update - Tehran conference on Gaza

[Tony Henderson]

Fourth International Conference for Support of

Palestine, the Model of Resistance, and Gaza, the

Victim of War Crimes

Tehran

3, 4 and 5 March, 2009

Fourth International Conference for Support of Palestine, the Model of
Resistance, and Gaza, the Victim of War Crimes. Tehran (3, 4 and 5 March, 2009).

Nuclear Weapons Free Zone!
- outlined at the Tehran Conference on Gaza
By Tony Henderson - chairman, Humanist Association of Hong Kong

Invited to speak (under the auspices and with support from the Hong Kong Consulate) at the "International Seminar on Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza: Our Shared Responsibility," (3 March, 2009) which preceded the Fourth International Conference for Support of Palestine, I made a presentation under the title: The Right to Resistance Against the Occupying Power. My position on the panel had me seated by Iran's Chief Prosecutor, Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dori-Najafabadi, who presided.

Preliminary note:
Nuclear weapons is a central theme for our humanism. How does the possession and use of nuclear weapons relate to a state under Sharia Law and does Sharia Law allow an Islamic country any latitude in this respect? Should the answer be no, then Iran can again shake the world (the first shake was the 1979 revolution) by clarifying that and holding to that as its moral force in an effort aimed at universal disarmament - starting with a Middle East as a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone! Certainly the US is not going to do that, neither is Russia, nor China.

Here are the key phrases of my statement:

The Universal Humanists have a programme that relates to the Gaza humanitarian catastrophe, one that calls for a ban on nuclear weapons, that seeks the removal of any occupying military forces from occupied territories, and, a call for a multilateral disarmament of conventional weapons.

We hear today that "Gaza" has changed everything!

As Universal Humanists we are horrified by what happened in Gaza - and the world knows what happened.

There is no doubt the Zionist elements that have such control over the military committed great violence on the people of Gaza.

This is the latest episode in the Palestine occupation.

Europe opened the door of Palestine for the Israel people to take up home, that was difficult enough. Now Israel is taking over territory supported by the western powers. The result to date is like a wedge fragmenting the Middle East.

Divided, the West is taking advantage - controlling the oil.

Gaza is a victim: Palestine is a victim.

Israel has access to nuclear weapons. Why are nuclear weapons allowed anywhere in the Middle East?

Iran is in a special condition owing to many historical reasons, not least the Islamic revolution 30 years ago.

Sharia Law, we are told on great authority, does not allow nuclear weapons to be used. (See end note ***)

Why are nuclear weapons allowed in the Middle East?

These repeated violent conflicts are a blind alley leading us nowhere.

The nuclear threat is the greatest violence imaginable. Those people with nuclear weapons are telling everyone else what to do.

Iran could propose the Middle East as a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone! All Islamic-Arab countries could support this.

Iran, of all the Middle East countries, is in a position to launch this tremendous non violent action.

There is an International Day of Non Violence - October 2. The Spanish organisation World Without Wars is holding an International Day of Peace and Non Violence in every country on that day and this will grab media attention. If the Islamic-Arab countries endorse this ground breaking World March for Peace and Non Violence... great things can be achieved.

This Conference shows what can be done. Yes, take the perpetrators to the International courts, and develop all non violent methods of transformation to normalise Palestine - for the sake of the younger generation."

.../ends. There was a call from the floor for a Nuclear Free Zone be established worldwide not just in the Middle East!

World March
Regarding the World March, an ideal site for holding any event in Iran would be the ecumenical area called Palestine Square, in Isfahan, adjacent to Al Aqsa Mosque.

Understanding Iran today, a historical aside
The Iranian empire once encompassed today's Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Jordan, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, and the Caucasus region. While the borders have moved in over the centuries, a superpower nostalgia, so in contradiction to reality, still prevails among many Iranians - all because of the history - it has been stated.

The Cyrus Cylinder - perhaps Iran's most exalted artifact - is housed at the British Museum in London, with a replica residing at UN headquarters in New York City. The cylinder has inscribed on it, in cuneiform, a decree that has been described as the first charter of human rights - predating the Magna Carta by nearly a couple of millennia. It can be read as a call for religious and ethnic freedom; it banned slavery and oppression of any kind, the taking of property by force or without compensation; and it gave member states of the Iranian empire the right to subject themselves to Cyrus's crown, or not. "I never resolve on war to reign," is a saying ascribed to the sixth century BC Achaemenid emperor, Cyrus the Great. He established the first Persian Empire, which would become the largest, most powerful kingdom on Earth. Among other things, Cyrus, freed the enslaved Jews of Babylon in 539 BC, sending them back to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple with money he gave them, and established what has been called the world's first religiously and culturally tolerant empire. Ultimately this empire comprised of 23 different peoples who coexisted peacefully under a central government, originally based in Pasargadae - a kingdom that at its height, under Cyrus's successor, Darius, extended from the Mediterranean to the Indus River.

"To know Iran and what Iran really is, just read that transcription from Cyrus," Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian lawyer who won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, informed her interviewer in her central Tehran apartment building, in a basement office. "Such greatness as the cylinder has been shown many times in Iran," but the world doesn't know it, she said. "When I go abroad, people get surprised when they realize that 65 percent of the college students here are girls. Or when they see Iranian paintings and Iranian architecture, they are shocked. They are judging a civilization just by what they have heard in the last 30 years" - the Islamic Revolution; the rollbacks of personal freedoms, particularly for women; the nuclear program and antagonism with the West. They know nothing of the thousands of years that came before, she said - what the Iranians went through to remain distinct from their invaders, and how they did it

The Persian Gulf is located along Iran's southern border. On the other side of the Gulf lies so much of the world's crude oil, in the oil fields of Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. That narrow waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, facilitating passage to so much tonnage of the world's oil. This ‘strategic position of Iran places the country in a unique position to oversee vast quantities of the world's oil supply and delivery - or sell its own oil elsewhere than to the West.

Oil was at the root of a 1953 event that is still a sore topic for many Iranians: the CIA-backed overthrow, instigated and supported by the British government, of Iran's elected and popular prime minister, Mohammad Mossadegh. Mossadegh had kicked out the British after the Iranian oil industry, controlled through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (which became BP), was nationalized, and the British retaliated by imposing an economic blockade. With the Cold War on and the Soviet bloc located just to the north, the US feared that a Soviet-backed communism in Iran could shift the balance of world power and jeopardize Western interests in the region. A coup involving the shah took place with an operations centre at the US Embassy in Tehran, the future "nest of spies" to the Iranians, where 52 US hostages were taken in 1979. Afterwards, the shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was returned to power, commercial oil rights fell largely to British and US oil companies, and Mossadegh was imprisoned and later placed under house arrest until he died in 1967.

Today, Iran is deemed the second most oil producer after Saudi Arabia!

/ note ends...

In the afternoon I joined the panel on: The Right to Resistance Against the Occupying Power. Panel Discussion II was: Grave Breaches and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law. This covered 1. Violation of the Humanitarian Law; 2. Violation of the self determination right; 3. violation of the provisions of international conventions treaties.

Panel Discussion III was:
Obligation to Prosecute.
This covered:
1. UNSC and the Gaza Crisis;
2. UN General Assembly and the Gaza Crisis;
3. International Court and the Gaza Crisis;
4. International Court of Justice and Gaza Crisis;
5. Duties and responsibilities of Muslim countries in supporting Palestinians;
6. Consequences of the support of certain countries for the occupying regime of Qods;
7. Responsibilities of the government in pursuing and investigating the war crimes and genocide based on international law and their domestic rules and regulations.

The first Official Engagement of all delegates who had arrived in Tehran early enough on Tuesday was the invitation by the Chief Host and Speaker of the Majlis - Dr. Larijani, to visit and pay tribute to the shrine of the late organizer and leader of the Islamic Revolution - Ayatollah Khomeini. The delegates were led by the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabil Berri who spoke on their behalf after laying a wreath on the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini.
In his short speech Nabil Berri praised the role played by late Great Imam in the struggle for the liberation Arab-occupied land and the Independence of Palestine. The Majlis Speaker introduced the Grandson of the Great Imam and chief Clergy at the Shrine, Ayatollah Hassan Khomeini to the guests. Ayatollah Hassan Khomeini also gave a short speech in which he hailed the role of the Hamas-led Islamic Resistance in the struggle to liberate Palestine from Zionist occupation.
The Guests were later invited by the Ayatollah and the Majlis speaker to dinner in the nearby adjoining shrine restaurant.

