Lessons learned from the Lebanese Crisis

Following the crisis in Lebanon, I have learned many lessons as an Iranian about myself and my community.

Unfortunately, I learned the hard and bitter lesson that we do not like to bother ourselves for the bigger cause. We Iranians are big in slogans, but when it comes to acting on our slogans, we hide behind little excuses.

It is apparent on the way our president Ahmadi Nejad, Shamkhani and others have led us to believe. That we stand for what is right only in moral support and not action. God has warned us of this in Suratul Hadid: Lema Taqoloona mala Taf’aloon. Why do you say, what you won’t act upon. These people are Monafeqin, those who have two sides or two faces.

I am not saying that Ahmadi Nejad’s comment in regards to wiping out Israel should be implemented and that Iran should have entered the war in defending Hezbullah in the current crisis. What I am saying is, when we don’t believe in fighting Israel, when we know we have no capability and power to fight and defend our own people, let alone trying to protect the muslim ummah, we shouldn’t say “Down with Israel”.

If I was Ahmadi Nejad, following the slogans, I would have had made plans. Not to go to war, but to avoid war.

At this point, as Iranians we need to use the democratic and international channels to expose the nature of the Zionist regime and its racist attitude toward the Arabs and Human life.

We, Iranians, should educate the world, that our ideology is not Ahmadi Nejad’s slogans about wiping out Israel as a Jewish nation, but to correct the wrong that has been done to the Palestinians in the occupied territories.

As Imam Khomaeini master planned it, Iranians don’t seek killing Jews or bombing Israel, what we believe to be fair is the following:

1) Have a Democratic Nation in that part of the world

a. Return all the Palestinian refugees to their occupied land

b. Return all the immigrated Jews back to their original homeland

c. Draw boundary to form a single unified country for both Muslims and Jews to live under a single flag

d. Perform a democratic election to have both Jews and Muslims rule the land based on their elected officials

2) Prosecute the criminals engaged in unlawful and unethical killing of innocent

a. During the 60 years of occupation, many inhumane acts have been executed. Criminals must be prosecuted for justice to last.

b. What most people don’t know is that even Imam Khomeini was not in support of the terrorist acts performed by the PLO in their struggle and resistance to Israeli Army

c. Generals and Officials of Israel that committed murders and broke the international laws must be prosecuted according to the international laws.

3) Provide access to the holy land for the followers of all religions

a. Muslims, Jews, and Christians have holy places in Palestine. All should have access to these areas.

b. The resources of this land, access to water, and technological advances reached by the Israelis in the past 60 years must be shared with the Palestinians.

As a young boy, I used to attend every Quds “Jerusalem Day” event at the end of Ramadan, and our slogan was: “Cancer of the Middle East, Israel Must not Exist”

But unfortunately, I didn’t know that I was brain washed by baseless slogans, by monafeqin people that Talked the Talk, but never walked the Walk. They never clarified Imam Khomeini’s intentions and bigger plan for the peaceful and lasting justice in the occupied territories.

At this point, what concerns me the most is the unfounded baseless slogans that might turn us into the next victim of Bush’s ignorant “War on Terror.” The slogans our Iranian government lauds in regards to our right to Nuclear Power, to unify its people and shut the opposition, will cause us to confront the international community in a fight that none of us is willing to stand for.

Finally, the indifference and unemotional reaction of the Iranian community that I lived with for the past 14 years, people whom support for Quds and Palestinian people was a slogan, showed me how I lived in a fog of mist and misrepresented ideology.

God Saves Us Iranians, the day we need Muslim unity to save us…