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Sep.20.2008
Nategh Noori Did Not Mention Mr. Ahmadi Nejad’s Name
The phrase "like other years" is used as a tradition on the notices of religious ceremonies which are held at fixed places every year. If the lecturers were also the same every year, this “like other years” would become even more salient. It is years that “like other years" on the 19th and 21st night of Ramadan, Mr. Nategh Noori and Mr. Khatami respectively deliver their speeches at the shrine of Imam Khomeini.
I also take part in these ceremonies all years. Last year and this year, Mr. Nategh Noori talked about the dangers of superstitions and attributing political and daily affairs to Imam Mahdi. He said that remembering Imam Mahdi is not just sending regards to him and praying for his re-appearance. These are the famous sentences that Mr. Ahmadi Nejad usually recites at the beginning of his speeches. More importantly, he said if people consider that some economic and political methods are the ones which can be attributed to Imam Mahdi, they would think that he will run the world by the same methods when he re-appears and then people would become pessimistic to Imam Mahdi. He, of course, did not refer to Mr. Ahmadi Nejad at this point. When he was talking about superstitions, he criticized that some people keep a picture which is said to be a portrait of Imam Ali at their homes. One of the politicians who was sitting beside me, said that: “we have the same picture in my father’s home. This is a traditional belief and is not related to religious superstitions”. I told him not to be upset and I reminded to him that Mr. Nategh Nouri is unhappy with some governmental officials who do have such beliefs and for reasons which are known to politicians, he cannot refer to them frankly, so he criticizes the picture of Imam Ali and his sword (known as Zolfaghar). I added that se has a good intention. I also did not mention the name of Mr. Ahmadi Nejad. In reply to those who criticize and say such statements are irrelevant to Ghadr nights, he said that even before revolution, we used to express our important political stances at important occasions like Ghadr nights and Ashoora. Maybe he failed to notice that at that time the clergymen could only talk in the mosques but now at least people like Mr. Nategh Noori can talk on TV and radio which have a great covering. Although most of his statements were the ones said in the last year and although they were correct stances but they were repeated, the accuracy and sensitivity of Nategh Noori toward these issues which have targeted the religion and beliefs of youth should be appreciated. The hidden aims of Mr. Nategh Noori of making such speeches should be appreciated even more. He talked a bit long. I made a joke and told Ali Khomeini who was sitting beside me that maybe he wants to continue talking until Imam Mahdi re-appears. Mr. Nategh Noori then performed the rituals of Ghadr nights perfectly.
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Sep.16.2008
Religions’ Leaders and Life
This week is called the week of “Interreligious Dialogue and Peace” in the world. The Interreligious Dialogue Institute which is an international establishment selects a topic every year at this week and the religions’ leaders deliver speeches on that topic. Yesterday the Institute hosted a meeting under the title of “Let’s learn how to live with each other”. Throughout the history of Iran, there has never been a war, massacre or even religions’ confrontation in private, social and religious lives of Iranian which shows that a group of Iranians have started confrontations and wars with religious minorities. Although there have been cases, especially after revolution, wherein disagreements and conflicts have been created between some official and particularly non-official minorities with the government and group immigrations happened among the minorities and that they face some restrictions in performing their beliefs but as a whole the behavior of Muslims with non-Muslims have been always friendly and peacefully and due to the tolerant nature of Iranians, this has never ended to confrontation. Meanwhile, we should all try that believers in different religions can live calmly and comfortably with each other in Iran which has had a peaceful history without making attempts to change another one’s religion or advertise such conversion. This is our religious and national duty. The purpose of yesterday’s meeting titled “Let’s learn how to live with each other” was strengthening this coexistence everywhere including in Iran. Mr. Abaee the representative of Jews, Kamelan from Qom seminary, Khorshidi from the Zoroastrians and Mr. Ramiz from Assyrians delivered speeches on this topic. Interreligious Dialogue Institute is a non-governmental organization recognized by UN.
