Tuesday August 2, 2005

Column:

Once upon a time, many centuries ago, Persian culture was the most advanced in the world. Once upon a time, Persia was decidedly more tolerant of the minorities than Christian countries. Once upon a time, Persia was a beacon of culture and light. Once upon a time, Persians were more educated and more artistic than their Christian contemporaries.

That was once upon a time.

Times have changed. Today's Iran is neither enlightened nor tolerant. Today's Iran sees as its mission to eliminate, annihilate, decimate, anything that is other, different, non-Muslim, Western.
Today, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is Iran's new president. The president had a message to deliver to the West. The perfect opportunity presented itself in the form of the terror in London. This is what Iranian President Ahmadinejad said in an interview on Iran's official Channel 1 TV: "Is there art that is more beautiful, more divine, and more eternal than the art of martyrdom?"

"A nation with martyrdom knows no captivity. Those who wish to undermine this principle undermine the foundations of our independence and national security. They undermine the foundation of our eternity."

Yes, the official response of the Iranian government to the terror that rocked London was to glorify suicide bombing. It was no accident that Ahmadinejad equated suicide bombing with art. The Iranian president is a student of his country’s history. He has learned of the glorious days of Persia. Ahmadinejad wants to return that glory, in modern form, to the Islamic world.

And Ahmadinejad wants to spread Islam to the world.
"The message of the (Islamic) Revolution is global" he said "and is not restricted to specific place or time. It is a human message, and it will move forward. Have no doubt ... Allah willing, what will Islam conquer? It will conquer all the mountain tops of the world."

In a certain, bizarre, way Ahmadinejad is correct. Once you have committed to your own death, and through that act the killing of as many innocent people as possible, then there is "no captivity." No prison and no laws can constrain a person with those values. There are no limits, no boundaries.

If we understand what the president is saying, the message he is relaying, we can begin to understand his ideals and vision for his country and for Islamic society. We will never quite grasp the mindset that formulates these ideas, but we will know the path, the short and long term goals, that Ahmadinejad has set out for his followers.

He wants them to become martyrs. He wants Islam to conquer and control the world. He wants all societies to submit to Islamic principles. He knows that anyone who disagrees with these principles endangers the security of the entire society and therefore must be punished.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a powerful man. So is George Bush. When you listen to the President of the United States speak you hear about freedom and democracy. When the most powerful man in the Western world outlines his vision for the future you hear a dream to help liberate and empower people who are enslaved, his hopes of raising people out of squalor.

These two men, each a pillar of his own society, are at diametrically opposed ends of the spectrum. There is no middle ground and no possibility of reaching a compromise between them. The Iranian president leaves no room for negotiations. He is interested in total victory.

Ahmadinejad calls it "the art of martyrdom". What a fascinating choice of terms, what a mixed metaphor. How sad that today's Persia dreams of bygone days of martyrdom.

It was in the days of art and culture that Persia truly flourished.
Once upon a time.