March 4 - General Notes on the Conference
At the outset, following the mandatory recital from the Qur'an, Supreme Leader or Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei gave his well locally reported speech, which set the style for the entire conference. (See full text below).

Following a stately departure ceremony, the podium was taken by members of the Conference Board, being: the Chairperson of the Fourth Conference, Dr Ali Larijani, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly; Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Ayatollah Mahmoud Shahroudi, Head of the Judiciary, and Hujjatul Islam wal Muslimeen Mogtashamipour, Secretary General of the Conference.

Quote: "…. the main attention in this conference is devoted to making Palestine's situation and Zionist regime's adventures clear "…."A large number of Islamic countries' experts and the heads of their Parliaments as well as parliamentary delegates are attending this conference". "…this conference does not just belong to Islamic countries, as experts and intellectual of Western and Latin American countries are attending this conference". ( Larijani)
At the Conference, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for a referendum of all residents of historic Palestine, whom he termed legitimate, to determine the fate of the Holy Land. He said a democratic solution should serve as a logical basis for everyone who has a legitimate stake in the territory of Palestine, including Muslims, Christians and Jews. He recommended the ruling system in Palestine be structured in this general referendum, in which Palestinian exiles would also take part.
President Ahmadinejad reiterated: "The way to solve the problem of Zionism and of the regime that is occupying Jerusalem and that has no real identity is by honouring the fundamental human rights of the Palestinian people to determine its own destiny. All the Palestinians, whether Muslim, Christian, or Jewish, in every place, must choose, in a referendum of a free people, their type of regime, and their elected government that will rule over all the lands of Palestine..."
Quote: "…..Palestine is the victim of politicized international community which is based on hegemonic relationships. In this community, justice, morality and defending rights of oppressed people have not a bona fide place and issues like human rights are only a means of contraction and expansion of state powers…..
"…Release of humankind from the influence of hegemonic political powers necessitate reconstruction of the international system on the basis of justice and collective human security – a kind of security that helps humankind in the way of social and personal maturity, putting an end to exploitation and colonization of both tangible and intangible resources of nations. As long as some governments commit the most subhuman deeds, and latent and overt tortures against a great number of humans, anti-terrorism or any other pseudo-pacifist program will not be able to bring the real peace to mankind…."
(Excerpts from the 2-page Statement of the Islamic World Peace Forum to International Conference of Support of Islamic Revolution of Palestine- Tehran Iran – Ref: - E-mail: [e-mail] - website: www.islamicworldpeace.com )
As a contextual note, it is remarkable that the West denied the rightful place of Hamas as the political heirs to the PLO in that election held after the Second Intifada in 2000 following the breakaway and opposition of Hamas to the PLO that split the Palestinians so destructively and not only that, Hamas, was outlawed. Further, the West did not distinguish between the political arm and the military arm of the organisation. The violence committed by Hamas was placed in the realm of terrorism and the common right of any country to have an army was negated. But the military wing of Hamas was defending the Palestine people, in the most difficult moment during the 22-day Gaza War - still, the label of ‘terrorist organisation' was used in the western media and the infamy spread.

Guest Speakers at the Conference
Among the Conference guest speakers, in order of their speeches, was head of Hamas delegation Dr Musa Abu Marzouk, Deputy Head of the Political Office; Nabih Berri, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Lebanon, also Head of the Arab Parliamentary union; Dr Ramadhan Abdullah Shalah, Sec. Gen. Islamic Jihad Movement of Palestine; Ibrahim Amin As-Sayyed, Head of the Political Council of Hezbollah; Tan Seri Pandarika Mulya Amin, Speaker of the National Assembly of Malaysia; Salim Az-Zanoun, Speaker of the National Assembly of Palestine; Abdel Azuz Ziyari, Speaker of National Assembly Algeria; and Ibrahim At-Taahir, Speaker of National Assembly of Sudan.
The Secretary General of the Conference, Mr. Mohtashamipour emphasised: while it can be said such Conference has more of a symbolic nature and cannot be that influential in an immediate sense though the high-level participants give legitimacy and their presence grabs the needed media attention. Also, going in the direction of prosecutions for war crimes related to Gaza brings more light on those dire acts and much less likelihood that such acts will be repeated in future. Without such trials the perpetrators will feel free to commit cruel crimes in other countries across the globe.
During the day the heads of delegations gave their speeches to the assembly while panels met on the sidelines discussing legal positions and proposals.

Arrest of Sudan's President Bashir
On March 4, 2009, a Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced its historic decision to issue an arrest warrant charging Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts of war crimes for his leadership role in orchestrating the conflict in Darfur.
On the same day that the ICC in The Hague issued this arrest warrant, Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, opened an international conference in Tehran that pressed Interpol to help Iranian prosecutors arrest 15 Israeli leaders on war crimes charges related to the recent war in Gaza.
In the meantime, discussions were reportedly continuing in The Hague on the question of the international court's authority to open an investigation of its own into actions carried out in Gaza, since the territory is not part of any internationally recognized state.
The Iranian state broadcaster Press TV reported that the conference, "which is to focus on Israeli war crimes in Gaza," brought together "legal experts, politicians and religious figures" for two days to "discuss ways to bring Israel's top political and military leaders to trial over the atrocities committed in Gaza." Press TV says that "discussion on a series of documents, which Iran recently sent to Interpol, implicating 15 Israeli officials, are also expected to be on the agenda."
Tehran's chief prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, had drawn up charges against 34 Israeli commanders and 115 individuals concerning their actions during the Gaza campaign. The charges included "war crimes, invasion, occupation, genocide and crimes against humanity".
According to a report by Press TV on Monday, 30 March, the people Interpol was asked to help detain included: "Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert, Defence Minister Ehud Barak, Mossad Chief Meir Dagan, Chief of the General Staff of the I.D.F. Gabi Ashkenazi, and Attorney General Menachem Mazuz."
Despite the very long odds against Interpol acting on this request, Mr. Mortazavi's senior - the country's chief prosecutor, Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dori-Najafabadi - proceeded with elaborate plans for trying at least some of these Israeli officials in absentia. According to The Tehran Times Iran's prosecutors will not be deterred by not having any Israelis in custody, and the case against them "will soon be heard in a symbolic trial in Tehran."
Even if the court decides that the Palestinian Authority has standing as a state under international law, another sticking point would be that Israel never signed up to the ICC, which means the court has no jurisdiction over anything that happens on its territory. Israel does not claim Gaza as its territory. The Palestinians argue that following Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza they have sovereignty over the narrow strip, and in February 2009 handed the court an official letter recognizing its jurisdiction there.
No matter what the court eventually decides about Gaza, of course, since Israel has not signed the Rome Statute, the 2002 treaty that created the court, it is hard to imagine a scenario under which any Israeli government would actually hand one of its citizens over to stand trial in The Hague
All this was going on in the week when much of international law attention had been focussed on the ICC and its arrest warrant against President Bashir of Sudan, with little attention afforded to the news that Iran is currently hosting a conference looking into the possibility of seeking prosecution of a number of Israeli officials.
Of course, this does not rule out the possibility that Iran will assert jurisdiction in accordance with its domestic law (e.g. under the principle of passive personality should it be provided for), which may afford it jurisdiction of various crimes committed outside its territory.
In addition, the issue of immunity of heads of state and other officials may prove an issue, although the arrest warrant against Bashir points in the other direction.
In spite of the slim chances of Iran securing custody over any of the Israelis sought, it will go ahead with "a symbolic trial in Tehran and prosecute the alleged offenders in absentia". If the chances of the ICC prosecution in relation to the Gaza conflict are slim, the chances of Iranian prosecution look somewhat higher. Such a trial lacks legitimacy and would have very limited legal effect outside Iran - it could be seen as a case of: ‘it's the principle that counts'.
Iranian Deputy Judiciary Chief Seyyed Ebrahim Raeesi touched on the matter and criticized The Hague, saying the warrant was issued while the court has shown utter contempt for Israeli war crimes. Raeesi described the ruling by The Hague on the Sudanese president as politically-motivated, adding that "the ICC has issued its ruling under the influence of global hegemony".
The Iranian official went on to say that the ruling on al-Bashir had been given priority over the case of Israeli crimes against the Gazan civilians despite loud international protests on the matter.
The ICC had by the same date received more than 200 requests from individuals and organizations, including Amnesty International and the Arab League to look into allegations of war crimes during the Israeli war on the Palestinian territory!

