Freedom-Seekers Inspired by Islamic Revolution: Official

Speaking at an international conference in Tehran on Wednesday, Dr. Hamidreza Moqaddamfar, a senior cultural official, said the Islamic Revolution, led by late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini, has provided an impetus for the awakening of the world's nations.

Dr. Moqaddamfar, who supervises a working group responsible for disseminating a letter to the Western youth written by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, made the comments at a speech to the International Seminar of Foreign Guests of the 37th Anniversary of Victory of the Islamic Revolution, which kicked off in Tehran on Wednesday morning, at the IRIB International Conference Center.

What follows is the full text of his speech:

In the Name of God;

The trend of global events and developments promises the reconciliation of “human being” with God.

The human being, who has witnessed bloody wars in the wake of his imposed alienation from God and the rule of materialism, hopefully looks forward to a bright future in which “peace”, “security”, and “justice” shape a different destiny for the human being in light of love and spirituality based on the teachings of prophets.

We experienced this fact in our Islamic Revolution.

We started a revolution in the name of God, and led it to victory under the guidance of a leader who was of the same type as divine prophets. The more the Islamic Revolution aged, the more and more we felt the presence of God.

This experience is now ahead of nations and calls for their awakening. It has not been a long time since the outburst of the Islamic Awakening in the US-dominated regional countries; an outburst which, according to Western analysts, was inspired by the Islamic Revolution of Iran. We can hear the Iranian revolution’s slogans shouted by Muslim revolutionaries in these countries. Of course this will not be the end of this wave, and it will bear better fruits in future, something beyond the overthrow of Western-installed dictators.

The root-cause of this awakening should be explored in the truth-seeking nature of human beings. This is why the Islamic Revolution has inspired the world’s revolutionaries and freedom-seekers.

Based on the teachings of the holy Quran, the Islamic Revolution is in conflict with the global hegemony.

It neither oppresses the people, nor does it accept being oppressed. It defends the oppressed individuals anywhere in the world they are.

Truth-seeking natures testify that the Islamic Revolution has not showed any doubt, even for a moment, about supporting the oppressed people of Palestine. It has endeavored to defend them and claim their rights in most difficult situations. The logic behind the Islamic Revolution’s support for the independence and territorial integrity of Iraq, the struggles of Yemeni revolutionary people, the legitimate, independent, and democratically-elected government in Syria, and the like, all have their roots in this fact.

It has been nearly four decades since the Islamic Revolution, and despite various conspiracies and pressures due to the Iraqi imposed war on Iran and also cruel economic sanctions, it has managed to be sensitive to different developments and adopted wise stances as a living and dynamic creature.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei’s timely reaction to the recent Paris terrorist attacks is an indication of the Islamic Revolution’s vitality and dynamism.

The Leader, in response to such attacks, penned two letters to the Western youth and endeavored to uncover to the youth the reality and hidden facts.

The Leader addressed the youth since they will build the bright history of tomorrow and that their hearts will embrace the light of truth faster.

In his two letters to the youth as a spiritual prophet-like leader, the Leader expressed grief over the pain and suffering caused by Western politicians’ acts on the heart and souls of human beings and make mankind weaker everyday under such atrocities.

The Leader called terrorism - which is an old wound that has long scarred the Muslims’ bodies and now demonstrated its heinous face to the European societies in form of merciless killing of innocent women and children - a “common concern”. He reminded that this wound is even deeper and more annoying to Muslims.

The Leader, by his letters, unveiled the plot hatched by Western politicians to spread Islamophobia. And, he highlighted Western politicians and their allied countries’ support for terrorists who are attempting to distort the image of Islam via inhumane acts. The Leader made a difference between the true Islam and the American-favorite Islam, which mainly promotes violence and brutality.

He invited the youth to seek truth by freeing themselves from the Western media hegemony, and learn about Islam from original and first-hand sources and interact honorably with Muslims. He further called on the Western youth to trace the roots of violence in a culture which the Western politicians are seeking to impose on other cultures. A culture which unlike the teachings of all divine Prophets, promotes violence and brutality.

Now I would like to point out a number of issues, dear guests, who are messengers of the Islamic Revolution in other countries.

1. The capacities of Imam Khamenei’s letters that can bring about developments should be properly recognized and taken into consideration.

In these letters, the discourse of the Islamic Revolution, as a rival discourse, challenges liberal democracy, which, despite its fraudulent slogans has covered up the historic embarrassment of Western politicians for oppression and injustice against humanity, entangled people in the tight grip of the hegemonic system’s media, and deprived them of understanding the truth.

