Khomeini's letter to Mikhail Gorbachev
Created7 January 1989
Author(s)Ruhollah Khomeini
Media typeLetter
SubjectInvited Gorbachev to consider Islam as an alternative to communist ideology

On 7 January 1989, Ruhollah Khomeini, supreme leader of Iran, sent a letter to Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary of the Soviet Union.[1] This letter was Khomeini's only written message to a foreign leader.[2] Khomeini's letter was delivered by the Iranian politicians Abdollah Javadi-Amoli, Mohammad-Javad Larijani, and Marzieh Hadidchi.[3] In the letter, Khomeini declared that communism was dissolving within the Soviet bloc,[4][5] and invited Gorbachev to consider Islam as an alternative to communist ideology.[3][6]

Letter to Gorbachev

Ruhollah Khomeini wrote to Mikhail Gorbachev on 3 January 1989. On 7 January, Khomeini's representatives, Abdollah Javadi-Amoli, Mohammad-Javad Larijani, and Marzieh Hadidchi, went to Moscow to officially deliver the letter. Soviet officials met the Iranian delegation at the airport. Gorbachev then met with the Iranian representatives for approximately two hours, where an interpreter translated the letter for Mikhail Gorbachev and his colleagues. When some part of the letter was unclear, the interpreter asked the Iranian delegation to clarify. Gorbachev listened politely and took notes on its contents. The letter's contents were kept secret, and so Soviet officials did not know it was an invitation to consider Islam.[7][8]

Content

In his letter, Khomeini congratulated Gorbachev, saying he showed bravery in dealing with the modern world, and praised his reconstruction of Soviet principles. He suggested Islam as an alternative to communist ideology and recommended Muslim philosophers such as Ibn Arabi, Avicenna, and Al-Farabi.[3][5][7][8][9][10]

The letter included a prediction about the end of Marxism and the collapse of communism. Khomeini stated: "Mr. Gorbachev! It is clear to everybody that from now on communism will only have to be found in the museums of world political history, for Marxism cannot meet any of the real needs of mankind. Marxism is a materialistic ideology and cannot bring humanity out of the crisis caused by a lack of belief in spirituality, the prime affliction of the human society in the East and the West alike."[7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Khomeini warned Gorbachev "against falling into the arms of Western capitalism."[14] Khomeini further added in the letter that: "The main problem confronting your country is not of private ownership, freedom and economy; your problem is the absence of true faith in God."[15]

Gorbachev's reaction

After hearing the text of the letter, Gorbachev thanked Ruhollah Khomeini for the letter and said: "I'll send an answer to this letter as soon as possible" and added, "we'll deliver [Khomeini's letter] to the Soviet clergymen". Referring to Khomeini's invitation to Islam, he said: "We are approving the law of religious freedom in the Soviet Union, I have claimed before that despite having different ideologies we can have a peaceful relationship". He then smiled and said: "Imam Khomeini invited us to Islam; do we have to invite him to our school of thought?"[16] Then he added: "This invitation is an interference in the internal issue of a country because every country is free for selecting its school of thought".[17]

After hearing Gorbachev's response, Ayatollah Amoli, the head of the Iranian representatives, thanked Gorbachev for his attention. He said: "...we appreciate the freedom of religion and hope for an amicable condition for all people to live with each other as they have different schools of thought. But the issue of interfering should be clarified. You are free in Russia to do what you want, and no one has the right to interfere in this realm. The content of the letter did nothing with materialism and the territory of Russia; it was just related to your souls".[18][17]

In February 1989, Eduard Shevardnadze, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, delivered Gorbachev's reply to Khomeini when he traveled to Iran.[7][19][20]

Controversy in Iran

The letter became controversial with Shiite clerics in the Iranian city of Qom who regarded the thoughts of Muslim mystics and philosophers to be heretical.[5] In a letter to Khomeini they lamented why Khomeini needed to refer Gorbachev to "deviant," "heretical" and "Sunni" thinkers, arguing that the Quran was sufficient for supporting Islamic tenets.[10] However, the letter was and continues to be celebrated by the Iranian government.[21][22]

