Search Result in All

Torang is in love and against his better judgment, her uncle marries them in an informal ceremony. She goes to Tehran with her new husband and begins her life with him, but her new family has a dirty secret. When her husband dies suddenly, she is left with no legal proof that she’s married, and a baby growing inside her.

Torang is in love and against his better judgment, her uncle marries them in an informal ceremony. She goes to Tehran with her new husband and begins her life with him, but her new family has a dirty secret. When her husband dies suddenly, she is left with no legal proof that she’s married, and a baby growing inside her.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, there are more than 38 thousand people with disabilities in the Gaza Strip; or 2.4% of the total population in the Gaza Strip are with disabilities. Due to the Israeli blockade imposed on the coastal enclave, disabled people in Gaza suffer two main problems; obtaining a medical permit for treatment outside Gaza, and getting access to required medications not available in the hospitals of the blockaded Gaza. Yasmeen a child of 11, suffered from cancer when she was 9. After a brain tumor, she lost control over her legs and arms. She is home-schooled and refuses to give up on living her life. Halla Alsafadi, Press TV, Gaza

A collection of carpet-like paintings; This is an exhibition which showcases apparently primitive but deeply meaningful works by an Iranian artist. But she is a little bit different from her colleagues; Monavvar Ramezani, well-known as Nane Hassan, born in 1937 in Sohrevard, Zanjan Province is an Iranian self-taught painter, who has been involved in the art of weaving rugs and drawing rug patterns from her childhood until the age of 70. She has started painting professionally for six years now. Her life is full of experience and learning which she has inherited from her forefathers including tales, myths, stories, poems, traditions and legends. Saman Kojouri, Press TV, Tehran

New legislation to support Iranians imprisoned outside of Iran. According to Iranian Foreign Ministry officials, there are around four million Iranian living outside of the country out of which less than one percent, 3300 are imprisoned in different countries. These are prisoners that have reported their status to Iranian embassies. Officials say that Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Iraq are countries with most Iranian prisoners. Officials say some Iranians are imprisoned for political issues such acting against unilateral sanctions imposed by the West against Iran. Shahrzad Mirgholikhan was imprisoned in the United States for 58 months for similar charges she says were committed by her former husband. She says she was already tried and charged in Vienna by US authorities. Director General of Office of Iranians Abroad of Iran Foreign Ministry Seyyed Kazem Sajadi, talked about the number of freed Iranian prisoners Iran has bilateral agreement with Turkey, Syria, Thailand, Azerbaijan, and Afghanistan to transfer Iranian prisoners so they can serve their sentences inside the country. Tajikistan, Algeria, Ukraine, Kuwait, India have signed similar agreements with Iran yet the agreement has not become effective yet.

Rogi\'s scary story about the Legendary Ghost Car causes Lani to have a nightmare and become scared of the dark. She mistakes Big for the legendary vehicle while passing through a dark tunnel the next day. Luckily, the misunderstanding is quickly sorted out and the two safely leave the tunnel. When Lani returns to the garage, Rogi and Tayo confess to her that the story is not real. Although Lani gets angry, she brightens up after seeing the shadow play that Tayo and Rogi prepare for her. She is no longer scared of the dark.

Cito is proud of Lani for always doing her best in everything. However, Lani doesn\'t know Cito feels about her and instead gets mad at him for various misunderstandings. It\'s the final straw when Cito scolds Lani for failing her regular exam. Lani goes off to work angry and refuses to go home. She wanders around from place to place, visiting the fire station and a construction site. In the end, Lani runs out of gas and becomes immobilized. She trembles with fear on a deserted road when Cito suddenly appears. As Cito talks to her and hauls her back home, Lani realizes that she has misunderstood Cito and that he is a friend like no other.

The honorable lady, Sayyida Fatima Zahra (S) stands out in every aspect. She was truly the lady of heaven. She is remarkable in the real sense of the word. Her spiritual status overshadows the spiritual status of the Awlia of Allah. According to authentic narrations, after the demise of Prophet (S), she was continuously visited by angel Jibraeel (A).

Sometimes my spouse acts childishly. What should I do? =================================== Follow us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panahianen/​... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PanahianEN/... Twitter: https://twitter.com/PanahianEN​​​​​​ Telegram: https://telegram.me/Panahianen/​​​​​​ The link for the book \"How to Pray a Good Prayer,\" written by Ali Reza Panahian: http://amazon.com/author/panahian​ ============================== «لِتَسکُنوا إلَیها» “ … so that you may take comfort in them. ”«وَ جعَلَ بَینَکُم مَوَدَّةً وَ رَحمَة» “ … and He put between you love and compassion.” [Qur’an 30:21] The Almighty God mentions three very important functions of marriage in this verse. Play these two roles. Men should play two roles for women. Women too should play two roles for men. However, some men and women aren’t able to play both of these roles. These two roles have been mentioned using the words “love and compassion” in this verse. They have been mentioned but not explained. Your wife’s age is close to your age. And women have their own personalities. They might even manage you. They understand a lot too. Today’s women understand a lot. But sometimes they like to play the role of a spoiled, little girl who is being cute for her dad. In such a case, you should act like her father. You should act nobly. She may cry and complain. Say, “Aw, it’s ok. I’ll buy it for you!” Act nobly. Don’t act childishly. When she’s acting childishly you behave nobly. You’re like her father. Sometimes a woman plays this role. At other times your wife isn’t playing the role of a little girl who is being cute for her dad. She plays the role of a mother for a little boy, which is you. You too sometimes become like a little boy who needs his mom. Women should keep this in mind that their husbands have just been separated from their moms! Today’s young men are a little spoiled. If you see a man who asks a lot for kindness from his wife, this means he has become a little too feminine. No, you’re a man. Be firm. But sometimes a man breaks down like a little boy and needs his wife to behave nobly. His wife should say, “It’s ok. It’ll be alright.” Like a mom. Have you seen how moms act at home? Women should play this role. So the role of a little girl and a mom are two coupled roles that a skilled women should play at home. And the role of a dad and a little boy are two coupled roles that men should play for women.

