Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written
President Bush a letter discussing religious values, history and international
relations. Following is an unofficial translation from the original written in
Farsi, as translated by Reuters, posted on WashingtonPost.com, and edited for
clarity, with sectioning added, by OnTheIssues.org:
Section 3: On
Section 4: On
Section 5: On Common Monotheism
Mr. George Bush,
president of the
For some time now, I
have been thinking, how one can justify the undeniable contradictions that
exist in the international arena -- which are being constantly debated,
especially in political forums and amongst university students. Many questions
remain unanswered. Those have prompted me to discuss some of the contradictions
and questions, in the hopes that it might bring about an opportunity to redress
them.
Can one be a
follower of Jesus Christ (Peace Be Upon Him), the
great Messenger of God,
Feel obliged to
respect human rights,
Present liberalism
as a civilization model,
Announce one's
opposition to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and WMDs,
Make "War on
Terror" his slogan,
And finally,
work towards the establishment of an unified international
community -- a community which Christ and the virtuous of the Earth will one
day govern,
But at the same
time,
Have countries
attacked. The lives, reputations and possessions of people destroyed and on the
slight chance of the presence of a few criminals in a village, city, or convoy
for example, the entire village, city or convoy set ablaze.
Or because of the
possibility of the existence of WMDs in one country,
it is occupied, around 100,000 people killed, its water sources, agriculture
and industry destroyed, close to 180,000 foreign troops put on the ground,
sanctity of private homes of citizens broken, and the country pushed back
perhaps 50 years. At what price? Hundreds of billions of dollars spent from the
treasury of one country and certain other countries and tens of thousands of
young men and women -- as occupation troops -- put in harm’s way, taken away
from family and loved ones, their hands stained with the blood of others,
subjected to so much psychological pressure that every day some commit suicide
and those returning home suffer depression, become sickly and grapple with all
sorts of ailments; while some are killed and their bodies handed to their
families.
On the pretext of
the existence of WMDs, this great tragedy came to
engulf both the peoples of the occupied and the occupying country. Later it was
revealed that no WMDs existed to begin with.
Of course, Saddam
was a murderous dictator. But the war was not waged to topple him; the
announced goal of the war was to find and destroy weapons of mass destruction.
He was toppled along the way towards another goal; nevertheless the people of
the region are happy about it. I point out that throughout the many years of
the imposed war on Iran Saddam was supported by the West.
Mr. President,
You might know that
I am a teacher. My students ask me how can these actions be reconciled with the
values outlined at the beginning of this letter and duty to the tradition of
Jesus Christ (Peace Be Upon Him), the Messenger of
peace and forgiveness?
There are prisoners
in
Young people,
university students, and ordinary people have many questions about the
phenomenon of
Throughout history,
many countries have been occupied, but I think the establishment of a new
country with a new people, is a new phenomenon that is exclusive to our times.
Students are saying
that 60 years ago such a country did not exist. They show old documents and
globes and say, “Try as we have, we have not been able to find a country named
I tell them to study
the history of WWI and II. One of my students told me that during WWII, in which
tens of millions of people perished, news about the war was quickly
disseminated by the warring parties. Each touted their victories and the most
recent battlefront defeat of the other party. After the war they claimed that
six million Jews had been killed. Six million people that
were surely related to at least two million families. Again let us
assume that these events are true. Does that logically translate into the
establishment of the state of
Mr.
President,
I
am sure you know how -- and at what cost --
-- Many thousands
were killed in the process.
-- Millions of
indigenous people were made refugees.
-- Hundreds of
thousands of acres of farmland, olive plantations, towns and villages were
destroyed.
This tragedy is not
exclusive to the time of establishment; unfortunately it has been ongoing for
60 years now.
A regime has been
established which does not show mercy even to kids, destroys houses while the
occupants are still in them, announces beforehand its list and plans to
assassinate Palestinian figures, and keeps thousands of Palestinians in prison.
Such a phenomenon is unique -- or at the very least extremely rare -- in recent
memory.
Another big question
asked by the people is "why is this regime being supported?"
Is support for this
regime in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ (Peace Be Upon
Him) or Moses (Peace Be Upon Him) or liberal values?