Second Day of the Conference
Next day, 5 March 2009, there was a speech by Ayatollah Sayyed Mahmoud Hasemi-Shroudi, the Head of Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Speeches by the delegations continued as did the panel meetings.
Participating in the commission formulating the Final Declaration, which used English as the medium, my only solid input was the suggestion to replace the word ‘victory' with the word ‘defence', thus:
"While congratulating the glorious victory of the Palestine resistance in the 22-day Gaza War, would have read: "While congratulating the glorious defence of the Palestine resistance in the 22-day Gaza War," but it was not to be. (Copy forthcoming)
The closing session had speeches by: Mahmoud Al-Abrash, Speaker of the Legislative Council of Syria; Farooq Kaddoumi, Head of the Political Section of the Palestine Liberation Organisation; Salim Al-Hoss, Former Prime Minister of Lebanon; Ali As-Sakeh, Speaker of the Consultative Assembly of Bahrain; Manouchehr Motatakai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Ahmad Bahr Deputy Speaker of the Palestine Legislative Assembly who reminded the floor that 40 Palestinian members of parliament continue to remain behind bars in Israeli jails; Dr Ali Larijani again; and the reading of the final communique by Hujjatul Islam wal Muslimeen Mogtashamipour, Secretary General of the Conference.
Eighty countries participated. It was emphasised that: "Since all the international and regional solutions during previous decades have failed, because of the Zionists' refusal to acknowledge the main cause of the conflict, the occupation [60 years] of Palestine, we emphasise the necessity of holding a referendum among all Palestinians... including Muslims, Christians and Jews for choosing the structure of their government."
One outcome of the little publicised in the western press: Fourth International Conference for Support of Palestine, the Model of Resistance, and Ghaza, the Victim of War Crimes, was the referendum proposed for deciding about the future of Palestine. It was also stated at the highest levels that Palestine can only be liberated through resistance. Also, that the "spell of impunity" had to be broken - speaking of Israel's to date ability to do what it wills to the Palestinians without real action by the UN or western powers, or indeed by any other power.

The Single-State Solution
This suggestion of just having Palestine, as it used to be in the beginning before the founding of Israel, sounded far-fetched and violently radical given that the Israel state was already established but the more I tuned in to what the delegates were saying, the more my alarmed expectations subsided and I listened with attention.
In essence they - the speakers were very thoughtful in their deliveries though one or two were more emotional - were saying that a Palestinian state would be a place for everyone who could claim rightful abode there, including the Jewish peoples, and this was presented repeatedly as the only permanent solution and the failures of divided countries and territories were made plain. True, for different groups to have their own parcels of land etc always leads to arguments but there seemed no other way, but that attitude has increasingly become an obsolete one. It became clear that the proposals were similar to how we humanists see the settling of conflict by war. It's a thought of an ancient mentality. Likewise, that began to have relevance in this situation and made the two-state solution appear fraught with all those old things - besides the difficulty in having Israel abandon its new settlements. Every move made by Israel was going towards the consolidation of the state of Israel: the counterpart to those moves was the disintegration of Palestine!
Thus, a single country, Palestine, with Jerusalem as a free city as the capital of Palestine where all religious faiths can have their HQs, and their sacred places, rose up as a real solution.
What I am saying here is, let us look into this, let us appreciate the situation from that point of view, let us see what safeguards can be proposed by us to bring a non violent methodology into play and see what either side has to say, and what they will do.
Dr Ramadhan Abdullah Shalah, Sec. Gen. Islamic Jihad Movement of Palestine for instance in rejecting a two-state solution, said, "negotiations will not resolve the problem - pointing out that ‘negotiations' over the many years had simply seen the erosion of Palestine and the rights of Palestinians." Thus ‘resistance' and ‘jihad' are implemented.
Dr Tay insisted that Palestine is a State, that 100 countries recognise Palestine as a State and that these countries need to re-state that recognition.
Dr Karemi, Faculty of Law, Tehran University, called for the setting up of Regional Peace Councils. There is a newly founded organisation: Islamic World Peace Forum.
To quote the participating delegate from Uganda, Dr. Peter-Julian JJUMBA, he found the most remarkable result of the conference contained in the following message: Quote: "…Respected audience! You who are present at this conference are thinkers and specialists about the problem of Palestine. Today, our historical duty is not to repeat the bland statements and torpid theories of the past, but to suggest approaches for liberating Palestine from the oppression of the Zionist regime. Our proposal is a solution which is in total agreement with democracy and can form a common logical basis. That proposal is that all those who have stake in the territory of palestine, including muslims, christians and jews, should choose their own system of government in a general referendum. All Palestinians who have borne for years the ordeals of exile should also participate in this referendum……" (from the opening address of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to this 4th International Qods Conference: 4 March 2009.) quote ends.

Further:
Besides the main item of the proposal for a referendum for all those with a stake in Palestine taking part in that proposed democratic step toward the just and lasting solution to the now-over-60 year old occupation of Palestine, Ayatollah Khamenei mentioned a number of other important issues that were worthy of note to understand the general mood and viewpoint of the conferees.
(a) considering the atrocities committed in Gaza over December 2008 and January 2009, have clear signs of severe war crimes against innocent residents of the Gaza-Palestinian strip of land under occupation, Ayatollah Khamenei said:
Quote; "….,the crimes committed by Zionist criminals during the historic events of Gaza- the genocide of civilians, the destruction of defenceless homes, the impaling of infants, the bombing of schools and mosques, the use of phosphorous bombs and outlawed weapons; all this following an almost two-year blockade on supplies of food, fuel and other essentials of life for the people, and numerous other crimes - proved that the savage and criminal instincts of the leaders of the fake Zionist state have not changed in the least since the early decades of the disaster in Palestine…" quote ends (from his opening address).
(b) Ayatollah Khamenei dismissed the notion that the occupied people under State oppression should only gain their freedom, independence and liberty through reconciliation with that State.
Quote "…… A big fallacy which has taken control of the minds of some persons concerning the problem of Palestine is that a country named Israel is a 60-year old reality with which one has to reconcile. I do not know why these people do not learn from other realities that are in front of their eyes. Is it not a fact that the countries of the Balkans, Caucasus and the Southwest Asia reclaimed their identity after 80years of loss, and after being parts of the former Soviet Union? Why cannot Palestine, which is part of the body of the Islamic world, reclaim its Islamic and Arab identity? Why cannot the Palestinian youth, who are among the most astute and resistant of Arab youth, overcome this unjust reality by their will and resolution? unquote.
(Also from opening address)
(c)On the issue of the negotiated settlement with Zionist-Israel, Ayatollah Khamenei posed the following questions for the attending delegates to ponder:
Quote "….with whom are these negotiations to be held? With an usurping, misguided and bullying regime which does not believe in anything else except force? What have those who have been captivated with this game and delusion achieved?"… quote ends.
(d)Addressing and stressing the same issue under a western powers-propagated negotiated settlement with Zionist-Israel, the cleric made the following observations:
Quote "… Firstly what they obtained from the Zionists in the form of Palestinian Authority - its humiliating and disgraceful character aside - was at the enormous cost of having to recognize the ownership of the usurper regime over nearly the entirety of Palestine.
"Secondly, even that partial and fake authority was at times trampled underfoot by the Zionists under empty excuses. The siege of Yasser Arafat in his administrative building in Ramallah and numerous forms of humiliation he was made to suffer are not events that can be forgotten.
"Thirdly, during Arafat's days and, especially, after him, they have treated the officials of the autonomous Authority as police-station chiefs whose duty was to prosecute and arrest Palestinian combatants and to keep them under intelligence and police surveillance, thus spreading seeds of enmity among Palestinian groups and prompting them to wage war against one another
"Fourthly, even that puny achievement was the fruit of the struggle of the Palestinian combatants and resistance of its proud men and indomitable women. Had the Intefadha not occurred, the Zionists would not have given them even this little, despite the successive compromises made by the conventional leaders…." quote ends
Dr. Peter-Julian Jjumba continues: "Thus the Two State-solution where Zionist-Israel and Arab-Palestine live side-by-side - which had its premature birth at the1978/9 Jimmy Carter-Anwar-Sadat-Menachim Begin Camp David talks; and the subsequent Camp David Accord (agreement) thereof, is now hanging on a political guillotine and awaiting execution due to nonstop violations by the fake Zionist regime."
Regarding the important issue of Arab and international Muslim unity and solidarity the cleric said:

Quote: "…The pillars of this resistance, on one side are the combatant Palestinian groups and each and every one of the faithful and resistant Palestinians, those who are within that country as well as those who are abroad.
"From another side, pillars are the world's Muslim nations and governments, religious scholars, intellectuals, political figures and academicians. If these two pillars remain firmly in place, there is no doubt that in every part of the world, awakened consciences, hearts and minds which have not been spoiled by the spells of the news media empire belonging to the global arrogance and Zionism, will rally to the assistance of the victims and those who have been denied their rights, forcing imperialism to confront a storm of thoughts, emotions and actions….
"Yes, the resistance and fortitude of the Palestinian combatants and people, together with all-round support and assistance from all Islamic countries, will break the satanic spell of the usurpation of Palestine. The prodigious energies of the Islamic Ummah can solve the problems of the Islamic world, including the urgent and acute problem of Palestine.
"Muslim brothers and sisters throughout the world, my message now is addressed to you as well as to all persons with alert conscience, irrespective of country and creed. Make an effort, and break the spell of impunity for the Zionist criminals. Bring to trial the political and military heads of the usurper regime who have had a role in bringing about the Gaza tragedy, and mete out to them the punishment laid down by reason and justice..." quote ends.

(Ayatollah Khamenei, 4 March 2009)

2.

Further observations and analysis of the contents of the opening keynote speech by Dr. Peter-Julian Jjumba follow:
(a) as war crimes were committed by the Zionist war machinery on innocent Palestinian people therefore, war crimes indictments, arrest warrants, prosecutions and trial of the political and military leaders should be filed worldwide;
(b)That there is little or no room or reason for the entire international community to think that there is any hope for a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian-Arab-Israel conflict as long as the Zionist regime was in charge of Israel;
(c)That rallying behind Palestinian and Arab resistance (Intefadha) in Palestine and Arab occupied territories is the first and most reliable step towards the end of Zionist-Israel atrocities and occupation of Arab-Palestinian land.
(d)That Arab-Muslim unity to rally behind the resistance spearheaded by the Palestinian-Arab youthful combatants was the best way to support liberation of Palestine and Arab Occupied land and;
(e)That it is the duty of all alert and consciencious peace loving people of the world, irrespective of their country, religious background, creed etc to argue world leaders from all angles of justice to end the prevailing impunity that the Zionist war-criminals continue to enjoy in this world despite all the criminal acts they have for many years inflicted on the innocent peoples in Palestine and occupied Arab lands.
In his short but precise speech, the Iranian President stressed the need for all conscious peoples of the world to rally behind the resistance (Intefadha) in Palestine and Lebanon. He noted that the Zionist regime is experiencing very hard conditions; therefore, it looked increasingly evident that the fake usurpers regime may not easily solve its internal problems resulting from the failed attempt to eliminate Islamic Resistance in Gaza's Palestine and in Arab-Lebanon...
ends/

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad informed the delegates that preparedness was key. He said the resistance combatants and all their supporters all over the world need always be well prepared to face the Zionist regime's notorious military machinery. The Iranian president's speech otherwise echoed one of the main issues addressed in Ayatollah Khamenei keynote speech, namely, the role of Arab-Palestinian Muslim Resistance (Intefadha) against the Zionist regime.
Dr. Peter-Julian Jjumba made notes at the working committee Resistance and Political Issues, we attended (we met the next day), noting: "That there is a clear message to the rest of the world that the UN-Security Council has lost its credibility as far as the Arab-Palestinian issue is concerned and can no longer be relied on in matters concerning Israel Violations of Human rights in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories. Since its allies in the likes of the USA, Britain and France will never accept and vote in favour of taking Israel to task whenever the Zionist regime of that fake state commits atrocities in Palestine and Arab Occupied Lands.
That the steps taken by the Iranian Attorney and Chief Prosecutor to file indictment, apply for arrest warrants, prosecution of and subsequent trial of leading members of the Zionist Israel regime in the IRI-courts of Justice; based on the evidence of the clear signs of having committed war crimes in Gaza-Palestine during the latest invasion of the Palestinian-Arab strip, symbolic as they may currently seem to appear, should be regarded as an eye-opener - because similar measures could be repeatedly initiated in other parts of the world. This will be the first joint act of its type to warn and signal arrogant Zionist leaders that they can no longer act with impunity because the rest of the world (outside the jurisdiction of the "so-called International Community" made of pro-Zionist Israel supporters in the likes of the USA and Britain together with their political sycophants in the European Union is now ready to follow them wherever they are and bring them to justice for trial, implicated in the severe war crimes in Gaza-Palestine.
In this respect, many contributors recommended that, Iran as the now leading supporter of the Islamic Resistance in Palestinian and Lebanon, should assist where possible to take these necessary measures and step up the international campaign to establish new-institutions that can pursue Zionist war criminals wherever they may happen to be, in order to bring them to justice for trial. This is an urgent necessity because the present UN-International War Criminal prosecution infrastructure is not expected to take-any practical steps to implement such measures against the Zionist state, given its bias against Palestine and Arab-Resistance.
On the same lines of thought, many African participants argued the conference to directly address the issue of the opening of the RAFA (Rapha)-Gaza-Egypt-Border crossing. Because, according to many people in Africa, this is still an embarrassing issue for many people on the continent. And this is probably the same feeling of the majority of people in the entire Muslim-Arab and the rest of the Muslim-world. The Egyptian Government explanation for the reasons of keeping the Rafa border-crossing closed for GAZA-Egypt traffic is a cheap and very weak one. This is a purely politically motivated act and one way to please and appease the feelings of Egypt's friends in the US and the European Union. These so-called friendly nations of Egypt are all staunch allies of Zionist Israel's. These are at the same time the countries that are strongly opposed to the democratically elected Hamas-led Government of Palestine."
The second day of panels - 5 March 2009 - the deliberations in the Resistance and Politics Issues workshop or sub-committee was dedicated to debating and making contributions to the draft proposals to be submitted by the conference organizers to guide the committees in the preparation of the final resolutions that was to be adopted at the closing of the 4th International Qods Conference; Palestine the Symbol of Resistance, Gaza victim of War Crimes.

Deliberations of both sessions (morning and afternoon sessions) of Conference Day-two (Thursday 5th March 2009) in the Resistance and Political Issues Working Committee (workshop) were devoted to close examination of item by item of the draft submission. This enabled all sub-committee delegates present to contribute directly through detail discussions on each item. At times, this ended in the inserting of meaningful alterations and/or addendums (wherever necessary and possible) to the draft resolution that was unanimously voted for in favour and adopted as the final Resolution by all delegates. This took place during the closing session at the venue's main plenum Max chaired by the Chief Host of the deliberation, Dr. Ali Larijani, in the early evening of Thursday 5 March, 2009.