Transcript: One of the factors that expands one\'s capacity, which we discussed last night, is good manners and morals [akhlaq], especially at home and with one\'s family. The Holy Prophet (s), who had the most and highest level of capacity, had the best etiquette of all creation. In this regard, his (s) capacity was great. May God have mercy on Shaheed Beheshti. In his memoirs, he writes that I asked Imam Khomeini, \"During the time when you were young in Qom, who taught the class on etiquette and morals [akhlaq]?\" Imam Khomeini said that when I was young, there was no class on etiquette and morals [akhlaq]. There were individuals who embodied good etiquette and morals, who we learned from them through their actions. No one sat and taught good etiquette and morals [akhlaq] in a class. There were individuals who embodied good akhlaq. Individuals like Ayatollah Abdul Karim Haeri Yazdi, whose entire conduct and behaviors embodied good akhlaq. I will give you one example. Notice how if someone were to see this, for the rest of their life, they would not forget it. One day, it was raining, and it had rained very much. At that time, Qom had dirt roads, not asphalt roads- so when it rained, the streets would become muddy. Once a seminary student was passing through one of these streets. He was moving quickly in order to make it in time for his lesson. [As he was walking], he stepped in a muddy pit, and one of his shoes got stuck inside the muddy pit. He limped over to a wall and stood their one-legged wondering what he would do now. At that moment, Ayatollah Abdul Karim Haeri Yazdi, the great marja\' taqlid who truly was a great man. He was also elderly. From his place of study, which was in a mosque close by, Ayatollah Abdul Karim Haeri Yazdi came out and saw this seminary student standing with one leg while his shoe was stuck in the mud. He took off his own shoes and put it on the foot of the seminary student. He told him wear this and go to your lesson. This seminary student was shocked and said, \"Agha, I will think of something to do.\" Ayatollah Abdul Karim Haeri Yazdi without any shoes said, \"No, my home is close by. I will go home and wash my feet. You go to your studies.\" Now look at this, for this eldery maraj\' taqlid to have an interaction like this with a youth, this is better than a thousand lessons of akhlaq given verbally. In fact, etiquette and morals [akhlaq], gnosticism [irfan], training and education [tarbiyat], before they are to be read about in books or heard in lectures, they must be seen. A person must see someone who is like this, not just hear about it or read about it in books. They must see someone like this. Allamah Majlesi, may God be pleased with him, who compiled the \"Bihar al-Anwar\" and was a great person- on Thursday nights, he used to gather his family and speak to them for 30 minutes. He would tell them a narration [hadith], give them admonishments and advice, tell them some Islamic rulings, and recite a eulogy. He would speak to them for 30 minutes. But this Allamah Majlesi, who would speak to them for 30 minutes, he would act on these for an entire week. When his children would see his actions, akhlaq, kindness, compassion, and honesty, his 30 minutes of speaking had a deep effect within the depths of their being. I will never forget this. There was a successful mother who lived in Tehran. She had four children who each of them was better, nobler, more religious, and more respecful than the next. They were also very educated. They asked this successful mother that how were you able to raise such good kids? Nowadays, parents don\'t have much influence over their children. It is truly like this. So they asked this successful mother that how did you raise such good kids? She said something very wise. She said that whatever I wanted my children to become, I myself practiced. That which I wanted my children to be, I myself became it. Support Elhaam Magazine: https://yaseened.givingfuel.com/elhaam-magazine Find us in other places: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElhaamMagazine Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elhaammagazine/ Tumblr: https://elhaammagazine.tumblr.com/ Website: http://elhaam.org/

“Can anything else be a response to a favor but a favor?” [Qur’an 55:60] See God’s kindness toward His servants | Agha AliReza Panahiyan Follow us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panahianen/ ... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PanahianEN/... Twitter: https://twitter.com/PanahianEN Telegram: https://telegram.me/Panahianen/ ============================== We are not supposed to abandon any of our needs, and besides our needs, any of our interests. We are supposed to increase ourselves each moment. We are not supposed to forget ourselves. Forgetting oneself is in fact a divine punishment. “Those who forget about God, He will make them forget themselves.” [Qur’an 59:19] Since they forgot God, God does something that they forget themselves too. When you look at a sinner, you see that he has forgotten himself, what benefits him and his enjoyments. Each sin means you have forgotten and abandoned your own interests, enjoyments, likings and entertainments. Seeking benefits is not bad, but which kinds of benefits? Your small benefits or the great, lasting benefits? In fact, doing any good action is a kind of being self-seeking! But it’s a good way of being self-seeking and not bad. When is self-seeking bad? If you want your own benefits and others to sacrifice for you, this is wrong. When is self-seeking good? It’s when you seek your own benefits by sacrificing for others. In the end, you’re seeking good for yourself! By sacrificing for others, you’re seeking good for yourself. This is a correct way of being self-seeking. [You may ask,] “I thought if I forget myself and my benefits, God will reward me. Now you’re telling me to be self-seeking?! Why should God love me if I am self-seeking?” If I want to give you a nice answer, I’ll tell you, “You don’t understand. You don’t understand that God loves us more than our mothers do.” When we are self-seeking and are successful, the first one who rewards us is God Himself. When a child gets accepted for entering the university, his mother sheds tears of joy. “Mother, you haven’t been accepted. He’s been accepted.” She says, “Yes, he’s my child. He’s dear to me. His success is my success.” “Mother, you won’t be given anything. He’ll leave. She/he will get married and leave.” She answers, “That’s my child! I love to see his/her success.” How does one get close to God? When you seek benefits for yourself, since God loves you very much, He gets happy and rewards you with Heaven. “Good job!” “Why do You reward me with Heaven? This was to my own benefit!” Shall I tell you the answer for you to be greatly affected by God’s intense magnanimity and affection? God says, “I have created a creature by the name of ‘human being,’ and you have respected him. So I thank you. You have done Me a favor.” Where in the Qur’an does it say, “You have done Me a favor and I want to thank you”? Tell me the verse in the Qur’an. It’s truly effective. “I’ve done You a favor?!” “Yes.” “Can anything else be a response to a favor but a favor?” [Qur’an 55:60] “You’ve done Me a favor, and I want to do you a favor.” “God, I’ve done You a favor?!” “Yes, you didn’t waste what I created. You did Me a favor as much as you could, and I will do you a favor as much as I can. You were able to do Me a favor this much. How much am I able to do you a favor? I’ll give you Heaven for an eternity.” Each sin means you have forgotten and abandoned your own interests, enjoyments, likings and entertainments. When you seek benefits for yourself, since God loves you very much, He gets happy and rewards you with Heaven. “Good job!”

How was the regular life of the esteemed lady hazrat Fatima Zahra (A)? Why is she a role model for humanity in all aspects of life? And what is the shining point in the life of this noble lady? Furthermore, was she only an excellent housewife, having no role in society and politics, or was she efficiently and effectively showing her presence in all fields? And did her duties as a wife and a mother interfere with her political activities? Additionally, what was her attitude towards worshipping Allah and praying and supplicating to Allah? Moreover, what is Islam’s point of view on politics, worship, and family life? And are these three in conflict with one another or is it possible to have all three aspects to our lives? And finally, what are the characteristics of a perfect human being? Imam Sayid Ali Khamenei sheds light on the different aspects of the life of Lady Fatima – peace be upon her – and enlightens the masses on how to live a multi-dimensional and complete life by giving examples from the life of the esteemed Lady Fatima Zahra (A), as his eminence speaks about \"Fatima Zahra (A); The Convergence of Home, Politics, & Worship\".

