- The following is a translation of the
letter sent in Farsi by Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad to US President
George W. Bush. This version was released by United Nations diplomats.
The letter was handed by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki
to the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which then handed it to the Americans.
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- =====
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- Mr George Bush, President of the United
States of America
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- 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, specially in political forums
and among university students. Many questions remain unanswered. These
have prompted me to discuss some of the contradictions and questions,
in the hopes that it might bring about an opportunity to redress them.
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- How can one be a follower of Jesus
Christ (PBUH) [praise be upon his name], the great Messenger of God, and
feel obliged to respect human rights, present liberalism as a civilization
model, announce one's opposition to the proliferation of nuclear weapons
and WMDs [weapons of mass destruction], and finally, work towards the
establishment of a unified international community - a community which
Christ and the virtuous of the Earth will one day govern...
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- However, at the same time, how can one
make war and terror his slogan, have countries attacked, the lives, reputations
and possessions of people destroyed on the slight chance of the ... of
a ... criminal/s being in a village or city, or convoy, or for example,
have the entire village, city or convoy, set ablaze? Or, because of the
possibility of the existence of WMDs in one country, have it occupied and
around 100,000 people killed, its water sources, agriculture and industry
destroyed, close to 180,000 foreign troops put on the ground, the 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.
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- 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.
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- Of course, Saddam [Hussein] 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...but he
was toppled along the way towards another goal. Nevertheless, the people
of the region are happy about it (his removal). I point out that throughout
the many years of the ... (Iraq) war on Iran [in the 1980s], Saddam was
supported by the West.
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- Mr President,
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- 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 (PBUH), the Messenger of peace and forgiveness.
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- There are prisoners in Guantanamo Bay
that have not been tried, have no legal representation, their families
cannot see them and are obviously kept in a strange land outside their
own country. There is no international monitoring of their conditions
and fate. No one knows whether they are prisoners, POWs [prisoners of
war], accused or criminals.
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- European investigators have confirmed
the existence of secret prisons in Europe, too. I could not correlate the
abduction of a person, and him or her being kept in secret prisons, with
the provisions of any judicial system. For that matter, I fail to understand
how such actions correspond to the values outlined in the beginning of
this letter, ie the teachings of Jesus Christ (PBUH), human rights and
liberal values.
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- Young people, university students and
ordinary people have many questions about the phenomenon of Israel. I
am sure you are familiar with some of them. 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.
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- 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 Israel."
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- I tell them to study the history of
World War I and II. One of my students told me that during WWII, which
more than tens of millions of people perished in, 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 6 million Jews had been killed. Six million people that
were surely related to at least 2 million families.
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- Again let us assume that these events
are true. Does that logically translate into the establishment of the state
of Israel in the Middle East or support for such a state? How can this
phenomenon be rationalized or explained?
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- Mr President,
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- I am sure you know how - and at what
cost - Israel was established: Many thousands were killed in the process.
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- Millions of indigenous people were made
refugees.
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- Hundred of thousands of hectares of
farmland, olive plantations, towns and villages were destroyed.
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- This tragedy is not exclusive to the
time of establishment; unfortunately it has been ongoing for 60 years now.
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- A regime has been established which
does not show mercy even to children, 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
history.
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- Another big question asked by people
is why is this regime being supported? Is support for this regime in line
with the teachings of Jesus Christ (PBUH) or Moses (PBUH) or liberal
values? Or are we to understand that allowing the original inhabitants
of these lands - inside and outside Palestine - whether they are Christian,
Muslim or Jew, to determine their fate, runs contrary to principles of
democracy, human rights and the teachings of prophets? If not, why is
there so much opposition to a referendum?
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- 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.
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- If the current Palestinian government
had run on the above platform, would the Palestinian people have voted
for it? Again, can such position taken in opposition to the Palestinian
government be reconciled with the values outlined earlier? The people
are also saying why are all UNSC [United Nations Security Council] resolutions
in condemnation of Israel vetoed?
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- Mr President,
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- As you are well aware, I live among
the people and am in constant contact with them - many people from around
the Middle East manage to contact me as well. They do not have faith
in these dubious policies either. There is evidence that the people of
the region are becoming increasingly angry with such policies.
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- It is not my intention to pose too many
questions, but I need to refer to other points as well.
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- Why is it that any technological and
scientific achievement reached in the Middle East regions is translated
into and portrayed as a threat to the Zionist regime? Is not scientific
R&D [research and development] one of the basic rights of nations?
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Mr President,
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- Don't Latin Americans have the right
to ask, why their elected governments are being opposed and coup leaders
supported? Or, why must they constantly be threatened and live in fear?
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- The people of Africa are hardworking,
creative and talented. They can play an important and valuable role in
providing for the needs of humanity and contribute to its material and
spiritual progress. Poverty and hardship in large parts of Africa are
preventing this from happening. Don't they have the right to ask why their
enormous wealth - including minerals - is being looted, despite the fact
that they need it more than others?
