these are parts of the islamic establishment. they all belong to be islamic establishment. of course that have different opinions. there are lines in it projects that differ from one another, but they all belong to the islamic establishment. this competition was made within the establishment. it was not a competition between inside and outside this establishment. zionist radio and some media in the u.k. and in the u.s. have been trying to say otherwise, that this has been a competition from inside and outside the establishment. that's not true. it's been a competition within the establishment. i know them very closely. i know them all. i note they are stating their case very well. i am familiar with their personal traits. i've worked with all of them closely. i know them well. of course. i do not approve of all of their viewpoints, not all of their viewpoints do i approve of. some of their attitudes and approaches could be criticized, without a doubt. some of them i consider more appropriate to serve than others. but it has been upon the people to decide. that is what happe

[chanting] in the islamic republic too year after the islamic revolution, of 1979, there is no other president like any election like the one the last friday. a turnout of almost 85%, that means almost 40 million voters, you can see the role of the 12th i am m behind -- imm behind such incidents. this is a sign of god's blessing to us. it is necessary to mention from the bottom of my heart to address all you people across the nation. i feel humbled in your presence. our young generation, our young generation showed and proved understanding and insight. they are committed like the first generation of the revolution that they have the same commitment of the first generation of the revolution. the difference is during the revolution days in the heat of the revolution all hearts were excited and during the war they acted in a different way. these days, this understanding, this insight that you can see, you can see the change in feeling and fervur and enthusiasm in our youth these days. this is nothing to be ignored. this must be reckoned with. of course there are differences in taste. so

this is favored by the islamic establishment. i should add the point that such talks and debates should not lead to the point that results in the carrying grudges against one another. if it was the same way as it was that day, that was good, but if it is going to be turned into arguments, then gradually, it will bring grudge with itself and hard feelings. such debates should be conducted at different levels. they should continue by vomiting and putting aside those negative parts. they should continue. officials and individuals should know that they are being criticized and they should feel responsible to come up with their own answers and feel responsible towards the criticisms. if one individual is criticized at a time, this is considered an opportunity for him to enlighten people's minds and to reveal the facts and the truth. this is quite positive. this is devoid of the shortcomings i will mention shortly. if such debates during the year, if they continue in four years, during the time of an election when such debates are seei

islam is, not what it isn't. and i consider it part of my responsibility as president of the united states to fight against negative stereotypes of islam, wherever they appear. [applause] but, at that same principle must apply to muslim perceptions of america. just as-- [applause] just as muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, america is not the crude stereotype of the self-interest of empire. the united states has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. we were born out of revolution against an empire. we were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal. and we have shed blood and struggle for centuries to give meaning to those words, within our borders and around the world. we are shaped by every culture, drawn from every end of the earth, and dedicated to a simple concept, out of many, one. now much has been made of the fact that an african-american with the name of barack hussein obama could be elected president. [applause] but my personal story is not so unique. the

there is no inside and outside in the islamic establishment. that means everything is cleared for the whole nation. -- that means everything is clear. it turned out that the people's vote stems from the same contemplation. people's vote is not ceremonial in nature. the vote, the right of vote, does belong to the people. people want to have their own pick. this is what the televised debate indicated. for sure, one reason for an increased turnout, 10 million, compared to the previous election rounds has been the fact that people's thoughts and mentalities were involved. they came to the scene, and identify the person they wanted, and they voted. these televised debates -- they found their way into homes this strengthens people's right to choose. this helps them nurture their minds and their thoughts, and gives them a better decision making power, which is favored by the islamic establishment. i should add the point here that such talks and debate should not lead to the point that results in carrying a grudge against one another. if it was the sam

islam. quote, care's concern is understandable but its response is unreasonable. they went on to say, the group acts properly when it hammers home the point that only a small number of muslims support religiously motivated violence. and the targeted law abiding -- targeting law abiding muslims is wrong. where care errs is one who discusses islamic bigot and islamaphob. some of the most attacks have been to aim at other muslims who have differing views. a philadelphia inquiry piece, president of the american islamic forum for democracy, who has been critical of care, quote, was providing others to advance an agenda that is hostile to the american muslim community, end of quote. given care's genesis, its association for known terrorist entities and individuals and its tactics, namely, attempting to discredit anyone who dares to speak out against this organization, there are cries of victimization and accusations of religious bigotry appears disingenuous. and given the world we live in today, a

