Supreme Leader: West failed in management, social philosophy and moral during pandemic

In a video conference with the National Anti-Coronavirus Headquarters on Sunday morning, the Supreme Leader thanked the officials for their round-the-clock efforts in different cultural-social, medical, sanitary, scientific, management, and service-providing fields to fight the virus.

He said that Iranians made a brilliant performance with their potent and patiently behavior and manifested the Iranian-Islamic culture, expressing condolences to all those who lost their loved ones because of the pandemic.

He also emphasized on the participation of people, Basiji forces, armed force and voluntary groups in the fight, underlining that the voluntary contribution of Basijis and seminary students who were present in dangerous affairs like bathing, shrouding and burying bodies of people died for the coronavirus must be also praised besides thanking medical workers.

The Supreme Leader urged artists to make accounts of the enormous contribution of Iranian people, labeled by himself as “great honorable Jihad-like movement”, in vocal, written, and visual artworks.

Hailing the calm behavior of Iranians in dealing with the deadly virus, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed: “The occurrence of an incident like the coronavirus outbreak has led to certain behaviors, which have been seen in some countries where people are rushing to stores and panic shopping. Such behavior is not seen in Iran at all and our people have truly shown with their calmness.”

“Western civilization’s failure in the global trial of combating corona is obvious and quite visible. The West and westernized people don’t want this failure to be seen; however, it is necessary to study and speak about the various dimensions and reasons for this failure,” he went on to elaborate.

The Supreme Leader added: “Since the coronavirus outbreak started later in the US and in Europe, they had time to prepare themselves for confronting this virus, but they failed to do so. The high numbers of those afflicted by this virus and deaths in the US and in some European countries confirm this fact.”

“In Western countries, health institutions ignore the elderly, the poor, people with Down syndrome, and so on, because these people don’t have the ability to earn money and create profits. This exposes the realities of the failure of Western social philosophy.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said that a ‘Health Care Network’ is very essential, adding, “If as some people guess and repeatedly say, we may have a resurgence of the coronavirus in the country, such a network can offer great help for that situation.”

“About praying in sacred sites during Ramadan, I believe the National Committee on Combatting Corona’s opinion is valid, but this analysis should be done by those who understand the truths and need of praying. Then, whatever decision they make, I and everyone else will submit to it.”

He noted that praying and supplicating God, especially during Ramadan, the Nights of Qadr, and important events is a basic human need, and said that o course, “I believe that if the restrictions on visiting sacred sites continue, the faithful will observe these restrictions more than others”.