Ali Khamenei's letter

Mohammad-Javad Larijani, a member of the Iranian delegation that transmitted Khomeini's letter, said: "...a message by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei addressed to the Western youth complements a 1989 letter written by late Imam Khomeini to former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev". He stated that Khomeini and Khamenei's letters (To the Youth in Europe and North America and To the Youth in Western Countries) invite people from the West to understand Islam.[22]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Imam Khomeini's historic epistle to Gorbachev". Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  2. ↑ Goodman, Melvin Allan (1991). "Afghanistan". Gorbachev's Retreat: The Third World. New York City, New York, United States: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 61. ISBN 9780275936969 – via Google Books.
  3. 1 2 3 Khomeini, Rudollah (2003). "Translator's Introduction". The Greatest Jihād: Combat with the Self. Alhoda UK/Institute for Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works. p. 15. ISBN 9789643355579 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ Saivetz, Carol R. (1990). "The Soviet Union and Iran: Changing Relations in the Gorbachev Era". In Rezun, Miron (ed.). Iran at the Crossroads: Global Relations in a Turbulent Decade (1 ed.). New York City, New York, United States: Routledge. pp. 181–198. doi:10.4324/9780429043376-11. ISBN 9780429043376. S2CID 195489148.
  5. 1 2 3 Axworthy, Michael (2013). "5. The End of the War, the Death of the Emam, and Reconstruction: Khamenei and Rafsanjani, 1988—97". Revolutionary Iran: A History of the Islamic Republic. New York City, New York, United States: Oxford University Press. p. 301. ISBN 9780199322268 – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ Rzepka, Marcin (1 January 2013). "Religion, diplomacy and identity. Some remarks on the ayatollah Khomeini's letter to Gorbachev" (PDF). Orientalia Christiana Cracoviensia. Kraków, Poland: Pontifical University of John Paul II. 5 (2): 79. doi:10.15633/ochc.1034. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Parker, John W. (2009). "2. Gorbachev and Khomeini: Perestroika Pen Pals". Persian Dreams: Moscow and Tehran Since the Fall of the Shah. Washington, D.C., United States: Potomac Books. p. 64. ISBN 9781597976466 – via Google Books.
  8. 1 2 3 Ait Etiketler, Konusuna (23 December 2012). "Imam Khomeini's (RA) Letter to Gorbachev is narrated by Ayatollah Amoli". Islamic Invitation Turkey. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  9. 1 2 Mesbahi, Mohiaddin (11 September 2002). "10. Gorbachev's 'new thinking and Islamic Iran: From containment to reconciliation". In Amirahmadi, Hooshang; Entessar, Nader (eds.). Reconstruction and Regional Diplomacy in the Persian Gulf. London, England, United Kingdom: Routledge. p. 206. ISBN 9781134921669 – via Google Books.
  10. 1 2 3 Baqer Moin (1999). Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah. I.B.Tauris. p. 275. ISBN 978-1-85043-128-2.
  11. ↑ Reuters (5 January 1989). Sulzberger Sr., Arthur Ochs (ed.). "Study Islam, Khomeini Suggests to Gorbachev". The New York Times. New York City, New York, United States. Reuters. p. A7. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  12. ↑ "Imam Khomeini's historic epistle to Gorbachev". Iran English Radio. 7 January 2012. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  13. ↑ Imam Khomeini: Life, Thought and Legacy. The Other Press. 2009. p. 58. ISBN 978-967-5062-25-4.
  14. ↑ Staff writers (2 January 2017). "Islam Times - Imam Khomeini's Historic Letter to Gorbachev Resonates Globally". Islam Times. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  15. ↑ Showdown with Nuclear Iran: Radical Islam's Messianic Mission to Destroy Israel and Cripple the United States, Michael D. Evans, Thomas Nelson, p. 188
  16. ↑ Reuters (19 January 1989). Sulzberger Sr., Arthur Ochs (ed.). "How Khomeini Made Gorbachev See Red". The New York Times. New York City, New York, United States. Reuters. p. A7. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  17. 1 2 "Historical Letter Remembered" (PDF). daily.
  18. ↑ "Imam Khomeini's (RA) Letter to Gorbachev is narrated by Ayatollah Amoli". 23 December 2012.
  19. ↑ Stroilov, Pavel (1 August 2011). "Chapter 3. Comrades and Ayatollahs". Behind the Desert Storm: A Secret Archive Stolen from the Kremlin that Sheds New Light on the Arab Revolutions in the Middle East (1 ed.). Chicago, Illinois, United States: Price World Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 9781936910670. LCCN 2010932718 – via Google Books.
  20. ↑ Irfani, Suroosh (22 September 1989). "Iran-Soviet relations". Strategic Studies. Islamabad, Pakistan: Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad. 13 (1): 5–8. ISSN 1029-0990. JSTOR 45181978.
  21. ↑ Weiler, Yuram Abdullah (6 January 2017). "Enduring Epistle: Imam Khomeini's letter to Mikhail Gorbachev". Tehran Times. Tehran, Iran: The Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization. ISSN 1563-860X. OCLC 49910014. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  22. 1 2 Larijani, Mohammad Javad (5 February 2015). Sarafraz, Mohammad (ed.). "Iran Leader message complements Imam Khomeini's letter to Gorbachev". Press TV. Tehran, Iran: Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
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