whether the islamic republic is first and foremost islamic or a republic. that issue played out in the campaign this year with ahmadinejad champ and championing the idea of the original vision, mir hossein mousavi arguing for practical state. in the latest statement, mir hossein mousavi tellingly warned that the large amount of cheating and of vote rigging has killed the idea that islam and republicanism are compatible. we need to be clear, neither the opposition leadership nor the demonstrators are rejecting the role of islam in the state the rallying cry is still god is great. they simply envision a different role for islam in the state. my final bottom line, where does that leave us? the regime has never been so vulnerable. the idea of a supreme leader, and unassailable political pope, faces a challenge of legitimacy, and there is no revolution in sight. three factors will determine the future. leadership, unity, and momentum. leadership is where the opposition is the most tolerable. there are still unanswered questions. can mir hossein mousavi lead this

for over 1000 years, this us stood as a beacon of islamic light. for over a century, cairo university has been a source of aesops advancement. together represent the common between position of progress. i thank you for your hospitality and the hospitality of the people of egypt. i am also proud to carry with me the good will of the american people and a greeting of peace to muslim committees in my country. [applause] we made at a time of great tension. that is between the united states and between muslims around the world. tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy. the relationship between islam and the west includes centuries of coexistence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. more recently tension has been fed by colonialism the denied rights and opportunities to many muslims. the cold war in which muslim majority countries were treated as proxies' without regard to their own aspirations. the sweeping change brought by globalization led many muslims to believe the west as hostile to the traditions of

in the islam and organization. if people did not feel free, they would never attend the voting stations -- confide in the islam organization. trust in the islamic organization was evident in this election, and i will tell you later on that the enemy is targeted this very trust of the people of the islamic establishment. they want this trust to be crushed. that is what the enemies want. this confidence is the greatest assets of the islamic establishment. they want to rip the islamic establishment of this trust. they wanted to create doubt. they want to cast doubt on this election. the coffins that people have in the establishment, they wanted to create panic among the people. -- they wanted to create panic among the people. -- they want to create panic. they know without confidence, there would be low turnout. when there is low turnout, then the legitimacy of the establishments would shake. that is what they are after. that is what the enemy once. that is what the enemy pursues. they wanted to take away your trust s

between islam and islamism. islam is, of course, a faith which has over an estimated worldwide following of over one billion people. islamism, however, according to mr. jasser, is, quote, he says, a coercive governmental and political construct that seeks to impose shahrya, islamic injuries prudence over society. in the publication, family security matters he says, it is religion -- they use the discourse of politics when they want to push forth their islamist agenda with the presumption of speaking for all muslims. they will delve into the political only on their own terms in both foreign and domestic policy, but when they are on the receiving end of political criticism they run for cover under the guise of victimization. a look at care's public posture shows that mr. jasser's observations ring true. in 1998 i authored the legislation that created the national commission on terrorism. that same year in care's own words from a press release it, quote, asked muslims to contact leaders of the house-senate conferen

these are muslims who are converting away from islam because there renouncing islam. an example of how muslims are leading islam and becoming followers of jesus christ by the millions. norm muslims, the more muslims have renounced islam and come to faith and jesus christ as the only way of salvation. in the past 30 years than in the last 14 centuries. [applause] and with that, more ex muslims will be celebrating easter, the death and resurrection of jesus christ of this year than at any other time in human history. [applause] and iran, more than 1 million muslims have converted and become followers of jesus christ since 1979. it in egypt there are more than 2.5 million followers of jesus christ. in pakistan there are more than 2.5 million followers of jesus christ. in sudan there are more than 5 million followers of jesus christ including 1 million who have just become followers since the year 2000. god loves the muslim people and he is drawing them back to himself. [applause] not every country has millions of muslims coming to christ. some it is thousands, some it is