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- Again, do such actions correspond to
the teachings of Christ and the tenets of human rights?
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- 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 Iranian government of the
day, opposition to the Islamic revolution [of 1979], transformation of
an embassy into a headquarters supporting the activities of those opposing
the Islamic Republic (many thousands of pages of documents corroborates
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-a-vis the scientific
and nuclear progress of the Iranian nation (just when all Iranians are
jubilant and collaborating with their country's progress), and many other
grievances that I will not refer to in this letter.
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- Mr President,
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- September 11 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.
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- 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 11 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?
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- 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 climates
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?
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- American citizens lived in constant
fear of fresh attacks that could come at any moment and in any place.
They felt insecure in the streets, 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?
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- Some believe that the hype paved the
way - and was the justification - for an attack on Afghanistan. Again I
need to refer to the role of media. In media charters, correct dissemination
of information and honest reporting of a story are established tenets.
I express my deep regret about the disregard shown by certain Western
media for these principles. The main pretext for an attack on Iraq was
the existence of WMDs. This was repeated incessantly - for the public
to, finally, believe - and the ground set for an attack on Iraq.
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- 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?
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- Mr President,
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- In countries around the world, citizens
provide for the expenses of governments so that their governments in turn
are able to serve them.
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- 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?
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- 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?
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- 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 specific time in office, and do not rule
indefinitely, but their names will be recorded in history and will be
constantly judged in the immediate and distant futures. The people will
scrutinize our presidencies.
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- Did we manage to bring peace, security
and prosperity for the people...or insecurity and unemployment?
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- Did we intend to establish justice...or
just support special interest groups, and by forcing many people to live
in poverty and hardship, make a few people rich and powerful - thus trading
the approval of the people and the Almighty with theirs'?
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- Did we defend the rights of the underprivileged...or
ignore them?
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- 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?
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- Did we bring the world peace and security...or
raise the specter of intimidation and threats?
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- Did we tell the truth to our nation and
others around the world...or present an inverted version of it?
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- Were we on the side of people...or the
occupiers and oppressors?
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- 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, and disregard for the people,
delaying the progress and excellence of other nations, and trample on
people's rights?
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- 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.
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- Mr President,
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- 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 - hunt the people of the world? How much
longer will the blood of innocent men, women and children be spilled on
the streets, and people's houses destroyed over their very heads? Are
you pleased with the current condition of the world? Do you think present
policies can continue?
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- 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 distinguishing 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 governments?
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- Mr President, it is not my intention
to distress anyone. If prophets Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, Joseph
or Jesus Christ (PBUH) 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 (PBUH) will be present?
Will they even accept us?
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- 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 (PBUH). All divine
religions share and respect on word and that is monotheism or belief in
a single God and no other in the world.
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- The holy Koran stresses this common
word and calls on all followers of divine religions and says: (3.64) "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)."
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- Mr President,
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- 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 and eternal paradise belong to those servants who
fear His majesty and do not follow their lascivious selves.
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- We believe a return to the teachings
of the divine prophets is the only road leading to salvations. I have
been told that Your Excellency follows the teachings of Jesus (PBUH),
and believes in the divine promise of the rule of the righteous on Earth.
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- We also believe that Jesus Christ (PBUH)
was one of the great prophets of the Almighty. He has been repeatedly praised
in the Koran. Jesus (PBUH) has been quoted in Koran as well; (19,36)
"And surely Allah is my Lord and your Lord, therefore serves Him;
this is the right path, Marium."
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- Service to and obedience of the Almighty
is the credo of all divine messengers.
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- The God of all people in Europe, Asia,
Africa, America, the Pacific and the rest of the world is one. He is the
Almighty who wants to guide and give dignity to all His servants. He
has given greatness to Humans. 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.
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- All of the above verses can be seen,
one way or the other, in the Good Book as well.
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- 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 nations and all
others whose lives have been directly or indirectly effected by our actions.
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- All prophets, speak of peace and tranquility
for man - based on monotheism, justice and respect for human dignity.
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- 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?
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- Do you not think that belief in these
principles promotes and guarantees peace, friendship and justice?
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- Do you not think that the aforementioned
written or unwritten principles are universally respected?
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- 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?
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- Mr President, History tells us that
repressive and cruel governments do not survive. God has entrusted the
fate of man 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.
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- Can one deny the signs of change in
the world today? Is this situation of the world today comparable to that
of ten years ago? Changes happen fast and come at a furious pace.
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- 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.
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- The people are protesting the increasing
gap between the haves and the have-nots and the rich and poor countries.
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- The people are disgusted with increasing
corruption.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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?
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- Mr President,
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- 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.
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- Vasalam Ala Man Ataba'al hoda
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- Mahmood Ahmadi-Najad
- President of the Islamic Republic of
Iran
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