Syed Javed Hussain
When The International Atomic Energy Agency had decided to report Iran to the Security Council on Feb. 4, 2006 a day later on the 6th of Muharram, as the whole nation was commemorating the death of Imam Hussain (AS), grandson of Holy Prophet PBUH and was fired by the sense of right and wrong, Iran ended snap UN checks of its nuclear sites and resumed uranium enrichment.
That was rolling back to all voluntary measures (additional protocol) it had under-taken in the past three years to win the confidence of international community regarding its peaceful nuclear programme. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told a news conference, ‘We had two clear options. One was to decide to abandon our nuclear rights, the other to preserve our rights. We chose resistance.’
Iran’s austere President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad brushed off the decision as ‘funny’ and labelled his country’s enemies as ‘idiots.’ Challenging the West he said, ‘We don’t need you. It is you who need the Iranian people.’
Referring to the US and the European powers under the influence of
Judo- Christian lobbies in the West he said, ‘They are angry at the Islamic Republic, because the Iranian people have reached the summit of science and technology.’ And in a direct challenge to the West, he added: ‘You know you cannot do anything, because the era of domination and repression is over and we are no longer in the Middle Ages.’
This is how any proud nation should react when its legitimate right is being taken away by coercion, intimidation and bullying. This provides a food for thought to diplomats walking the tight rope on Iran ’s nuclear programme at the UN to consider fall-outs of any decision that is to hurt the legitimate right of a very proud, confident and resourceful nation. Iran has not changed its stance on its nuclear programme a bit. It needs not to.
Since the Middle Ages the Western powers have been interfering in the region to keep the people under check through their toadies as well as their active military presence and kept them away from knowledge, education and learning.
A sort of ‘counterculture’ was ingrained in the Islamic society that bread illiteracy, materialism, bigotry, intolerance and fanaticism. At a time when Europe’s drive was towards learning and experimenta-tion the Muslim world was being pushed towards sloth, indolence and servitude leading to ultimate infertility of mind and sprit devoid of all sense of living, being and existence. The result is the present day Nation-of-Islam.
Malaysia’s emerging economic strength, Pakistan’s going nuclear under geo-political compulsions, and Iran’s peaceful stride towards peaceful exploitation of the atom are small steps, however, they signify that Ummah is waking up from its deep, long and sluggish slumber: it cannot be pushed back to indignity, shame and ignominy of the past at the hands of its own despotic, tyrannical and repressive rulers in cahoots with corrupt, unethical, and unscrupulous Western powers.
Ummah has learnt its lessons the hard way: without erudition and
learning it cannot hope to protect its interests and build its future. There are More than 25 countries, from Argentina to Ukraine spanning across all the continents of the globe, which enrich uranium without anyone making a fuss about them. So why this much fuss on Iran ’s enrichment of uranium for nuclear fuel?
In fact the US has been dishonest with Iran as well its European partners on the question of Iran ’s access to nuclear power. It has not taken most of the European powers into confidence regarding the real issue behind its row with Iran : the problem is not Uranium Enrichment but the nature of the Iranian regime. Fanatic Christian zealot, as George W Bush is, he cannot live with the Islamic regime in Iran and must turn Iran into a secular country as it was prior to 1979 Islamic revolution of Imam Khomeini.
He believes in the secular Iran but distrusts the Islamic Iran. In fact the issue at hand is not the safety and security of the world peace that Iran might endanger; it is personal psychological problem of G W Bush that he needs to sort out with the help of some good doctors so that, paranoid and distraught, he should not push the world into yet another chaos.
Thankfully the American nation has clipped his wings and has soured his teeth as through his acts of omissions of commissions he had proved himself to be the Hitler of Germany and Osama bin Laden of Christianity.
On legal and moral grounds the US and its toadies in the West have no case against Iran . Whatever Iran is doing in pursuit of nuclear energy is covered by the NPT whose pioneer signatory is Iran itself. No proof can be cited against Iran regarding its peaceful intentions regionally and internationally whereas through its responsible behaviour Iran has also proved itself to be an enlightened nation lead by the most responsible regime bringing forth, may be for the first time in modern Islamic history, the true colours of an Islamic democratic welfare State.
However, there is a problem area: Western duplicity and unchristian
morality on certain issues. Israel is given the right to protect itself implying all means of destruction whereas its opponents are not given the right to existence. Independence , sovereignty, integrity and social justice is granted to people all over the world regardless of cast, colour or creed but it is denied to Palestinians on behest of Israel in the region.
Sovereignty of a country is inviolable right of any nation; however, it is ignored when violation is committed by Israel on Lebanon and Syria. When Israel threatens Iran with air strikes on latter’s nuclear and military sites there is no hue and cry, however, when Iran demands justification for Israel’s illegitimate existence in the heartland of Islam, this is illegal and objectionable.
Mr Bush and his acolytes in the West need to get rid of their blinders on Iran and make room for a chance to build bridges between Eastern and Western civilisations to benefit humanity: This is high time humanity got the best of both the worlds.
Information
Iran’s austere President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad brushed off the decision as ‘funny’ and labelled his country’s enemies as ‘idiots.’ Challenging the West he said, ‘We don’t need you. It is you who need the Iranian people.’
First appeared in Pakistan Observer on November 21, 2006