[DoctorZIn]

To find all the links to all 49 threads since the protests started, go to:

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Join Us at the Iranian Alert -- DAY 49 -- LIVE THREAD PING LIST

Live Thread Ping List | 7.28.2003 | DoctorZin

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[Cacophonous]

Does a change in regime require a change in the form of government. I mean this is a more general sense, not just in relation to Iran. I think the best thing that could happen to Iran is to restore the Pahlevi's, and not to try to force "democracy" on them.

[DoctorZIn]

Big sections of Esfahan Bazar destroyed by fire

SMCCDI (Information Service)
Jul 27, 2003

Big sections of the famous Bazar of Esfahan burned, today, following an incendie which took place due to what is beleived to be an arson case.

Several units of the city's fire fighters were called in orther to combat the fire while the regime's security forces closed the accesses in order to avoid a popular panic.

The today's incendie took place in the tense conditions existing in this rebellious city and following the arrest of Ayatollah Taheri's Office manager and the increasing miscontentment among the local military forces and the residents.

The city has been scene of consecutive deadly clashes which have taken place for the last two years and many residents are showing their open hate of the regime and especially of the Bazaris accused to support the regime for the continuation of their economic advantages.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_1435.shtml

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[DoctorZIn]

"VICTORY OF LIGHT OVER DARKNESS IS NEAR IN IRAN", SHAHBANOO FARAH

CAIRO, 27 July. (IPS)

In a message on the occasion of the death of her husband, the late Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, former Empress Farah Diba-Pahlavi said with the courage and steadfastness of the young Iranian generation as well as all those who relentlessly fight for the freedom of Iran both inside and outside the nation, "the day Iran would recover freedom and democracy is not very far".

Not willing to shed blood, Mohammad Reza Shah left Iran on 16 January 1979, leaving the place to the Islamist revolutionaris led to triumph by Grand Ayatollah Roohollah Khomeini, and died of cancer a year later, on 26 July in Cairo, where the late Egyptian President Mohammad Anwar el Sadat had received him and offered sanctuary and medical care.

"In the last years of his reign, Mohammad Reza Shah had forecast a black future for both his beloved Iran and the whole of the region, saying if security leaves Iran, its aftermath and consequences would endanger the whole of the region and the world", the former Empress, better known by Iranians as the Shahbanoo (the wife of the Shah) said at the Cairo’s al Rifa’i Mosque on Sunday.

"And on his last days, he saw dark years looming over Iran, when a great fear would descend over the nation, replacing promised justice by injustice and the worse kind of dictatorship replacing freedom", she added.

As every year since 1980, she flew to the Egyptian Capital with several members of the family and close friends and was accompanied by Mrs. Jihan Sadat, the widow of the late Egyptian president, assassinated by an Islamist fundamentalist after he established official relations with Israel.

"My husband was however certain that the years of misery, sadness, terrible fear and awkwardness would not last long and now, here, I can assure him that thanks to the courageous Iranians, both inside and outside our nation, the path to freedom, justice and democracy is being paved. That day is now at hand", she said with determination.

After laying flowers on the tombs of both her husband and the late Egyptian President, Mrs. Farah thanked Mrs. Sadat and expressed gratitude to President Hosni Mobarak, and particularly the people of Egypt "who have always shown affection" towards the Iranian Royal family.

Princess Farahnaz, the late Shah’s eldest daughter, accompanied her mother during the private prayers.

As usual, many Iranians exiles traveled from afar to attend the ceremonies while others sent bouquets of flowers.

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was born in 1919 and reined over Iran from 1941 to 1979, during which Iran became one of the strongest and most prosperous nations in the Middle East.

"As the days of national salvation nears, it is my duty to thank in my own name as well as on the name of all my children all the brave, fearless and gallant Iranian people who, in these exceptional days, mourns the memory of my husband in different countries all over the world and wishes them swift and quick victory, for the triumph of Iranian nation in this struggle is also that of the mankind for fulfilling its aspiration to peace, prosperity, civilization and light", the Shahbanoo noted. ENDS 27 703

http://www.iran-press-service.com/

[DoctorZIn]

Cleric Risks a Backlash With Anti-U.S. Rhetoric

July 28, 2003
The Washington Post
Anthony Shadid

BAGHDAD -- With militant sermons drawing tens of thousands of followers, the young scion of one of Iraq's most revered ayatollahs has laid claim to leadership of the Shiite Muslim opposition to the U.S. occupation. But in seeking to rally the most disenfranchised and alienated of the Shiite majority, Moqtada Sadr has embarked on a strategy that his supporters acknowledge risks creating a dangerous backlash.