Or are we to
understand that allowing the original inhabitants of these lands -- inside and
outside
The newly elected
Palestinian administration recently took office. All independent observers have
confirmed that this government represents the electorate. Unbelievingly, they
have put the elected government under pressure and have advised it to recognize
the Israeli regime, abandon the struggle and follow the programs of the
previous government.
If the current
Palestinian government had run on the above platform, would the Palestinian
people have voted for it? Again, can such positions taken in opposition to the
Palestinian government be reconciled with the values outlined earlier? The
people are also asking, "Why are all United Nations Security Council
resolutions in condemnation of
Mr.
President,
As you are well
aware, I live amongst the people and am in constant contact with them -- many
people from around the
It is not my
intention to pose too many questions, but I need to refer to other points as
well.
Why is it that any
technological and scientific achievement reached in the
You are familiar
with history. Aside from the Middle Ages, in what
other point in history has scientific and technical progress been a crime? Can
the possibility of scientific achievements being utilized for military purposes
be reason enough to oppose science and technology altogether? If such a
supposition is true, then all scientific disciplines, including physics, chemistry,
mathematics, medicine, engineering, etc., must be opposed.
Lies were told in
the Iraqi matter. What was the result? I have no doubt that telling lies is
reprehensible in any culture, and you do not like to be lied to.
Mr. President,
Don't Latin Americans
have the right to ask why their elected government are
being opposed and coup leaders supported? Or, why must they constantly be
threatened and live in fear?
The people of
Again, do such
actions correspond to the teachings of Christ and the tenets of human rights?
The brave and
faithful people of Iran too have many questions and grievances, including: the
coup d'etat of 1953 and the subsequent toppling of the legal
government of the day, opposition to the Islamic revolution, transformation of
an Embassy into a headquarters supporting the activities of those opposing the
Islamic Republic (many thousands of pages of documents corroborate this claim),
support for Saddam in the war waged against Iran, the shooting down of the
Iranian passenger plane, freezing the assets of the Iranian nation, increasing
threats, anger and displeasure vis-à-vis the scientific and nuclear progress of
the Iranian nation (just when all Iranians are jubilant and celebrating their
country's progress), and many other grievances that I will not refer to in this
letter.
Mr. President,
September Eleven was
a horrendous incident. The killing of innocents is deplorable and appalling in
any part of the world. Our government immediately declared its disgust with the
perpetrators and offered its condolences to the bereaved and expressed its
sympathies.
All governments have
a duty to protect the lives, property and good standing of their citizens.
Reportedly your government employs extensive security, protection and
intelligence systems -- and even hunts its opponents abroad. September Eleven
was not a simple operation. Could it be planned and executed without
coordination with intelligence and security services -- or their extensive
infiltration? Of course this is just an educated guess. Why have the various
aspects of the attacks been kept secret? Why are we
not told who botched their responsibilities? And, why aren't those responsible
and the guilty parties identified and put on trial?
All governments have
a duty to provide security and peace of mind for their citizens. For some years
now, the people of your country and neighbors of world trouble spots do not
have peace of mind. After 9/11, instead of healing and tending to the emotional
wounds of the survivors and the American people -- who had been immensely
traumatized by the attacks -- some Western media only intensified the climate
of fear and insecurity -- some constantly talked about the possibility of new
terror attacks and kept the people in fear. Is that service to the American
people? Is it possible to calculate the damages incurred from fear and panic?
American citizens
lived in constant fear of fresh attacks that could come at any moment and in
any place. They felt insecure in the street, in their place of work and at
home. Who would be happy with this situation? Why was the media, instead of
conveying a feeling of security and providing peace of mind, giving rise to a
feeling of insecurity?
Some believe that
the hype paved the way -- and was the justification -- for an attack on
Will the truth not
be lost in a contrived and deceptive climate? Again, if the truth is allowed to
be lost, how can that be reconciled with the earlier mentioned values?
Is the truth known
to the Almighty lost as well?
Mr. President,
In countries around
the world, citizens provide for the expenses of governments so that their
governments in turn are able to serve them.
The question here is
"what has the hundreds of billions of dollars, spent every year to pay for
the Iraqi campaign, produced for the citizens?"
