Who is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

From Amil Imani:

[quote]To understand Ahmadinejad�??s mind set and behavior requires a close scrutiny of the elaborate and intricate theology of Hujjatiyyah Shiism, perhaps the most fundamentalist of the numerous Shiite sects.

In the 1950s, a group of Islamic clergy led by Sheikh Mahmoud Halabi (a close associate of Ayatollah Khomeini) formed a society called the Anjoman-e Khayryyehye Hujjatiyyah-ye Mahdaviat (Charitable Society of the Mahdi), based in Mashhad, Iran. The Hujjatiyyah membership was mostly composed by the bazaar-i businessmen and fanatical mullahs. Among many things, they were against the communists, Marxists, and atheists. Their overarching “raison d’être,” however, was to prepare the world for the upcoming of the 12th Imam – the Mahdi.

However, the most important immediate agenda item on their list was to harass and persecute the Baha’is, a religious group representing a small percentage of Iran’s population. In fact, the Hujjatiyyah-y’s alternative name became “The anti-Baha’i Society” (Anjuman-e Zidd-e Baha’iyat). They collectively worked for a single purpose: the eradication of Baha’is.

The terrible plight of the Baha’is in Iran is particularly heart-wrenching, since they are the largest non-Muslim population in the country and have been, from day one, severely brutalized by Muslims. Baha’i teachings of tolerance and openness to science are anathema to the Islamofascists on many levels, but the history of the faith includes direct challenges to the theological legitimacy of the mullahs. These slaveholders find the Baha’i faith a threat to their own version of Islam and the absolute theocratic power it puts their hands.

The egomaniac President Ahmadinejad is a member of Hujjatiyyah. He sees himself as the personal vassal of the Mahdi-Messiah or Hidden Imam, with whom he has fantasized tête-à-têtes frequently.

Ahmadinejad, a man driven by his religion, has a spiritual advisor in Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi (the defacto leader of the Hujjatiyyah). The President’s advisor is known for his extremist views on Islam and promotes suicide bombings and attacks on civilians in the West. There is only view of Islam for him. He once said, “…if anyone tells you their own interpretation of Islam, punch them in the mouth!”

President Ahmadinejad has in a short time acquired great many descriptors at home and overseas: zealot, fascist, fanatic, anti-Semitic, lunatic and more. One prominent Western columnist called him “unhinged.” But we cannot just dismiss the man as an aberration, someone who is in urgent need of psychological help, a person out of touch with reality, who represents nothing of substance.

Once again the West is misreading and misjudging people and events in the Middle East, due to the fact that it views things through its own prism.

Looking at the man through Western spectacles, he indeed appears to be all of the above and more. Yet Ahmadinejad is far from unhinged. As a matter of fact he is firmly hinged to a set of beliefs that dictate his views of the world, and inform him how he should deal with it from his position of power.

An unhinged man has the potential of becoming once again hinged. But, there is very little that can be done to a person who is inseparably hinged, and Ahmadinejad views are firmly rooted in the most orthodox philosophy of Shiism.

For our purposes, however, it is sufficient to document the fact that Ahmadinejad is not mentally disturbed; there is no display of contradictory thoughts and behavior. There is a full internal consistency in Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad’s words, deeds and beliefs show a fully hinged person.

Below are a few examples of his sayings, beliefs and actions. Whether one agrees or disagrees with them, they all fit perfectly into a consistent pattern.

�?� He literally believes in the imminent emergence of the Mahdi - the Shiites’ promised one who is expected to appear to set aright a decadent and wretched world.

�?� He views himself as the vassal of Mahdi, working for him and being accountable to him.

�?� His main task is to prepare the world so to hasten the Mahdi’s coming. If this preparation requires much destruction and bloodshed, so be it.

�?� As a former mayor of Tehran, he developed elaborate detailed plans preparing the city for the arrival of the Mahdi.

�?� He allocated generous sums for extensive road improvement to a mosque at Jamkaaraan near the city of Qum where it is believed the promised Mahdi is hiding in a well since the age of four, over 1100 years ago.

