A woman holds a caricature of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a demonstration in support of the Iranian opposition in Berlin, June 17, 2009 Photo: Reuters
A protester holds a poster against hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in downtown Tehran June 17, 2009 during a fifth day of protests against moderate Mirhossein Mousavi's election defeat. Photo: Reuters
Autumn 1978. I was at an ever so refined little prep school in London's Chelsea. I had an Iranian friend. We always got on very well until we started talking about the Arab-Israeli war and then suddenly I was Moshe Dayan and he was George Habash. He boycotted Marks and Spencer oranges and I berated him with the history of the Middle East wars. You have to laugh! He was not an Arab and I had never been to Israel. I suspect neither of us knew much about the history of the conflict. But - shall we say - we had both received healthy indoctrination from our fathers. Yet when our respective fathers met, they got on famously. Just don't mention the war!
My Iranian friend had a picture of the Shah on the inside of his desk lid. I sat behind him, so whenever he opened his desk the Shah would greet me - he looked sophisticated, introspective and Westernised. By all accounts his appearance reflected his nature.
January-February 1979. The Islamic Revolution. The Shah left Iran and the Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Tehran after years in exile. The changeover was swift, but not nearly so rapid as the new picture of the Ayatollah that found its way onto my friend's desk lid. In Chelsea at least it was an utterly seamless transition. From being a royalist devotee of the Shah, my friend became a stalwart supporter of the Islamic revolution virtually overnight. Suddenly the Ayatollah was there in his religious turban, his eyes burning with just a hint of the fanaticism and cruelty that characterised his regime over the next decade.
I've always been interested in Iran ever since, although I've never been near. A question burns inside me whenever Mahmoud Ahmadinejad makes his ludicrous threats. Iran is not an Arab country; it was not affected by the setting up of the so-called Zionist entity its leaders purport to abhor. Neither was it - like Lebanon or Jordan for example - affected by the dispersal of the Palestinians during Israel's creation. And yet its leaders have always been among the most vitriolic in their denunciation of Israel, even compared to Arab countries.
Ahmadinejad, in particular, is a ludicrous figure, his Holocaust-denial a symptom of a diseased mindset. But why the enmity? And what has it got to do with the Iranians? I'm not so naive as to pretend that replacing Ahmadinejad with Mir Hossein Mousavi will end the hostility. But it may just avert a war. And so if - 30 years down the line - the same school now has an Iranian boy with a photo of Ahmadinejad on his desk lid, I hope to see a changeover on that desk lid as smooth as the one that took place back in 1979. Only with a little less bloodshed in Iran.
Dear Gabriel. Very interesting words and thoughts. I think I have an answer to your question about why the Iranian leadership has so much venom against Israel, at least where I think the hatred started. You see, the leaders of the 79 revolution were imprisoned and tortured during the Shah years by Savak (the Shah's secret service) who used to work with Mossad, perhaps even tortured by Mossad. I have a feeling they have never forgiven what happened to them and that became entrenched into policy and morphed into something else...
I am a Christian and I respect other faiths. There is only one God. Here in England, many faiths and cultures live together in peace. We reach out to all those in Iran. You have nothing to fear from the British people. Many of your own people live here in complete freedom, peace and safety.
Please, almighty Father, rain down your grace on the leaders of Iran and hear the cries of its people and especially its youth. Protect them as they reach out to share respect, peace and opportunity with other nations.
God bless you all, from Great Britain. We love you and we embrace you in peace and friendship.
Dear almighty Father, help us to let go of all past mistakes and there have been many, globally. Guide is in our new, chosen future of peace and openness. Please Father help us to build our future in renewed faith/trust.
God bless you Iran. The eyes of the world are upon you and our prayers are with you.
JoelSat, Jun 20 2009 09:47 CET
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JoelSat, Jun 20 2009 09:47 CET
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JoelSat, Jun 20 2009 09:47 CET
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Chelsea speculate that there is a leakage from London which encourages City to pursue their player. IT is speculated that John Terry might be behind the ambition of the northerners. Carlo Ancelotti, the new manager of the Londoners is set to talk with the player to determine Terry's future.
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Dear Gabriel. Very interesting words and thoughts. I think I have an answer to your question about why the Iranian leadership has so much venom against Israel, at least where I think the hatred started. You see, the leaders of the 79 revolution were imprisoned and tortured during the Shah years by Savak (the Shah's secret service) who used to work with Mossad, perhaps even tortured by Mossad. I have a feeling they have never forgiven what happened to them and that became entrenched into policy and morphed into something else...
I am a Christian and I respect other faiths. There is only one God. Here in England, many faiths and cultures live together in peace. We reach out to all those in Iran. You have nothing to fear from the British people. Many of your own people live here in complete freedom, peace and safety.
Please, almighty Father, rain down your grace on the leaders of Iran and hear the cries of its people and especially its youth. Protect them as they reach out to share respect, peace and opportunity with other nations.
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Read the full comment /> We pray for the safety of all Iranian people.
God bless you all, from Great Britain. We love you and we embrace you in peace and friendship.
Dear almighty Father, help us to let go of all past mistakes and there have been many, globally. Guide is in our new, chosen future of peace and openness. Please Father help us to build our future in renewed faith/trust.
God bless you Iran. The eyes of the world are upon you and our prayers are with you.
This comment has been removed by the moderator because it contained
This comment has been removed by the moderator because it contained
This comment has been removed by the moderator because it contained