Irandaily | No. 4331 | National

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Clerics, Theological Students Protest Defamatory Film

A large number of clerics and students of theological schools in the central city of Qom held gathering to protest the recent US-made anti-Islam movie which insults Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
Addressing the protest gathering, senior cleric Ahmad Khatami underlined the role of the US and its Zionist puppets in the production of the movie.
Scholars think the production and also the screening of the film at the 9/11 anniversary is the result of an alliance between the US and the Zionist regime against Islam.
The film, reportedly funded by Zionist donors, has sparked outrage across the Muslim world.
US embassies were targeted in many countries and Muslim leaders all over the world condemned the movie as an attempt to sow discord between Muslims and Christians.

Muslims’ Wrath
Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has also denounced the movie, warning that the US and the West will burn in the fire of the Muslims’ wrath if they fail to act properly regarding the film.
“The West and the US should know that they will burn in the fire of the Muslims’ hatred if they do not make a right decision,” Larijani said in an address to a Majlis open session on Sunday.
He added that instead of calling on the Muslims to exercise restraint, the officials of the United Nations should defend the Muslims.
In a statement on Thursday, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the blasphemous film, calling for calm and restraint.
He stressed that at this time of tensions, there is a need for ‘dialogue, mutual respect and understanding’.
Larijani further said that the US and the West should know that they will not be competent for world management through such behavior and diminished rationality.
He underlined that the sacrilegious film aims to insult revered Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and questioned Washington’s refusal to punish those responsible for its production.
Larijani urged the US and the West to ‘open their eyes’ and emphasized that they cannot stop the wrath of the Muslims through threats.
The Iranian parliament speaker called on international bodies to take a stance and act on the unwise move that has sparked anger among Muslims.
The fury of the Muslim nations over the movie continues in the world with angry protests held in many Islamic countries.

Majlis Minorities’ Representatives’ Statement
Representatives of religious minorities in the Majlis issued a statement Sunday condemning the anti-Islam move, calling it an imperialist-Zionist-backed plot against the divine faith.
The statement was read at the parliament by member of Majlis Presiding Board Ali-Reza Monadi.
“We believe that insulting a divine religion is an insult to all divine faiths,” the MPs said in the statement.
They said that the anti-Islam film has hurt the sentiments of world Muslims.

Guardian Council’s Condemnation
Guardian Council also denounced the act and called on international organizations to take firm measures in response to such blasphemous acts.
On Saturday, the Guardian Council issued a statement saying the production of the anti-Islam film could not be an independent move.
“Just as we saw during the burning of the Holy Qur’an, the US government not only did not take action against the extremist ministers who insulted the Holy Qur’an but indirectly supported them,” the statement read.
“The Guardian Council condemns this offensive action and calls on responsible organizations and advocates of human rights in the international arena, the UN, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to take firm and swift measures against these anti-humanitarian moves.”

Freedom of Speech No Excuse for Insults
A prominent analyst said western attempts to justify the production of the anti-Islam movie by citing the much-propagated mantra of ‘freedom of speech’ are deceptive.
“Western mainstream media try to deceive public opinion and interpret the making of the film in the light of freedom of speech. Hurting the sentiments of over one billion Muslims across the world does not fit in the definition of freedom of speech,” author and Middle East expert Dr. Ismail Salami said in an article published on the Press TV website.
The blasphemous 2012 movie, called Innocence of Muslims, has purportedly been produced by an anti-Islam Israeli-American.
The $5 million film, funded by Zionist donors, has sparked outrage across the Muslim world.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried to distance her administration from the movie on Thursday, but said freedom of speech is an ideal that Washington upholds even when the results denigrate some.
“[O]ur country does have a long tradition of free expression, which is enshrined in our Constitution and in our law. We do not stop individual citizens from expressing their views no matter how distasteful they may be,” Clinton said.
Salami said Terry Jones, an anti-Islam US pastor who set fire to copies of the Holy Qur’an last year and who promoted the movie on September 11, is the most likely suspect in the production of the film.
“Though the real identity of the director has remained unknown, there are good reasons to believe that such a person does not exist and that the film may have been made by the pastor himself as it is devoid of any cinematic technicality and that those involved in the film are a bunch of paid hate-mongers in service of Zionism.”
He added, “Spearheaded by calculated directives, Terry Jones is not a lunatic in the common sense of the word. Nor is he a sociopath. In fact, he is a trained Mossad agent tasked with pushing ahead a dangerous agenda in the Muslim world.”
Salami stated that the ‘firebrand American pastor’, whose provocations have led to a number of deaths, is closely connected to the English Defense League (EDL), an anti-Islam group funded by the Zionist Jews and Christians in the UK.
“The group has over the recent years developed multiple sister branches in Europe and America. With their main agenda to foster enmity against the Muslim community in any part of the world, the EDL naturally spares no efforts in their hate-mongering campaign, defiling the name of Islam and inviting their members to crusade against the Muslims.”
Anders Behring Breivik, who went on a shooting spree and killed 77 people in Norway last year, was ‘one of the wicked spawns of this pervert group’, Salami noted, going on to ask, “Is there not a sinister across-the-board plan in the offing?”