[applause] islam has also been a part of america's story. the first country to recognize our story is morocco. they signed a treaty in 1796. our second president john adams wrote the united states has in itself no character against the loss, religion, tranquility of the muslims. american muslims have enriched the united states. they have a thought in our wars, served in our government, stood for civil-rights, started businesses, taught in our universities, excelled in our sports arenas, won nobel prizes, build our tallest building, and lit the olympic torch. when the first moslem america was elected to congress he took an oath to defend the constitution is in the same hole in dhahran that one of our founding fallers, thomas jefferson -- the same holy koran that one of our founding fathers, thomas jefferson, had in his library. [applause] i have known isislam on three continents. that experience? my conviction that a partnership between america and islam must be based on what it is not what it is not. i consider part of my responsibility as p

so attack islam is easy. just attack islam and your book will be everywhere. and we have to be very cautious of that. this is the fashion. it's very easy. i give you example to say well, islam is against modernity. you cannot modernize under islam. islam is violent. you created the infidel under islam. but go and study christianity. it's full of that, or judaism. even -- just remember in serbia how the christians killed the muslims under christianity. because some people say christianity is very specific. christ said when somebody slaps you, you give him -- and he was very -- there is no violence in christianity. no, go and study christianity and study the history of christianity. it's full of blood. the fight in europe. and judaism. you know, palestine, palestine people were killed because of the verse in the old testament, the promised land. so i would like to say and maybe people would not like that, we have to be just. we have to be fair. we have to be fair because this attack on islam only is unfair. and also unscientific. it's political. it's male coloni

in due time, the islamic world will have a military nuclear device. the headline from the press service from 2001, he said muslims should use nuclear weapons against israel. iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad, israel, he said should be -- must be wiped off the map. on april 14th, 2006, quote, like it or not, the zionist regime is headed towards annihilation. the zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm. a man, on june 2nd, 2008, now he became bolder in talking about the united states. this is just last year, june 2nd, 2008, mahmoud ahmadinejad said, quote, today the time for the fall of the satanic power of the united states has come. and a count down to the annihilation of the emperor of power and wealth has started, unquote. two days later, june 4th, 2008, mahmoud ahmadinejad he said to the muslim world, quote, get ready for a world minus the u.s., unquote. is this theology that makes iran so dangerous? because it's what's driving iranian foreign policy right now. it's what's driving iranian leaders to feverishl

in due time the islamic world will have a military nuclear device. had live from the iran press service, december 14th, 2001 he says muslims should use nuclear weapons against israel. iranian president ahmadinejad 2005, israel, he said, must be wiped off the map. mahmoud ahmadinejad april 14, 2006, quote, like it or not, the zionist regime is headed toward annihilation. the zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm. mahmoud ahmadinejad, june 2nd, 2008. not only speaking about the annihilation of israel, now he became bold and talking about the united states. this is just last year, june 2nd, 2008, mahmoud ahmadinejad said, quote, today the time for the fall of the satanic power of the united states has come. and the countdown to the annihilation of the emperor of power and wealth has started. and of quote. two days later, june 4, 2008, mahmoud ahmadinejad said to the muslim world, quote, get ready for negative the u.s., end of quote. is this eschatology, this end time theology that makes elon so dangerous? because it

their enmity to our islamic establishment, they are showing it. the most prominent is the government of britain. >> people are chanting down with >> i tell the brothers of hours to think of their responsibility it, they are responsible to god. they will be asked in the hereafter about their performance. i ask them to remember what the iman has recommended in his will. the law the source of reference for everyone. what is an election held for? what is the reason for holding an election? all the differences should be settled at the ballot boxes. that is what elections are for. ballot boxes determine what people want and don't want, not on the streets. [crowd chanting] >> if after every revolution or a every election, those who have lost votes, if they take to the streets, take their supporters to the streets and protest, and those who have secured the votes, if they also have their supporters on the streets, why on earth cooled elections then? -- then why on earth hold elections then? people are having their business in the street. they live their.

