Javad Yassari

Divine Message for all of us (but add a little)

If only this speech could be captured as about the closest Abrahamic religions might come just now to agreement on the essence of the Divine Message. If we could agree to this much and just add, as Christians believe, the Divine message content too of Christ's death and Resurrection.

Dear Mr Yassari

I believe your assessment of their support was correct. I also agree with Dayee jan David Napoleon  :0)

IRANdokht

Much obliged!

Thank you all for your comments. 

aaj sr, Thank you for sharing the letter.  I had seen it.  I'm glad Ms. Afshin Jam has been taking a broader approach to issues pertaining to Iran.  I don't know how effective the gestures are, but to be sure they are a lot better than doing nothing.

IRANdokht Khanoom, I think something is cooking in favor of Mr. Ahmadinejad in the UK.  I do believe it has do with the upcoming elections in Iran and a subtle way of support for him.  But I might be wrong.

Mr. David ET, yes, I agree, but not as much as Mr. Amir Kabir In Zir Shalvari does!

Mr. Killjoy (do you really kill joy?  You don't seem that way to me!  Maybe sometimes?), you are right.  Nobody will do it for Iran, good or bad, but Iranians themselves.

Mr. Kadivar, I laughed my head off!  Indeed, your suggestion is an excellent one!  Though I don't believe there are any particular public messages for Ashura in Iran.  Perhaps she can do the upcoming 30th Anniversary for the Iranian Revolution in which the British government may have had a finger or two! 

It's OK if In turn The Queen Could do the Same on Iran TV.. ;0)

For Ashura and Nowrooz next Year. I wonder how Iran TV would prove to be as Democratic in this regard ? LOL

Welcome to the Royal Channel : The Official Channel of the British Monarchy: Tell me what you think of the Queen of England's First Televised Christmas Speach in 1957 ? I find it much in advance for its time and quite humble and it even echoes with our contemporary times on many aspects ... 

Agha "Dr." Ahmadinejad Yad Begheer ! ...

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBRP-o6Q85s&feature=channel_page

And Another one to test your Sense of Humour Agha "Dr." Mahmoud: 

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejRJXR92B7g&feature=related

Too Late!

It's too late to start worrying about our image outside Iran!

Nothing will change as long as the country is run by the mullaahs and the likes of Ahmadinejad.

See saaleh ke "khodaa beh daademoon naraseedeh!"

Beh ghowleh shaa'er:

"Goo'i zani kenaareh khodaa khoftast." (The lady must be good at what she's doing!)

Hey bikhodi beh delemoon va'adeh bedeem ke yeh roozi bel'akhereh yeh "massihaa nafasi" peidash misheh!

Hamash zir sare in inglisast

;-)

my humble two cents

Obviously there are agendas behind this decision. 

1- What better way to demonize a country than to broadcast speeches of a "bombastic" figure known for controversial messages? You can demonstrate IR as the true enemy of Christians and Peace (which is usually the Holiday message)

2- Give air time to the departing figure while he's being challenged at home.

Either way... khoda be daademoon beresseh!

IRANdokht

Mugabeh was a better candidate....Shame on Channel 4..

Send your protest to following address:
December 24th 2008

To: Mr. Luke Johnson

Chairman

Channel 4 News

news@channel4.com

viewerenquiries@channel4.co.uk

+44 (0) 845 076 0191

//www.lukejohnson.org/

Re: Alternate Christmas address by Ahmadinejad on Channel 4 News, UK //www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/dec/24/irania...

Dear Mr. Johnson and the Board of Channel 4,

As an Iranian born Canadian and human rights activist, I am highly offended by Channel 4 News' invitation to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to give an alternative message to the Queen's Christmas address.

Channel 4 is demonstrating a commitment to free speech which is to be honoured; but it should be aware that it is giving a voice to the person who robs many millions of people of theirs.

Just in the last few days officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran shut down Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi’s human rights centre and executed 10 people this morning. Iran has the highest number of executions in the world after China and holds the number one spot for child executions. One of the 140 children on death row in Iran, Behnood Shojaee, was supposed to be executed earlier today but his name was pulled at the last minute. These are hardly symbols of “seasonal goodwill”.

Why is Channel 4 giving a platform to a President who was not democratically elected and does not represent the majority of Iranians? Next year, should we expect Kim Jung Il address a message of goodwill and cheer on Christmas, or how about Robert Mugabe?

How can Channel 4 host a man that supports the execution of children, gender apartheid, stoning for adultery, the persecution of religious minorities, the death penalty for homosexuals and apostates, dismembering of limbs for stealing, discrimination of ethnic minorities, and the detainment and torture of students, journalists, webloggers and human rights defenders as political prisoners?

How can Channel 4 broadcast a man that humiliates Iranian citizens and the world community with his anti-Semitic remarks and denying the existence of the holocaust?

If Channel 4 is more concerned about ratings than the human rights of the Iranian people, may I suggest an “alternative” to the “alternative Christmas address”?

Ahmadinejad is warping religious values, using Jesus’ name to ostensibly spread peace and love, yet back home in Iran Christians are persecuted for being Christian. I suggest Channel 4 interview people like Azita and Ahmad Reza Shafaghat, an Iranian-Christian couple, who were imprisoned and tortured, and then fled Iran to practice their religion in peace. A few years ago, they lived in hiding in Iran until they escaped via mountains in Kurdistan, Iraq and Turkey to get to Greece. The Greek police caught them and sent them back to Turkey where they spent over 9 months in prison. Before they obtained refugee status from UNHCR, I remember the fear in their voice at the prospect of being deported back to Iran. I helped this couple for a year and a half with UK citizen Reza Pardisan to try and get them asylum. Thanks to the gracious support of the Canadian government, they will soon settle in this free country. When they turn on the news, how will Channel 4 respond to why a platform is being given to one of the men responsible for having them, and hundreds of thousands of Iranians, uprooted from their homeland to escape oppression?

This story is not unique. If it is more convenient, an interview can be conducted with an Iranian-Christian family that is being held at Yals Wood Detention Center in the UK and will be sent back to Iran on December 28th unless people living in the free world, like the directors at Chanel 4, take Iran’s violations of human rights seriously. The family fears for their life due to the new apostasy law in Iran that calls for the execution of converts from Islam to another religion.

This alternative Christmas message by Ahmadinejad is in poor taste and a slap to the face of billions of Christians and others who are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Under Ahmadinejad’s so-called “presidency”, dozens of Christians have been arrested and face possible execution, including Ramtin Soodmand, the son of a Christian pastor who was executed in 1990 for the same reason. I get many emails and phone calls from frightened family’s worshipping from basements in Iran including the Sunni minority and Baha’is who are forbidden to attend university.

By giving Ahmadinejad the honour of a Christmas address, an alternative to the Queen, conceals the cruel reality taking place in Iran.

Please consider cancelling Ahmadinejad’s “Christmas address”. Otherwise, please have an Iranian human rights activist speak alongside of him, or at the very least provide a platform to respond to his address.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays,

Nazanin

Nazanin Afshin-Jam

Human Rights Activist

President and Co Founder

Stop Child Executions

www.stopchildexecutions.com