Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi is a member of Iran's Supreme Council for Cultural Revolution, and speaks on largely cultural issues such as Ayatollah Khomeini's ideas on exporting the Islamic revolution and defending against capitalist, Zionist, and Communist countries; the negative influence of Western ideology on segments of Iranian society such as the women's movement and Iranian intellectuals; and issues of religion and state and modernism in Islam. [1]
In a public address aired on Iranian Channel 1 on September 28, 2008, he discussed Catholic priests' pedophilia, and said that "nobody sees what the pope himself does in the Vatican" (to view this MEMRI TV clip, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2047.htm ).
In an address aired on Iran's Jaam-e Jam 3 TV on August 18, 2008, he said that the real American values are "sex, violence, and melancholy" (to view this MEMRI TV clip, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1856.htm ).
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"[The Pope Said] 'We're Sorry Our Priests Are Pedophiles'"... But Nobody Sees What [He] Himself Does In The Vatican"
Iranian Channel 1, September 28, 2008
Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi: "Imam [Khomeini] stated in his will that Iran must lead the global front in the struggle against America. It must not sit on the sidelines and say: 'Let's resolve our problems together.' The Imam never said to America: 'Let's resolve our problems together.' If anybody ever finds that the Imam ever uttered the words: 'America, let's resolve our problems together' - I will retract everything I just said. The Imam used to say: 'We should not resolve our problems with America.' We do not want to coexist with America. We want to combat America - not just America, but Zionism, England, and the leaders of global capitalism, who are exploiting the Muslims and the oppressed throughout the world.
[...]
"The corrupt Pope [Benedict XVI] went on a tour in order to cover up the homosexuality of his [Catholic] priests. As you know, he made a tour from America to Australia, saying: 'We are sorry that our priests are pedophiles and homosexuals.' You know, he actually went... He paid three billion dollars in compensation to families whose little children were abused by priests in churches. But nobody sees what the pope himself does in the Vatican. It's not clear who should apologize for the pope's deeds."
"Are [the American Values] Really Freedom and Democracy? The Values Of America Are Sex, Violence, And Melancholy"
Jaam-e Jam 3 TV, August 18, 2008
Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi: "The history of the civilization is, unfortunately, written by the victors. Let’s take as an example World War II, which took place in Europe. The Europeans call their wars 'world wars.'
[...]
"In all the books or films about that war, the characters are American. Let me remind you that America hardly had any casualties in that war. It entered the war only in its final stages, and joined [the victors]. In the many films about World War II, which you must have seen, the main characters are always American or English, and each of these characters kills 2,000 or 3,000 Germans singlehandedly. Eventually, he may be slightly injured, but with God’s grace, he quickly recovers. In addition, they produce hundreds or thousands of films about operations that never took place, heroic feats they never accomplished, and sacrifices they never made. They are highly skilled in this.
"When I was a little boy - it was before the [Islamic] revolution - we would watch such films, and we would always identify with the American character, who was the hero in the film. We would wish he would kill more of them, because we identified with him. Even when the Europeans made films about the Crusades, and the enemies were the Muslims, we would identify with the Crusaders. We would say: 'Kill those backward, barbaric Arabs.' Or we would say: 'Let the Crusaders kill as many Arabs as possible.' These films presented the perspective of the Crusaders and the Europeans.
[...]
"If the allies had not won World War II, but instead, it had been won by the Axis - Germany and Japan - [the roles] in all these films would have been reversed. You would have gotten a completely different picture of World War II. All the negative things said about Fascism and Nazism, and all the talk about a free world - it would all have been reversed. If the Communists had prevailed, the regime of liberal capitalism would have disappeared, and everything would have been recounted from a Communist perspective.
[...]
"What are American values - are they really freedom and democracy? The values of America are sex, violence, and melancholy. Those are the values of America."
Endnote:
[1] Rahimpour's website ; www.rahimpour.ir/ ; Fararu.com (Iran), July 14, 2007.
