Ahmadinejad says Columbia University students and faculty Officially invited to Iran!

Today, University President Lee C. Bollinger challenged the President of Iran.

He questioned the freedom that people have in Iran and suggested that the Iranian President allow a delegation of students and faculty to come visit Iran.

Ahmadinejad was probably a bit shocked when he first heard the University professor challenge his positions so vehemently. Read my previous post!

Ahmadinejad rebuked Bollinger for starting a conversation with insults. He says he was probably affected by the press and the heightened state of unrest in society.

Ahmadinejad claimed this heated tension is unnecessary.

The president of Iran started his comments by talking about noble universal concepts like finding light in darkness - that scholars, both religious and scientific, are torches to guide people to the light. He emphasized the need to focus on education and dialog - communication  and openness.

Ahmadinejad went on to quote from the Quran about the story of Adam, the Angels, and seeking knowledge. The Angels prostrated before Adam when they realized he was given knowledge they did not have.

He mentioned Moses and how he was taught wisdom. His inclusion of Moses was a sign of respect to the Children of Israel. It seemed strange to me to hear him bring out this point, but it was clearly a message to those paying attention. It suggested he does not have an enmity towards Jews, but he still maintains his position against Zionists.   

Ahmadinejad challenged the US in their moral superiority. He reminded the audience that Saddam Hussein was funded by the government of the United States against Iran for 8 years. Due to this, Iran has lost many people and been devastated through sanctions and embargoes for years.

The people of Iran want self-determination. Iran as a country. Nuclear Determination is the issue?

On the question of visiting ground zero, Ahmedinejad suggested it was nothing but a sign of respect to visit the site of the devastation. He continued to say that Iran was the first of many nations to condemn
terrorism. Even Pat Buchanan agreed that Ahmadinejad should have been allowed to visit Ground Zero.

As to the challenge by University of Columbia President to visit Iran...?

You are officially invited.

Welcome to Iran !

Ahmadinejad says Columbia University students and faculty are Officially invited to Iran!

Will the faculty and students of Columbia  University have a better time in Iran than the "detained" British Military did recently? The British Military claimed to have a great time in Iran!

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Saleem Siddiqui is a Political Commentator, Public Speaker, Actor and Consultant. He is a trained Mediation and Conflict Resolution Specialist. He conducts sermons and training for various religious and Nonprofit organizations. Working with effort to increase Muslim and Islamic awareness in Communications, Public Relations (PR), Public Speaking, Political Strategy, Media, Marketing, and many  other fields as they relate to the integration of Muslims in the United States of America and around the world.

Saleem Siddiqui has undergrad degrees in Arabic and religion from the Middle East and attended Law School in Houston,Texas. He has consulted with the FBI and testified on behalf of the District Attorney of Virginia on cases relating to National Security and “The War on Terror”.

Comments

[Ron]

Bollinger disgraced Columbia University and the United States with his shameful treatment of an invited guest to his educational institution. Unless I was seeing a different reality on my television than everyone else, I was impressed with Ahmadinejad's patience and intellectual ability to deliver a thoughtful presentation to a university audience on the subject of learning and scientific study.
Considering the circumstances, I also thought Ahmadinejad responded very well to the open questions clearly meant to belittle him and his country.

From his comments I understand he never denied the holocaust but that he wanted to pursue scholarly investigations into aspects of the historical data so he could understand why Palestine (that had nothing to do with the holocaust) was made to pay such horrendous costs for the creation of Israel after the World War ll. If Israel had been created in New York, would the displaced New Yorkers react any differently than the Palestinians.

Baring in mind the Iranian history and culture stretches back for thousands of years, it is difficult to question how Iranians run their society or treat their women. With a very short track record in social development (less than 250 years), the USA should be slower to criticize other peoples. The way the USA treats it friends, neighbors, allies and the global community, it wouldn't know freedom if it bit them in the ass. Freedom means freedom for everyone - not just Americans. If the USA does not modify it's monopolistic and righteous attitudes it's very doubtful it will ever endure as long as Iran.

The Columbia University audience thought Ahmadinejad's denial of a homosexual problem was quite absurd and humorous. Being relatively young they fail to consider that the USA had the same attitude less than 30 years ago (before the gay community came out of the closet). In fact, less than ten years ago the military strongly denied they had any gays in their ranks.

BTW: I'm not a Muslin or an Arab and I don't believe Iran has weapons of mass destruction. You must ask yourself if Iran ever created an atomic bomb, could it ever risk using it?

[Jeff]

So -- what exactly did Ahmadinejad have to say about accusations of human rights violations, other than that there are no homosexuals in Iran? Anything at all?