Residents of the holy city of Najaf have grown angry at the boisterous crowds Sadr's group has shepherded to consecutive Friday sermons, fearing strife in a city that has remained relatively quiet. U.S. officials, aware of Sadr's demands that American forces leave Najaf, have warned him not to go too far. And other clergy, many far more senior than the 30-year-old activist, worry that his calls will bring to the surface bitter divisions among Shiites -- between former exiles and those who remained through the rule of ousted president Saddam Hussein, and between those cooperating with U.S. forces and those opposed.

"It's dangerous," acknowledged Ali Feisal Hamad, an activist with the movement in the Baghdad slum renamed Sadr City after the young cleric's father. "But the Americans have to understand the demands of Iraqis. Who's listening to the opinions in the street?"

Sadr was excluded from the 25-member Governing Council appointed earlier this month by L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian administrator. For Sadr's followers, the omission was his choice; they say he would never take part in a body that leaves ultimate authority in U.S. hands. For U.S. officials, who dismiss Sadr's influence and chafe at his militant posture, the omission was by their design.

Since then, Sadr has railed against the Governing Council, calling it a tool of the U.S. occupation that should be dissolved. He has repeatedly urged the creation of a religious army, albeit unarmed and -- while accounts vary -- probably more akin to a morals police. In his sermon Friday at a sprawling, mud-walled mosque in nearby Kufa, attended by one of the largest crowds gathered since the fall of Hussein's government on April 9, he demanded that U.S. forces withdraw from Najaf and urged the prospective army to resist "submission, humiliation or occupation."

The words marked a dramatic departure from statements made by his group in Najaf only last month. In interviews then, Sadr's deputy, Sayyid Riyadh Nouri, described the 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq as "liberators." A spokesman in Najaf, Sheik Adnan Shahmani, said the group had "no intention, no wish to make them leave."

Some in Najaf speculate that the shift in Sadr's message stemmed from the cleric's visit last month to Iran. His followers deny that, attributing the change solely to the appointment of the Governing Council.

Sadr has demanded the council be elected, a move that would play into the street-based movement that he has sought to cultivate and that is strongest in Baghdad and the southern cities of Basra and Nasiriyah. His movement has also criticized the fact that a majority of the council's members are former exiles or had lived in northern Iraq, which was beyond Hussein's rule after 1991.

Sadr's calls for U.S. withdrawal play on the discontent many feel over the slow pace of reconstruction, and his group has reached out to a leading Sunni cleric, Ahmed Kubeisi, who was credited with sending followers to the sermon on Friday.

Sadr has stopped short of urging armed resistance or invoking a jihad against U.S. troops, calls that would almost certainly lead to violence and, U.S. officials say, probably his arrest.

In Friday's sermon, he urged the tens of thousands of worshipers not to enter Najaf on their way to Baghdad and other cities, to avoid trouble with residents there who are increasingly vocal in their resentment over the unruly crowds that have gathered the past two Fridays. Outside his office in Sadr City, whose 3 million residents represent his key constituency, a leaflet was posted that denied any connection with recent calls "to cut the throat of anyone who deals with the Americans."

"No one has brought with them even a bullet," said Mustafa Yaacoubi, a Sadr spokesman in Najaf.

Amid the byzantine constellation of religious forces in Iraq and the ever-changing alliances among Shiite clerics divided over the degree to which they should take part in politics, Sadr remains one player among many. Much of his religious legitimacy comes from the prominence of his revered father, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq Sadr, who was believed assassinated by Hussein's government in 1999 with two of his sons.

At best a junior cleric, Sadr lacks his father's decades of religious scholarship. In spiritual matters, he is far overshadowed by Ali Sistani, an Iranian-born cleric who remains the most senior and influential ayatollah in Najaf. In politics, Sadr competes for influence with Mohammed Bakir Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which holds a seat on the Governing Council and boasts a sophisticated organization honed by decades of work in exile.

But Sadr's followers say that in coming months his group will seek to build alliances with other groups -- Sunni as well as Shiite -- and clergy left without a voice on the council. Even Sistani has insisted that any entity charged with writing a constitution should be elected, not appointed, although U.S. officials say he has remained neutral so far. More militant ayatollahs, such as Kadhim Husseini Haeri in Iran and Sheik Ahmed Baghdadi, who returned from exile in Syria, have denounced the council in terms no less stringent than Sadr.

In Najaf, a backlash against Sadr has ensued. The city council warned him against inciting the crowds who arrived Friday. Some residents have threatened to expel him, although most acknowledge that is unlikely. "Even his supporters, even those who back him, don't agree with his slogans -- no to America, no to occupation, no to Israel, no to the Governing Council," said Abu Majid, the owner of Najaf's Dhu Fiqar hotel. "They say this is dangerous."