�?� He reportedly visits the well frequently and drops his written supplications into the well for the hidden Mahdi to act upon them.

�?� He has said in private that it was he who asked the Mahdi to inflict the massive stroke on Ariel Sharon.

�?� He sees the Jews as the sworn enemies of Islam. The hostility dates back to the time of Muhammad’s own treatment of the Jews in Medina. At first, expediently, Muhammad called the Jews “people of the book,” and accorded them a measure of tolerance until he gained enough power to unleash his devastating wrath on them.

�?� He says that the Holocaust is a myth. He is, in this respect, in good company with a number of other revisionist fanatics.

�?� He wants Israel to be wiped out of the map or transferred to Europe.

�?� In his speech at the UN general assembly, he implored the Mahdi to come and save the world. He claimed that during his speech of some twenty odd minutes, a powerful light enveloped him and all participants were held transfixed, unable to move their eyes.

�?� He believes that the earth is Allah’s and all people must either become believers of his brand of Islam or must perish as infidels najis (unclean) who by their very presence defile Allah’s earth.

�?� He believes that this earthly life is passing and worthless in comparison to the afterlife awaiting a devoted and faithful believer. Hence, he holds to the old belief that if a faithful kills an infidel, he goes to Allah’s paradise; and, if the faithful gets killed in the process of serving the faith, again he goes to Allah’s paradise. Hence, it is a win-win proposition for the faithful.

Ahmadinejad is a true devoted Muslim. Being unpredictable, self-contradictory and inconsistent are major symptoms of the mentally unhinged. By these standards of insanity, Ahmadinejad emerges as completely sane. He is fully predictable, consistent and has shown no self-contradiction. He does not even pretend that he misspoke or apologize for his outrageous statements. He is not a typical politician who practices the devious art of doublespeak, deception and change of position to suit his immediate convenience.

He knows who he is, what he believes, and what his own mission in life is: serving as the instrument for the revered Mahdi. Allah will make him emerge from the well as soon as the world’s conditions hit absolute hopeless bottom. Ahmadinejad sees himself as a driver who can play a critical role in doing just that, driving the world to the very bottom. And he plans on having an arsenal of nuclear weapons as soon as possible.

There is nothing really “unhinged” about Ahamadinejad’s thinking, statements and actions. They are internally consistent. He is simply a fanatic who is wedded to an extremely dangerous exclusionary system of belief. Humanity must learn that dismissing him as a lunatic will result in great suffering, as it did with Hitler.

Tragically, Ahmadinejad is the embodiment of several million people who are hinged exactly like him and who are willing to give their lives, and take with them as many lives as required in the service of their belief. In this age of Weapons of Mass Destruction a man with huge sums of petrodollars can serve as the catalyst of total annihilation.

Prudence would err on the side of being an alarmist than a complacent dismissive.

Ahmadinejad and his ilk are not interested in any negotiation, any compromise or any live-and-let-live final solution. They are determined to be the soldiers of Mahdi come-what-may. They have no problem with the total destruction of the world. They are headed for a life of eternal bliss in Allah’s paradise. They hardly care, even rejoice, if the rest of humanity is subjected to a tragic death in the nuclear, biological and chemical wasteland of planet earth.

Humanity cannot afford and must not ignore the emergence of the final threat to its very existence on this planet.
[/quote]

He doesn’t have any real power in Iran, he’s just a spokesperson and a face for everyone to hate. The Ayatollah holds power over everyone there… Al Khamenei I think his name was, might have to wiki it.

I don’t think he writes his own speeches either.

You think Ahmadinejad doesn’t believe the speeches he’s reading? Last election the reformists were gaining ground. He was picked because he was a hardliner.

[quote]Maximillian wrote:
He doesn’t have any real power in Iran, he’s just a spokesperson and a face for everyone to hate. The Ayatollah holds power over everyone there… Al Khamenei I think his name was, might have to wiki it.

I don’t think he writes his own speeches either.[/quote]

A fact that certain people seem incapable of admitting.

admit what? That he’s actually a conservative Christian posing as a Shite?

