In a speech marking the anniversary of the deaths of the Prophet Muhammad, the Imam Hassan, and the Imam Reza, Hujat Al-Eslam 'Ali Akbar Mokhtashemi-Pour, director-general of the Iranian Committee for Supporting the Intifada in Palestine and the Tehran representative in the Iranian Majlis, explained that the world is divided into moral and immoral societies. Zionism, he said, is a model of a "Jahiliyya" society that must be fought against. He also railed against Muslim indifference in regard to Israel and reiterated the words of Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini on the need to destroy it. The following is a summary of his address: [1]
'The Koran Divides Human Society into Two Groups – Civilized and Jahiliyya'
Mokhtashemi-Pour began his speech with the story of Moses, saying that Moses rebelled against Pharaoh because Egyptian society was racist and discriminatory, and was divided into two classes – those who took Judaism upon themselves and the Copts [sic]. [2] He continued by saying that the Prophet Muhammad was sent to replace the values of "Bedouin" society (meaning backwards), saying: "You are all the offspring of Adam, and he too is a creature of dust. Arabs and Persians [i.e. non-Arabs], blacks and whites, you are all equal." He continued, "The Prophet presented to society the most supreme criteria, and instructed: 'The most supreme standard for [assessing] human beings is the extent of their belief in God, not their race or their color.'"
Mokhtashemi-Pour said, "The Koran divides [human] society into two groups: one is the civilized or urban societies, [and the other] is the Bedouin or Jahiliyya societies. Throughout history, the civilized societies maintained trade relations and dialogue with the other tribes. In contrast, the Bedouin societies engaged in bloodshed, war, massacres, and looting."
Mokhtashemi-Pour further noted that "massacres, war, bloodshed, and looting are the most important characteristics of the Bedouin and Jahiliyya societies… Racist discrimination and massacres are [also] common in contemporary societies." He added that Zionism was an example of such a society: "Zionism, known as racism, is supported and reinforced by America and is an example of life in a Jahiliyya society. Discriminatory racist regimes everywhere in the world are a sign of Bedouin and Jahiliyya life."
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'The Palestinian People Lived on This Land Before Jacob and the Children of Israel'
Mokhtashemi-Pour criticized what he called Muslim and Arab indifference regarding the Palestinian question, and reiterated what the Imam Ayatollah Khomeini had said: "If every Muslim in the world poured one bucket of water in the direction of Israel, Israel would drown…" He continued: "Some leaders say that the war in Palestine is between Palestine and Israel, and has nothing to do with us [Iranians]. This is a sign of indifference towards Palestine, [and] this indifference is the greatest repression of our obligation to Jerusalem, the first qibla [direction of prayer] of the Muslims and the only land blessed by the Koran.
"All the prophets emerged on this land, and it is supreme and the most preferred on earth. The Palestinian people lived on this land before Jacob and the Children of Israel. The peoples of the world, particularly the Muslims, are responsible for the Palestinian cause.
"If the Imam [Khomeini] were alive today, he would make the U.S. and Sharon regret their deeds. The imam who spoke in Najaf said that Pharaoh feared a living Moses, not an inanimate cleric who does nothing. We today are not living; we are moving puppets – if we were living, Israel would not have the courage to do this to the Palestinians [i.e. assassinate Hamas leaders]…" [3]
[1] http://khabarnameh.gooya.com/politics/archives/009109.php, April 19, 2004. The Imam Hassan and the Imam Reza are two of the 12 imams revered by the Iranian Shiites. The Prophet Muhammad and the Imam Hassan died on the 28th of the Islamic month of Safar, and the Imam Reza died on the 29th; Jahiliyya is the pre-Islamic period, which was, according to the Islam, a time of great backwardness.
[2] The word actually used by Makhtashemi-Pour was "Sabbath-observers," referring to Jews in a derogatory way.
[3] The "imam who spoke in Najaf" appears to be Ayatollah Khomeini.
