That's my inner Thomas Friedman speaking: "Memo to Fidel. . . ."
Really, I ought to give Fidel a call: "Hi, Fidel, you don't know me, but you knew Paul S, Paul B, Leo, and Harry <http://www.monthlyreview.org/photos.htm>, and I've inherited a piece of them. Here's what I implore you to do, for the good of Iranians, Palestinians, Jews, and the rest of us: talk sense into the President of Iran!" :-)
Or else write a letter to Ahmadinejad:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,
Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
Your excellency, I applaud your economic policy, defense of Iran's right to nuclear research, recent decree allowing women to attend sports events at stadiums, sympathy with US troops put into harm's way, and solidarity with Palestinians and other oppressed peoples. But, today, I write to you on a matter that concerns me and others who wish well for your republic: are you aware that Neo-Nazis are trying to appropriate your image and Palestinian suffering for their despicable cause? Please take a look at this music video: <http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4567204398657469621&q=ahmadinejad&pl=true>.
Has it ever occurred to you, as you attend the World Cup in Germany next month, Neo-Nazis might try to hold a rally ostensibly for you and Palestinians, but really trying to promote only their anti-Semitic ideology? Imagine that spectacle! That's not good for you, Iranians, Palestinians, or anyone else for that matter except Washington and Tel Aviv! You would be no doubt aghast at it yourself. Please issue a statement -- before you take off for Germany -- that reiterates your solidarity with Palestinians, condemns Neo-Nazis, and extends your support for Jewish leftists in Israel and the diaspora who are fighting for one Palestine with equal rights and freedoms for Palestinians, Jews, and others.
Take good care of yourself, and please send my regards to your wife and Messers. Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, and Evo Morales.
Ciao,
Yoshie
On 5/12/06, Joel Schalit <managingeditor at tikkun.org> wrote:
> I think my friend's point about what Iran's mullahs and religious
> revolutionaries were reading in the sixties had less to do with
> working in concert/alliance with secular revolutionaries at the time.
> it had more to do with being ideologically impacted by left
> discourses which they found useful for analyzing the phenomena that
> they were confronting. fanon's analysis of colonialism, for example,
> can be easily employed, and so can Gramsci's concepts of
> revolutionary strategy, which have been remarkably influential
> amongst a great deal of right-wing intellectuals over the course of
> the past generation. His concept of establishing cultural counter-
> hegemonies, for example, was very well studied by the religious right
> in the US. This is the kind of logic my colleague was getting at.
Joel is right. Ali Shariati is an example of the ideological influence of the left on non-Marxists in Iran:
<blockquote>Ali Shariati, enshrined as the "invisible present", or the "ever-present absent" (the highest privilege that Shi'ism permits), and who studied in France, brought into the revolution an entire doctrine of non-Marxist socialism. Though coming from a religious background, Shariati preached that the true meaning of Shi'ism should not be sought in an institutionalized religion but in the sermons of social justice and equality as preached by the first imam. Shariati's martyrdom stands out, without doubt, as one of the most poignant sagas of the Iranian revolution. It must be recalled that Shariati's name was the only name that was called out, besides that of Khomeini, by the young Iranian revolutionaries (like Ahmadinejad) pouring out into the streets in the winter of 1978. By echoing Shariati's sermons, Ahmadinejad in his election speeches reached out to the slumbering collective memory of the Iranian revolution - revisiting the revolution itself. <http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GF29Ak04.html></blockquote>
-- Yoshie <http://montages.blogspot.com/> <http://mrzine.org> <http://monthlyreview.org/>