Book contents
1 - Ahmadinejad
A Touch of Light
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Summary
Some three months after his unexpected and contested victory in Iran's Presidential elections, Mahmud Ahmadinejad travelled to the United States to attend the 60th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. On 17 September 2005, Ahmadinejad addressed the General Assembly. He concluded his political speech with a call for the return of the Twelfth Shiʿi Imam. He told the world community:
Dear friends and colleagues, from the beginning of time, humanity has longed for the day when justice, peace, equality and compassion would envelop the world. All of us can contribute to the establishment of such a world. When that day comes, the ultimate promise of all Divine religions will be fulfilled with the emergence of a perfect human being who is heir to all prophets and pious men. He will lead the world to justice and absolute peace. “O mighty Lord, I pray to you to hasten the emergence of your last repository, the promised one, that perfect and pure human being, the one that will fill this world with justice and peace. O Lord, include us among his companions, followers and those who serve his cause”.
As unconventional and curious as the last few lines of Ahmadinejad's speech may have sounded to his audience in New York, to a large number of Iranians back home his appeal for the return of the Twelfth Imam was far from unusual.
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- Superstition as Ideology in Iranian PoliticsFrom Majlesi to Ahmadinejad, pp. 35 - 113Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011
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