CONCLUDING REMARKS
(Again I am indebted to Peter Jjumba):
(i)That the international indictment, issue of arrest warrants, prosecution and punishment of leading Zionist Israel politicians who have been implicated in latest war crimes committed on the Gaza population between the 27th December 2008 and the 19h January 2009 should be effectively implemented
(ii)That there is the urgency and need for all Muslims all over the world to rally behind and support Resistance (Intefadha) in Palestine, Lebanon and in all Zionist occupied Muslim Arab land …quote (…THE WAY OUT: The Muslims should not sit back waiting for their governments to act for them and save Islam from the hands of Zionism. They should not sit back waiting for the international organisations to do something for them. The people themselves must rise up against Israel, and not be content simply with condemnation. Those who have a friendship agreement with Israel also condemn it, although their condemnation is in reality a farce. If the Muslims are sitting back waiting for America or its agents to do something for them, then this process will be held for an eternity. One method which was chosen many years ago to encourage and strengthen the unity of the Muslims, the aware Muslims, was to bring them together in the gatherings to commemorate festivals, among them the birthday of the most noble Messenger or other religious occasions" - quote ends (from: Palestine from the View of Imam Khomeini, 16thDecember 1981).
(iii)That the question of Palestine is the most urgent problem of the Islamic world. Palestine is also an urgent problem for Arab nations and their people, therefore offering a multi-faceted assistance to the People of Palestine and complete support is a joint duty of all Muslims. Therefore, Arab and Muslim unity in action should spearhead all other forces of support to Palestinian Resistance.
Quote "…The Organization of the Islamic Conference must fulfill its historic duty in these critical times and form a unified front without petty considerations or any other passivity-oppose the Zionist regime. The Zionist regime must be penalized by Muslim governments …quote ends (Ayatollah Khamenei regarding Gaza massacre - The Voice of Palestine).
(iv)That referendum in which all those with a stake in Palestine take part to determine the system of governance the liberated Palestine will adopt, as the only way to achieve lasting peace in that Zionist occupied land, and,
(v)That in order to quicken the process to achieve all of the above Palestinian unity is an urgent and inevitable factor."

As for the Iran link...
My scribbled notes don't give the proper feel for how things were said, so, besides using the detailed notes of Peter Jjumba, I use words from an interview on "Frankly Speaking" programme with Elie Nakuzi in Damascus: "In conclusion, Nakuzi asks Shallah about the threat by Iran's Ahmadinezhad and the Palestinian factions to throw the Jews into the sea or "destroy Israel," something which makes the Western world oppose any situation where the Iranian regime might possess any nuclear weapons, Shallah replies: "Nobody said that anything should be thrown into the sea. I am not defending any expressions." He adds: "I am not talking about the destruction of Israel. I am not interested in this talk. I am speaking about the birth of Palestine. The entire Western world has forgotten that since the Balfour Declaration and before that, it drew plans to destroy Palestine." He says "Palestine was destroyed and its people were uprooted and a strange entity was established in Palestine." He says the whole world wants to forget Palestine. He adds: "The world wants to forget Palestine. It does not tolerate statements by Ahmadinezhad, Khatami, or even Yasir Arafat. The world does not want to hear this because talking about the birth of Palestine in any form means threatening Israeli's existence."
(c) 2008 BBC Monitoring Middle East.

Jewish Guardians of the City
The Guardians of the City are Orthodox Jews - that wear those distinctive black hats, beards and curling side locks - participated in the Tehran conference on Gaza, 4 and 5 March,2009. These jews want an end to the present Israeli state - the stance of Iran so widely disseminated in the media.
This Jewish organisation objects to the use of the Holocaust as justification for the existence of Israel - and defended Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denial of the Holocaust; though not the fact of its having taken place. The point being made by Iran's president in his rhetorically flamboyant manner, was to bring to world attention the way the Holocaust was being misused.
The Neturei Karta, in Hebrew, are a Hasidic sect of a few thousand members that view Zionism - the movement to establish a Jewish national home or state in what was Palestine - as a "poison" threatening "true Jews".
This hot language points at a fact they say because without the added aggravation of denial of rights, building of settlements, building of barriers separating populations, goods embargoes, right of passage restrictions and so recently wholesale bombing of civilians, the ordinary Jewish people wanting a peaceful life are denied that right.
These Hasidics main representative at the Conference, UK-based Rabbi Aharon Cohen, told the Conference he prayed, "that the underlying cause of strife and bloodshed in the Middle East, namely the state known as Israel, be totally and peacefully dissolved".
In its place, Rabbi Cohen said, should be "a regime fully in accordance with the aspirations of the Palestinians when Arab and Jew will be able to live peacefully together as they did for centuries".
Even more fundamentally, the Neturei Karta Jews believe that the very idea of an Israeli state goes against the Jewish religion. The book of Jewish Law The Talmud, Cohen said, teaches that believers may not use human force to create a Jewish state before the coming of the Messiah. Not violence, even human force is not allowed!
William Webermann said, "My mission is to clear up the confusion that mixes Judaism with Zionism. Judaism is a religion and does not need sovereignty over any land. We can live anywhere and be loyal citizens... our religion forbids us to have land."
He reiterated that the founder of Zionism was an Atheist and had no belief in anything.
"The Zionists robbed Jews of their religion and for us taking someone's religion is worse than killing them. We would like to see the dismantling of Israel and an independent Palestine should rule and the refugees go back and have everything returned to them and make room for the abiding Jews to stay. This is the position of the true followers of Moses. Zionism is the result of a plot and has no basis in faith and they do not believe in the religion of Moses. Moses had teachings for life, not for dominating others. It has been contaminated by them. We give witness to that. We want to say this everywhere so people can know the truth."
Austria-based Rabbi Moishe Ayre Friedman told BBC Radio 4's PM programme that they were not in Tehran to debate whether the Holocaust happened or not, but to look at its lessons. He said the Holocaust was being used to legitimise the suffering of other peoples and he wanted to break what he called a taboo on discussing it. The main thing, he argued, was not Jewish suffering in the past but the use of the Holocaust as a "tool of commercial, military and media power".
He also commended Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for wanting, "a secured future for innocent Jewish people in Europe and elsewhere".
In his own speech to the Conference assembly, President Ahmadinejad said: "Due to the essence of the Zionist regime, the significance of the continuance of its existence on a single inch of the lands of Palestine is continued crimes, occupation, threat, and insult to the peoples. The guarantee of the realization of the rights of the Palestinian people and of forcing global Zionism and its supporters to agree to free elections is the Palestinian people's legitimate and popular resistance, which has succeeded in two intifadas and in the Gaza battle to restrain the unrestrained monster and war machine of the heartless Zionists..."
This statement reinforced the idea of holding a referendum on Palestine. He also reiterated that as Zionists, belief in Judaism is not a tenet, in other words, Zionism has nothing to do with religion!
This is directly what the Conference is about. Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said: "The main attention in this conference is devoted to making Palestine's situation and Zionist regime's adventures clear..."the question of Palestine will be considered, and the ways of putting an end to Zionist regime's adventures will be discussed."
President Ahmadinejad proposed the formation of an international front against Zionism with the top agenda item of taking those responsible on the Israel side before an eligible court. Moves to that effect had already been made in the days immediately preceding the Conference when Iran's Chief Prosecutor, Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dori-Najafabadi, charging 29 officials and military of war crimes.
The distinctive Guardians of the City Orthodox Jews created quite a stir at the conference, their dress at odds with the turbaned Islamic traditionalists. Warm dialogue took place wherever they went which in itself showed anything is possible. There was no reluctance, no hesitation from either those ‘men in black' or the other attendees. They were much photographed and how many requested a photo standing proudly alongside them or in their midst!
Hasidic Judaism is not one movement, but a collection of separate individual groups with some commonality.
Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (1698–1760), also known as the Ba'al Shem Tov, is seen as the founding figure of Hasidic Judaism which originated in an age of persecution of the Jewish people, when European Jews had turned inward to Talmud study; many felt that most expressions of Jewish life had become too "academic" and that they no longer had any emphasis on spirituality or joy. The Ba'al Shem Tov set out to improve the situation. Hasidism met with opposition from the misnagdim - literally meaning "the opponents." In its initial stages, the most notable opponent was the Vilna Gaon, leader of the Lithuanian Jews, who generally adopted a hostile approach.
Under the Hasidic movement, ideas of reward and punishment were avoided, and were replaced by the spiritual life of cleaving to God in all daily conduct. The Baal Shem Tov (Besht), and Hasidism, also opposed the earlier mystical and ethical ascetic paths of fasting and self-mortification, seeking to serve God by infusing physical activities with new spiritual inspiration.
Characterized by an extraordinary sincerity and simplicity, the Hasidic founder sought to meet the spiritual needs of the masses. He taught them that true Divine service consisted not only of religious scholarship, but also of a sincere love of God combined with warm faith and belief in the efficacy of prayer; that the ordinary person filled with a sincere belief in God, and whose prayers come from the heart, is more acceptable to God than someone versed in and fully observant of Jewish law who lacks inspiration in his divine service.
This democratization of Judaism attracted to the teachings not only the common people, but also the scholars whom the rabbinical scholasticism and ascetic Kabbalah failed to satisfy.
Hasidism gave a ready response to the burning desire of the common people, in the simple, stimulating, and comforting faith it awakened in them. The scholars attracted to Hasidism, also sought to learn selfless humility and simple sincerity from the common folk. In contrast to other sectarian teachings, early Hasidism aimed not at dogmatic or ritual reform, but at a deeper psychological one. It aimed to change not the belief, but the believer.
By means of psychological suggestion, to create a new type of religious man, a type that placed emotion above reason and rites, and religious exaltation above knowledge. Traditional devotion to Jewish study and scholarship was not replaced, but was spiritualised as a means to cleave to God. The unlearned common folk were given spiritual enlivenment, as their sincerity also made them close to God. The great activity of Jewish study could, in contrast, offer the scholar spiritual peril, if it contributed to their sense of ego, and therefore became a barrier to God's presence.
Speaking with one of the group, Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, the simplicity and directness was striking. No sombre tones yet no fanfare. As straightforward as his lapel badge of disproportionate size reading: Jews United Against Zionism. "We pray for the speedy peaceful dismantlement of the state of "Israel"," he said.

