Our Stances vis-à-vis Cultural and Axiological System in the West (Based on Imam Khomeini's Political Thought)

The Islamic Revolution of Iran introduced new values to the humanity and reshaped our identity. One of the consequences of this revolution was inspiring the change in our point of view toward the West and toward the status of the contemporary world. On this basis, there is a dire need to adopt a stance appropriate to the values of Islamic Revolution and its Iranian-Islamic identity against the West and its culturalaxiological system. As the ideologist and leader of the Islamic Revolution and founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini introduced an approach to theWest that is concordant with and conforming to the generality of our culture on one hand, and on the other hand, pictures our revolutionary stance vis-à-vis the West. On this basis, our major question will be: What stance does Imam Khomeini picture for our revolutionary society vis-à-vis the West and its cultural, axiological and ideological system? Imam Khomeini’s approach centers round not only rejecting Occidentalism, but also negating any tendency toward Western culture in its diversified forms with respect to such factors and principles as humanism, materialism and secularism, individualism, and hegemony. His approach prescribes resistance against aggressive behavior of the West and introducing the plan for revival of Iranian-Islamic identity via trust in God, the Initiator of the world of being. In this approach, the West is a symbol of the fall of the belief in the Holy Truth and the East is the symbol of the rise of the belief in the Holy Truth and manifestation of Light, based on which man returns to his real “self” or to his divine innate nature, thus steps in the path of spiritual perfection and real salvation by rejecting Occidentalism.