Second Letter to All Youth in Western Countries

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

To all the youth in Western countries,

The bitter events that blind terrorism has caused in France have once again prompted me to speak with you, the youth. It is regrettable for me that such events create the context for discourse, but the reality is that if painful issues do not provide a basis for finding solutions and a platform for mutual understanding, the damage will be doubled. The suffering of any human being, anywhere in the world, is inherently sorrowful for their fellow beings. The sight of a child dying before the eyes of their loved ones, a mother whose family's joy turns into mourning, a husband hastily carrying the lifeless body of his wife, or a spectator who does not know that in moments he will witness the final act of life, are scenes that stir human emotions and feelings. Anyone who has experienced love and humanity will be affected and pained by witnessing these scenes, whether they occur in France, Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, or Syria. Certainly, one and a half billion Muslims share this sentiment and are disgusted and repulsed by the perpetrators and instigators of these atrocities. However, the issue is that if today's sufferings do not lead to the construction of a better and safer tomorrow, they will only be reduced to bitter and fruitless memories. I believe that it is only you, the youth, who can, by learning from today's adversities, find new ways to build the future and block the misguided paths that have led the West to its current state.

It is true that today terrorism is a shared pain for you and us, but it is necessary to understand that the insecurity and anxiety you have experienced in recent events differ fundamentally from the suffering endured by the people of Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Afghanistan over many years; first, that the Islamic world has been a victim of terror on a much larger scale, in a greater volume, and for a much longer duration; and second, that unfortunately, these violences have always been supported in various ways and effectively by some of the great powers. Today, few are unaware of the role of the United States in creating, strengthening, and arming Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and their sinister offshoots. Alongside this direct support, the open and well-known supporters of Takfiri terrorism, despite having the most backward political systems, have always been among the allies of the West, while the most progressive and enlightened ideas arising from dynamic democracies in the region have been ruthlessly suppressed. The double standards of the West in dealing with the awakening movement in the Islamic world is a glaring example of the contradictions in Western policies.

Another face of this contradiction is seen in the support for the state terrorism of Israel. The oppressed people of Palestine have been experiencing the worst kind of terrorism for over sixty years. If the people of Europe now take refuge in their homes for a few days and avoid attending crowded gatherings, a Palestinian family has been unable to find safety even in their own home from the killing and destruction machine of the Zionist regime for decades. What kind of violence can be compared in terms of the severity of cruelty with the settlement policies of the Zionist regime? This regime, without ever being seriously and effectively condemned by its influential allies or at least by seemingly independent international bodies, destroys Palestinian homes and devastates their gardens and farms every day, without even giving them the opportunity to transfer their belongings or gather their agricultural produce; and all of this often occurs before the horrified eyes and tearful faces of women and children who witness the beating and injury of their family members and, in some cases, their transfer to terrifying torture chambers. Is there any other cruelty in today's world that can be recognized in this volume and scale and with this temporal continuity? Shooting a woman in the middle of the street simply for protesting against an armed soldier, if it is not terrorism, then what is it? Should this barbarity, because it is carried out by the military force of an occupying state, not be labeled as extremism? Or perhaps these images should no longer provoke our conscience simply because they have been repeatedly seen on television for sixty years?

The invasions of recent years into the Islamic world, which themselves had countless victims, are another example of the contradictory logic of the West. The attacked countries have lost not only human lives but also their economic and industrial infrastructures, their movement towards growth and development has halted or slowed down, and in some cases, they have regressed by decades; despite this, they are brazenly asked not to consider themselves oppressed. How can a country be turned into ruins and its cities and villages turned to ashes, and then be told to please not consider themselves oppressed! Instead of inviting them to forget or overlook the tragedies, would a sincere apology not be better? The suffering that the Islamic world has endured from the duplicity and facade of the aggressors over these years is no less than the material losses.

Dear youth! I hope that you will change this mindset tainted by deception, a mindset whose art is to conceal distant goals and adorn malicious intentions. In my opinion, the first step in establishing security and peace is to reform this violence-inducing thought. As long as double standards dominate Western policy, and as long as terrorism is divided into good and bad types in the eyes of its powerful supporters, and until the day when the interests of states are prioritized over human and moral values, the roots of violence should not be sought elsewhere.

