M Khatami

[Rasputin]

Romney's foreign folly

POLITICIANS OFTEN strike foolish poses when overcome by an ambition to run for president, but Governor Mitt Romney staked out a new frontier when he denied Iran's former reformist president Mohammed Khatami security assistance from the state this weekend, when Khatami is scheduled to speak at Harvard's Kennedy School.

It is bad enough that Romney did not distinguish between Khatami, the well-known partisan of a dialogue of civilizations, with Iran's current president, the belligerent Holocaust denier, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Some reactionaries in this country may want to obscure the stark differences between Khatami and Ahmadinejad, and Romney, who has been courting the far right of the Republican Party, may have fallen under the influence of those deliberate simplifiers.

But Romney hardly looks presidential when he castigates Harvard for its decision to invite Khatami to address a Kennedy School forum. Few things are more essential to a university than the exercise of free inquiry. Like other American colleges and universities, Harvard has a long history of hosting figures who have been controversial or who exercised power in abusive regimes. Fidel Castro, Malcolm X, Prince Sihanouk of Cambodia, and Jiang Zemin, former president of China: They all came to Harvard and had their say before students, faculty, and the general public.

Yet Romney saw fit to declare that the Kennedy School's invitation to Khatami is ``a disgrace to the memory of all Americans who have lost their lives at the hands of extremists." The kindest thing to say about this denunciation of Harvard's devotion to active and open dialogue is that it illustrates the crucial difference between political thinking and the real thing.

Romney's briefers may not have told him that Khatami was one of the first leaders of a Muslim country to express sympathy with Americans after Sept. 11, denouncing the attack by Sunni Arab fanatics of Al Qaeda as barbaric. While president of Iran, Khatami tried to open up possibilities for freedom of speech, and he sought improved relations with the West. He was severely constrained in what he was able to accomplish by a political system that vested true power not in the elected president but in the unelected cleric known as Supreme Leader, in Iran's repressive security services, and in a hard-line judiciary in thrall to the religious authorities.

Khatami deserves the criticism he has received from Iranians disillusioned at his failure to reform Iran's theocratic dictatorship. But though he was an ineffectual reformer, he is hardly a terrorist. Romney's muddle-headed characterizations of Khatami and Harvard suggest that he has been prepping at the Dick Cheney school of statecraft

[Rasputin]

Questions for Khatami

There is a troubling irony in inviting former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami to speak today at the National Cathedral on the role the Abrahamic faiths can play in shaping peace in the world. In his own country, Khatami held office as president from 1997 to 2005 while religious minorities -- including Jews, Christians, Sunni and Sufi Muslims, Bahais, dissident Shiite Muslims and Zoroastrians -- faced systematic harassment, discrimination, imprisonment, torture and even execution because of their religious beliefs. During Khatami's term, Iranian officials persecuted reformers, students, labor activists and journalists for "insulting Islam" and publishing materials deemed to deviate from Islamic standards.

In 1998 student protests were followed by severe repression, and a series of extrajudicial murders of dissidents were committed in the years thereafter. In 2004 the U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of expression concluded that charges against those detained for criticism of the government "lack any objective criteria" and are open to arbitrary interpretation by the judiciary. Women of all faiths have also suffered discrimination and repression.

Because of these recurring and egregious violations of religious freedom, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom continues to recommend that Iran be included on the State Department's list of "countries of particular concern." Since 1999 secretaries of state in both the Clinton and Bush administrations have agreed. Iran was initially placed on this list during Khatami's tenure as president. The commission's 2006 annual report and the State Department's annual International Religious Freedom Report conclusively demonstrate that Iran's egregious, systematic violations of religious freedom did not significantly diminish during Khatami's administration.

Against that backdrop, we are prompted to ask whether President Khatami plans to use the pulpit at the National Cathedral to denounce and express regret for these offenses. Such a step would go a long way toward facilitating reconciliation among his own countrymen and women, as well as among the Abrahamic faiths.

We also note that the cathedral's description of the event mentions Khatami's call for a "dialogue of civilizations." Certainly it is useful to urge clergy and leaders in the West and throughout the world to respect a diversity of views, beliefs and cultures. We wish to inquire whether Khatami will use his address at the National Cathedral to call upon clerics in his own country to respect the universally guaranteed right to freedom of religion and belief, as well as the rights of those who hold diverse views and beliefs.