In these letters, the liberal democracy system is accused of imposing the Western culture, a culture which, with the two characteristics of violence and corruption, not only lacks competence for replacing other cultures but actually gives rise to perils that threaten global peace and security. These letters are an invitation to the creation of a campaign for questioning Western politicians and intellectuals who theorize their (the politicians’) acts of violence against humans. The leaders of this campaign are thinkers and intellectuals who, through thinking freely and through Jihad with their words and pens, should draw attention to the challenges of the liberal democracy discourse and put the leading figures of the silent violence on trial before the world public opinion.

2. One should not think that the Leader’s letters to the Western youth is just a short-term and reactive measure in response to the terrorist events in Paris, but it can be considered as the opening of a new outlook and a new window to understanding global developments, particularly in the current conditions that the Western thought and culture are on the path of gradual decline and the atheistic humanist schools, despite their slogans and claims, have obviously failed to resolve humanity’s problems and alleviate humanity’s concerns and no more have any prescriptions or bright horizons to offer to their bewildered followers. 

In other words, in an era when the majority in the world community is discontent with the oppressive and unjust management dominating the world and is seeking a change and liberation, the letters of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution are an invitation. An invitation to a new path that is in line with the truth-seeking nature of all human beings. The function of these letters, in terms of the time they were released, is similar to the famous letter the late Imam Khomeini wrote to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in a time when the Soviet Union and Communism were waning. The difference is that today we are witnessing the signs of the decline of Western liberal democracy and that the addressees of the Islamic Revolution’s invitation are not just a politician or a political party, but the entire Western youth, who will make the future of the West.

3. Western politicians have put it on their agenda to push ahead with the Islamophobia project and are moving it toward Muslim-o-phobia and anti-Muslim acts.

What helps them most in this project is the acts of terrorist groups like Daesh (ISIL) who seek to portray themselves as representatives of Islam. In this situation, the world’s freedom-seekers, no matter what their faith or religious affiliation, should make efforts to prevent Western politicians from achieving their objectives in this project.

Any effort in line with defining the boundaries of true Islam from that of false Islam which has been portrayed by Daesh and the US under the support of Arab reactionary governments, can be regarded as a service to humanity and would remove the shadow of war and terror from human society.

The true Islam is reflected in the Islamic Revolution.

An Islam which is in war with oppressors and stands besides oppressed people.

An Islam which recognizes “terrorism” as a “common concern” of human beings, including Muslims or non-Muslims and confronts those concerns.

An Islam which recommends peaceful coexistence among all followers of faiths and has practically demonstrated it and promises peace and justice across the world.

Today, all freedom-seekers of the world should defend this fact.

A fact with which the right-seeking nature of men is familiar.

4. During the past year after the release of the first letter of the leader of the Islamic Revolution, we have witnessed spontaneous and organized efforts by a number of intellectuals for defining aspects and messages of the letters.

These valuable efforts that have been done for defining and communicating the letter include meetings, panels, scientific debates in academic and public places, artistic products in cyber space and even direct and face-to-face distribution of the letter. And, it is expected that this enlightening movement would further continue and strengthen by your effort and diligence.

5. Although the leader of the Islamic Revolution Imam Khamenei’s letter was an address to the youth in the Western countries, it is also a call to all right-seeking natures, especially the young people all around the world, asking them wisely understand politics of the Western rulers and not to allow the bright face of the reality be hidden from them and prevent media imperialism from presenting an enemy as a friend or a friend as an enemy.

6. The Western media move to boycott the letters or their move to publish selected parts of the letter and censor the effective messages were among the ugly steps taken by the hegemonic system’s media and are still underway.

But at the same time, advocates of the Islamic Revolution and the truth-seeking youth in different parts of the world, could use the cyber space to get the letter’s message heard by passionate truth-seekers. However, the hegemonic media system tried to block the letters and their contents’ spread in cyber space when it witnessed the growing wave of willingness shown by young people towards the two messages. That was against all their claims about freedom of speech.

7. In all societies, one of the missions of elites is defending cultural independence.

Western politicians see the expansion of the Western culture as the only way to break the deadlock in which they have been mired, and has prompted many to consider and discuss more seriously the decline of the Western empire. Resisting against the imposition of Western culture and lifestyle, giving identity to local cultures and defending the cultural independence of different societies are measures which would bring the oppressive Western empire to its destined collapse a step closer.