Imam Khomeini’s letter to Gorbachev
(13 Day 1367/ 3 January 1988)
On 13 day 1367, Imam Khomeini sent a letter to Gorbachev, leader of Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, illustrated about Islam and invited him to accept it.
Let’s read some parts of this letter:
“Mr. Gorbachev!It’s necessary to accept the truth; your country’s main problem is not posseseership, economy and freedom. Your problem is lack of real devote to God, the same as that led West to meanness or will lead. Your great problem is the long and useless struggle with God.”
[i]“Mr. Gorbachev!It’s clear to everyone that we should find Communism in world’s political history museum, since Marxism can answer none of the real needs of human, it’s a materialistic school and Materialism can’t draw humankind out from irreligiosity crisis, which is the main suffering in West and East.”
“Mr. Gorbachev!With a rather freedom for religious ceremonies in some Republics, you showed not regarding religion as an opiate to society. Indeed, can we call the religious which saves Iran against superpowers, an opiate? Is the religious that wants justice and freedom for people, an opiate?
In the end, Imam Khomeini said:
“I claim that the Islamic Republic of Iran, as greatest base for Islam, can help you to solve the problem of irreligiosity and anyway we believe in having relationship and respect it.”
A summary of Mr. Gorbachev's answer after reading Imam's letter is as fallows:
1. I 'm thankful of Ayatollah Khomeini's letter
2. I'll send an answer to this letter as soon as possible.
3. We'll announce it Soviet's clergymen.
4. We are on the way of approbating religion freedom in Soviet.
5. I have claimed before that despite having different ideologies we can have peaceful relationship.
A few months after sending this letter, The USSR was scattered to independent countries and people were free to choose religion.
[i] -USSR was Communist then and opposed with intending to religion.
