Dear Prime Minister Mr. Abe Shinzo

In the name of God

Dear Prime Minister Mr. Abe Shinzo

I do express my condolences on the heroic death of Japanese freelance journalist Kenji Goto Jogo. In the past few weeks we have witnessed your endless efforts for finding a way to free Kenji Goto out of ISIL hands which unfortunately ended in failure and at last the people of the Land of the Rising Sun and all the peace- loving people around the world grieved Goto’s death.

Since this sorrowful incident happened, I have been trying to give a present to Ms. Junko Ishido, mother of Kenji Goto as a way to express my condolences to her, but I have failed to do so because of the legal restrictions the Japanese embassy has stated.

Here I kindly request you to show me a way to deliver this present to Ms. Junko Ishido by legal procedures while I keep her privacy.

Actually I have decided to give Ms. Junko Ishido a bottle of rose-scented perfume. In Iran, rose has a national and religious status. Wearing rose-scented perfume in Iran is a symbol of behaving like Prophet Mohammad, the Last and Greatest messenger of God to mankind. That is why rose flower in Iran is called, “Mohammadi Flower”. Prophet Mohammad emphasized on giving presents to each other and introduced perfume as the best of the gifts.

Prophet Mohammad also emphasized on telling the truth and believed that lying covers the right deed and misrepresents it as wrong. He said only truth- seeking people can distinguish the right from the wrong.

Kenji Goto was killed in way to the truth by ISIL or a cult which I do believe is the representative of Devil.

This Devilish cult by writing the name of Mohammad on their black flag falsely claims to be holding the flag of Islam, while Islam is the religion of peace, friendship and compassion.

Not only Islam, but also all other religious or even secular societies denounce murder of children women and men.

Islam is a religion of moderation. It stands for the middle-path. It opposes every form of excess and extremism. Its principles and laws are based on a natural system of balance, appealing across cultural, ethnic and geographical boundaries. Islam advises people to respect each other’s rights.

This is while the Devilish ISIL cult doesn’t recognize any right for people.

At the end as a journalist who works in a news network in Iran and is monitoring the ISIL’s crimes every day, I want to explain my reason to react to Kenji Goto’s death.

Few days before the Christmas of 2004 and concurrent with the Bam city earthquake in Iran, a Japanese tourist who had planned to visit Latin American countries, cancelled his trip and came to Iran to help Iranian children who had lost their hearth and home in the earthquake. I can easily remember the origami shapes Koji Hitaro made with love for Bam children. We Iranians have a proverb which says one individual can be representative of a whole. That is why I think Japanese people are kind like Koji Hitaro.

At the same time I can understand Ms. Junko Ishido’s grief for his son’s death. Ms. Ishido has passed stressful days and is passing sad days of losing a child.

By giving Ms. Ishido a bottle of perfume, I want to assure her that her child’s wish that is a world without war would be fulfilled, because God has given the good news that someday the truth comes and falsehood vanishes.

Thank you

Atefeh Talqani