Fatima Zahra, Prophet Mohammad's Dear Daughter: Not more than three months had passed since the sad departure of God's last messenger Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH) from the mortal world, his noble daughter, Fatemah Zahra (SA), fell was confined to bed with serious illness. Some 90 days had passed since the passing-away of the Last Messenger of Allah Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH), and every day, Fatemah (SA) used to sit beside the tomb of her dear father, and in doleful whispers, disclose to him her inner mysteries, because the people of Medina had complained that her grief for the Departed Messenger was disturbing their peace. Strange way indeed for the Muslims to behave. But, now the holy lady, especially after the injury inflicted on her and her feelings by people who denied her rights, had elapsed into her last moments of mortal life. Her devoted husband, Imam Ali (PBUH) and four siblings, had surrounded her bed. A bitter sense of grief was looming on the noble Ahl ol-Bayt. A strange feeling was contorting Ali's throat. He remembered how much her dear wife had dedicated her entire life to the path of Allah. The scenes of Fatemah's kind and gentle conduct were passing in Imam Ali's mind. He remembered Fatemah engrossed in midnight prayer, supplicating for the well being of neighbours. Meanwhile, Imam Ali recalled Hazrat Mohammad's (Pbuh) words that "God becomes angry by Fatemah's anger and is pleased at her satisfaction." He also remembered the last will of Hazrat Mohammad (Pbuh) about Fatemah. In the meantime, Fatemah opened her mouth and said: "My cousin, in my marital life with you, I never lied to you or acted against your will." The heart-rendering words deeply affected Imam Ali. She added: "Now the angels, along with Messenger Mohammad are coming towards me. Greetings to Gabriel. Greetings to the Messenger of Allah. Greetings to your promised words, O my father. Greetings to your sweet smile." Fatemah left the world a martyr and her noble spirit was carried on the wings of the angels to the presence of her Creator, Almighty Allah. Imam Ali took Fatemah's hand, looked at the sky and remembered the day Messenger Mohammad had blessed their marriage by putting her hand in his. But, now it was the time of separation. Shedding tears of sorrow, Imam Ali told Fatemah in a trembling tone: "After you, I will not have a happy moment in the world. I am crying because I fear my life may be prolonged after you." It was on 20th Jamadi al-Akhar, 5th year after the divine revelation (corresponding to 613 AD), Messenger Mohammad and his faithful wife Khadijah, were blessed by the birth of a baby girl, whom the Messenger named Fatemah. The Prophet said: "I named my daughter Fatemah because Allah has protected her and her followers from fire." She was also known as Zahra or the Radiant. The childhood era of Hazrat Fatemah was the most difficult era of the history of Islam. For, the small community of Muslims in Mecca, were under increasing pressure from idolaters and disbelieves. Fatemah was raised in the school of her father and the loving lap of her mother Khadijah. Since childhood, Fatemah witnessed the sufferings of her father, and was always at his side to soothe him. Following the demise of Hazrat Khadijah, the young Fatemah took upon herself all household tasks and was often referred by her father as an angel in human cover, and a part of his heart. Whenever the Messenger looked at his daughter, he became filled with joy. After migration to Medina, the Messenger rejected all offers for Fatemah's hand from wealthy Arabs, and married her to his young cousin, the valiant Ali. It was said that if there was no Ali, Fatemah would have remained without a consort. The Messenger used to stand whenever his daughter would enter her house. Before going on a trip, Fatemah's house was the last one the Messenger would bid farewell, and after returning from the trip, it was the first one that he would visit. The ultimate sense of love, kindness and devotion between father and daughter was manifested in the attribute the Messenger gave her, that is: Omme Abiha - which means Mother of Her Father. Peace be upon her immaculate soul.

One of the most famous sermons delivered in the history of Islam in which the grand daughter of the Holy Prophet (s) is brought to face the tyrant Caliph of the time, Yazid, as a captive and prisoner of war. Following the massacre of Imam Hussain (a), his family and companions at Karbala, Yazid went on to parade the family of the Holy Prophet (s) through the various Islamic cities culminating at the center of his power, Damascus. In these extremely hostile conditions, Lady Zaynab delivered a most eloquent sermon with the courage and poise of her father and grandfather in which she spoke to Yazeed with unwavering truth of his vile nature and the efforts of his ancestors that always aimed to extinguish the light of Islam since its dawn. She then magnificiently concludes - after having seen her own family massacred and mutilated - by establishing the blessed end that awaits the patient and virtuous ones.