Sitting across from the sacred shrine of Imam Ali at a store selling amber rings, Ahmed Abdel-Sahib called Sadr's rejection of the council hasty and his demands for U.S. withdrawal misguided. Like others, he counseled patience. "We've been through torture and prison," he said, as pilgrims kissed and touched the shrine's two-story wooden doors, a gesture believed to bring blessings. "Now is not the time to face the Americans. We're happy, we're rid of Saddam Hussein; the torture and executions of 35 years are over. We should wait to see what the Americans will do."

Lt. Col. Chris Conlin, the commander of the Marine battalion stationed in Najaf, dismissed Sadr as a troublemaker. But he said unless the cleric specifically incites violence, U.S. forces will not act against him.

"He's a rabble-rouser, but he has to import his rabble," said Conlin. "He finds people who are dissatisfied, and he brings them along."

http://iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news_en.pl?l=en&y=2003&m=07&d=28&a=2

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[DoctorZIn]

Iran To Cooperate With Syria Against US

July 28, 2003
Neftegaz
Neftegaz.ru

The Head of the Iranian National Security and Foreign Policy asked for a close cooperation with Syria to fight the US unilateralism in the region.

He also said that the problems in Iraq are caused by the US occupation of the country and the denial of rights for the Iraqi people.

The threatening of other states cannot be justified in the current highly complicated conditions in the world.

http://www.neftegaz.ru/english/lenta/show.php?id=38088

[DoctorZIn]

Jimmy Carter Sold out Iran

Iranianvoice ^ | 07/28/03 | Chuck Morse
Posted on 07/27/2003 11:51 PM PDT by freedom44
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/953667/posts

[DoctorZIn]

Iran Denies Khatami's Belgium Visit Cancelled

July 28, 2003
Middle East Online
middle-east-online.com

TEHRAN - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has not cancelled a planned visit to Belgium despite press reports last week, the foreign ministry said Monday.

Last Thursday, the government newspaper Iran, citing "well-informed sources", said Khatami had pulled out of the trip, linking the decision to European pressure on Iran's nuclear programme and human rights.

But foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi, quoted by the official news agency IRNA, dismissed the report as "totally unfounded" and said the date of the president's visit had not yet been fixed.

On July 11, Belgium's state radio RTBF said Khatami was to visit Belgium to receive an honorary doctorate from the university of Liege, probably in the autumn.

Iran has rejected all "conditions or threats" attached to its negotiations with the EU.

European Union foreign ministers last week expressed "increasing concern" over Tehran's nuclear programme and warned the EU would review relations with Iran unless it cooperated fully with the UN's nuclear watchdog agency.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=6559

[DoctorZIn]

I read this today and thought you might find it interesting reading. It is a response from a young Iranian to a supporter of the mullahs of Iran. It is passionate but illustrates the frustration of the Iranian youth with the mullahs.

"I have read your tirades over the past few weeks and have wanted to contact you for some time now. As your last name clearly states... you are not up to speed with the wants and desires of the average Iranian. The youth of my generation want nothing to do with Islam. This is something your masters in Qom & Tehran are starting to come to grips with, and it is sending shivers up and down their spines. Why do you think they are clamping down even harder these days? They know their days are numbered, so they will take as many people down with them as possible. The "Tazi" are on the way out and there is nothing you can say or write that will legitimise their form of government for Iranians.

Secularism is not a bad concept... It is something you Islamists fear, and as a result you attempt to tarnish its image. This concept does work in everyday life, and the civilised western world can testify to its effectiveness. Islam as a form of governance, on the other hand, brings nothing but misery to its citizenry. As your mentor/idol Khomeini stated in 1979 "There is no room for laughter in Islam". Can you name one "Islamic" state that is progressive? I will save you time and some mental calories: The clear answer is NO. Trying to mix Islam with either progressiveness, tolerance, or equality is virtually like attempting to mix oil with water -- rather impossible! Islamic ideology is based on a cult of nomadic killers pillaging through the desert on horse and camel like pirates. What peace does Islam preach? Is it exercised in our world? I implore you to show me so me concrete examples! All Islam does is try to exterminate any non-believer, or infidel as your kind likes to say. I will give you one clear example: When that cult of killers reached Iran, what did those disgusting nomads say to my forefathers as their necks lay idle over a sharp sword? Do you know? If not I will refresh your memory: "If you do not renounce your religion and beliefs system with a 'Lah Allah al Allah', we will sever your neck." This is exactly what is going today in Iran, not to mention in all Islamic countries.

As our glorious history has shown before, we will kick out the Arabs out of "Iran Zamin" once again! Iranians will be the sole architects of our future, not some "Ali Baba" (That is what the residents of Baghdad refer to the thieves pillaging the capital) sitting atop a "mambar".

Once again, your Islam is good only for mullahs."

[DoctorZIn]

This Thread is Now Closed.

Join Us at the Iranian Alert -- DAY 50 -- LIVE THREAD PING LIST

Live Thread Ping List | 7.29.2003 | DoctorZin

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