In the words of Jose Rizal, the youth is the hope of our future. As we know, the supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic few weeks ago issued an open letter, addressing the youth in the West for the second time. In this letter, as the first one, the Leader appealed to the nature of the Western youth of asking questions and looking into the matters themselves without being told what to think and what to believe. Secondly, this letter was issued just in the wake of another attack on Paris. Again these are questions that are being raised about why the Leader chose to address the youth in the West directly for a second time in the form of a letter? Also, how important do we think it is for Western youth – obviously the future leaders of the West – to realize what the roots of terrorism really are?
Firstly, this letter was equally important to Eastern youth as it was to West youth. The Leaders letter was again the need of the hour, there is so much misunderstanding and misconceptions about the Islam and people in the west in particular and in the world in general. People take the negative propaganda against Islam as serious and as a result have a prejudice within their opinion when they talk about Islam. Leaders letter was addressed especially to the youth because youth are the torch bearers of any society and the main point was leaders request to youth that they should study Islam from first hand sources and do more and more research about Islam so that the true message of Islam will come on surface: which is peace, humanity and equality.
Unfortunately, Islam is being blamed on whatever bad is happening in the contemporary world. Especially after attacks such attacks in Paris, Muslims are being blamed for everything which is not the fact and such attacks add to the Islamophobia that already exists in some societies particularly in the western societies, this time again Leader wants youth to stand up against this Islamophobia and educate themselves and the people around them about the true message of Islam by reading and consulting the first hand sources of Islam.
Lastly, it is very important to the youth (both in the West and East) to understand the root causes of any problem that exits in the todays world, including the innocent killings across the world be that in Paris, Lebanon, Iraq or Syria. As Muhammad Ali well narrates that the word ‘Islam’ means ‘peace.’ The word ‘Muslim’ means ‘one who surrenders to God.’ But the press makes us seem like haters. It is the responsibility of all to overcome this hate and especially the future leaders need to look at the history and not to repeat the mistakes of the past leaders.
Bottom-Line: In the words of Albert Einstein: Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.
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