World Urged to Fulfill Duty To Refugees

UN Official Lauds Iran’s Help to Afghans

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on the people across the world to fulfill their human duty towards refugees, expressing hope that a new world order would establish justice in which no refugees would exist.
“I hope that all those displaced will return home with reforms dominating world order and with the establishment of justice and that we will witness the displacement of no individual,” President Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres in Tehran on Saturday.
He added that the UN refugee agency is among the exceptional international organizations which act independently from the policies of the hegemonic system.
He noted that displacement is imposed on humans and communities as a result of regional and international policies.
Guterres, for his part, said the Islamic Republic had a praiseworthy performance in sheltering Afghan refugees over the past 30 years and urged the international community to provide Iran with more effective assistance.
Iran has been hosting Afghan refugees for 32 years but has received little international support. Voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees from Iran has been slow in recent years in the face of poor security and economic conditions in Afghanistan, which Tehran blames on the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.
There are currently over 800,000 Afghans and over 45,000 refugees of other nationalities living in Iran.

Calls for UNHCR Help
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called on the UN refugee agency on Saturday to prepare the ground for providing necessary facilities and welfare for the dignified repatriation of refugees.
In a meeting with Guterres, the Iranian minister said Tehran expects the UN body to support the Islamic Republic’s positive measures in providing better services to refugees in the country.
If legal measures are adopted to identify and support refugees and they are assured of support, Iran is ready to cooperate with the UN refugee agency in achieving its objectives, Salehi added.
Guterres, for his part, lauded the unsparing efforts made by Iran in hosting millions of foreign refugees during the past decades, saying that Iran is hosting the second largest population of refugees in the world.
He further added that the refugees residing in Iran enjoy suitable welfare, sanitary services and educational facilities.

Praise for Hosting Afghan Refugees
Also in a joint press conference with Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar in Tehran, Guterres praised the Islamic Republic of Iran for hosting Afghan refugees.
“My very deep appreciation and gratitude for what has always been a very generous refugee policy in Iran anchored in the best of Iranian hospitality and Islamic tradition,” Guterres said on Saturday.
The UN official admitted that the support of the international community for the Afghans repatriation program has been ‘limited’ and added that security problems as well as the lack of economic opportunities have prevented Afghan refugees from returning to their country.
Mohammad-Najjar, for his part, said that the UN along with the international community must assist the reconstruction of Afghanistan to create a safe environment so that the refugees can return to their homeland willingly.
“The problem is that the countries which claim to support human rights are also the same countries that have caused these Afghan refugees to flee their country,” the minister said, adding, “These countries have to take responsibility and help to provide a safe environment for these refugees to return to Afghanistan.”

IRGC Fully Ready to Confront Threats

From Page 1
“The US has many vulnerabilities around Iran, and its bases are within the range of the Guards’ missiles. We have other capabilities as well, particularly when it comes to the support of Muslims for the Islamic Republic,” he said.
He added that Tehran believed Israel was unsuccessfully trying to push the United States to take part in military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities. “I do not think the attack would be carried out without US permission.”
However if Israeli jets or missiles did strike Iran, ‘nothing of Israel will be left, considering its size’, he warned.
“I do not think any part of Israel will remain untouched given our missile capabilities. Thus, our response is in itself a deterrent.”
Jafari said that his personal opinion was that, in case of an attack, Iran would leave the NPT which is meant to prevent states developing nuclear weapons while permitting atomic energy generation.
‘In case of an attack, Iran’s obligations will change. My assessment is that Iran may leave the NPT--but it would not mean a dash towards a nuclear bomb because we have a religious edict from the Supreme Leader’ against atomic weapons, he said.

Military Achievements
Regarding IRGC’s latest achievements in missile technology, Jafari said the force has increased the targeting precision of its Zelzal missiles.
“These missiles which have been produced around 15 to 20 years ago can fly a range of approximately 300km. These rockets did not enjoy proper precision in targeting, but after a recent project, their precision has been increased and their margin of error has been lowered to less than 50 meters,” the commander explained.

Counselors In Syria, Lebanon
Elsewhere in his remarks, the commander touched upon the situation in Syria. He said elite special operations unit, the Quds Force, are present in Syria and Lebanon but only to provide counsel.
“A number of Quds Force members are present in Syria and Lebanon... we provide (these countries) with counsel and advice, and transfer experience to them,” Jafari told the press conference.
“But it does not mean that we have a military presence there,” he said.
Iran is ‘proud of defending Syria, a member of the (anti-Israeli) resistance’, Jafari said, ‘by providing them with experience while other countries are not shy of supporting terrorist groups’, he added.
Iran says Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are arming the opposition rebels in Syria, in collusion with the United States and Israeli regime, to overthrow the Syrian government.

Killing of Diplomats Unjustified
Asked about the death of the US ambassador in Libya during an attack on Washington’s diplomatic mission after the release of a US-made anti-Islam movie, the commander said, “The blasphemy did not warrant the killing, but Muslims’ sentiments were hurt (by the sacrilegious film) and the only thing they could do was to take their protest to the embassies.”
US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other American diplomats were killed on Tuesday when rocket-propelled grenades were fired on the US consulate in an eastern Libyan city.
The incident took place while a group of people held a demonstration against an anti-Islam movie produced in the United States.

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