Documentry made by Shaheed Foundation A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE ISSUE Dera Ismail Khan- one of the southern District of North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, has become the slaughterhouse for the Shia community. The banned Sipah-e-Sahaba has indiscriminately killed dozens of innocent Shias including women and children. This also includes precious persons like Doctors, engineers, Professors, Businessmen in this Economically deprived District. So for 84 innocent people have embraced martyrdom. The irony of the fate is that none of the murderers of 84 innocent people have been brought to justice. Although the Police is well aware of the barbaric killers belonging to banned terrorist group Speha-e-Sahaba, yet there is a fear to take action against the terrorists who come in the day light openly & kill innocent civilians. The terrorists also threat the Judges and witnesses thereby influencing the fair trial. Due to fear of terrorists and failure of law enforcing agencies to bring the terrorists to justice in the past, the families of the murdered people even scare to lodge the FIR against the terrorists. NOTE: NONE OF THE 84 INNOCENT PEOPLE’S MURDERER IS CAPTURED AND BROUGHT TO JUSTICE BY LAW ENFORCING AGENCIES. RATHER THE TERRORISTS WHO CONFESSED BEFORE THE COURTS WERE SET FREE. Syed Rajab Ali Zaidi Superintendent of Police (SP) was killed along with his son Muazam 28, on 21 Dec 2003 on D.I.K-Darya Khan road as he was coming back to his home. So far Police has failed to unearth the culprits involved in the heinous killing of SP and his son. Inspector Ghulam Qanbar of Special Branch was killed on 13 Sep 2001 in D.I.K. He was targeted because he captured a deadly dangerous terrorist Murtaza Mawia with 5 lack money on his head a few months before his martyerdom. Advocate Khursheed Anwar – Centeral General Secretary Tehreek-e-Jafria Pakistan was martyred on 28 Sep 1999 along with his daughter Umme Lila 18 and guard Hassan on New Chongi D.I.K. He was the General Secretary of Tahreek-e-Jafria Pakistan. The accused were set free as a result of patch up between the family of advocate and the terrorists. Umme Lila 18, daughter of Advocate Khursheed Anwar embraced martyrdom along with his father as she was mourning his father’s death. The terrorist turned back and killed her. She was a brilliant student studying in F.Sc. Advocate Syed Afeef Abbas Shah was killed on 30 Dec 2004 in District Bar D.i.K at about 1:30 PM. He was targeted as he contesting the case of 5 innocent people who became the victim of the terrorists in 1999 while they were sleeping. The murderers could not be apprehended by the law enforcing agencies. Syed Bashir Husssain Kazmi – a retired Tehsildar was martyred on 25 May 2008 along with his brother Kifayat Hussain and two young nephews. The terrorist also killed a policeman at the spot as he tried to capture them. The other Youngman of the same family named Mazhar Abbas was martyred earlier in the this month (May 2008). Doctor Abdul Ali Bangash – a famous Sargon Doctor was assassinated in 1998 in District Headquarter hospital D.I.K in the light of a bright day while he was on his duty. The murderer on foot ran away from the scene with out any problem and police once again failed to trace the perpetrators and the master minds of this heinous crime. Doctor Ghulam Shabir an MBBS doctor was killed in his clinic on 2 Feb 2000. The culprits once again could not be brought to the justice by those who were responsible to bring them to the justice to create an example, so that nobody else could dare to kill the precious people of Pakistan. Allama Kazim Aseer Jarvi who belonged to village Jara D.I.K was killed along with his son on 28 March 92 while he was coming back to his home from Lahore. His young son Amar 14 who witnessed the killing of his father and brother later died of this psychological shock. Allama Allaha Nawaz Murtazvi was killed in February 1994 while he was coming from D.I.K to his village Haji mora to lead a Jumma prayerSyed Hassan Ali Kazmi a renowned Shia leader and Politician was killed on 7June 2001 in Mohallah Eisab Zai D.I.K. He contested the 1988 election and secured 20,000 votes. He is known as an icon of Shia-Sunni unity since he tried all his life for sectarian harmony.Liaqat Ali Imrani a well known social activist and local Journalist was killed in 2006. Maqbool Hussain a senior journalist (as quoted by BBC) was killed in D.I.K in October 2006 Fayyaz Hussain of Pakistan Army (DSG) became the victim of terrorists along with other 4 persons in Sardary Wala. Hawaldar Abdur Rasheed (Retd) was one of the victims of this incident in which terrorists opened fire on armless people. Iftikhar Hussain of Pak Army (DSG) was also amongst the 5 victims along with Sami 13 and a young child Arif hussain who was 8 years old. Hassan Ali an employee in Police was killed on 28 Sep 1999 while he was on his duty as a guard with Advocate Khursheed Anwar. He was 28. Qamar Abbas an other Police employee was killed while he was on his duty in a procession of SSP on Eid Milad. He was killed as his name ‘Abbs’ was prominent on his name plate. Hawaldar Rabnawaz (Police) from Ahle Sunnet sect embraced martyrdom when he tried to capture the terrorist who were fleeing after killing Inspector Qambar on 13 Sep 2001. Professor Nizakat Ali Imrani Professor Nizakat Imrani 44, was the Chairman of Commerce & Business Depart of Gomal University who became the victim of barbaric terrorists on 23 Dec 2006 as he was coming back to home after attending the Annual Convocation of the University. He was ranked amongst the most brilliant Professors of Gomal University. A few months earlier his elder brother Liaqat Imrani- a well known social activist and local journalist, was killed. On 25 May 2008, 5 innocent Shia belonging to same family and a policeman were killed in the light of a bright day. FUTURE THREAT The cause of Shia sufferings in D.I.Khan is Talibanization. The Talibans and other militants trained from Afghanistan belonging to D.I.K and tribal area have ran away from Afghanistan and Tribal area to D.I.Khan & have succeeded to make it a stronghold for themselves. They are not only targeting Shias but also carrying bomb blasts in Video center, Cinemas and Govt: Officials. The recent history of D.I.K has quiet clearly shown it. More prominent innocent Shia personalities are the ‘would be target’ of the sectarian militants The present activities of the terrorists and the growing influence of Talibanization in the vicinity of this sensitive District poses a great threat to the innocent citizens of Pakistan, especially to Shias. Conclusion The present radical trend in a sensitive District like D.I.Khan is a great threat to enlightened, moderate and progressive forces in the country. In the context of D.I.Khan following measures should be taken. Provincial government should be instructed to use iron hand against the terrorists to insure that the innocent people’s slaughtered is stopped and their life and property is safeguarded. A free and fair Commission should be constituted to investigate the elements perpetrating terrorism in D.I.Khan. CONCLUSION CONT…. Community should get united and raise their voice against this brutality. So come forward Raise your voice against this cruelty and do what you can Contribute in whatever way you can Take action before the fire reaches your home.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of US Attack and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record In part one of an interview with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks about the threat of a US attack on Iran and responds to international criticism of Iran’s human rights record. We also get reaction from CUNY Professor Ervand Abrahamian, an Iran expert and author of several books on Iran. JUAN GONZALEZ: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week, while the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, is meeting in Vienna to discuss Iran’s alleged nuclear program. An IAEA report earlier this month criticized Iran for failing to fully respond to questions about its nuclear activities. The European Union told the IAEA Wednesday that it believes Iran is moving closer to being able to arm a nuclear warhead. Iran could face a fourth set of Security Council sanctions over its nuclear activities, but this week Russia has refused to meet with the US on this issue. The Iranian president refuted the IAEA’s charges in his speech to the General Assembly and accused the agency of succumbing to political pressure. He also welcomed talks with the United States if it cuts back threats to use military force against Iran. AMY GOODMAN: As with every visit of the Iranian president to New York, some groups protested outside the United Nations. But this year, President Ahmadinejad also met with a large delegation of American peace activists concerned with the escalating possibility of war with Iran. Well, yesterday, just before their meeting, Juan Gonzalez and I sat down with the Iranian president at his hotel, blocks from the UN, for a wide-ranging discussion about US-Iran relations, Iran’s nuclear program, threat of war with the US, the Israel-Palestine conflict, human rights in Iran and much more. Today, part one of our interview with the Iranian president. AMY GOODMAN: Welcome to Democracy Now!, President Ahmadinejad. You’ve come to the United States. What is your message to people in the United States and to the world community at the UN? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] In the name of God, the compassion of the Merciful, the president started by reciting verses from the Holy Quran in Arabic. Hello. Hello to the people of America. The message from the nation and people of Iran is one of peace, tranquility and brotherhood. We believe that viable peace and security can happen when it is based on justice and piety and purity. Otherwise, no peace will occur. JUAN GONZALEZ: Mr. President, you’re faced now in Iran with American soldiers in Iraq to your west, with American soldiers and NATO troops to your east in Afghanistan, and with Blackwater, the notorious military contractor, training the military in Azerbaijan, another neighbor of yours. What is the effect on your country of this enormous presence of American forces around Iran and the impact of these wars on your own population? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] It’s quite natural that when there are wars around your borders, it brings about negative repercussions for the entire region. These days, insecurity cannot be bordered; it just extends beyond boundaries. In the past two years, we had several cases of bomb explosions in southern towns in Iran carried out by people who were supervised by the occupying forces in our neighborhood. And in Afghanistan, following the presence of NATO troops, the production of illicit drugs has multiplied. It’s natural that it basically places pressure on Iran, including costly ones in order to fight the flow of illicit drugs. We believe the people in the region are able to establish security themselves, on their own, so there is no need for foreigners and external forces, because these external forces have not helped the security of the region. AMY GOODMAN: Do you see them as a threat to you? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, it’s natural that when there is insecurity, it threatens everyone. JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to turn for a moment to your domestic policies and law enforcement in your country. Human Rights Watch, which has often criticized the legal system in the United States, says that, under your presidency, there has been a great expansion in the scope and the number of individuals and activities persecuted by the government. They say that you’ve jailed teachers who are fighting for wages and better pensions, students and activists working for reform, and other labor leaders, like Mansour Ossanlou from the bus workers’ union. What is your response to these criticisms of your policies? