Inter-Faith Relationships - Islam - The Presidential Election - Iranian Bloggers

The New Year celebrations is over. It is back to reality. I personally dread it but I am still very hopeful beyond words despite all the challenges at hand.

As I saw this ITN clip on the celebrations in Dubai, I knew that things were going to be OK. Dubai is in trouble, but it seems as if it has not lost its' luster, yet. There is of course the continued state of Flux in Iran that I have written on here and I think that for the first time there may well be light at the end of the tunnel. I believe that the regime still has a lot of fight in it and will not give in. Unfortunately, people will die. I view Moussavi's statement as quite significant. He has drawn a line in the sand and reminded the gang currently in charge of Khomeini's admonition that, "...as you kill us, we will grow stronger...". I have also been listening to Hashemi Rafsanjani's interview with France24. He deftly avoided the question on the domestic political turmoil. This is as the Official State Organs and the so called principlaists within the regime continue their cold war campaign against him and his family. Rafsanjani figures prominently in another prominent list of those who have profited handsomely from the Islamic Republic. Rafsanjani is reportedly worth around a Billion Dollars. That's Billion with a B!!!!

In the same "honor role" there is one more name that I wrote about a while back: Motjaba Khameini. He is the son of the Supreme Leader who had supposed designs to succeed his father. This is to introduce him to the world:

The "Crown Prince"

There are many others. I wonder how they can sleep at night knowing how they have stolen the billions that they have stolen in the name of Islam and have been the culprits behind such action:

Why?!??!?

Beyond that, there is of course Yemen. The US and the UK are talking about helping Yemen and Somalia. I wonder if throwing money at the problem is going to solve the problem. The only thing that the first decade taught us was that the old way of doing business simply will not work. Whether policy makers will actually understand and embrace this remains to be seen.

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January 3rd 2010 @ 05:09

Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: Hamid Karzai, Taliban, Al Qaeda, NATO, Christianity, Inter-Faith Relationships, Islam, Iran, Economics, Politics, Ahmadinejad, Khameini, The Presidential Election, Iranian Bloggers

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President Obama is Speaking in Cairo

: A Lot to think about....

President Obama is right now speaking at Cairo University. Before he began his speech, he spent a few hours at Sultan Hassan Mosque, one of the centers of teaching in the Moslem World. He reached out to all and underscored America's committment to move forward. He noted that Violence is a dead end.

I thought his straight forward approach to Iran was something that should be embraced by Iranians. I welcome his strong reaffirmtion to a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine. The last key point I view is his reaffirmation to human rights and democracy. This was especailly poignant in Egypt today. He is also reminding the world about Islam's tradition of tolerance and how things are changing. That's also indeed a distrubing trend for all who advocate an intolreance that is simply wrong. I also regard his call for equal rights for women as crucial for some of more distrubing trends seen throughout the Muslim World.

The simple fact is that dialogue is better than violence. I think that the President is absolutely right when he noted that "Violence is a dead End". The key is to create the hope and opportunity that would take away the need to turn to violence. I think that the speech realizes this fact. A lot of work still lies ahead, though, to realize the vision that he so eloquently laid out. All the key issues were addressed. I found it worth to be up early to listen to.!

The hours and days ahead will determine whether in fact President Obama has turned the page or not. Will we arrive at the promised land?