Written some 25 years ago, “Tintin and Sinbad” is an Iranian book by Mohammad Mirkiani that depicts the cultural invasion of the West through its main characters, Tintin, an adaption of the famous character created by the Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, and Sinbad, a fictional sailor of Middle Eastern origin. In the story, Tintin’s ship heads to the East to “capture the land of Eastern stories,” and Sinbad and his friends go to war with them. Their battle ends with the Eastern heroes victorious.

Tintin and Sinbad's story is now being turned into an animated film series titled “War of Legends.” Completion of the first episode followed the Aug. 8 public reading of a note written in November 1994 by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The message, unveiled by the Office for the Preservation and Publication of Ayatollah Khamenei's Works at a cultural event, reads, “I always used to tell the same story. It’s a pity that not many people believed it. Now all is good, and here’s the evidence! The narrator of this story, who has witnessed everything with his own eyes, has told the story of Tintin and Sinbad. Now my job is easier! The only thing I need to do is to present a copy of the book to all children.”

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This article was written by Zahra Alipour for Al-Monitor on Sep. 7, 2016. Zahra Alipour is an Iranian journalist based in Paris who focuses on cultural affairs. She has reported for several leading Iranian media outlets.