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] I think that the human rights situation in Iran is relatively a good one, when compared to the United States and other countries. Of course, when we look at the ideals that are dear to us, we understand that we still need to do a lot, because we seek divine and religious ideals and revolutionary ones. But when we compare ourselves with some European countries and the United States, we feel we’re in a much better place. A large part of the information that these groups receive come from criticisms coming from groups that oppose the government. If you look at it, we have elections in Iran every year. And the propaganda is always around, too. But they’re not always true. Groups accuse one another. But within the region and compared to the United States, we have the smallest number of prisoners, because in Iran, in general, there is not so much inclination to imprison people. We’re actually looking at our existing laws right now to see how we can eliminate most prisons around the country. So, you can see that people in Iran like each other. They live coexistently and like the government, too. This news is more important to these groups, not so much for the Iranian people. You have to remember, we have over 70 million people in our country, and we have laws. Some people might violate it, and then, according to the law, the judiciary takes charge. And this happens everywhere. What really matters is that in the end there are the least amount of such violations of the law in Iran, the least number. So, I think the interpretation of these events is a wrong one. The relationship between the people and the government in Iran is actually a very close one. And criticizing the government is absolutely free for all. That’s exactly why everyone says what they want. There’s really no restrictions. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everything you hear is always true. And the government doesn’t really respond to it, either. It’s just free. JUAN GONZALEZ: Let me ask you in particular about the question of the execution of juveniles. My understanding is that Iran is one of only five or six nations in the world that still execute juveniles convicted of capital offenses and that you—by far, you execute the most. I think twenty-six of the last thirty-two juveniles executed in the world were executed in Iran. How is this a reflection of the—of a state guided by religious principles, to execute young people? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Firstly, nobody is executed under the age of eighteen in Iran. This is the first point. And then, please pay attention to the fact that the legal age in Iran is different from yours. It’s not eighteen and doesn’t have to be eighteen everywhere. So, it’s different in different countries. I’ll ask you, if a person who happens to be seventeen years old and nine months kills one of your relatives, will you just overlook that? AMY GOODMAN: We’ll continue our interview with Iranian President Ahmadinejad after break. [break] AMY GOODMAN: We return to our interview with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to ask you, recently the Bush administration agreed to provide Israel with many new bunker buster bombs that people speculate might be used against Iran. Your reaction to this decision by the Bush administration? And do you—and there have been numerous reports in the American press of the Bush administration seeking to finance a secret war against Iran right now. PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, we actually think that the US administration and some other governments have equipped the Zionist regime with the nuclear warhead for those bombs, too. So, what are we to tell the American administration, a government that seeks a solution to all problems through war? Their logic is one of war. In the past twenty years, Americans’ military expenditures have multiplied. So I think the problem should be resolved somewhere else, meaning the people of America themselves must decide about their future. Do they like new wars to be waged in their names that kill nations or have their money spent on warfare? So I think that’s where the problem can be addressed. AMY GOODMAN: The investigative reporter Seymour Hersh said the Bush administration held a meeting in Vice President Cheney’s office to discuss ways to provoke a war with Iran. Hersh said it was considered possibly a meeting to stage an incident, that it would appear that Iranian boats had attacked US forces in the Straits of Hormuz. Do you have any evidence of this? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, you have to pay attention to find that a lot of this kind of stuff is published out there. There’s no need for us to react to it. Of course, Mr. Bush is very interested to start a new war. But he confronts two big barriers. One is the incapability in terms of maneuverability and operationally. Iran is a very big country, a very powerful country, very much capable of defending itself. The second barrier is the United States itself. We think there are enough wise people in this country to prevent the unreasonable actions by the administration. Even among the military commanders here, there are many people with wisdom who will stop a new war. I think the beginning or the starting a new war will mark the beginning of the end of the United States of America. Many people can understand that. But I also think that Mr. Bush’s administration is coming to an end. Mr. Bush still has one other chance to make up for the mistakes he did in the past. He has no time to add to those list of mistakes. He can only make up for them. And that’s a very good opportunity to have. So, I would advise him to take advantage of this opportunity, so that at least while you’re in power, you do a couple—few good acts, as well. It’s better than to end one’s work with a report card of failures and of abhorrent acts. We’re willing to help him in doing good. We’ll be very happy. AMY GOODMAN: And your nuclear program? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Our time seems to be over, but our nuclear program is peaceful. It’s very transparent for everyone to see. Your media is a progressive one. Let me just say a sentence here. I think that the time for the atomic bomb has reached an end. Don’t you feel that yourself? What will determine the future is culture, it’s the power of thought. Was the atomic bomb able to save the former Soviet Union from collapsing? Was it able to give victory to the Zionist regime of confronting the Palestinians? Was it able to resolve America’s or US problems in Iraq and Afghanistan? Naturally, its usage has come to an end. It’s very wrong to spend people’s money building new atomic bombs. This money should be spent on creating welfare, prosperity, health, education, employment, and as aid that should be distributed among others’ countries, to destroy the reasons for war and for insecurity and terrorism. Rest assured, whoever who seeks to have atomic bombs more and more is just politically backward. And those who have these arsenals and are busy making new generations of those bombs are even more backward. I think a disloyalty has occurred to the human community. Atomic energy power is a clean one. It’s a renewable one, and it is a positive [inaudible]. Up to this day, we’ve identified at least sixteen positive applications from it. We’re already aware that the extent to which we have used fossil fuels has imbalanced the climate of the world, brought about a lot of pollution, as well as a lot of diseases, as a result. So what’s wrong with all countries having peaceful nuclear power and enjoying the benefits of this energy? It’s actually a power that is constructively environmental. All those nuclear powers have come and said, well, having nuclear energy is the equivalent of having an atomic bomb pretty much—just a big lie. AMY GOODMAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Tomorrow, part two of our conversation. But right now, we’re joined by Ervand Abrahamian. He’s an Iran expert, CUNY Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College, City University of New York, author of a number of books, most recently, A History of Modern Iran. Welcome to Democracy Now! Can you talk about both what the Iranian president said here and his overall trip? Was it a different message this year? ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: No, it’s very much the same complacency, that, you know, everything’s fine. There may be some problems in Iran and in foreign relations, but overall, Iran is confident and is—basically the mantra of the administration in Iran is that no one in their right senses would think of attacking Iran. And I think the Iranian government’s whole policy is based on that. I wish I was as confident as Ahmadinejad is. JUAN GONZALEZ: And his dismissing of the situation, the human rights situation, in Iran, basically ascribing any arrests to some lawbreakers? Your sense of what is the human rights situation right there? ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Well, I mean, he basically changed the question and talked about, you know, the probably two million prisoners in America, which is of course true, but it certainly changes the topic of the discussion. Now, in Iran, you can be imprisoned for the talking of abolishing capital punishment. In fact, that’s considered blasphemy, and academics have been charged with capital offense for actually questioning capital punishment. So, he doesn’t really want to address those issues. And there have been major purges in the university recently, and of course the plight of the newspapers is very dramatic. I mean, mass newspapers have been closed down. Editors have been brought before courts, and so on. So, I would find that the human rights situation—I would agree with the Human Rights Watch, that things are bad. But I would like to stress that human rights organizations in Iran don’t want that issue involved with the US-Iran relations, because every time the US steps in and tries to champion a question of human rights, I think that backfires in Iran, because most Iranians know the history of US involvement in Iran, and they feel it’s hypocrisy when the Bush administration talks about human rights. So they would like to distance themselves. And Shirin Ebadi, of course, the Nobel Peace Prize, has made it quite clear that she doesn’t want this championing by the United States of the human rights issue. AMY GOODMAN: Big protest outside. The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, the Israel Project, UJ Federation of New York, United Jewish Communities protested. They invited Hillary Clinton. She was going to speak. But they invited—then they invited Governor Palin, and so then Clinton pulled out, so they had had to disinvite Palin. And then you had the peace movement inside, meeting with Ahmadinejad. ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Yes, I think—I mean, the demonstrations outside are basically pushing for some sort of air strikes on the premise that Iran is an imminent threat and trying to build up that sort of pressure on the administration. And clearly, I think the Obama administration would not want to do that, but they would probably have a fair good hearing in the—if there was a McCain administration. AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave it there. Part two of our conversation tomorrow. We talk about the Israel-Palestine issue, we talk about the treatment of gay men and lesbians in Iran, and we talk about how the Iraq war has affected Iran with the Iranian president President Ahmadinejad was interviewed recently in New York by Democracy Now