. -- an islamic form of government. 0.3 is that opposing factions have diverse views. -- point no. 3 as the opposing factions have diverse views. -- is the opposing factions have diverged views. afula engagements of normalized relations could actually threaten one of the pillars of the islamic revolution. the iranian political system is a breeding ground for fascism. this is because of the system of government. you have two parallel systems working side by side. you have a republican system of government were you have an executive, legislative and judicial branch. when the leader of the revolution cleared the islamic republic, he wanted a purely theocratic system, but he had to adhere to the democratic norms. he had to create a republican system along with the theocracy. with this system, the supreme leader is a most powerful person. he is not supremely powerful as he likes to believe. his powers are balanced and checked by other government institutions. for example, the president of iran is the second most powerful person. he commands the executive branch and he sets domestic policy

it is not islamic or anti- islamic, it is not for capitalism or socialism, nor any other ideology or about the historical squabbles before its birth, but it is about the sanctity, even more, the sovereignty of the ballot box. it may not succeed immediately, it may have ads and flows -- and sen flows, but let me assure you, it will not die. we will not let it die. a week later, the supreme leader of the islamic republic decided to stand erect as a dam in front of this movement, sanctioning theft of the ballot box and flagrant fraud, all in the name of islam. it was an ugly moment of disrespect for both god and man. it will not stand. the citizens of iran will not stand it. and at the end, he will not stand. rest assured the movement of 22nd o-- movement of the 22nd, already invested with the blood of my brief countryman, with support from and recorder of the globe, will not rest until it achieves unfettered democracy and human rights in iran. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you very much. we all of questions for you. we will start with the right. >> cnn. i have two questions

the islamic republic is the manner of defending humanity. we support the people of palestine, iraq, afghanistan. anywhere where people are being oppressed, we support them. and this is the sign that we are raising the flock of human rights. that believing in islam, that is raised in this country. we do not need any advice on human rights. that's what i wanted to say about the election. and finally, i want to address the 12 imam, shiite. [chanting] >> translator: we tell him that we are doing what we have to do, what we are obliged to do. and we have said what we have had to say. i have my own life. i have a handicap th handicappe. and i have a little good name that i hold that to you. i put this all on the line, and i am ready to sacrifice all i have for the cause of this revolution and the establishment. i am offering it all to you. we want you, to pray for us. everything in this country, the revolution belongs to you. disestablishment is yours. you are our supporter. we will continue the path with force, with full force. we ask you to supp

islam needed to reign supreme again and its days of being subrogated by the west needed to end and islam needed to rise to its former glory. this was exceedingly popular in egypt in the late 1920s and '30s and the ideology spread throughout the muslim world. it actually reached palestinian territories by the early to mid-1940s. and is now probably the largest islamist organization in the world. it is a dangerous organization in that it purports to be nonviolent but we also know that a lot of its splinter organizations and charities will continue to fund terrorist causes around the world. and there are a number of organizations here in the united states that call attention to the dangers of the muslim brotherhood. hudson had a event on this recently in washington. now, as far as hamas is concerned, it was founded by a man who was a paraplegic who worked with the muslim brotherhood in the 1960s in egypt. he came back to the territories in the '70s and created an organization. what's interesting about this it was a largely an organization of charity and nursery schools and all kinds of thin

the issues of women's equality are by no means an issue for islam. in turkey, bangladesh, indonesia, we have seen them elected woman to lead. the struggle for women'd quality continues for many aspects of american life and in countries around the world. i am convinced that our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons. [applause] our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity, men and women, to reach their full potential. i do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal. i respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. it should be their choice. that is what the united states will partner with any muslim majority country toemployment ta financing that helps people live their dreams. [applause] i want to discuss economic development and opportunity. i know that for many the face of globalization is contradictory. the internet and television can bring knowledge and information, but also a sense of sexuality and mindless violence into the home. trade can brin

it is not islamic or anti- islamic, it is not for capitalism or socialism, nor any other ideology or specific form of government. it cares little about the historical squabbles before its birth, but it is about the