Furthermore, unconditioned "dialogue" between Iran and the West is precisely what is being urged by Iran's current president at this time as an alternative to its compliance with U.N. resolutions regarding weapons of mass destruction. Khatami's address at the cathedral on this very topic of "dialogue" could easily be manipulated to make it appear that the cathedral is giving the moral high ground to Iran on this critical issue. Dialogue and discussion require that more than one voice be heard.

It appears that the cathedral is providing a public platform to an individual who was responsible for implementing and administering policies that resulted in the severe persecution of religious minorities as well as dissident voices within Iran's own Shiite community. Chief among these victimized groups are the very Abrahamic faiths he will discuss in his address.

The National Cathedral is one of America's most significant moral symbols. It is a place where national leaders have been laid to rest, and it is where the nation grieved for the victims of Sept. 11, 2001. It is a place where the people -- despite political differences -- have come together to mourn, reflect and unify. It is a place where those from diverse faiths and backgrounds gather to worship. It is imperative that those responsible for the National Cathedral, as the caretakers of one of America's national symbols, preserve its unique role and not allow it to be misused or manipulated. The commission fears that Khatami's address, in its announced format, jeopardizes this important tradition and may ultimately undermine the cathedral's critical national role.

In the final analysis, it would be a tragic oversight for the former leader of Iran to be invited to give a lecture on these specific topics in such a prominent place of worship without being questioned openly and seriously on both the nature of diversity and the legacies of his own record on human rights and religious freedom.

[Rasputin]

Harvard dean stands by Khatami invitation

The dean of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government yesterday defended the decision to invite Mohammad Khatami to speak on the eve of Sept. 11, saying the United States needs dialogue with its enemies.

``Do we listen to those that we disagree with, and vigorously challenge them, or do we close our ears completely?" said David Ellwood, the Kennedy School's dean, in an interview with the Globe.

Ellwood said he was disappointed in Governor Mitt Romney's refusal to give state protection to the former Iranian president during his visit. The dean said he approved the invitation, first proposed by faculty members when they learned that Khatami would be speaking at the United Nations. He said decisions on whether to invite political figures with troubling records are made on a case-by-case basis.

The Kennedy School prides itself on inviting important figures from across the political spectrum, domestic and international. Romney has appeared there, along with other conservatives such as former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Recent speakers on the Middle East have included Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights activist who received the Nobel Peace Prize, and Daniel Ayalon, the Israeli ambassador to the United States.

But the school also found itself under a similar attack several months ago, when a professor coauthored an article criticizing a so-called ``Israel Lobby" for driving foreign policy in Washington to the detriment of US interests. In 2004, Harvard returned a $2.5 million gift to the Divinity School from the president of the United Arab Emirates, after controversy arose over the president's ties to a think tank espousing anti-Semitic ideas.

In deciding to invite Khatami, officials considered that he had been granted a US visa, that he is working with the United Nations, and that he is ``sometimes seen as a reformer," Ellwood said.

Sept. 10 was the only time available, the dean said, and emphasized that Khatami would not be allowed to visit unless he were willing to take unscripted questions. A commemorative event is scheduled for Sept. 11, the fifth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Boston police have said that they would help with security for Khatami. The State Department and Cambridge police are providing security as well, Harvard said.

Controversy over Harvard's invitation continued to mount yesterday as a Boston-area Jewish group condemned his visit, and a talk radio host encouraged listeners to lodge complaints.

``As an alum, I'm personally offended," said Nancy K. Kaufman, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, who has a master's degree from the Kennedy School. ``We believe in freedom of speech, but I really question the judgment of Harvard giving him a platform."

[Rasputin]

Meanwhile, Romney stepped up his criticism of Harvard yesterday, tying a lack of campus outrage against Khatami to what he called a politically-correct attack by some faculty members against former Harvard president Lawrence H. Summers.

``It's a `blame America,' it's a `hate America' attitude on the part of some liberals that I think many people find very offensive, myself included," Romney said on WRKO radio yesterday.