Unfortunately, these roots have gradually penetrated deep into the cultural policies of the West over the years and have organized a soft and silent invasion. Many countries of the world pride themselves on their indigenous and national cultures, cultures that, while flourishing and giving birth, have nourished human societies for hundreds of years; the Islamic world is no exception. However, in contemporary times, the Western world insists on cultural mimicry and imitation using advanced tools. I consider the imposition of Western culture on other nations and the belittling of independent cultures to be a silent and very harmful violence. The humiliation of rich cultures and the insult to their most respected aspects occurs while the substitute culture is in no way capable of taking its place. For example, the two elements of "aggression" and "moral laxity," which unfortunately have become the main components of Western culture, have diminished its acceptability and status even in its birthplace. Now the question is, if we do not want a quarrelsome, vulgar, and meaningless culture, are we guilty? If we prevent the destructive flood that flows towards our youth in the form of various pseudo-artistic products, are we to blame? I do not deny the importance and value of cultural ties. These ties, whenever formed in natural conditions and with respect to the accepting society, have brought growth, flourishing, and richness. In contrast, discordant and imposed ties have been unsuccessful and damaging. Regrettably, I must say that lowly groups like ISIS are the offspring of such unsuccessful unions with imported cultures. If the problem were truly ideological, similar phenomena should have been observed in the Islamic world before the colonial era, while history bears witness to the contrary. Historical evidence clearly shows how the intersection of colonialism with an extremist and rejected thought, even within a primitive tribe, sowed the seeds of radicalism in this region. Otherwise, how could something like ISIS emerge from one of the most ethical and humane religious schools in the world, which in its foundational text considers taking a human life equivalent to killing all of humanity?

On the other hand, we must ask why those born in Europe, who have been intellectually and spiritually nurtured in the same environment, are drawn to such groups? Can it be believed that individuals become so radicalized after one or two trips to war zones that they would shoot their fellow citizens? Certainly, the impact of a lifetime of unhealthy cultural nourishment in a polluted and violence-generating environment should not be overlooked. A comprehensive analysis must be made in this regard, an analysis that identifies the visible and hidden pollutants in society. Perhaps the deep-seated hatred that has been sown in the hearts of some segments of Western societies during the years of industrial and economic flourishing, due to inequalities and sometimes legal and structural discriminations, has created complexes that periodically manifest in this pathological manner.

In any case, it is you who must dissect the superficial layers of your society, identify and remove the knots and resentments. The fractures should be repaired instead of deepened. The great mistake in the fight against terrorism is the hasty reactions that increase existing rifts. Any emotional and hasty move that isolates or instills fear and anxiety in the Muslim community residing in Europe and America, which consists of millions of active and responsible individuals, and deprives them of their fundamental rights and sidelines them from the social scene, will not only fail to solve the problem but will deepen the distances and widen the resentments. Surface-level and reactive measures—especially if they gain legal legitimacy—will only pave the way for future crises by increasing existing polarizations. According to reports, in some European countries, regulations have been established that encourage citizens to spy on Muslims; these behaviors are unjust, and we all know that oppression, willingly or unwillingly, has the property of being reversible. Moreover, Muslims do not deserve this ingratitude. The Western world has known Muslims well for centuries; both on the day when Westerners were guests in the land of Islam and eyed the wealth of the host, and on another day when they were hosts and benefited from the work and thoughts of Muslims, they mostly saw nothing but kindness and patience. Therefore, I urge you, the youth, to lay the foundations of a correct and honorable interaction with the Islamic world based on a proper understanding and deep insight, using the experiences of unfortunate events. In this way, in the not-too-distant future, you will see that the edifice you have built on such a foundation will cast the shadow of assurance and trust over its builders, gift them the warmth of security and peace, and illuminate the hope for a bright future across the globe.

Sayyid Ali Khamenei

December 8, 2015

The first message of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution addressed to Western youth was published last February.