Indictment and arrest warrant - President Bashir of the Sudan
The Conference noted that: Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir became the first sitting head of state to be charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
At a press conference held at The Hague, Netherlands, The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced its indictment of Mr. Bashir for a range of crimes, including the deliberate attempt to destroy ethnic groups deemed to be supporting rebel factions in Sudan's troubled Darfur region.
The indictment came at a time of great political instability in Sudan. Darfur rebels were expanding their operations into neighbouring states as the country prepared for crucial national elections this year. Relations between Khartoum and the semi-autonomous southern portion of Sudan were increasingly strained.
Vice President Salva Kiir, a former southern rebel leader who now shares power with Bashir in a coalition government, urged the international community to remain engaged in Sudan, warning, "The collapse of peace in Sudan shall not only hurt the Sudan itself, but shall also have serious repercussions in the region."
Beset by a north-south civil war for nearly 20 years, which claimed millions of lives, Bashir ended it in 2003 by signing a comprehensive peace accord and agreeing to share power in a coalition government with the southern rebel movement, the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA). Despite Mr. Kiir's reassuring words, some parties worry that the peace deal could be dealt a fatal blow by the indictment, as well as similar peace talks with Darfur rebels, if SPLA leaders deem Bashir's government to be on its way out.
For this reason, leaders of the African Union and the Arab League have been working furiously to persuade the United Nations Security Council to encourage the international court to delay its indictment and arrest warrant for at least a year. This, many African leaders believe, would give enough time for current peace talks with Darfur-based rebels to begin to bear fruit.
The Conference issued a special statement on this issue condemning the ICC indictment, seeing the hand of the hegemonic west at play.
A delegation led by the Chief Host of the Tehran 4th International Qods Conference, Ali Larijani, the Majlis (Iranian parliament) Speaker went to Sudan immediately after the end of the Conference.
This was simply an expressing solidarity with the Sudanese Government, in consonance with the general Arab League and mainstream African Union (AU) opinion of preferring to continue with the pursuance of the peace process in the Dafur region and also in support of the Arab-Muslim DOHA-peace initiatives.

Fourth International Conference for Support of Palestine, the Model of Resistance, and Ghaza, the Victim of War Crimes, Supreme Leader or Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei

Tehran, 6th, Rabi'ul-awwal, 1430
March 4-6, 2009

In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful.
I welcome you, honoured guests—scholars, thinkers, statesman, and combatants—who have come to the Islamic Republic of Iran to participate in the Fourth Conference for Support of Palestine.
Important and crucial developments have occurred between this and the last meeting held in Tehran during 15-17 Rabi al-Awwal, 1427 H. (April 14-16, 2006). These developments have brightened the future prospects of the issue of Palestine and made clearer our duties concerning this fundamental problem of the Islamic world.
Among these important developments were the amazing military and political defeats inflicted by the Islamic resistance in Lebanon on Israel during the 33-day war in 1427 H. (2006), and the humiliating failure of the Zionist regime in the 22-day long criminal war against the people of Gaza and the legal government of Palestine.
Now this usurper regime—which with its army and weapons backed by the US military and political support flaunted a fearsome and un-negotiable facade during the last several decades—has twice been forced to suffer defeat by the forces of resistance fighting with trust in God and the people, rather than reliance on arms and equipment.
Notwithstanding its military exercises, preparations, and far-reaching intelligence outfits, as well as the unsparing support of the United States and some Western governments, along with the collaboration of some hypocrites in the Muslim world, the Zionist regime is faced with incompetence, a steep downfall and dissolution before the powerful wave of Islamic awakening.
On the other hand, the crimes committed by the Zionist criminals during the historic events of Gaza—the genocide of civilians, the destruction of defenceless homes, the impaling of infants, the bombing of schools and mosques, the use of phosphorous bombs and other outlawed weapons; all this following an almost two-year blockade on supplies of food, medicine, fuel and other essentials of life for the people, and numerous other crimes—proved that the savage and criminal instincts of the leaders of the fake Zionist state have not changed in the least since the early decades of the disaster in Palestine. Exactly the same policies and predatory and ruthless motives which created such tragedies as those of Deir Yasin, Sabra and Shatila still rule the dark minds and hearts of the contemporary tyrants. Of course, the magnitude of such atrocities and their disastrous consequences have been amplified by the advances in technology.
By now those who advocated a "pragmatic" approach under the illusion of the invincibility of the Zionist regime, and who succumbed to surrender and compromise with the usurpers, should have realized their mistake, as well as those who entertained hopes of peaceful coexistence with the Zionists, wrongly believing the second and third generation of Zionist politicians to be free from the criminal impulses of the first.
Firstly, the false image of invincibility was shattered by the wave of Islamic awakening and maturing of the erstwhile sapling of Islamic resistance. The signs of the usurper regime's weakness and despondency have become fully visible. Secondly, the aggressive character of the ringleaders of that regime and their unscrupulousness in committing atrocities remain unchanged since the early decades. They are not averse to committing any atrocity whatsoever and whenever they think they can do it.
Now 60 years have passed since the occupation of Palestine. During this period all material means of power have been in the service of the usurpers, including money, weapons and technology, as well as political and diplomatic initiatives and the giant empire of news media and networks. Yet despite these staggering and far-reaching satanic efforts, the usurpers and their supporters have not only failed to solve the problem of the Zionist regime's illegitimacy, but it has grown more complicated with time.
The intolerance shown by the Western and Zionist media and pro-Zionist governments toward even the mere posing of any question concerning the Holocaust—which served as an excuse for the usurpation of Palestine—and research on the topic, is one of the signs of this nervousness and uncertainty.
The image of the Zionist regime in world opinion today is much worse than it has ever been during its black history, and more serious questions are being raised concerning the rationale of its creation.
The spontaneous and unprecedented world-wide protests against this regime and in support of the Islamic resistance in Gaza and Lebanon during the 33-day war, which extended from the Far East to Latin America, and demonstrations in 120 countries including Europe and Britain, the breeding ground of this evil tree, reveal the emergence of a world-wide resistance against Zionism that has never been so serious and extensive in the last 60 years. It may be said that the Islamic resistance in Lebanon and Palestine has succeeded in awakening the world's conscience.
This is a big lesson, for both the Muslim Ummah and its enemies.
It is a lesson for the enemies, who tried to create a fake and counterfeit nation and state by resorting to force and repression, and to convert it in course of time into an undeniable reality, and to make such an unjust imposition something normal for the Islamic world.
It is also a lesson for the Muslim community, especially the proud youth and their alert conscience, so that they may know that any struggle waged for the restoration of usurped rights is never in vain, and that God's promise is indeed true when He, the Most High, declares (in the Qur'an):
"Those who are fought against are permitted [to fight] because they have been wronged, and Allah is indeed able to help them. —Those who were expelled from their homes unjustly, only because they said, 'Allah is our Lord.' Had not Allah repulsed the people from one another, ruin would have befallen the monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques in which Allah's Name is mentioned greatly. Allah will surely help those who help Him. Indeed Allah is all-strong, all-mighty." (22:39-40)