He also said Harvard ``effectively disinvited" Ronald Reagan from speaking on the university's 350th anniversary in 1986. There was an outcry on campus over rumors that Reagan would be granted an honorary degree. After Harvard decided not to give out any honorary degrees, Reagan declined the invitation.

Graham T. Allison, director of the Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, said he endorsed a staffer's idea of inviting Khatami. Allison noted the grave importance of engaging Iran on its nuclear program.

Allison compared engaging Khatami to Reagan meeting with the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. And he said the Kennedy School Forum allows for tough questioning of visitors. In 1995, for example, the widow of a soldier who died in Vietnam confronted former Defense secretary Robert S. McNamara.

``Will someone get up at the forum and ask, `Mr. Khatami, your successor has called for wiping Israel off the map. Do you agree or disagree?' " Allison said. ``If they don't, I will certainly ask a question."

Rebecca Rohr, a junior and president of Harvard Students for Israel, said she felt Khatami does not appear to be a genuine partner for dialogue.

``I don't think he's earned the right to come speak to us and [have us] hear what he has to say about `the ethics of tolerance,' " she said, referring to the title of Khatami's talk, ``Ethics of Tolerance in the Age of Violence."

Rohr said she was speaking only for herself, although her group also condemned the visit.

Several Harvard students on campus yesterday, however, were upset with Romney's stance, not their university's invitation. They said the role of the university is to promote the free exchange of ideas.

Nicholas F. Zimmerman, 25, a graduate student in public policy at the Kennedy School, applied for a lottery ticket to attend Khatami's talk, and will learn today if he got in. Zimmerman, a New Yorker who said he knew people who died on Sept. 11, 2001, rejected Romney's assertion that the timing of Khatami's visit is insensitive.

``One thing has nothing to do with the other," he said, emphasizing that there is not a connection between Iran and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

``I believe in free speech," Zimmerman said.

Kathryn Levasseur, 25, a biomedical graduate student, said Khatami is ``not where I would be standing" on the issues, but she said he should be allowed to speak. ``It's just kind of petty, Romney drumming up support," she said, referring to Romney's possible plans to run for president in 2008.

Marcella Bombardieri can be reached at bombardieri@globe.com.

[Sepideh_UK]

Intresting.
Thanx Siamak agha.

[Rasputin]

محمد خاتمی، رييس جمهوری سابق ايران که از آمريکا ديدن می کند، خواستار گفتگو برای رفع اختلاف دو کشور و همچنين حل بحران ناشی از فعاليت های هسته ای جمهوری اسلامی شد.
آقای خاتمی در سخنانی که در کليسای جامع شهر واشنگتن ايراد کرد گفت که مشکلات موجود در روابط دولت های دو کشور بايد از طريق گفتگو حل شود و کاربرد لحن خشونت آميز نمی تواند به گفتگو منجر گردد بلکه مساله را دشوار تر می کند.

رييس جمهوری سابق ايران درمورد موضوع فعاليت های هسته ای اين کشور با تکرار مواضع اعلام شده جمهوری اسلامی تاکيد کرد که اين فعاليت ها صلح آميز است و هدف دستيابی به تسليحات هسته ای را دنبال نمی کند.

آقای خاتمی گفت که آژانس بين المللی انرژی اتمی تا کنون شواهدی نيافته که نشان دهد فعاليت های هسته ای جمهوری اسلامی صلح آميز نيست.

وی با اشاره به توانمندی های اتمی اسرائيل، هند و پاکستان، گفت که در منطقه سه کشور دارای تسليحات اتمی وجود دارند و کلاهک های اتمی توليد کرده اند در حاليکه هيچيک به پيمان منع گسترش جنگ افزارهای اتمی - ان پی تی - نپيوسته و هيچگونه نظارت بين المللی بر فعاليت های آنان وجود ندارد.

رييس جمهوری سابق ايران خواستار پيوستن اين کشورها به ان پی تی شد و گفت که با اعمال نظارت بين المللی می توان مانع از آن شد که کشورهای ديگر در صدد دستيابی به اين نوع تسليحات برآيند.