it is not islamic or anti-islamic. it is not for capitalism or socialism, nor any other ideology or specific form of government. it cares little about historical squabbles before its birth, but it is about the sanctity, even more, the sovereignty of the ballot box. it may not succeed immediately. it may have ebbs and throws. but let me assure you, it will not die, because we will not let it die. a week later the supreme leader of the islamic republic decided to stand erect as a dam in front of this movement, sanctioning theft of the ballot box and flagrant fraud, all in the name of islam. it was an ugly moment of disrespect for both god and man . it was not stand. the citizens of iran will not stand it. and at the end, he will not stand. rest assured, the movement, there are invested with the blood of my brave countrymen, with energy and support will not stop until it achieves human rights in iran. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you very much, mr. las vegas. if you have any questions, please line up at the al

they want to keep pure islamic faith ready for us. the supreme leader is the man responsible for some of those important decisions that are made in regards to the country, particularly the foreign policy, in this specific case, the nuclear issue as well. and the president is the second in command, essentially. they don't have to like one another. in fact, the former president hasami, the sum prepare leader and he did not get along that well. the interesting thing is mr mr. hamanii -- i was in iran during the last round of elections, he doesn't necessarily like mr. ahmadinejad that much. nor does mr. ahmadinejad have that much respect for mr mr. khameni because he feels it should be led by someone who has more experience not by khameni who was pushed into that position. they're useful to each other. there is risks. i think he has used mr. ahmadinejad to push his rival back. host: tim in davenport, iowa, welcome. caller: i believe in the president's position. i hope he stands by his guns. second of all, i can't speak enough of the admir

it was an amalgamation to bring people united by one thing and one thing only and that was islam. >> host: and i suppose the obvious question is was that a sufficient basis for a state because in my own time in pakistan will let out at me was when you cross the indus river which essentially bisects pakistan north to south you transition between two civilizations rest of the indus you have central asia, the look of the people, even the bland taste of the food and go east of the indus and maybe you cross and go to islamic god and say nothing and lahore and you're in the subcontinent culture. the food is spicy, the colors are more vivid. does pakistan work? >> guest: it does work. i am not of the chicken little school that thinks pakistan is always on the verge of collapse. pakistan somehow i think has persevered negative 1971 civil war the dow was geographically unattainable to begin with. but i think pakistan works in so far as it moves ahead. it doesn't work -- it is still grappling with a single identity. you travel around pakistan and your right, the index does divide the civilizat

what i tend to say islam is the language, not the logic. and if you take that and apply it to pakistan, bin laden is one of a long line of cranky guys in caves hiding out in the hindu area. the difference between him and the mad mullah or any of the other guys going back to the mid-19th century he has the tools of globalization. he can beam his message in living rooms to the best by al-jazee al-jazeera. and it's in my cycle, it's the contagionon affect. radical groups have tried to take over local groups. it's been part and parcel of life in that part of that world for centuries. the different thing is now there's a contagion possibility which brings our response to the united states and other western powers. now, let me be very clear here i'm not saying intervention is bad. the alternative to intervery long is more 9/11s. we have have we have to get involved in this extremely radical but very small group that's opposed to the west. that's about how you do it. and doing it while make the local people your ally the vast amounts of my example

he is one of the main elements of the revolution, and the course of the islamic revolution, he has been one of the most active supporters of the revolution before the islamic revolution, and after the revolution he was one of the most effective political figures alongside the late imam. he has been alongside the leadership to date. several times on several occasions he nearly got assassinated. before the revolution, before they give away his belongings for the cause of the revolution, you must know this fact. after the revolution, he had different responsibilities. he had some other major positions. i do not know of one incident in which she accumulated -- he accumulated wealth. i don't know anything about that. these are the facts that everyone should know. the most sensitive. he was at the service of the revolution and the established -- the revolution. the numerous faces, we have different opinions with mr. rafsanjani. we should not create a misunderstanding for people. between him and the president, they have had no difference of opinion since the president came to office. they have

