November 11, 2001	Sunday	Shaba’an 24, 1422

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

NEW YORK, Nov 10: Iranian President Mohammed Khatami on Friday “branded as extremist Osama bin Laden’s version of Islam and said it did not represent the majority of the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims.”

“I don’t believe that his message really resonates strongly in the Muslim world,” Mr Khatami said in an interview with The New York Times, his first with an American publication since assuming the presidency in 1997. “Public opinion in the Muslim world in general wants peace, security and stability and the right to defend their religion and their freedom.”

Mr Khatami addressed the General Assembly on Friday afternoon. “The horrific terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001, in the United States were perpetrated by cult of fanatics who had self-mutilated their ears and tongues, and could only communicate with perceived opponents through carnage and devastation,” he said.

The Iranian leader has harshly criticized those who have sought to portray Islam as a religion of hate opposed to the West.

Islam should not be blamed by what he called “extremist movements and terrorist movements around the world,” Mr Khatami told the Times, adding that “Islam brings a message of peace for humanity.”

He is also eager to promote Iran’s Islamic republic as proof that Islamic government can be, in his words, “a good model for all Islamic countries.”

Regarding the Middle East conflict, he told the paper that his country would respect the wishes of the Palestinian people if they chose to recognize Israel’s right to exist.

“If the Palestinians accept this issue, while from a moral standpoint we believe that a government of oppression is not an acceptable government, we will respect the wishes of the Palestinian nation,” he said.

At the same time, he did not relent in his criticism of the Israeli government, which he said was itself “founded on terror and killings.”

The NYT said that despite his condemnation of Osama bin Laden, the Iranian president also called for an end to the military campaign in Afghanistan “as soon as possible,” warning that a long war would “lead to more suffering and pain for the people of Afghanistan.”

But he made no attempt to deny Iran’s military, logistical and financial support for the Afghan Northern Alliance, the paper said.