در مورد رفع بحران هسته ای جمهوری اسلامی، محمد خاتمی اظهار داشت که به نظر وی مذاکره بهترين راه حل اين بحران است و افزود که پس از آغاز گفتگو، جزييات ديگر را می توان حل و فصل کرد.

آقای خاتمی اظهار داشت که چين، روسيه و فرانسه آمادگی خود برای مذاکره هسته ای بدون پيش شرط با ايران را اعلام داشته اند.

پيشرفت در راه دموکراسی

آقای خاتمی ارشد ترين سياستمدار ايرانی است که از زمان قطع روابط دو کشور در پی ماجرای گروگانگيری کارمندان سفارت آمريکا در تهران در سال 1979 از ايالات متحده ديدن می کند.


انتقاد از سفر خاتمی
ديدار محمد خاتمی از آمريکا انتقاداتی از سوی برخی سياستمداران و مقامات آمريکايی، سازمان های يهوديان و گروه های مخالف جمهوری اسلامی را در پی آورده و آقای خاتمی در سخنان خود تلويحا اشاره کرد که سفر وی به ايالات متحد نه تنها با انتقاداتی در اين کشور بلکه در داخل جمهوری اسلامی نيز همراه بوده است

ديدار دو هفته ای آقای خاتمی يک سفر خصوصی است و مقامات دولت آمريکا، با وجود صدور رواديد سفر برای وی، گفته اند با رييس جمهوری سابق ايران ملاقات نخواهند کرد اما اقدامات لازم برای حفاظت از وی را به عمل آورده اند.

مهمترين بخش از سفر آقای خاتمی به ايالات متحده سخنرانی وی در کليسای جامع شهر واشنگتن، پايتخت، در روز پنجشنبه، 7 سپتامبر، بوده که در ميان تدابير امنيتی و در ميان تظاهرات گروهی از مخالفان ديدار رييس جمهوری سابق ايران از آمريکا صورت گرفت.

آقای خاتمی در اين سخنرانی اظهار داشت که ايران در راه دموکراسی پيشرفت هايی کرده است و نبايد با کشورهايی که در اين زمينه عقب تر هستند مقايسه شود و افزود که با معيارهای غربی، وضع آزادی های سياسی در ايران بهتر از برخی کشورهای منطقه است.

محمد خاتمی در سال 1997 با برنامه ای شامل وعده اصلاحات دموکراتيک و پيشبرد جامعه مدنی به رياست جمهوری انتخاب شد و دو دوره در اين سمت ماند.

قرار است آقای خاتمی روز يکشنبه، 10 سپتامبر و يک روز قبل از سالگرد حملات انتحاری سال 2001 در آمريکا، در مدرسه علوم سياسی دانشگاه هاروارد سخنرانی کند.

ديدار محمد خاتمی از آمريکا انتقاداتی از سوی برخی سياستمداران و مقامات آمريکايی، سازمان های يهوديان و گروه های مخالف جمهوری اسلامی را در پی آورده و آقای خاتمی در سخنان خود تلويحا اشاره کرد که سفر وی به ايالات متحد نه تنها با انتقاداتی در اين کشور بلکه در داخل جمهوری اسلامی نيز همراه بوده است.

آقای خاتمی در خلال اين سفر به ايراد چند سخنرانی و برگزاری چند مصاحبه مبادرت کرده و از جمله تلويحا اشاره کرده است که ديدار وی از ايالات متحده نه تنها با انتقاداتی در ايالات متحده، بلکه در داخل جمهوری اسلامی مواجه بوده است.

[Rasputin]

At Cathedral, Iran's Khatami Urges Dialogue

Amid noisy protests and tight security, former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami issued a call at the Washington National Cathedral yesterday for leaders in both the West and the Islamic world to launch a historic dialogue to "rescue life from the claws of the warmongers and violence-seekers and ostentatious leaders."

But Khatami, who served as president between 1997 and 2005, signaled that the time is not yet right for direct dialogue between the United States and Iran. He warned that the language of threats needs to end for any negotiation to have a chance -- an indirect reference to U.S. and U.N. pressure to impose new sanctions on Iran because of disputes over its nuclear program.

Khatami said Iran is prepared to discuss the suspension -- both the timing and the scope -- of its uranium enrichment in negotiations.