As Your Excellency
is aware, in some states of your country, people are living in poverty. Many
thousands are homeless and unemployment is a huge problem. Of course these
problems exist -- to a larger or lesser extent -- in other countries as well.
With these conditions in mind, can the gargantuan expenses of the campaign --
paid from the public treasury -- be explained and be consistent with the
aforementioned principles?
What has been said,
are some of the grievances of the people around the world, in our region and in
your country. But my main contention -- which I am hoping you will agree to
some of it -- is:
Those in power have
a specific time in office and do not rule indefinitely, but their names will be
recorded in history and will be consistently judged in the immediate and
distant futures.
The people will
scrutinize our presidencies. Did we manage to bring peace, security and
prosperity for the people or insecurity and unemployment?
Did we intend to
establish justice or just supported special interest groups, and by forcing
many people to live in poverty and hardship made a few people rich and powerful
-- thus trading the approval of the people and the Almighty with theirs?
Did we defend the
rights of the underprivileged or ignore them?
Did we defend the
rights of all people around the world or impose wars on them, interfere
illegally in their affairs, establish hellish prisons and incarcerate some of
them?
Did we bring the world
peace and security or raise the specter of intimidation and threats?
Did we tell the
truth to our nation and others around the world or present an inverted version
of it?
Were we on the side
of people, or the occupiers and oppressors?
Did our
administrations set out to promote rational behavior, logic, ethics, peace,
fulfilling obligations, justice, service to the people, prosperity, progress
and respect for human dignity or the force of guns, intimidation, insecurity,
disregard for the people, delaying the progress and excellence of other
nations, and trample on people's rights?
And finally, they
will judge us on whether we remained true to our oath of office -- to serve the
people, which is our main task, and the traditions of
the prophets -- or not?
Mr. President,
How much longer can
the world tolerate this situation?
Where will this
trend lead the world to?
How long must the
people of the world pay for the incorrect decisions of some rulers?
How much longer will
the specter of insecurity -- raised from the stockpiles of weapons of mass
destruction -- haunt the people of the world?
How much longer will
the blood of the innocent men, women and children be spilled on the streets, and
people's houses destroyed over their heads?
Are you pleased with
the current condition of the world?
Do you think present
policies can continue?
If billions of
dollars spent on security, military campaigns and troop movement were instead
spent on investment and assistance for poor countries, promotion of health,
combating different diseases, education and improvement of mental and physical
fitness, assistance to the victims of natural disasters, creation of employment
opportunities and production, development projects and poverty alleviation,
establishment of peace, mediation between disputing states, and extinguishing
the flames of racial, ethnic and other conflicts, where would the world be
today? Would not your government and people be justifiably proud?
Would not your
administration's political and economic standing have been stronger?
And I am most sorry
to say, would there have been an ever-increasing global hatred of the American
government?
Mr. President, it is
not my intention to distress anyone.
If Prophet Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, Joseph, or Jesus Christ (Peace Be Upon
Him) were with us today, how would they have judged such behavior? Will we be
given a role to play in the promised world, where justice will become universal
and Jesus Christ (Peace Be Upon Him) will be present?
Will they even accept us?
My basic question is
this: Is there no better way to interact with the rest of the world? Today
there are hundreds of millions of Christians, hundreds of millions of Muslims
and millions of people who follow the teachings of Moses (Peace Be Upon Him). All divine religions share and respect one word
and that is "monotheism" or belief in a single God and no other in
the world.
The Holy Koran
stresses this common word and calls on all followers of divine religions and
says: (3.64)
“Say: O followers of the Book! come
to an equitable proposition between us and you that we shall not serve any but
Allah and (that) we shall not associate aught with Him, and (that) some of us
shall not take others for lords besides Allah; but if they turn back, then say:
Bear witness that we are Muslims.”
(The Family of Imran)
Mr. President,
According to divine
verses, we have all been called upon to worship one God and follow the
teachings of divine Prophets.
"To worship a God which is above all powers in the world and can do all He pleases."
"The Lord which knows that which is hidden and
visible, the past and the future, knows what goes on in the Hearts of His
servants and records their deeds."
"The Lord who is the possessor of the heavens and the earth and all universe is His court"
"Planning for the universe is done by His hands, and gives His servants the glad tidings of mercy and forgiveness of sins."