Many of the American hostages capture at the American embassy in Iran have identified Ahmadinejad as on of the hostage-takers. They also said that he was the most violent and the most inclined to torture. It was his idea for Iranian boys to “martyr” themselves by rolling themselves up in blankets and go running through Iraq minefields, even while the Iraqis were yelling at them to stop. It’s hard to imagine the Arabs being more civilized than the Persians, but that’s what happened in this case.

You assert that he has no power, but he has deep roots in Qom where he studied and has demonstrated himself to be an apt pupil of this apocalyptic twelver Shi’ism that the Ayatollah Khomeini preached. At the very least, he has a lot of influence.

This push for nuclear weapons is probably the last gasp of the empire of Persia, given its demographic and economic problems, but that gasp may be a big bang.

[quote]GDollars37 wrote:
Maximillian wrote:
He doesn’t have any real power in Iran, he’s just a spokesperson and a face for everyone to hate. The Ayatollah holds power over everyone there… Al Khamenei I think his name was, might have to wiki it.

I don’t think he writes his own speeches either.

A fact that certain people seem incapable of admitting.[/quote]

You two have a real bury your head in the sand mentality which is dangerous. These are not people to underestimate and dismiss as harmless.

Just because the Ayatollah Khamenei is a step above Ahmadinejad does not mean the president does not have a lot of power. Ahmadinejad certainly has a lot of clout with the revolutionary guards who are the ones running the nuclear program.

The revolutionary guards should not be underestimated either, they are like a nation within the Iranian nation, with their own power structure consisting of their own leadership, military industrial complex and army, navy, air force. Ahmadinejad is their leader.

Khamenei and Ahmadinejad both had roles they played in the hostage crisis. There is not as much daylight between those two as you assume. They are merely playing good cop bad cop in order to mislead people who want to be mislead.

The Ayatollah Khamenei was hand picked by the Ayatollah Khomenei to be his successor. Khomenei even went so far as to change the constitution so Khamenei who was not a Grand Ayatollah (marja) or even an Ayatollah could be promoted.

Khomenei chose Khamenei because none of the Ayatollahs was hardline enough for his satisfaction. Khamenei chose Ahmadinejad as president because Ahmadinejad reflected his beliefs.

Your desire to not see this come to a fight is clouding your judgement and causing you to engage in wishful thinking that Khamenei is going to save the day.

He’s an asshole bottom line.

He wouldn’t say anything that the Ayatollah would disagree with, the fact that he may or may not have any power is irrelevant. He speaks for Iran and that speak is full of hate, violence, genocide and destruction.

There is nothing to talk about really, he not worth discussing…I wouldn’t give that cocksucker the sweat off of my balls if he were dying of thirst.

And why, when he is on American soil, has he not been arrested for his role in the hostage taking in '79?

[quote]Sifu wrote:
GDollars37 wrote:
Maximillian wrote:
He doesn’t have any real power in Iran, he’s just a spokesperson and a face for everyone to hate. The Ayatollah holds power over everyone there… Al Khamenei I think his name was, might have to wiki it.

I don’t think he writes his own speeches either.

A fact that certain people seem incapable of admitting.

You two have a real bury your head in the sand mentality which is dangerous. These are not people to underestimate and dismiss as harmless.

Just because the Ayatollah Khamenei is a step above Ahmadinejad does not mean the president does not have a lot of power. Ahmadinejad certainly has a lot of clout with the revolutionary guards who are the ones running the nuclear program.

The revolutionary guards should not be underestimated either, they are like a nation within the Iranian nation, with their own power structure consisting of their own leadership, military industrial complex and army, navy, air force. Ahmadinejad is their leader.

Khamenei and Ahmadinejad both had roles they played in the hostage crisis. There is not as much daylight between those two as you assume. They are merely playing good cop bad cop in order to mislead people who want to be mislead.

The Ayatollah Khamenei was hand picked by the Ayatollah Khomenei to be his successor. Khomenei even went so far as to change the constitution so Khamenei who was not a Grand Ayatollah (marja) or even an Ayatollah could be promoted.