The former Iranian leader, who was elected on a reform platform but failed to deliver significant change, called the United States a "great" country "with great people, great capacities, and potential" -- language that stood in stark contrast to more than a quarter-century of Iran calling the United States "the Great Satan."

But he also condemned its unilateral foreign policy, and he cautioned at a news conference before last night's speech that Washington would be more effective if it worked alongside other nations.

Khatami, who is a mid-level Shiite cleric and wears the black turban of a descendant of the prophet Muhammad, focused heavily on religious themes and the need for the three Abrahamic faiths -- Judaism, Islam and Christianity -- to work together.

"Jesus is the prophet of kindness and peace. Muhammad is the prophet of ethics, morality and grace. Moses is the prophet of dialogue and exchange," he said. "It's good at the present time, where war, violence and repression is so prevalent across the world, for all of us who are followers of God's religion to pursue all efforts for the establishment of peace and security."

Khatami said he was not concerned about the vitriolic criticism that his five-city speaking tour of the United States has prompted in Iran. "If you want to accept to live in a democratic state, a democratic society, we have to tolerate the voices of dissent," he said.

Critics have charged that Khatami's trip is riddled with hypocritical contradictions since, during his presidency, the Islamic republic was guilty of widespread human rights abuses. Although Iran's hard-line judiciary is widely blamed for the arrest of dissidents, Khatami was unable to restrain political rivals.

Pressed on Iran's abuses, Khatami said he would not deny that his country has serious problems, but he cautioned that democracy is a "process" that cannot reverse centuries of despotic rule overnight. Iran was ruled by various dynasties for some 2,500 years.

As Khatami spoke inside the limestone Gothic cathedral, hundreds of diplomatic security agents, including their own SWAT teams, surrounded the church grounds.

On the other side of Wisconsin Avenue, a crowd of about 200 shouted, "Shame on you," as invitees waited to pass through security and enter the cathedral gates. Khatami spoke before an audience of 1,300.

[Rasputin]

Many of the protesters waved photographs of victims of Iranian government torture and pictures of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last shah, toppled in the 1979 revolution. Banners urged, "No dialogue, no war, only regime change," and "Free all political prisoners in Iran."

Police cars lined up in front of the crowd and helicopters with searchlights circled overhead, but there were no incidents reported and no noticeable traffic delays from the protest.

Khatami is the highest-ranking Iranian figure to visit Washington since the United States severed ties in 1979, after its embassy in Tehran was overrun by revolutionaries who took 52 hostages and held them for 444 days.

He comes at a time when the United States is pressing for new international sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program, and on a day when officials from the five countries with permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council joined German officials in Berlin to discuss those sanctions.

The visit prompted condemnation not only in some Iranian circles but also from some lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

At a news conference yesterday morning organized by Iranian dissidents, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) announced that he planned to mark Khatami's visit by introducing the Iran Human Rights Act, to ensure that the United States supports opposition groups.

The proposal calls for a new U.S. special envoy to coordinate with Iranian opposition groups, authorizes $100 million for new U.S. programs that focus on Iran's human rights practices, and requires more broadcasting into Iran on democracy and human rights issues.

Brownback also called on the State Department to give visas to liberal professors whom the Iranian government this week threatened to purge.

"For too long, the focus on Iran's nuclear program has overshadowed the human rights violations perpetrated by its tyrannical regime," Brownback said. His legislation would make Iran's human rights practices a top priority of U.S. foreign policy.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) criticized the Bush administration for allowing U.S. taxpayers to "subsidize" the former Iranian leader's visit by providing a security detail -- particularly after the treatment of U.S. diplomats in Iran during their captivity. The State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security is in charge of such protection.

A handful of former prisoners, as well as the sister of a student activist who was arrested during Khatami's presidency and died last month in jail, spoke emotionally to reporters about the incarcerations and their opposition to the regime.

"Don't be deceived by his smile," said Roya Tolooei, who said she once thought Khatami would be different. "It didn't take us long to realize he wasn't the one."

Reza Pahlavi urged the international community not to "waste time" on negotiating with Iran since an Aug. 31 deadline has passed for Tehran to comply with a U.N. demand that it stop uranium enrichment.