this is not the sort of stereotype country of medieval islam. it is a very complicated mixture in which nationalism plays a very important role in the sense of the imperial tradition plays a very important role and in the sense the country's own birth. it is also a country more than 80 years even longer than that for more than 80 years, almost 100 years heavily focused its own sense of internal change in western europe and its model specific to germany. german universities, german education and all of that has had very high standing major impact on iran, very much like turkey and the country with which most iranians have the contact is turkey. and every time they go to turkey the most notice some significant differences between turkey and themselves. so this is a much more complicated country than in the notion of a few crazy ayatollahs and nonet lunatic quote on quote president. it is a serious country in the midst of an extremist been shot but of which if tackled intelligently is bound to win if one can judge on the basis of its own socio-econ

it will shift gradually towards a real islamic republic. we will transfer and gradually going that direction. if that happens, that will be a very good move. the israelis will be happy with that because we will put controls in place to make sure the nuclear generation is really nuclear generation. the question becomes, why are we supporting hezbollah and hamas? in the election, israel is not an issue in iraq. it is not an issue in iran. the revolutionary guards are in much more powerful positions then we think. if that is the case, we are moving towards a dictatorship. we are moving into not a military dictatorship, but they dictatorship of thugs. the military is completely out. the past 72 hours, there have been military maneuvers. the army, the navy, the air force -- i have no idea what that means. the military is having maneuvers. if we're going to go towards a dictatorship of the thugs, that is very frightening for us and for israel. i do not know what israel is going to do. i think discipline is waiting. we do not know which direction

i have no doubt that given the position in the islamic world, pakistan taking the lead, going forward on the aspirations and goals of global zero, will find most of the other islamic countries following suit. and what pakistan stands for in this environment, becomes especially important. let me elaborate. we need to build a climate of trust in the region with india, china, afghanistan and the countries around, we need to build that up. we need to dismantle the hurdles that stand in the way of cooperation in the region. global zero aims to provide the opportunity and the impetus for us to achieve that regional harmony. >> on your first question about the relationship between a country wanting to take advantage of the civilian or commercial opportunities offered by nuclear power and why they should focus or care about u.s./russian arms reductions, i am going to ask ambassador pickering, who has dealt with this issue on several occasions. >> north korea is a special, difficult, important case for all of us. all i can tell you is in the past, north korea has agreed and has taken steps to

the islamic republic is defending humanity. we support the oppressed, pot palestine, iraq, afghanistan, and where people are being oppressed, we support them. this is a sign that we are raising the flag of human rights, believing in islam is race in this country. we do not need any advice on human rights. that is what i wanted to say about the election. finally, i want to address day -- the imam of the shiites. we tell him that we are doing what we have to do, what we are obliged to do. we have said what we have to say. i have my own life. i have a handicap to body -- handicapped body, and i have a good name, i owe that to you. i put this all on the line and i am ready to sacrifice all i have for the cause of this revolution and establishment. i am offering it all out to you. we want you to pray for us. everything in this country, this revolution belongs to you. this establishment is yours. you are our supporters. we will continue to have the full work force, we ask you to support us all along the way. they are ready to give th

government did a lot of hiring of people who knew something about islam and islamic fundamentalism in the transition from sort of the u.s. government focus on the cold war to, you know, islamic fundamentalism, we often forget that serious rifts have occurred throughout the history of the islamic republic of iran. we had nearly the entire senior level of the regime was almost decapitated by a series of bombings in june 1981. the leading figure was killed, the president mohamed was killed, the prime minister in these bombings. we forget that ayatollah khomeini dismissed a president, dismissed and ousted in 1980. we had in 1986 the famous merckty affair which was involving the u.s. overture to iran in the context of the iran-contra affair. in which there were many arrests of people close to centers of power. we had the removal of ayatollah month certificate ri as khomeini's designated success accesser in 1989. that seriously shook the regime. we had a serious rift over whether or not to end the iran/iraq war in 1987-'88 when iran was losing, and there were many senior figures that said,

we had eight years of islamic phobia and sanctions. we had talked about jihadist terrorists and islamic terrorists and so forth. in a sense, creating publicly a sense of an american perception of the world of islam dominated by these people and, in effect, putting in the same box the moderates and extremists. how would some other people feel in the case of ira activity in northern ireland, if we only spoke about papast terrorism, catholic terrorism, roman catholic papacy and so forth? my guess is that the 60 million americans in this country would find that offensive. it would not be helpful in isolating the ira. that is what he did. it was foolishness, stupidity, mindless. it goes further than that. our previous president, in his last state of the union message , confidently predicted that the struggle against terrorism would be the defining it ideological challenge of the 21st century. when he delivered that speech it was february 2008. would anyone in 1908 predict that the 20th century would be dominated by the rise of hitlerism and