Khomenei chose Khamenei because none of the Ayatollahs was hardline enough for his satisfaction. Khamenei chose Ahmadinejad as president because Ahmadinejad reflected his beliefs.

Your desire to not see this come to a fight is clouding your judgement and causing you to engage in wishful thinking that Khamenei is going to save the day.[/quote]

Stop bringing facts into this discussion. They have no place here.

Here is some analysis on what is going on with Irans nuclear program and the Ayatollah Khamenei’s of and approval for Ahmadinejad to run for reelection.

http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5616

US-Russian deal lets Iran�??s nuclear bomb program off the hook
DEBKAfile Special Report

September 27, 2008, 10:39 AM (GMT+02:00)

Friday, Sept. 26, 2008 was the day the policy pursued by Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni and Shimon Peres, of reliance on the international community to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb, sank without a trace. The international community declined to adopt fresh economic sanctions to rein in an increasingly defiant Tehran.

A deal between the US and Russia in New York sealed a very brief non-sanctions draft reaffirming previous council decisions for the five permanent Security Council members and Germany to table. It also called for Iran�??s compliance.

This ignored the reality of Iran openly flouting all three previous sanctions resolutions: Tehran continues to enrich uranium, reprocess plutonium, build nuclear-capable missiles and stonewall on International Atomic Energy Agency�??s questions and inspections.

Even the usually forgiving IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei changed his tune and admitted Thursday that Iran was on its way to �??mastering technology that would enable it to build atomic bombs.�??

Yet no comment has come from Israel, either from the Kadima-nominee for prime minister Tzipi Livni or defense minister, Labor�??s Ehud Barak, although ElBaradei was clearly preparing the ground to raise his hands and admit failure in stop Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon capability. The world would have to swallow the pill.

This acceptance was reflected in the West�??s backing down on a fourth round of sanctions. Iran, free of fear of retribution, may go forward with its first underground nuclear test some time next year, flaunting the inability of its arch-foes, America and Israel, to prevent it attaining the status of first Islamic nuclear power.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could therefore afford to be cockier than ever when he addressed the UN General Assembly in Nazi-style anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli and anti-American language. Tehran would ignore any council demand imposed by �??arrogant powers�?? to curb its nuclear program, he declared. The issue was closed.

The Iranian leader can afford to crow. This week he won solid backing from Iran�??s ultimate power, supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who called on the nation to give him their support.

This cleared the way for Ahmadinejad�??s re-election as president next year and enable him to continue to shepherd the national nuclear weapons program through to completion.

He certainly picked up the gap in perception of the program between Israel and the world powers. While Israeli spokesman still refer to a future threat which there is still time to stop, most world leaders appear reconciled to its presence.

The collapse of Israel�??s foreign policy on this issue came at an unfortunate juncture:

  1. The pandemonium in the US-led financial world has removed the Iranian threat from international consciousness.

  2. Moscow, Iran and Syria are cementing their partnership, giving Tehran�??s nuclear aspirations a strong diplomatic umbrella.

Moscow is pursuing cold war tactics in two new spheres: the Middle East, from its center of gravity in Tehran, and Latin America, resting on Venezuela�??s anti-American posture and friendly relations with Iran.

Israel�??s foreign policy, lame and defensive at the best of times since Livni took over, appears as oblivious as ever to the disastrous developments pressing down on the Jewish state.

[quote]Sifu wrote:
GDollars37 wrote:
Maximillian wrote:
He doesn’t have any real power in Iran, he’s just a spokesperson and a face for everyone to hate. The Ayatollah holds power over everyone there… Al Khamenei I think his name was, might have to wiki it.

I don’t think he writes his own speeches either.

A fact that certain people seem incapable of admitting.

You two have a real bury your head in the sand mentality which is dangerous. These are not people to underestimate and dismiss as harmless.

Just because the Ayatollah Khamenei is a step above Ahmadinejad does not mean the president does not have a lot of power. Ahmadinejad certainly has a lot of clout with the revolutionary guards who are the ones running the nuclear program.