Before coming to the cathedral, Khatami spoke yesterday in Charlottesville at the University of Virginia, where he excoriated the idea of dividing the world into "us and them."

"This 'us' is a small circle encompassing a few that have the right to arrive at any verdict they please regarding the ones they consider 'the other.' They can force this 'other' to submit to their whims or even eliminate 'the other' altogether," Khatami said.

[Rasputin]

محمد خاتمی، رئيس جمهور پيشين ايران که در آمريکا به سر می برد حملات يازدهم سپتامبر 2001 به نيويورک و واشنگتن را محکوم کرده و گفته است که عاملان اين حادثه هرگز به بهشت نخواهند رفت.
آقای خاتمی در زمان رياست جمهوری اش از جمله نخستين سران دولتهای جهان بود که حملات يازدهم سپتامبر را پس از وقوع محکوم کرد و اظهارات اخير او در محکوميت حملات يازدهم سپتامبر سه روز پيش از پنجمين سالگرد اين حادثه ايراد شده است.

آقای خاتمی طی سخنرانی در شورای روابط اسلام و آمريکا که در شهر آرلينگتون در ايالت ويرجينيای آمريکا برگزار شد گفت: "ما مسلمانان بايد اين فاجعه [حملات يازدهم سپتامبر] را شديدتر محکوم کنيم، تروريسم که به معنی کشتار غيرنظاميان است تحت هر نام يا عنوانی، عملی غيراخلاقی است و هيچ کس با عمل غيراخلاقی به بهشت نمی رود".

وی افزود: "آنهايی که مردم را می کشند و مرتکب اعمال تروريستی می شوند، اگر خود را مسلمان معرفی می کنند دروغ می گويند".

رئيس جمهور پيشين ايران خطاب به مسلمانان آمريکا گفت: "به ديگران نشان دهيد که آنچه در رسانه ها درباره اسلام گفته می شود درست نيست و با موج هراس و بيزاری از اسلام که متأسفانه ما امروزه شاهد آنيم مقابله کنيد".

آقای خاتمی ادامه داد: "مسئوليت ما و شما اين است که در درجه اول برای هر کشوری که در آن زندگی می کنيم شهروندان خوبی باشيد، بکوشيد تا خود و فرزندانتان از نردبان ترقی و تحصيل بالا بروند و با موج هراس از اسلام که به دست کسانی خلق شده است که در دل علاقه چندانی به اسلام ندارند مقابله کنيد".

سخنرانی آقای خاتمی در هتل ماريوت شهر آرلينگتون برگزار شد و همچون سخنرانيهای پيشين او تدابير شديد امنيتی بر اطراف محل سخنرانی حاکم بود به گونه ای که بخشی از بزرگراه جفرسون ديويس که از خيابانهای اصلی آرلينگتون است مسدود شده بود.

بر خلاف سخنرانی روز قبل آقای خاتمی که در کليسای ملی واشنگتن برگزار شده بود، مخالفان جمهوری اسلامی تظاهراتی در اطراف محل سخنرانی برگزار نکردند.

آقای خاتمی در کليسای ملی واشنگتن نيز به انتقاد از افراد و گروههايی پرداخته بود که با "سوء استفاده از نام اديان الهی" به تروريسم و افراطی گری دست می زنند.

محمد خاتمی بلندمرتبه ترين شخصيت جمهوری اسلامی است که از زمان پيروزی انقلاب اسلامی سال 1979 به پايتخت آمريکا سفر کرده است.

جورج بوش رئيس جمهور آمريکا در مصاحبه با روزنامه وال استريت ژورنال گفته شخصاً دستور صدور رواديد برای آقای خاتمی را صادر کرده چون علاقه داشته است بداند او چه حرفهايی برای گفتن دارد.

[Rasputin]

Khatami says 9/11 attackers will not go to heaven

ARLINGTON, United States (AFP) - Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami condemned the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and said those who carried them out will never go to heaven.

"During the calamity of September 11, two crimes were committed: one was the killing of innocent people and the second was making this crime in the name of Islam," said the former president, who is on a speaking tour of the United States.