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Sep.12.2008
Chechen and the Challenge of Palestine
Chechen is a state of Russia wherein Muslims live. Since they are seeking Islamic independence, they have been suppressed terribly for several times by the Central Government of Russia. Taking the value of defending Muslims who are under cruelty into account, they are experiencing the same story as Palestinians. Non-politicians who judge the people of the world just based on religious reasons have been always worried about the Muslims of Chechen as well as Palestinian Muslims. I remember at the time of Khatami, one or two times I was summoned by the Grand religious scholars to convey their points about the Muslim people of Chechen and the need for supporting them to the government. From the time the Soviet Union was toppled, since Russia is a great country and of course it is correctly a need to maintain a good relationship with that country as our north neighbor, never at propaganda level or in practice they were supported by us. This policy is of course the correct one but from the value point of view, Chechen has always challenged the great support we offer to Palestinians in order to defend Islamic values.
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Aug.22.2008
Iranian Sunnis, Their Problems and Islam World
Last week in Lebanon, Hezbollah signed an agreement with the main authorities of Sunni Salafi ("predecessors") group in which it was agreed that the two groups, while respecting their own beliefs, do not make conflict with the other and avoid putting Shiite and Sunni against each other. Salafis are the most extremists among the Sunnis. The initiative taken indicating that there is the possibility of cooperation shows that based on this rational the principle of Islam and not putting Muslims against each other has priority over all other things. This is an undeniable necessity where Shiites and Sunnis are living together. The greatest harm which Muslims, especially in recent years, have faced in different parts of the world has been the confrontation between Sunnis and Shiites. This disagreement has resulted to existence of many victims. Not provoking Sunnis against Shiites and vice versa and respecting each others’ ideas and sanctities are the only ways for preserving Muslims and the power of Islam world.
In Iran, the fact that millions of Sunnis are living with Shiite majority has turned it into a serious and sensitive issue. Ignorance, insulting in the media, official comments of authorities and pressures on Sunni society can for any excuse make the country face a great danger and it creates the possibility that in the other parts of the Islam world where Sunnis are majority, Shiites would be harmed similarly. In the competitive world of today, the unity between Sunni and Shiite is in favour of no one but the Islamic society and the extremists of the two parties act like the representatives of the enemies of Islamic society and do not let such unity happen. In Lebanon, one day after signing this agreement, the politicians and the extremists who do not whish Islam would be honorable, did not allow that this agreement become practical but the honour would remain for Hezbollah who became the pioneer in attempts to make friendship between Sunnis and Shiites. What happened is like what is done everywhere, including Iran- by extremist Sunnis and Shiites.
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Aug.19.2008
Conservatives, Ahmadinejad and Election
Among the political parties, conservatives are facing serious situation for the next election though this is not admitted by them. This is the first time that political public atmosphere and the intellectuals of the society are seriously not thinking about extending the presidential period to the second term and they mostly hope there would be another president in the next term. Meanwhile, many conservatives wish to introduce a new figure whom they can defend his performance. They know that every measure taken by Mr. Ahmadi Nejad who has been always an extremist conservative and cannot be separated from conservative movement is attributed to their thought movement, but on the other hand for several reasons it seems that they will not be permitted and they will not be able to present anyone instead of Mr. Ahmadi Nejad as their representative for this competition. Even if they are allowed to introduce a competitor instead of Mr. Ahmadi Nejad from their group, taking the advertisements made in these years and the extraordinary skill of the president in individual propaganda into account, those who want to vote in favor of conservatives, no matter how few they are, still vote to the most famous figures of them which will be definitely Mr. Ahmadi Nejad. Besides, the conservatives are also fully aware that if the presence of the first conservative president is not extended to the second term, contrary to previous presidents, and cannot face an internal competitor like the ones who follow the same stream of thoughts like him, this would be definitely interpreted as the defeat of conservative thoughts in the society. The fact that conservatives and their media spokesmen are only creating disagreements in reformist movement and do not release their own problems is a key point indicating such problems exist. I wish those who talk in the name of reformism understand that if they lose this opportunity by not reaching consensus on one candidate, the history will not forgive them.
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Aug.18.2008
Who cares about public opinion?
In most parts of the world, the main attempt of governments is to gain the support of public opinion and justify people. Governments survive if public opinion supports them. Therefore, if public opinion finds a problem with a member of government, the best is done to remove the concern of people by providing explanations which are acceptable to society. In case such concerns cannot be removed, the minister or the person in charge naturally and due to the cleverness of the greater officials is overthrown so that the support of public opinion would not be lost. Recently, some questions regarding the government have been raised in people’s minds which have been ignored by the authorities, the latest of which is the academic degree of the Interior Ministry. This ignorance to public opinion can be a sign indicating that instead of the rational relationship of public opinion and survival of power, the relationship of the money gained from oil and survival of power exists and that is why public opinion is ignored in this way.