on obama's speech and his language, he didn't talk about islamic terrorism. well, we had eight years of islamophobia sanctioned from the tom-down and heard constantly about jihadist terrorists, islamic taste risz, the caliphate and so forth and so forth and in a sense creating publicly a sense of an american perception of the world of islam, dominated by these people. and in effect, putting the same box, the moderates and the extremists. how would some other people feel if in the case of ira activity in northern ireland we only spoke about papist terrorism. catholic terrorism. roman catholic papacy as its on tiff and so forth? my guess is the 60 million americans in the country would find that offensive. and wouldn't be helpful. in isolating the ir. a and that is what we did. i think it was foolishness and stupidity and mindless. and it goes further than that. our previous president in his last state of the union message, his last stated of the union message, confidently predicted that the struggle against terrorism will be the defining ideological challenge

they started a series of suicide bombings on the government and set up a sort of islamic state in swat. so to get there and needed a sort of introduction and there was a local journalist who said he could supply. he had my article from urdo that i had about ghazi thailands' and he said he seems like he is objective, you can bring him in. so i showed up in swat and took a public bus from islamabad into swat and met my friend and about two hours later we were supposed to need one of these taliban honchos and it was about a 5-mile trippi from the city to the spot on the side of the road we were to meet and this is where i will read. we had been driving a few minutes when my friend's phone rang and someone said you should be careful there is a taliban checkpoint between where you are and where you are meeting this guy. so, five flatbed trucks blocked the road as many as 50 with black turbans shoulder length hair and long beards were packed on the back of each truck. the rocket launchers poked out of redirection. they looked like a frightening combination of livestock taken to slaughter in

he talks about the political unrest in iran and the islamic revolution. from the national press club, this is over one hour long. >> good morning. thank you very much for coming, welcome to the national press club. i am peter hickmon. i was never fortunate enough to be stationed in iran. buca. before introducing the speaker, some announcements -- there will be a sound files of this speaker made available through the website. people may purchase up to the broadcast operations center of the club, 202-262-7510. turn off any blackberries or cell phones, and tomorrow, the speaker is the secretary-general of the organization of the islamic conference. his topic is "u.s.-muslim world relations and the contributions to that." there is material on the table outside related to this newspaper. the newspaper, as you know, is the former crown prince of iran, the son of the late shah of iran. reza welcome back to the press club. we are very you could be here. i sent welcome back, because mr. pawlenty has spoken at the nbc -- because reza pahlavi has spoken to the npc a

islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. we see it in the history of the andalusia and cordova during the inquisition. i saw it firsthand as a child in indonesia where devout christians worship freely in an overwhelmingly muslim country. that is the spirit we need today. people in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind and the heart and the sole. this tolerance is essential for religion to thrive. but it's being challenged in many different ways. among some muslims, there's a disturbing tendency to measures ten in favor by the rejection of somebody else's faith. the richness of religious diversity must be upheld whether it is for maronites in lebanon or the copts in egypt. [applause] and if we are being honest, fault lines must be closed imam muslims as well as the divisions between sunnis and shia have lead to tragic violence, particularly in iraq. freedom of religion is central to the ability of people to live together. we must always examine the ways in which we p

before making their exit, the terrorists scattered leaflets ex pousing their support for the islamic group and calling for the release of rahman. one tourist was slit by the terrorist. on or about november 18, 1997, a statement issued in the name of an islamic group, tried to take prisoners of a large number of tourists to secure the release of the commander of the terrorist group. the statement continued, quote, the rush behavior and irresponsibility of government security forces with regard to tourists and civilians led to the high number of fatities. the statement also warned that the islamic group, quote, will continue its military operations as long as the regime does not respond to our demands. the statement lists the most important demands as, quote, the establishment of god's law, cutting relations with the zionist entity, israel and returning the sheik to his land. on october 13, 1999, a statement in the name of islamic group laider, yasir, who was a co-con spirit ator not named and said the united states, quote, hostile's strategy to the islamic movement would drive it to u