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of US Attack and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record In part one of an interview with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks about the threat of a US attack on Iran and responds to international criticism of Iran’s human rights record. We also get reaction from CUNY Professor Ervand Abrahamian, an Iran expert and author of several books on Iran. JUAN GONZALEZ: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week, while the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, is meeting in Vienna to discuss Iran’s alleged nuclear program. An IAEA report earlier this month criticized Iran for failing to fully respond to questions about its nuclear activities. The European Union told the IAEA Wednesday that it believes Iran is moving closer to being able to arm a nuclear warhead. Iran could face a fourth set of Security Council sanctions over its nuclear activities, but this week Russia has refused to meet with the US on this issue. The Iranian president refuted the IAEA’s charges in his speech to the General Assembly and accused the agency of succumbing to political pressure. He also welcomed talks with the United States if it cuts back threats to use military force against Iran. AMY GOODMAN: As with every visit of the Iranian president to New York, some groups protested outside the United Nations. But this year, President Ahmadinejad also met with a large delegation of American peace activists concerned with the escalating possibility of war with Iran. Well, yesterday, just before their meeting, Juan Gonzalez and I sat down with the Iranian president at his hotel, blocks from the UN, for a wide-ranging discussion about US-Iran relations, Iran’s nuclear program, threat of war with the US, the Israel-Palestine conflict, human rights in Iran and much more. Today, part one of our interview with the Iranian president. AMY GOODMAN: Welcome to Democracy Now!, President Ahmadinejad. You’ve come to the United States. What is your message to people in the United States and to the world community at the UN? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] In the name of God, the compassion of the Merciful, the president started by reciting verses from the Holy Quran in Arabic. Hello. Hello to the people of America. The message from the nation and people of Iran is one of peace, tranquility and brotherhood. We believe that viable peace and security can happen when it is based on justice and piety and purity. Otherwise, no peace will occur. JUAN GONZALEZ: Mr. President, you’re faced now in Iran with American soldiers in Iraq to your west, with American soldiers and NATO troops to your east in Afghanistan, and with Blackwater, the notorious military contractor, training the military in Azerbaijan, another neighbor of yours. What is the effect on your country of this enormous presence of American forces around Iran and the impact of these wars on your own population? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] It’s quite natural that when there are wars around your borders, it brings about negative repercussions for the entire region. These days, insecurity cannot be bordered; it just extends beyond boundaries. In the past two years, we had several cases of bomb explosions in southern towns in Iran carried out by people who were supervised by the occupying forces in our neighborhood. And in Afghanistan, following the presence of NATO troops, the production of illicit drugs has multiplied. It’s natural that it basically places pressure on Iran, including costly ones in order to fight the flow of illicit drugs. We believe the people in the region are able to establish security themselves, on their own, so there is no need for foreigners and external forces, because these external forces have not helped the security of the region. AMY GOODMAN: Do you see them as a threat to you? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, it’s natural that when there is insecurity, it threatens everyone. JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to turn for a moment to your domestic policies and law enforcement in your country. Human Rights Watch, which has often criticized the legal system in the United States, says that, under your presidency, there has been a great expansion in the scope and the number of individuals and activities persecuted by the government. They say that you’ve jailed teachers who are fighting for wages and better pensions, students and activists working for reform, and other labor leaders, like Mansour Ossanlou from the bus workers’ union. What is your response to these criticisms of your policies? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] I think that the human rights situation in Iran is relatively a good one, when compared to the United States and other countries. Of course, when we look at the ideals that are dear to us, we understand that we still need to do a lot, because we seek divine and religious ideals and revolutionary ones. But when we compare ourselves with some European countries and the United States, we feel we’re in a much better place. A large part of the information that these groups receive come from criticisms coming from groups that oppose the government. If you look at it, we have elections in Iran every year. And the propaganda is always around, too. But they’re not always true. Groups accuse one another. But within the region and compared to the United States, we have the smallest number of prisoners, because in Iran, in general, there is not so much inclination to imprison people. We’re actually looking at our existing laws right now to see how we can eliminate most prisons around the country. So, you can see that people in Iran like each other. They live coexistently and like the government, too. This news is more important to these groups, not so much for the Iranian people. You have to remember, we have over 70 million people in our country, and we have laws. Some people might violate it, and then, according to the law, the judiciary takes charge. And this happens everywhere. What really matters is that in the end there are the least amount of such violations of the law in Iran, the least number. So, I think the interpretation of these events is a wrong one. The relationship between the people and the government in Iran is actually a very close one. And criticizing the government is absolutely free for all. That’s exactly why everyone says what they want. There’s really no restrictions. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everything you hear is always true. And the government doesn’t really respond to it, either. It’s just free. JUAN GONZALEZ: Let me ask you in particular about the question of the execution of juveniles. My understanding is that Iran is one of only five or six nations in the world that still execute juveniles convicted of capital offenses and that you—by far, you execute the most. I think twenty-six of the last thirty-two juveniles executed in the world were executed in Iran. How is this a reflection of the—of a state guided by religious principles, to execute young people? