The society, Iranian style

Once upon a time, an American discovers that the Western media news coverage of Iran is not reliable. He decides to make a journey to Iran in order to get to know the country from Inside. In the U.S., he had heard a lot about the influence of Islam on Iranian lifestyle and politics. So decides to start his field trip by visiting a large mosque in Tehran.

Stepping inside the mosque, he is surprised to see that there is no sign of any ritual prayer. Instead, people are sitting all around the area, eating chicken and rice. Obviously, it’s a feast of some sort…. The American is very surprised and starts a conversation with a young man who is standing in a corner.

American: “Excuse me…. What’s going on in here? I thought a mosque was a place for people to pray, but everyone’s eating here!”

Young man: “That’s true. But you don’t see much praying in here. If you wanna see people pray, you should go to Tehran University. They have large prayers, especially on Fridays.”

The American is now even more confused:

“at the university?! Isn’t that supposed to be a place for students, academics and intellectuals?”

Young man: “Yes, normally. But the students and intellectuals are all in prison nowadays, so….”

The American can’t believe what he’s hearing:

“In prison?! That’s the place for thieves and criminals, so where do you keep your criminals?!”

The young man looks at the American and shakes his head in disbelief: “who the hell do you think is running the country then?!”

Just a few days ago, senator Barack Obama did, in his quest for the US presidency, what every candidate is supposed to do: sucking up to the Israel lobby, AIPAC.

Here are some interesting statements that Obama made during his speech:



"Israel should preserve its identity as a Jewish"

"Jerusalem should remain undivided as the capital of Israel"

"Iran is the greatest threat to Israel, more than Iraq has even been"

"As an 11 year old, I understood the Zionist wish to live in own territories"

"I will ensure Israel’s military advantage in the region"

"I will always support the Israel right to defend itself in the UN"*

"I will isolate Hamas"

"The recent Israeli military action in Syria was justified"**

"We should never force Israel to negotiate with anyone"

"We will sanction Iran"

"I will keep the threat of military action against Iran on the table"

From a candidate who preaches change, these lines sound too absurd and too familiar

Yes, we can…. Go to hell!

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* Veto every resolution condemning Israel’s actions and policies against Palestinians.

** So how come that was justified and the war in Iraq wasn’t?