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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Ahmadinejad: The first 100 days |
| 2005-11-07 |
| EFL Amir Taheri Unlike Rafsanjani and Khatami who tried to redefine Islam in a way as to please the modern world, a world that is shaped and dominated by Western ideas, Ahmadinejad is trying to revive the purest definition of the faith and asserts that Islam is an alternative to the current global system and not a candidate for becoming a small part of it. Ahmadinejadâs radical discourse has also confused the fake Islamists who send their children to study at Western universities but who insist that the children of the poor should attend Koranic schools only. Those who have tried to build a life on the basis of a little bit of Islam and a little bit of Western modernism are made uncomfortable by Ahmadinejad who is forcing everyone to take sides. What Ahmadinejad is saying is simple: one cannot be half pregnant, either you are or you are not. Seen in that context Ahmadinejadâs pledge to wipe Israel off the map like âa stain of shameâ, is an attempt at forcing everyone to take sides on what has been the longest running conflict in modern Middle East. Ahmadinejad is asking everyone to decide the nature of the Israel- Palestine conflict. Is it a conflict only about statehood, borders, security, sharing of water, settlements and diplomatic relations? If the answer is yes, the conflict cannot, indeed should not be treated, as a religious one pitting Muslim against Jew. It would be a political conflict, one of countless such conflicts throughout history. And, if it is a political conflict, then all the religious energy injected into it over the past half a century must be regarded as misplaced. If, on the other hand, we are facing something other than a political conflict, there could be no question of ever accepting the existence of Israel as a state within any frontiers. The peace treaties that Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have signed with Israel become documents not of political expediency but of apostasy. In less than 100 days Ahmadinejad has shaken many mullahs on their pulpits and more monkeys up their trees. The reason is that he is asking everyone to be honest with themselves. He believes that the world is heading for a clash of civilisations in which Islam is the only credible alternative to Western domination. And he is convinced that Islam can and will win. It is now up to everyone to decide whether or not that analysis could be taken seriously or dismissed as the juvenile illusions of a novice who will, in time, learn that the real world is different. But the dilemma that Ahamdinejad has created for most Islamists inside and outside Iran cannot be ignored. He says Islam is not just a flavour to add to policies that are not, indeed cannot be, Islamic. Either we go the whole way and abolish politics as a space distinct from religion or we stop using religion as a device to give our policies the legitimacy they do not deserve. Posing such questions is no mean feat; and in less than 100 days. |
| Posted by:Whainter Theamp3448 |
| #3 He still looks like an extra from planet of the apes |
| Posted by: Bush Mckenzie 2005-11-07 16:58 |
| #2 . . . the juvenile illusions of a novice who will, in time, learn that the real world is different. I beg to differ. The man has been observer to, and a part of, the world his entire private and public life. There is nothing that will shake his beliefs in right and wrong, good and bad. He will not "learn" anything new. In fact, faced with obstructions, he will likely become more shrill. And deadly. |
| Posted by: PlanetDan 2005-11-07 12:57 |
| #1 What Ahmadinejad is saying is simple: one cannot be half pregnant, either you are or you are not. We all know what's usually involved in getting pregnant. So, essentially, what Ahmadinejad's saying is, "either you are f*&ked or you are not f&*ked." Big news, Ahmadinejad, you're f&*ked! |
| Posted by: Zenster 2005-11-07 11:09 |