as in the story of islam. [applause] as in the story when moses, jesus and mohammed, peace be upon them. joined in prayer. the third source of tension is our shared interest in the rights and responsibilities of nations on nuclear weapons. this issue has been a source of tension between the united states and the islamic republic of iran. for many years iran has defined itself in part by opposition to my country. and there is a tumultous history between us. in the middle of the cold car, -- war, the united states played in a democratically let elected government and this history is well known. rather remained trap in the past, i made it clear to iran's leaders and people, that my country is prepared to move forward. the question now is not what iran is against, but rather what future it wants to build. i recognize it will be hard to overcome decades of mistrust. but we will proceed with courage, reckitude and resolve. there will be many issues to proceed on, and we will move forward on the basis of mutual respe

half of the history of the islamic tradition has been sunni not shiia. one of the interesting thing about the clerics is that the iranians choose their different readers. their chosen according to their own beliefs. -- they choose their different leaders. it is shiia orthodoxy to use religion as an instrument for state. at the beginning of the revolution the divisiveness was among the different ranks of clerics on the highest levels. one of your listeners alluded to a leader from the beginning of the revolution who was more highly ranked than ayatollah khamenei who came out against creating an islamic state. he said it would be the end of islam. he was harassed. his followers were arrested. this is interesting. everyone thinks that iran is monolithic. this is not true. part of the fight is to save religion from the state, in fact. host: let me make san this piece from "the new york times." it says one of the mysteries behind this week's demonstrations is who was cordoning them. some suspect of the hidden hand of the par for the position of the former pre

one is the islamic revolutionary guard corps, the irgc, as well as the regular army. the our cash and the irgc both have an army, navy and air force. they have overlapping missions there are other parts of the force structure, the intelligence services, the law enforcement forces and then within the islamic revolutionary guard corps, the code force which is used mainly for training and advising militias overseas. and then the militia which is also part of the irgc but is part of the 5 million are sometime it's only 10 million man army which will take up arms in case of invasion. but the main point here is that there are a number of overlapping missions. while this works very well as a way of coup proofing, it's definitely difficult as far as integration of the forces. and the different components are often competitive with one another especially over resources. so the question is what are these things being incorporated in the capabilities that one sees in iran? in some ways definitely yes certainly in the exercises and officiathe official statements o with that, and

there's a feeling like places like afghanistan or pakistan where there is a very strict form of islamic law practiced that these are very -- i mean, this is what i think a young iranian would say, you know, it's unfortunate that these are very backwards customs that are being imposed on men and women, of course. i would say there would be concern but i think young iranians are very much focused on their own lives. i think the society around theme is so often so chaotic and difficult to navigate that they very much turn inward in reaction to that and are just preoccupied to, you know, my job, my apartment. although they're very connected to the outside world, they're on the internet. they follow sort of mass entertainment culture around the world. they're very plugged in, i think that somehow politically they've somehow contracted and so apathetic about what they can do about politics that they might not -- you know, while they would be concerned about it they wouldn't be animated about it. >> isn't that very understandable because they can't do anything about politics? isn't it -- you s

does it want close ties with the west or does it want to be a leader of the islamic world?s is something very much still in the air, and i think iranians are very much frustrated because they are aware of what kind of government they want. they want accountable, effective government that upholds of rule of law. they want a better standard of living and they're impatient with a government that can't sort of itself out after all of these years. i'll end with one other anecdote because i was in iran in december, and when i first got there, everyone was just talking about the economy because inflation had just gone through the roof. inflation in iran is always high, but in the last few years, mahmoud ahmadinejad's economic policies have had the effect of really driving up inflation in a way that people's ordinary, daily quality of life has really been gouged. families that would regularly eat meat before are finding that's too expensive. families who have lived in a certain neighborhood all their lives are having to move because the rent has just gotten too expensive in that di