Khatami Strikes at Hardliners

Rooz Online:

In his harshest words ever, former president Mohammad Khatami, directed an attack on Iran’s hardliners and said they were providing excuses for foreigners to attack Iran.

After Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected Iran’s new president, Khatami had warned of organized and Taliban-like forces that were attempting to take the reign of power in Iran. He had expressly stated that these violent and hardline forces had a dogmatic and regressive ideology similar to that of Bin Laden and Afghanistan’s Taliban. READ MORE

Upon his departure to attend the first seminar on “Dialogue Among Civilizations and Cultures,” Khatami also said that many of Iran’s intellectuals had become over-infatuated with the West and so had not fully grasped the West and its culture. He also acknowledged that at the same time, there was a powerful, influential and traditional force in the country which sought to deny the ideology of modernity and the West. These elements distort the realities of Western societies and work to promote hatred against them by inciting public emotions. Khatami stressed that this view may originate from the assumption that democracy, pursuit of freedom and development may harm the revolutionary fervour and goals of our society. These forces try to take the initiative from Taliban-like views and damage the essence of the Islamic Republic, while insisting on violence and radical measures against those promote ideas contrary to theirs.

Khatami said that these groups should not forget the fact that by resorting to such harsh and violent measures they would not only replace Bin laden and Taliban in their thoughts but would also end up where Bin Laden and the Taliban have ended. Their attitude will distance them from Iran and the Islamic ideology, which can also destroy the nation and the Islamic Republic’s image, while also providing better justification to our enemies to attack Iran and Islam.

He also said that the secret of success for dialogue among civilizations is the clear message of understanding that it sends around the globe. He added that the idea of dialogue among civilizations is taken from a context that is not only Iranian and Islamic but it is something that is also present in other Eastern cultures.

Political observers believe that due to the negative implications of Ahmadinejad’s recent comments against Israel, recent developments in its foreign policy, and the upcoming meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors, Khatami’s unprecedented words carry significant importance in Iran’s politics.