And when He, the Most High, say

"Indeed Allah does not break His promise." (3:9)
"Allah shall never break His promise." (22:47)
"[This is] a promise of Allah: Allah does not break His promise, but most people do not know." (30:6)
"So do not suppose that Allah will break His promise to His apostles. Indeed Allah is all-mighty, avenger." (14:47)

And what promise can be more categorical than this promise of God,

"Allah has promised those of you who have faith and do righteous deeds that He will surely make them successors in the earth, just as He made those who were before them successors, and He will surely establish for them their religion which He has approved for them, and that He will surely change their state to security after their fear, while they worship Me, not ascribing any partners to Me. And whoever is ungrateful after that—it is they who are the transgressors." (24:55)
A big fallacy which has taken control of the minds of some persons concerning the problem of Palestine is that a country named Israel is a 60-year old reality with which one has to reconcile. I do not know why these people do not learn from other realities that are in front of their eyes. Is it not a fact that the countries of the Balkans, Caucasus, and Southwest Asia reclaimed their identity after 80 years of loss, and after being parts of the former Soviet Union? Why cannot Palestine, which is part of the body of the Islamic world, reclaim its Islamic and Arab identity? Why cannot the Palestinian youths, who are among the most astute and resistant of Arab youth, overcome this unjust reality by their will and resolution?
Another big fallacy is to say that negotiation is the only means of deliverance for the Palestinian nation. With whom are these negotiations to be held? With a usurper, misguided and bullying regime which does not believe in anything except force? What have those who have been captivated with this game and delusion achieved?
Firstly, what they obtained from the Zionists in the form of the Palestinian Authority—its humiliating and disgraceful character aside—was at the enormous cost of having to recognize the ownership of the usurper regime over nearly the entire Palestine.
Secondly, even that partial and fake authority was at times trampled underfoot by the Zionists under empty excuses. The siege of Yasser Arafat in his administrative building in Ramallah and numerous forms of humiliation he was made to suffer are not events that can be forgotten.
Thirdly, during Arafat's days and, especially, after him, they have treated the officials of the autonomous Authority as police-station chiefs whose duty was to prosecute and arrest Palestinian combatants and to keep them under intelligence and police surveillance, thus spreading seeds of enmity among Palestinian groups and prompting them to wage war against one another.
Fourthly, even that puny achievement was the fruit of the struggle of Palestinian combatants and resistance of its proud men and indomitable women. Had the Intifada not occurred, the Zionists would not have given them even this little, despite the successive compromises made by the conventional Palestinian leaders.
Or shall it be negotiations with the United States and Britain, who are guilty of the biggest sin in creating and sustaining this cancerous tumour, and who moreover, are one of the parties to the dispute and not arbiters.
The United States government has never ceased its unconditional support for the Zionist regime and its flagrant crimes, such as those committed during the recent events in Gaza.
Even the new American president, who came to office with the slogan of bringing change in the policies of the Bush Administration, avows unconditional commitment to Israel's security, which means defending state terrorism, defending injustice and oppression, and defending a 22-day-long massacre of hundreds of Palestinian men, women and children. It is a policy which amounts to the same crooked ways of the Bush administration and nothing else.
Negotiations with bodies associated with the United Nations are another exercise in futility. The United Nations has perhaps confronted few tests such as the problem of Palestine, wherein it has been exposed and earned a bad name. It was a day when the Security Council promptly and officially recognized the occupation of Palestine by acquisitive terrorist groups and played a basic role in the birth and continuation of this historic injustice.
After that, for several decades, it maintained a satisfied silence with regard to the cases of genocide, expulsion of refugees, war crimes and various atrocities committed by that regime. Even when the General Assembly voted branding Zionism as a racist ideology, the Security Council not only did not go along but also maintained practically a diametrically opposite stand. The oppressive world powers, which enjoy permanent membership in the Security Council, use this world body as an instrument. As a result, the Security Council not only does not help the cause of world security, but also rallies to the assistance of these powers whenever they deploy notions such as human rights, democracy and the like as pretexts to further their greed and domination, drawing a curtain of deception and lies over their illegitimate actions.
The deliverance of Palestine cannot be obtained through begging from the United Nations or the dominating powers, and more so from the usurper regime. The sole path of its deliverance is through resistance and fortitude, through the unity of purpose of the Palestinians and the word of God's oneness (Tawhid), which is the inexhaustible resource for human struggle.
The pillars of this resistance, on one side, are the combatant Palestinian groups and each and every one of the faithful and resistant Palestinians, those who are within that country as well as those who are abroad.
From another side, the pillars are the world's Muslim nations and governments, religious scholars, intellectuals, political figures and academicians. If these two pillars remain firmly in their place, there is no doubt that in every part of the world, awakened consciences, hearts and minds which have not been spoiled by the spells of the news media empire belonging to the global arrogance and Zionism, will rally to the assistance of the victims and those who have been denied their rights, forcing imperialism to confront a storm of thoughts, emotions and actions.
We have seen an example of this truth in recent days during the magnificent resistance of Gaza. The sobs in front of the news cameras of a Western chief of one of the international aid organizations, expressions of sympathy by activists belonging to humanitarian organizations, the large and impassioned public demonstrations in the heart of European capitals and American cities, the bold moves made by the heads of several states in Latin America—all these are signs that the non-Muslim world has not yet been fully subjugated by forces of evil and corruption—called 'Satan' in the nomenclature of the Qur'an—and that the ground is still open for truth to manifest itself.
Yes, the resistance and fortitude of the Palestinian combatants and people, together with all-round support and assistance from all Islamic countries, will break the satanic spell of the usurpation of Palestine. The prodigious energies of the Islamic Ummah can solve the problems of the Islamic world, including the urgent and acute issue of Palestine.
Muslim brothers and sisters throughout the world, my message now is addressed to you as well as to all persons with an alert conscience, irrespective of country and creed. Make an effort, and break the spell of impunity for the Zionist criminals. Bring to trial the political and military heads of the usurper regime who have had a role in bringing about the Gaza tragedy, and mete out to them the punishment laid down by reason and justice.
This is the first step to be taken. The political and military leaders of the usurper regime should be brought to trial. If criminals are punished, the room for criminal acts by those who possess the motives and madness to commit them will be restricted. Impunity for perpetrators of great crimes is itself a cause and incentive for further crimes.
If after the 33-day Lebanon war, the Muslim world community had earnestly demanded the punishment of Zionists leaders responsible for the terrible atrocities committed during this war, had this legitimate demand been made following the massacres of wedding processions in Afghanistan, after the atrocities committed by Blackwater mercenaries in Iraq, and following the Abu Ghuraib scandal and other cases involving US soldiers, we would not have witnessed another Karbalain Gaza.
In these cases, we, Muslim states and nations, have not acted in accordance with our duty as dictated by the laws of justice and reason. Its consequence is what we are witnessing today.
It is a matter of deep regret that some governments and world politicians are totally alien to moral values and judgments of human conscience. They are insensitive to the 22-day long genocide in Gaza in which 1350 people were killed and about 5500 civilians were wounded, many of them children. The murderers and criminals are not only not punished, but are even rewarded. The security of the bloodthirsty regime is considered sanctity to be defended at all cost, and the victims, whether it is a government elected by a decisive popular vote or the people who have elected it to office, are accused and condemned. Such is the judgment of political tribunals totally divorced from ethics and alien to conscience and human virtues. Yet, when these governments encounter public opinion in the form of a deep hatred, instead of noting its obvious cause, they again resort to political manoeuvres, thus continuing the vicious circle.
Dear brothers and sisters throughout the Islamic world! Let us learn from experience.
Our great community, with the boon of the Islamic awakening, possesses tremendous power. The key to the solution of many of the problems of the Muslim countries lies in the resoluteness and solidarity of this wonderful galaxy. The question of Palestine is the most urgent problem of the Islamic world.
At times some people are heard to say that Palestine is an Arab problem. What does that mean? If it means that there is a stronger feeling of consanguinity among the Arabs, who are willing to offer Palestine a greater service and do more struggle for its sake, that is something desirable and we welcome it. But if it means that the heads of some Arab countries should refuse to pay any heed to the cries of help of the Palestinian people which are addressed to all Muslims, if it means that they may collaborate with the ruthless usurper enemy in such an important case as the tragedy of Gaza while loudly condemning others who cannot remain indifferent to their call of duty to help Gaza—then no proud and conscientious Muslim or Arab will accept it, nor spare the speaker of disapproval and reproach. It is the same as the logic of Akhzam, who used to beat his father and chide others for interfering. After him, his son would assault the grandfather with his fists. The fable is the source of an Arabic proverb. (Which means: My sons have left me covered with blood, a custom that I know was laid down by Akhzam)
Offering a multi-faceted assistance to the people of Palestine and complete support is a joint duty of all Muslims. The governments which criticize the Islamic Republic of Iran and some other Muslim countries for assisting Palestine should come forward to bear the burden of such support so that others are relieved of this Islamic duty. But if they lack the ability and courage to do so, instead of criticism and causing hindrance, they should appreciate the dutiful and courageous steps taken by others.
Respected audience! You who are present at this conference are thinkers and specialists about the problem of Palestine. Today our historical duty is not to repeat the bland statements and torpid theories of the past, but to suggest approaches for liberating Palestine from the oppression of the Zionist regime.
Our proposal is a solution which is in total agreement with democracy and can form a common logical basis. That proposal is that all those who have a legitimate stake in the territory of Palestine, including Muslims, Christians and Jews should choose their own system of government in a general referendum. All Palestinians who have borne for years the ordeals of exile should also participate in this referendum.
The Western world should know that non-acceptance of this solution will imply an absence of commitment to democracy, which it always claims to support. The failure to pass this test will further expose its double standards. Palestine was also the focus of an earlier test, when the West didn't want to accept the result of elections in the West bank and Gaza which brought the Hamas government into office. Those who accept democracy so long as it results in achieving their aims are war-mongering adventurers. If they talk about peace, it is nothing but lies and deception.
The reconstruction of Gaza is one of the most urgent problems of Palestine. The Hamas government— which was elected by a decisive majority of the Palestinians and whose epical resistance, which saddled the Zionist regime with defeat, is the brightest page in Palestinian history of the last hundred years—should be at the centre of all reconstruction efforts. It will be appropriate for the Egyptian brothers to open the way for aid to move in and allow Muslim countries and nations to carry out their duty in this regard.
In conclusion, I honour the memory of the martyrs of the 22-day war. With their blood they made the Palestinian Gaza a matter of pride for Islam and Arabs. I implore God's mercy and forgiveness for them. In addition, I invoke His blessings for all the martyrs of Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan and for all martyrs of Islam, as well as for the pure spirit of our magnificent leader, the late Imam Khomeini.
I beseech God, the Most High, to exalt the honour of Islam and Muslims, to bring Muslim nations closer to one another, and bring a daily increasing awakening to the Islamic world.
May Peace and Allah's mercy and His blessings be upon you.