"We, Muslims, should condemn this atrocity even more strongly," Khatami told the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"Terrorism, which means killing civilians in whatever name or title, lacks morality, and nobody who lacks such principle will go to heaven," Khatami continued. "Those who kill others and commit acts of terror, if they identify themselves with Islam, they are lying."

Americans mark the fifth anniversary of the attacks on Monday.

[Rasputin]

Former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami on Friday condemned the September 11 attacks against the United States as an atrocity and said suicide bombers did Islam an injustice and would not go to heaven.

Three days before the fifth anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, the Shi'ite cleric urged Muslims to work against "Islamaphobia," which he said had grown since Islamic militants flew hijacked aircraft into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.

Two crimes were committed on September 11 -- civilians were killed and it was done in the name of Islam, Khatami told the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a human rights group.


"We Muslims should condemn these atrocities even more strongly," he said.

"Terrorist, which means killing of civilians, is a human being that lacks morality ... (and) will not go to heaven" and those who do it in the name of Islam "are lying," he said.

Nearing the end of a five-city U.S. visit in which he largely stressed themes of dialogue and co-existence, Khatami continued to stir controversy.

A U.S.-based pro-Israel group, the Israel Project, complained in a press release that the president from 1997 to 2005 was "working to white-wash Iran's record of nuclear developments, support for terror and human rights violations."

In a Time magazine interview, Khatami regretted the 1979 U.S. hostage crisis and acknowledged the Holocaust of 6 million Jews as "historical fact."

[Rasputin]

I believe the Holocaust is the crime of Nazism. But it is possible that the Holocaust, which is an absolute fact, a historical fact, would be misused. The Holocaust should not be, in any way, an excuse for the suppression of Palestinian rights," he said.

Considered a reformist during his presidency, Khatami was largely stymied by powerful conservative clerics. His hard-line successor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has reinstated conservative domestic policies, while threatening to destroy Israel and denying the Holocaust.

As for the 1979 hostage crisis, when student radicals seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans for 444 days, Khatami said, "I regret the hostage crisis ... and I sympathize with the hostages and their families for their loss and their hurt but this was (also) a revolutionary reaction to half a century of the U.S. taking Iran hostage."

Khatami is the most prominent Iranian to visit the United States, outside of the United Nations' New York headquarters, in decades. Ahmadinejad spoke at the U.N. General Assembly last year and has requested a visa to do so again this year.


Khatami's U.S. visit has been controversial in light of U.S. accusations Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, sponsors terrorism and arms Hizbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

At a news conference on Thursday, Khatami warned the United States against threatening Iran. While urging a dialogue among civilizations, he said there was too much mistrust for Washington and Tehran to talk now.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters, "The place to start when talking about the discourse of threats is with his own president, President Ahmadinejad, in threatening to wipe the state of Israel off the map."

Khatami told Time he got "really upset" with President George W. Bush's designation of Iran as part of an "axis of evil" and he praised America as a "great and big country."

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

All leaders of the IRI are not monolithic: there are believers of solely repressive methods and believers of combined methods of repression and dialogue. Besides very usual means of repression, Khatami believes in a conciliatory dialogue to clam down people. However, what all Islamists from different calibres want is that religion be the central element in the life of the Islamic world. And this is the most important reason of Khatami’s tour, and this is what we must exactly denounce.

The west should forget Khatami’s Dialogue of Civilisations. He had better off just look at himself in the mirror and he will certainly find behind his cynical smile the tortured faces of many victims of his “Dialogue of Civilisations”.

Khatami and his like believe that when religion occupies a central place in a society’s identity, then they seek to distinguish themselves from the rest of the world; Muslims defend Islamic morality as a political position against all secular values, at the same time affirming that Islam has superior and divine values.

But based on all progressive ideas and realities, firstly, the civilised world does not need religion at all, secondly, the morality of Islam is a belated transformation of a primitive culture from Arabian pagans, a culture of violence and misogyny for a clan society. This “morality” has been violently imposed upon our civilised people by the early Islamic invaders (Khatami’s ancestors). Thirdly, Islam is not a religion with any provable sign of divinity.

[Sepideh_UK]

Well!!
Thanx for the info.