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Firstly, nobody is executed under the age of eighteen in Iran. This is the first point. And then, please pay attention to the fact that the legal age in Iran is different from yours. It’s not eighteen and doesn’t have to be eighteen everywhere. So, it’s different in different countries. I’ll ask you, if a person who happens to be seventeen years old and nine months kills one of your relatives, will you just overlook that? AMY GOODMAN: We’ll continue our interview with Iranian President Ahmadinejad after break. [break] AMY GOODMAN: We return to our interview with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to ask you, recently the Bush administration agreed to provide Israel with many new bunker buster bombs that people speculate might be used against Iran. Your reaction to this decision by the Bush administration? And do you—and there have been numerous reports in the American press of the Bush administration seeking to finance a secret war against Iran right now. PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, we actually think that the US administration and some other governments have equipped the Zionist regime with the nuclear warhead for those bombs, too. So, what are we to tell the American administration, a government that seeks a solution to all problems through war? Their logic is one of war. In the past twenty years, Americans’ military expenditures have multiplied. So I think the problem should be resolved somewhere else, meaning the people of America themselves must decide about their future. Do they like new wars to be waged in their names that kill nations or have their money spent on warfare? So I think that’s where the problem can be addressed. AMY GOODMAN: The investigative reporter Seymour Hersh said the Bush administration held a meeting in Vice President Cheney’s office to discuss ways to provoke a war with Iran. Hersh said it was considered possibly a meeting to stage an incident, that it would appear that Iranian boats had attacked US forces in the Straits of Hormuz. Do you have any evidence of this? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, you have to pay attention to find that a lot of this kind of stuff is published out there. There’s no need for us to react to it. Of course, Mr. Bush is very interested to start a new war. But he confronts two big barriers. One is the incapability in terms of maneuverability and operationally. Iran is a very big country, a very powerful country, very much capable of defending itself. The second barrier is the United States itself. We think there are enough wise people in this country to prevent the unreasonable actions by the administration. Even among the military commanders here, there are many people with wisdom who will stop a new war. I think the beginning or the starting a new war will mark the beginning of the end of the United States of America. Many people can understand that. But I also think that Mr. Bush’s administration is coming to an end. Mr. Bush still has one other chance to make up for the mistakes he did in the past. He has no time to add to those list of mistakes. He can only make up for them. And that’s a very good opportunity to have. So, I would advise him to take advantage of this opportunity, so that at least while you’re in power, you do a couple—few good acts, as well. It’s better than to end one’s work with a report card of failures and of abhorrent acts. We’re willing to help him in doing good. We’ll be very happy. AMY GOODMAN: And your nuclear program? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Our time seems to be over, but our nuclear program is peaceful. It’s very transparent for everyone to see. Your media is a progressive one. Let me just say a sentence here. I think that the time for the atomic bomb has reached an end. Don’t you feel that yourself? What will determine the future is culture, it’s the power of thought. Was the atomic bomb able to save the former Soviet Union from collapsing? Was it able to give victory to the Zionist regime of confronting the Palestinians? Was it able to resolve America’s or US problems in Iraq and Afghanistan? Naturally, its usage has come to an end. It’s very wrong to spend people’s money building new atomic bombs. This money should be spent on creating welfare, prosperity, health, education, employment, and as aid that should be distributed among others’ countries, to destroy the reasons for war and for insecurity and terrorism. Rest assured, whoever who seeks to have atomic bombs more and more is just politically backward. And those who have these arsenals and are busy making new generations of those bombs are even more backward. I think a disloyalty has occurred to the human community. Atomic energy power is a clean one. It’s a renewable one, and it is a positive [inaudible]. Up to this day, we’ve identified at least sixteen positive applications from it. We’re already aware that the extent to which we have used fossil fuels has imbalanced the climate of the world, brought about a lot of pollution, as well as a lot of diseases, as a result. So what’s wrong with all countries having peaceful nuclear power and enjoying the benefits of this energy? It’s actually a power that is constructively environmental. All those nuclear powers have come and said, well, having nuclear energy is the equivalent of having an atomic bomb pretty much—just a big lie. AMY GOODMAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Tomorrow, part two of our conversation. But right now, we’re joined by Ervand Abrahamian. He’s an Iran expert, CUNY Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College, City University of New York, author of a number of books, most recently, A History of Modern Iran. Welcome to Democracy Now! Can you talk about both what the Iranian president said here and his overall trip? Was it a different message this year? ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: No, it’s very much the same complacency, that, you know, everything’s fine. There may be some problems in Iran and in foreign relations, but overall, Iran is confident and is—basically the mantra of the administration in Iran is that no one in their right senses would think of attacking Iran. And I think the Iranian government’s whole policy is based on that. I wish I was as confident as Ahmadinejad is. JUAN GONZALEZ: And his dismissing of the situation, the human rights situation, in Iran, basically ascribing any arrests to some lawbreakers? Your sense of what is the human rights situation right there? ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Well, I mean, he basically changed the question and talked about, you know, the probably two million prisoners in America, which is of course true, but it certainly changes the topic of the discussion. Now, in Iran, you can be imprisoned for the talking of abolishing capital punishment. In fact, that’s considered blasphemy, and academics have been charged with capital offense for actually questioning capital punishment. So, he doesn’t really want to address those issues. And there have been major purges in the university recently, and of course the plight of the newspapers is very dramatic. I mean, mass newspapers have been closed down. Editors have been brought before courts, and so on. So, I would find that the human rights situation—I would agree with the Human Rights Watch, that things are bad. But I would like to stress that human rights organizations in Iran don’t want that issue involved with the US-Iran relations, because every time the US steps in and tries to champion a question of human rights, I think that backfires in Iran, because most Iranians know the history of US involvement in Iran, and they feel it’s hypocrisy when the Bush administration talks about human rights. So they would like to distance themselves. And Shirin Ebadi, of course, the Nobel Peace Prize, has made it quite clear that she doesn’t want this championing by the United States of the human rights issue. AMY GOODMAN: Big protest outside. The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, the Israel Project, UJ Federation of New York, United Jewish Communities protested. They invited Hillary Clinton. She was going to speak. But they invited—then they invited Governor Palin, and so then Clinton pulled out, so they had had to disinvite Palin. And then you had the peace movement inside, meeting with Ahmadinejad. ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Yes, I think—I mean, the demonstrations outside are basically pushing for some sort of air strikes on the premise that Iran is an imminent threat and trying to build up that sort of pressure on the administration. And clearly, I think the Obama administration would not want to do that, but they would probably have a fair good hearing in the—if there was a McCain administration. AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave it there. Part two of our conversation tomorrow. We talk about the Israel-Palestine issue, we talk about the treatment of gay men and lesbians in Iran, and we talk about how the Iraq war has affected Iran with the Iranian president