... Payvand News - 03/04/09

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end note ***
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Islam Forbids Nuclear Weapons: Tehran Friday Prayer Leader
Second sermon from the Friday prayers at Tehran University delivered by Experts Assembly member Ayatollah Mohammad Emami-Kashani, temporary Tehran Friday prayer leader, on 9 November -- recorded
Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Network 1, Friday, November 9, 2007
"The hegemonic powers are honing in on these three points (speaking in Arabic). These are three key issues and, where our country is concerned, the world arrogance is zooming in on precisely these three points. The enemy creates disturbances along the borders, plans domestic panic, wages psychological warfare by threatening military action, and imposes economic sanctions to hamper commerce. The enemy is concentrating its efforts on the very three things that the holy Koran says are the secret to security in a place. Of course, they make false accusations - the hegemonic powers make unfounded accusations against Iran; claiming that it is seeking to produce nuclear weapons.
In Iran, the person who is a mufti, who has the right to issue fatwas, who is recognized as a jurist and is the leader of the community - he who is the highest authority in the nation our eminent Leader [Ali Khamenei] - has made it abundantly clear, as have others, that the destruction of nations, any nation large or small, of women and children, - any massacre of innocents is wrong. The same is true of the atomic bomb and atomic weapons. The very idea of an atom bomb is forbidden, the very deed is a sin.
The foremost authority in this country, one who is in a position to issue fatwas, in political affairs, and in decision-making processes has stated it explicitly.
Nevertheless, the enemy says you want to make atom bombs. It is like the other things they say - they say things like you train terrorists and you make this and that place unsafe. They make such claims about an Iran that believes in security in all places, an Iran and an Islamic regime that believes that all places must be safe; because this is what the Koran tells us. The Koran tells us (passage omitted: in Arabic) God does not love those who sin on earth. The earth has primacy for an Islamic society. Any ground, anywhere, any religion, be it Judaism or Christianity, one and all, Islamic societies, Islamic thought and the holy Koran believes in security for all. It is so without a doubt. It is so for the Islamic regime and it is so for our constitution.
Religious minorities in this country believe it to be true - that this is our view toward the world at large. The real point of discussion is their (the enemy) crimes. We should be talking about them and how they are gobbling up the world and are willing to commit all manner of crimes while professing themselves to be proponents of peace.
Iran is a country whose (citizens) young and old await the rapture and the coming of the promised Mehdi, may God hasten his return. We believe that the future holds peace for us, that the future will bring security. We have a messiah. He will come and peace will prevail in this world and upon this earth. Such a system does not desire to perpetuate the kinds of crimes and murders you commit.
I will finish here. I call on the pious including myself to worship but one God and have faith (passage omitted: prayer in Arabic). '
(Source: Tehran Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Network 1 in Persian - state-run television)

comment:
I'm reminded of Dr Anthony McRoy's comment, in a paper delivered at a recent Mahdist conference in Tehran:

... we should note that Shi'ite theology recognises two distinctions in military jihad, with a qualification on the authority to call to military action: 'There are two types of jihad: ibtida'i (to be begun by Muslims) and defa'i (defensive). In the view of Shi'ite jurisprudence, ibtida'i jihad can only take shape under the direction of the Holy Prophet or one of the twelve immaculate and perfect Imams, otherwise it is forbidden.' This is essential to recognise in the present context of concern about Iran's purported 'nuclear ambitions'. Whatever the truth may be, it is irrelevant to Western independence and security, even if Iran amassed a nuclear arsenal twice the size of that of the USA. Iran, as the Islamic Republic, could not employ those weapons to conquer America – until the Mahdi returns and orders such. At best, Iran could only (theologically speaking) employ them if attacked by American nuclear bombs – i.e. in defensive jihad. Only the Twelfth Imam as the Mahdi can give the order for offensive jihad.'

/ends...

Report from:
Tony Henderson, Chairman, Humanist Association of Hong Kong
Phone: [phone]
email: [e-mail]

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