The revolutionary guards should not be underestimated either, they are like a nation within the Iranian nation, with their own power structure consisting of their own leadership, military industrial complex and army, navy, air force. Ahmadinejad is their leader.

Khamenei and Ahmadinejad both had roles they played in the hostage crisis. There is not as much daylight between those two as you assume. They are merely playing good cop bad cop in order to mislead people who want to be mislead.

The Ayatollah Khamenei was hand picked by the Ayatollah Khomenei to be his successor. Khomenei even went so far as to change the constitution so Khamenei who was not a Grand Ayatollah (marja) or even an Ayatollah could be promoted.

Khomenei chose Khamenei because none of the Ayatollahs was hardline enough for his satisfaction. Khamenei chose Ahmadinejad as president because Ahmadinejad reflected his beliefs.

Your desire to not see this come to a fight is clouding your judgement and causing you to engage in wishful thinking that Khamenei is going to save the day.[/quote]

I never said anything of the kind. Khamenei is certainly a hard-liner. But to respond to Ahmedinejad’s absurd statements and petty provocations like he rules Iran when he is, at best, fourth in the pecking order, is stupid.

If Ahmadinejad is just the mouth piece for Khameini and the other ayatollahs, are you now comforted? You think Khameini is some “moderate”?

[quote]GDollars37 wrote:
Sifu wrote:
GDollars37 wrote:
Maximillian wrote:
He doesn’t have any real power in Iran, he’s just a spokesperson and a face for everyone to hate. The Ayatollah holds power over everyone there… Al Khamenei I think his name was, might have to wiki it.

I don’t think he writes his own speeches either.

A fact that certain people seem incapable of admitting.

You two have a real bury your head in the sand mentality which is dangerous. These are not people to underestimate and dismiss as harmless.

Just because the Ayatollah Khamenei is a step above Ahmadinejad does not mean the president does not have a lot of power. Ahmadinejad certainly has a lot of clout with the revolutionary guards who are the ones running the nuclear program.

The revolutionary guards should not be underestimated either, they are like a nation within the Iranian nation, with their own power structure consisting of their own leadership, military industrial complex and army, navy, air force. Ahmadinejad is their leader.

Khamenei and Ahmadinejad both had roles they played in the hostage crisis. There is not as much daylight between those two as you assume. They are merely playing good cop bad cop in order to mislead people who want to be mislead.

The Ayatollah Khamenei was hand picked by the Ayatollah Khomenei to be his successor. Khomenei even went so far as to change the constitution so Khamenei who was not a Grand Ayatollah (marja) or even an Ayatollah could be promoted.

Khomenei chose Khamenei because none of the Ayatollahs was hardline enough for his satisfaction. Khamenei chose Ahmadinejad as president because Ahmadinejad reflected his beliefs.

Your desire to not see this come to a fight is clouding your judgement and causing you to engage in wishful thinking that Khamenei is going to save the day.

I never said anything of the kind. Khamenei is certainly a hard-liner. But to respond to Ahmedinejad’s absurd statements and petty provocations like he rules Iran when he is, at best, fourth in the pecking order, is stupid.[/quote]

Ahmadinejad would not be president with out the approval of the Ayatollahs. If you are trying to suggest that he is just some loose canon who does not have the full approval of the Ayatollahs you are delusional.

The Ayatollah Khamenei just called upon the Iranian people to give Ahmadinejad their support and approved him to run for reelection.

If Ahmadinejad did not have the approval of the Ayatollahs they would not have approved him to run for reelection.

Obviously it is not easy for you to accept but the Iranians are operating under a very different set of beliefs and motiviations from what we are used to in this country.

.

[quote]jlesk68 wrote:
.[/quote]

He sat down with a fringe group of self-loathing Jews who hate the idea of Israel at the Holocaust (denial) conference he hosted in Tehran. I remember all of this. What is your point?

I don’t want to start a new thread for this, so I’ll drop it here, as it’s the current Ahmadinejad thread: “Bush curses Ahmadinejad in UN speech.”