ethical doctrines? Have you
ever received the message of Islam from any sources other than the
media
Have you ever asked yourself how and on the basis of which values
has Islam established the greatest scientific and intellectual
civilization of the world and raised the most distinguished
scientists and intellectuals throughout several centuries
I would like you not to allow the derogatory and offensive
image-buildings to create an emotional gulf between you and the
reality, taking away the possibility of an impartial judgment from
you. Today, the communication media have removed the geographical
borders. Hence, don’t allow them to besiege you within fabricated
and mental borders
Although no one can individually fill the created gaps, each one of
you can construct a bridge of thought and fairness over the gaps to
illuminate yourself and your surrounding environment. While this
preplanned challenge between Islam and you, the youth, is
undesirable, it can raise new questions in your curious and
inquiring minds. Attempts to find answers to these questions will
provide you with an appropriate opportunity to discover new truths
Therefore, don’t miss the opportunity to gain proper, correct and
unbiased understanding of Islam so that hopefully, due to your sense
of responsibility toward the truth, future generations would write
the history of this current interaction between Islam and the West
with a clearer conscience and lesser resentment
Seyyed Ali Khamenei
21st Jan. 2015
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