page_title: To the Youth in Europe and North America
section_title: Message to youth
hierarchical_section_title: To the Youth in Europe and North America / Content / Message to youth
caption_attribution_description: English: Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
context_page_description: "To the Youth in Europe and North America" is an online open letter written on 21 January 2015 by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
  According to Al-Monitor, it may be the first time that young people in the West have been directly addressed by a senior Islamic cleric about his religion.
  Prompted by the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris on 7 January 2015 by militants who said that they had acted in the name of Islam, and writing about the current image of Islam in the West, Khamenei released the letter on his official website. It was also promoted via a Twitter account attributed to him. Khamenei appeals to his audience to have an open mind and not to judge Islam based on the Charlie Hebdo attacks, and implores Western youth to learn about Islam from its original sources, rather than have it "introduced to [them] by prejudices" and Islamophobia. In his letter he writes that he does not insist that young people accept his or any particular reading of Islam, but that he wants young people not to "allow this dynamic and effective reality in today's world to be introduced to [them] through resentments and prejudices".
context_section_description: Khamenei says that his letter, written in English, is addressed to young people who may still have open minds, not to Western leaders who, he writes, intentionally distort the truth. "I am addressing you, [the youth], not because I overlook your parents", but 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". He further writes: "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."
  He states his admiration for Western historians who, in his words, 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". The question Khamenei asks here is why Western public awareness is focused on the distant past, "but not [on] current problems". He asks, "Why is it that attempts are made to prevent public awareness regarding an important issue such as the treatment of Islamic culture and thought?"
  This question leads him to the main issue that he wishes to communicate to young people: "Hence, my first request is: Study and research the incentives behind this widespread tarnishing of the image of Islam." As part of this, he advises young people to read the Quran for themselves. "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?", he asks.
caption: Ali Khamenei writer of letter
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