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July.19.2008
IRNA and Extreme Stances In Favor of a Particular Political Wing
The official news agencies in all over the world are usually the sources which publish the official news and announce the general stance of governments and that is why their budgets are sourced in public and governmental budgets and the ideas presented by them are considered as the official viewpoints of the countries.
In Iran, IRNA is also funded from public treasury and it has always played the role defined above. Although there are news agencies that are important and have more readers, but since they are run by private sector and they are not considered as the speaker of the regime, they do not get any fund from the government. Recently after many changes made in IRNA, in a non-professional and illegal approach, they publish the extremist news and analysis which are written by the most extremist layers of government supporters, anti-reformists and internal political groups. This is a dangerous tradition which might meet the need of some politicians and their supporters who have just got the power, for taking revenge, but in long term they put the credit of the news agency under question and take the news agency away from being the center for announcing the news and official stances of the regime and it loses its capacity as being a reference. It is also an insult to the professional staff of IRNA who have honorably and professionally attempted a lot to transfer official viewpoint and not the political and revenge-taking approach of new officials in that news agency.
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July.16.2008
Telephone Call to Karbala (the land where Imam Hossein was martyred)
Some clergymen make beautiful and funny jokes. When I was adolescent, a group of clergymen (who used to deliver speeches on the event of Ashoora) had gathered in our home. The late Mr. Kafi was among the most famous ones. He had a special way of narrating the catastrophe of Karaba in a way that for example he was calling Karbala by phone and asked about the martyrs and the captives. Mr. Shojooni made more beautiful jokes. When Mr. Kafi entered our home, he told him that: I have heard you called Karbala, the tents were on fire. Shemr (the one who ordered murder of Imam Hussein) answered the phone and you took him for Imam Hossein and sent your greetings to him. Mr. Kafi had enough capacity not to get upset from this sarcastic joke of his friend. I wish such delicate atmosphere also existed among the political clergyman, especially in their behavior with people, I hope…
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July.14.2008
The Language of Keyhan and Khatami's Candidature
Today morning we had a meeting with some reformist friends. Although the topic was not about the presidential election, unconsciously it turned to this topic. The point that more than reformists, different conservative wings have reached to the belief that if Khatami becomes candidate, he will get the final vote, was our main issue. Keyhan and similar media are good criteria for understanding the level of concerns of conservatives. Their insistence in quoting or faking news on behalf of well-known and not famous figures of groups close to reformists and their opponents stating that if Khatami becomes candidate, he may not get the people's votes, shows that by the information they have, they know better than us that if Khatami becomes candidate, he will be welcomed by people. I just wished to point this out. Is it bad that we understand each other's language?!
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July.12.2008
Religion and Diplomacy in Austria
Yesterday and today, a seminar titled "Religion, Diplomacy and International Relations" is held in Vienna, the capital of Austria. This seminar is held by the university institute of Linchen Estein- a small country in Europe- which is established by a group of students and professors of Prinston University. This seminar is the first session of this institute in Europe on religion and diplomacy. The fact that Europeans who are secular and should not consider a role for religion in particular in the domain of diplomacy do hold such seminar shows that religion has got a strong power in the world and politicians cannot ignore it, although I am not sure if this is in favour of against religions. The shared point of this rather small meeting where individuals from religious institutes and diplomats had gathered was that in the foreign policy expert body of each country, specially in the west and Islam world, there should be people who know the realities of religions and in particular Islam and respect the culture and religions of others. The fact is that the most important problem of the westerns with the world of Islam and vice versa is lack of deep and real recognition of each other. In the secretariat of this seminar, a group of Iranian students living in America and Europe were active, some of whom had come to Iran last year by a tour and they had a positive sensitivity for presenting the name of Iran. I was invited as the president of Interreligious Dialogue Institute (IID) and Mr. Feisal Altorki from Saudi Arabia and Hans Adam, the crown prince of Lichtn Estein, were the princes of the meeting. The key speakers each talked for 10 minutes and the rest of time was for the comments. There were around 20 European students of Politics and American Prinston University. I talked about the problems of western diplomacy against the world of Islam, the text of which will be soon published on the website of IID. The small city of Vienna has a good belt around the city which is good for walking.
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