"He is the companion of the oppressed and the enemy of oppressors"
"He is the Compassionate, the Merciful."
"He is the recourse of the faithful and guides them towards the light from darkness."
"He is witness to the actions of His servants."
"He calls on servants to be faithful and do good deeds, and asks them to stay on the path of righteousness and remain steadfast."
"Calls on servants to heed His prophets and He is a witness to their deeds."
"A bad ending belongs only to those who have chosen the life of this world and disobey Him and oppress His servants."
and
"A good land and eternal paradise belong to
those servants who fear His majesty and do not follow their lascivious
selves."
We believe a return
to the teachings of the divine prophets is the only road leading to salvation
and have been told that Your Excellency follows the teachings of Jesus (Peace
Be Upon Him) and believes in the divine promise of the
rule of the righteous on Earth.
We also believe that
Jesus Christ (Peace Be Upon Him) was one of the great
prophets of the Almighty. He has been repeatedly praised in the Koran. Jesus
(Peace Be Upon Him) has been quoted in Koran as well:
(19.36)
“And surely Allah is my Lord and your Lord,
therefore serve Him; this is the right path.”
Service to and
obedience of the Almighty is the credo of all divine messengers.
The God of all
people in
We again read in the
Holy Book:
“The Almighty God sent His prophets with miracles
and clear signs to guide the people and show them divine signs and purify them
from sins and pollutions. And He sent the Book and the balance so that the
people display justice and avoid the rebellious.”
All of the above
verses can be seen, one way or the other, in the Good Book as well.
Divine prophets have
promised:
The day will come when all humans will congregate before the court of the Almighty, so that their deeds are examined; the good will be directed towards Heaven and evildoers will meet divine retribution.
I trust both of us
believe in such a day, but it will not be easy to calculate the actions of
rulers, because we must be answerable to our nation and all others whose lives
have been directly or indirectly affected by our actions.
All prophets, speak
of peace and tranquility for man -- based on monotheism, justice and respect
for human dignity.
Do you not think
that if all of us come to believe in and abide by these principles, that is,
monotheism, worship of God, justice, respect for the dignity of man, belief in
the Last Day, we can overcome the present problems of the world -- that are the
result of disobedience to the Almighty and the teachings of prophets -- and
improve our performance?
Do you not think
that belief in these principles promotes and guarantees peace, friendship and
justice?
Do you not think
that the aforementioned written or unwritten principles are universally
represented?
Will you not accept
this invitation? That is, a genuine return to the teachings of prophets, to
monotheism and justice, to preserve human dignity and obedience to the Almighty
and His prophets?
Mr. President,
History tells us that
repressive and cruel governments do not survive. God has entrusted the fate of
men to them. The Almighty has not left the universe and humanity to their own
devices. Many things have happened contrary to the wishes and plans of
governments. These tell us that there is a higher power at work and all events
are determined by Him.
Can one deny the
signs of change in the world today?
Is the situation of
the world today comparable to that of 10 years ago? Changes happen fast and
come at a furious pace.
The people of the
world are not happy with the status quo and pay little heed to the promises and
comments made by a number of influential world leaders. Many people around the
world feel insecure and oppose the spreading of insecurity and war and do not
approve of and accept dubious policies.
The people are
protesting the increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots, and the rich
and poor countries.
The people are
disgusted with increasing corruption.
The people of many
countries are angry about the attacks on their cultural foundations and the
disintegration of families. They are equally dismayed with the fading of care
and compassion. The people of the world have no faith in international
organizations, because their rights are not advocated by these organizations.
Liberalism and
Western-style democracy have not been able to help realize the ideals of
humanity. Today these two concepts have failed. Those with insight can already
hear the sounds of the shattering and fall of the ideology and thoughts of the liberal
democratic systems.
We increasingly see
that people around the world are flocking towards a main focal point -- that is
the Almighty God. Undoubtedly through faith in God and the teachings of the
prophets, the people will conquer their problems. My question for you is:
"Do you not want to join them?"
Mr. President,
Whether we like it
or not, the world is gravitating towards faith in the Almighty and justice and
the will of God will prevail over all things.
* End * Reut14:40