The following text delineated the main axes of Ayatollah Khamenei's letter to the youth in Europe and North America.
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10 months after his first letter, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei for the second time addressed the Western youth. In January, Ayatollah Khamenei had sent another missive to the youth in Europe and North America, urging them to study about Islam and to obtain firsthand information about it before accepting their governments’ propaganda.
The operations carried out against the French weekly, Charlie Hebdo, in the French capital city of Paris triggered the wave of Anti-Islam and Islamophobia in west and in particular in the Europe. Only two weeks after the terroristic measure, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran in an open letter addressed the youth in Europe and in North America encouraging them study the divine religion of Islam directly.
Ayatollah Khamenei’s new letter again came against the backdrop of extensive acts of terrorism across the globe stressing, “The bitter events brought about by blind terrorism in France have once again, moved me to speak to you young people.”
The objectives
In the first letter, Ayatollah Khemenei urged young people to seek out their own, independent understandings of Islam, which he believes is necessary after “many attempts” in the last twenty years “to place this great religion in the seat of a horrifying enemy”.
The Iranian leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, says in the tweet and in the letter, published on his website, that he does not “insist that you accept my or any particular reading of Islam,” but wants to address young people after the attacks in Paris by militants who said they acted in the name of Islam. His letter asked western youth to “Study and research the incentives behind this widespread tarnishing of the image of Islam.”
In spite of the first one, in the second letter, the writer reminds this very point that “today terrorism is our common worry”. In point of fact, the second letter highlighted, “although Islamic extremists carried out the willful terroristic moves but the group is backed and supported by west powers including the U.S. With this connection, the Supreme Leader underlined, “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.”
Turning a blind eye to the crimes perpetrated by Israel has normalized violence and vandalism of this regime. For want of a better sentence, violence against people of Palatines turned to a repetitive and regular issue to western officials and citizens arising no concern.
The main axes of Supreme Leader’s letter
Sympathy with victims’ family
In the first lines of the letter, Ayatollah Khamenei counted the event painful noting, “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.”
These lines indicate a leader of a country which has lost 16 or so of its people in the wake of west-backed terrorism, still gets deeply sad for the similar event denouncing the measure no matter where it had happened. Such view is derived from deep religious and divine grounds which make him respect human kind regardless of their race and nationality. To Ayatollah Khamenei “morality” and “humane values” should have special status in politics.
World of Islam, victim of terrorism for consecutive years
The second axis of Supreme Leader’s letter was that if west and in particular France face with terroristic measures sometime, and if “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.”
So the first difference between terroristic measures occurred in Europe and in the World of Islam is that the one occurred in the World of Islam is far larger in volume dated back to long ago. And the second difference is that such willful moves are always backed by the main powers.
West double-standards in facing Islamic Awakening
The third axis of the letter places stress on the double-standards dominate western policies in facing Islamic awakening movement in the World of Islam. As Ayatollah Khemenei underlined, “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,” while western countries cry out the slogan of democracy and human right, but “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.
Ayatollah Khamenei placed emphasis on the other side of these contradictory policies which “is seen in supporting the state terrorism of Israel,” proposing this question, “What kind of atrocious violence today is comparable to that of the settlement constructions of the Zionists regime?”
Part of the letter goes, “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.”
Two telling points can be observed from this part; the first one stresses international foundations serve double policies of west. And the second point is ignoring the crimes of Zionism regime against the downtrodden people of Palestine that have been turned a to regular issue to western officials and citizens.
Roots of terrorism in West policies
The fourth axis of the letter draws attentions to the roots of violence which sits in wrong west policies. And the question is why west policies reinforce violence in the world of Islam. In actual fact, west and especially America speak about democracy and human rights but where democracy is contrary to their interests, they reject it.
Hamas victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006, the victory of Shiite groups in Iraq's parliamentary elections 2010 and 2014 and the victory of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt's parliamentary and presidential elections in 2012 were obvious examples with this connection.
Military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen claimed so many lives and damage these countries while western officials and media try to project a reverse picture of reality.
And here in this part Ayatollah Khamenei mentioned, “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.”
Roadmaps for peace and tranquility
Another point around which the Supreme Leader’s letter centered was some roadmaps for securing peace and security in the world and removing the atmosphere of fear and stress:
1) Reforming this violence-breeding mentality
“The first step in creating security and peace is reforming this violence-breeding mentality,” suggested Ayatollah Khamenei stressing 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.
2) Refraining from rushed and emotional reaction
According to Ayatollah Khemenei, 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.
Correct and honorable interaction of west with the Islamic world
Finally Supreme Leader concluded his remarks by demanding west to treat World of Islam correctly and honorably. “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,” he stressed.
According to Ayatollah Khemenei, 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.
To the Iranian leader, 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.
