Saturday, December 24, 2005
Dr. Andrew Bostom, author of The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims, writes in concerning the entry below, Don't tell me, tell him -- Iran's hard line in the Globe:
I have a very long discussion of this truly ugly legacy here:
The Ayatollahs' Final Solution?
which concludes as follows:
Conclusion
An ethos of Jew-hatred, including paroxysms of annihilationist fanaticism, has pervaded Persian/Iranian society, almost without interruption (i.e., the two major exceptions being Sunni Afghan rule from 1725-1794, and Pahlavi reign, with its Pre-Islamic revivalist efforts, from 1925-1979), since the founding of the Shi'ite theocracy in 1502 under Shah Ismail, through its present Khomeini-inspired restoration. Having returned their small remnant Jewish community to a state of obsequious dhimmitude 61, Iran's current theocratic rulers focus their obsessive anti-Jewish animus on the free-living Jews of neighboring Israel.
Holocaust scholar Daniel Jonah Goldhagen has argued persuasively that the Nazis melded centuries of annihilationist Jew hatred to a state machinery capable of implementing the systematic, mass murder of Jews.62 Former Iranian President Rafsanjani's December 2001 "Al Quds Day" sermon threatened, explicitly, the nuclear annihilation of the largest concentration of autonomous Jews in history- the Jewish State of Israel. Four centuries of "najas-inspired" Jew hatred in Shi'ite Iran, accompanied by pogroms, forced conversions, and other less violent, but continuous forms of social and religious persecution, surely meets Goldhagen's Nazi standard of an established "annihilationist" mentality. Iran must not be permitted to acquire a nuclear weapons capability, certainly now, under the current mullahcracy, and into the foreseeable future.
By the way, if you'd like to see a video interview with Dr. Bostom, he's posted a two-parter at his site, here.
Dr. Andrew Bostom's blanket condemnation of Iran as a hotbed of Jew-hatred and his comparison of the country with Nazi Germany misses a very important point, i.e. the indisputable distinction between the Iranian people and the Islamic regime currently ruling Iran. I would like to make it clear to all and sundry, Dr. Bostom included, that the Iranian people, as ampply demonstrated by their long history, are exemplary in their tolerance for all religious and ethnic groups inhabiting their country. As for Jews, it should be noted that a substantial and vibrant Jewish community has been present in Iran since the dawn of history and by that token Iranian Jews can stake exactly the same claim to being Iranian as any of the country's Persian, Azeri, Kurdish, Baluchi and Turkomen citizens. Actually, we consider the mass emigration of our Jewish compatriots in the wake of the unfortunate events of 1979 a great loss to the country.
As far as Israel is concerned, the majority of Iranians accept its existence as absolutely legitimate. We are strongly of the view that the two peoples of the Holy Land, the Palestinans and Jews should do their best to work out an amicably agreed arrangement allowing them to live in peace in two contiguous sovereign states without interference from any external power, including Iran.
Please, Dr. Bostom, do not mix up the Islamic regime's anti-Jewish rhetoric with the true sentiments of the honorable Iranian people. Mehran Hadipour, Iran
Yes Israel is always the victim, and statements like Ahmadinejad's are grasped and used to further monopolize that beloved victim-status. As long as Israel portrays itself as the victim of mindless hatred, it needn't accept any form of legitimate crticism. Thats why we have a Holocaust Industry.
Well you're information is somewhat misinformed and somewhat incomplete regarding Iran and Jews. First of all let me mention that there are thousand of Persian Jews in the world. The Jews were saved from annilation thousand of years ago by the great Persian King Cyrus the Great, let us not forget this man's great deeds for Jewish people. Lastly, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (also called the Shah) had great ties with Israel and were great partners, even more than any Arab country. Why they made the Shah vanish, was the greatest mistake the West and Europe has ever made in the security and well being of peace and humanity.
Dear Readers,
Do you want that Palestine will be free?
If your answer is yes, I recommend you the following home page:
http://www.alah.hu
"This image shows the future. A minaret-form skyscraper rises from the
mass of the buildings in New York, the most densely populated city of the
United States. The building is the “Tower of American-Islamic Friendship”.
It symbolizes two things: on one hand there are a growing number of Moslem
people in the U.S.; and on the other hand it shows that the U.S. is in
alliance with the Islamic countries. Due to the new friendship America
does not provide any more financial or military aid to Israel, which leads
to the weakening of Israel and consequently, the freedom of Palestine."
Sincerely,
Zoltan Biro