The historic letter addressed to the youth of North America and Europe by Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei is more dynamic than it may appear. There is an opportunity at hand which needs to be siezed.
Call to action
It’s been over two months since the letter made its debut via various media.
The hashtag movement of #Letter4U soon took off on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Twitter. Different groups and supporters of Ayatollah Khamenei, from different parts of the world, have worked toward producing memes, video clips, and graphics to get the letter to the intended addressees.
But action pertaining to this letter needs to go beyond just delivering it. The 900-word letter holds more instruction than first meets the eye. The call for action reaches beyond the limitations posed by geographical borders, racial divides and religious differences. At a time when the Muslim world is facing the threat of groups like the so-called [un]Islamic State, aka ISIL, that continue to pervert the true teachings of Islam, and when sentiments toward Islam continue to be exploited through an industry of misinformation and fear-mongering in the West, the content of this letter and what it implies can hold the key to a decisive step in changing the tide.
As Ayatollah Khamenei notes, “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.” Indeed, particularly since the events of 9/11, Islamophobia has evolved into a multi-million dollar industry in the West. Organizations are dishing out millions of dollars to propagate a falsified image of Islam through blogs, videos, marches, charismatic speakers and politicians.
The Leader believes, though, that “the sense of quest for truth is more vigorous and attentive in” the hearts of the youth in the West. The Western youth are ready to study and consider the message of Islam. Despite the massive propaganda efforts of the mainstream media and politicians, there is this belief being expressed by the top religious scholar that the true message of Islam, its teachings, philosophy and spirit will shine through as long as the youth “try to gain a direct and firsthand knowledge of this religion,” and as long as they “receive knowledge of Islam from its primary and original sources.”
Going mainstream
So what does this mean for the matters at hand? Muslims around the world have argued that Takfiri extremist groups like Al-Qaeda, [un]Islamic State, Boko Haram, and the likes have hijacked our religion. They continue to argue how these terrorists have used a warped interpretation of Islamic teachings to justify their atrocities in reaction to their socio-economic
isolation and political marginalization. But this narrative has to go mainstream.
The Western media by and large have given very little platform, if at all, to the true voices of Islam and Muslims. If the awareness of the average American or European youth regarding Islam was more complete and derived from authentic sources, the methods adopted by media outlets will become obsolete. Through collective awareness of Islam, votes for the likes of Michelle Bachmann and Bobby Jindal will stop flowing in, and tolerance for Bill Maher or Glenn Beck’s anti-Islam rhetoric will dwindle.