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of US Attack and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record In part one of an interview with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks about the threat of a US attack on Iran and responds to international criticism of Iran’s human rights record. We also get reaction from CUNY Professor Ervand Abrahamian, an Iran expert and author of several books on Iran. JUAN GONZALEZ: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week, while the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, is meeting in Vienna to discuss Iran’s alleged nuclear program. An IAEA report earlier this month criticized Iran for failing to fully respond to questions about its nuclear activities. The European Union told the IAEA Wednesday that it believes Iran is moving closer to being able to arm a nuclear warhead. Iran could face a fourth set of Security Council sanctions over its nuclear activities, but this week Russia has refused to meet with the US on this issue. The Iranian president refuted the IAEA’s charges in his speech to the General Assembly and accused the agency of succumbing to political pressure. He also welcomed talks with the United States if it cuts back threats to use military force against Iran. AMY GOODMAN: As with every visit of the Iranian president to New York, some groups protested outside the United Nations. But this year, President Ahmadinejad also met with a large delegation of American peace activists concerned with the escalating possibility of war with Iran. Well, yesterday, just before their meeting, Juan Gonzalez and I sat down with the Iranian president at his hotel, blocks from the UN, for a wide-ranging discussion about US-Iran relations, Iran’s nuclear program, threat of war with the US, the Israel-Palestine conflict, human rights in Iran and much more. Today, part one of our interview with the Iranian president. AMY GOODMAN: Welcome to Democracy Now!, President Ahmadinejad. You’ve come to the United States. What is your message to people in the United States and to the world community at the UN? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] In the name of God, the compassion of the Merciful, the president started by reciting verses from the Holy Quran in Arabic. Hello. Hello to the people of America. The message from the nation and people of Iran is one of peace, tranquility and brotherhood. We believe that viable peace and security can happen when it is based on justice and piety and purity. Otherwise, no peace will occur. JUAN GONZALEZ: Mr. President, you’re faced now in Iran with American soldiers in Iraq to your west, with American soldiers and NATO troops to your east in Afghanistan, and with Blackwater, the notorious military contractor, training the military in Azerbaijan, another neighbor of yours. What is the effect on your country of this enormous presence of American forces around Iran and the impact of these wars on your own population? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] It’s quite natural that when there are wars around your borders, it brings about negative repercussions for the entire region. These days, insecurity cannot be bordered; it just extends beyond boundaries. In the past two years, we had several cases of bomb explosions in southern towns in Iran carried out by people who were supervised by the occupying forces in our neighborhood. And in Afghanistan, following the presence of NATO troops, the production of illicit drugs has multiplied. It’s natural that it basically places pressure on Iran, including costly ones in order to fight the flow of illicit drugs. We believe the people in the region are able to establish security themselves, on their own, so there is no need for foreigners and external forces, because these external forces have not helped the security of the region. AMY GOODMAN: Do you see them as a threat to you? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, it’s natural that when there is insecurity, it threatens everyone. JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to turn for a moment to your domestic policies and law enforcement in your country. Human Rights Watch, which has often criticized the legal system in the United States, says that, under your presidency, there has been a great expansion in the scope and the number of individuals and activities persecuted by the government. They say that you’ve jailed teachers who are fighting for wages and better pensions, students and activists working for reform, and other labor leaders, like Mansour Ossanlou from the bus workers’ union. What is your response to these criticisms of your policies? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] I think that the human rights situation in Iran is relatively a good one, when compared to the United States and other countries. Of course, when we look at the ideals that are dear to us, we understand that we still need to do a lot, because we seek divine and religious ideals and revolutionary ones. But when we compare ourselves with some European countries and the United States, we feel we’re in a much better place. A large part of the information that these groups receive come from criticisms coming from groups that oppose the government. If you look at it, we have elections in Iran every year. And the propaganda is always around, too. But they’re not always true. Groups accuse one another. But within the region and compared to the United States, we have the smallest number of prisoners, because in Iran, in general, there is not so much inclination to imprison people. We’re actually looking at our existing laws right now to see how we can eliminate most prisons around the country. So, you can see that people in Iran like each other. They live coexistently and like the government, too. This news is more important to these groups, not so much for the Iranian people. You have to remember, we have over 70 million people in our country, and we have laws. Some people might violate it, and then, according to the law, the judiciary takes charge. And this happens everywhere. What really matters is that in the end there are the least amount of such violations of the law in Iran, the least number. So, I think the interpretation of these events is a wrong one. The relationship between the people and the government in Iran is actually a very close one. And criticizing the government is absolutely free for all. That’s exactly why everyone says what they want. There’s really no restrictions. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everything you hear is always true. And the government doesn’t really respond to it, either. It’s just free. JUAN GONZALEZ: Let me ask you in particular about the question of the execution of juveniles. My understanding is that Iran is one of only five or six nations in the world that still execute juveniles convicted of capital offenses and that you—by far, you execute the most. I think twenty-six of the last thirty-two juveniles executed in the world were executed in Iran. How is this a reflection of the—of a state guided by religious principles, to execute young people? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Firstly, nobody is executed under the age of eighteen in Iran. This is the first point. And then, please pay attention to the fact that the legal age in Iran is different from yours. It’s not eighteen and doesn’t have to be eighteen everywhere. So, it’s different in different countries. I’ll ask you, if a person who happens to be seventeen years old and nine months kills one of your relatives, will you just overlook that? AMY GOODMAN: We’ll continue our interview with Iranian President Ahmadinejad after break. [break] AMY GOODMAN: We return to our interview with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to ask you, recently the Bush administration agreed to provide Israel with many new bunker buster bombs that people speculate might be used against Iran. Your reaction to this decision by the Bush administration? And do you—and there have been numerous reports in the American press of the Bush administration seeking to finance a secret war against Iran right now. PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, we actually think that the US administration and some other governments have equipped the Zionist regime with the nuclear warhead for those bombs, too. So, what are we to tell the American administration, a government that seeks a solution to all problems through war? Their logic is one of war. In the past twenty years, Americans’ military expenditures have multiplied. So I think the problem should be resolved somewhere else, meaning the people of America themselves must decide about their future. Do they like new wars to be waged in their names that kill nations or have their money spent on warfare? So I think that’s where the problem can be addressed. AMY GOODMAN: The investigative reporter Seymour Hersh said the Bush administration held a meeting in Vice President Cheney’s office to discuss ways to provoke a war with Iran. Hersh said it was considered possibly a meeting to stage an incident, that it would appear that Iranian boats had attacked US forces in the Straits of Hormuz. Do you have any evidence of this? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, you have to pay attention to find that a lot of this kind of stuff is published out there. There’s no need for us to react to it. Of course, Mr. Bush is very interested to start a new war. But he confronts two big barriers. One is the incapability in terms of maneuverability and operationally. Iran is a very big country, a very powerful country, very much capable of defending itself. The second barrier is the United States itself. We think there are enough wise people in this country to prevent the unreasonable actions by the administration. Even among the military commanders here, there are many people with wisdom who will stop a new war. I think the beginning or the starting a new war will mark the beginning of the end of the United States of America. Many people can understand that. But I also think that Mr. Bush’s administration is coming to an end. Mr. Bush still has one other chance to make up for the mistakes he did in the past. He has no time to add to those list of mistakes. He can only make up for them. And that’s a very good opportunity to have. So, I would advise him to take advantage of this opportunity, so that at least while you’re in power, you do a couple—few good acts, as well. It’s better than to end one’s work with a report card of failures and of abhorrent acts. We’re willing to help him in doing good. We’ll be very happy. AMY GOODMAN: And your nuclear program? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Our time seems to be over, but our nuclear program is peaceful. It’s very transparent for everyone to see. Your media is a progressive one. Let me just say a sentence here. I think that the time for the atomic bomb has reached an end. Don’t you feel that yourself? What will determine the future is culture, it’s the power of thought. Was the atomic bomb able to save the former Soviet Union from collapsing? Was it able to give victory to the Zionist regime of confronting the Palestinians? Was it able to resolve America’s or US problems in Iraq and Afghanistan? Naturally, its usage has come to an end. It’s very wrong to spend people’s money building new atomic bombs. This money should be spent on creating welfare, prosperity, health, education, employment, and as aid that should be distributed among others’ countries, to destroy the reasons for war and for insecurity and terrorism. Rest assured, whoever who seeks to have atomic bombs more and more is just politically backward. And those who have these arsenals and are busy making new generations of those bombs are even more backward. I think a disloyalty has occurred to the human community. Atomic energy power is a clean one. It’s a renewable one, and it is a positive [inaudible]. Up to this day, we’ve identified at least sixteen positive applications from it. We’re already aware that the extent to which we have used fossil fuels has imbalanced the climate of the world, brought about a lot of pollution, as well as a lot of diseases, as a result. So what’s wrong with all countries having peaceful nuclear power and enjoying the benefits of this energy? It’s actually a power that is constructively environmental. All those nuclear powers have come and said, well, having nuclear energy is the equivalent of having an atomic bomb pretty much—just a big lie. AMY GOODMAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Tomorrow, part two of our conversation. But right now, we’re joined by Ervand Abrahamian. He’s an Iran expert, CUNY Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College, City University of New York, author of a number of books, most recently, A History of Modern Iran. Welcome to Democracy Now! Can you talk about both what the Iranian president said here and his overall trip? Was it a different message this year? ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: No, it’s very much the same complacency, that, you know, everything’s fine. There may be some problems in Iran and in foreign relations, but overall, Iran is confident and is—basically the mantra of the administration in Iran is that no one in their right senses would think of attacking Iran. And I think the Iranian government’s whole policy is based on that. I wish I was as confident as Ahmadinejad is. JUAN GONZALEZ: And his dismissing of the situation, the human rights situation, in Iran, basically ascribing any arrests to some lawbreakers? Your sense of what is the human rights situation right there? ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Well, I mean, he basically changed the question and talked about, you know, the probably two million prisoners in America, which is of course true, but it certainly changes the topic of the discussion. Now, in Iran, you can be imprisoned for the talking of abolishing capital punishment. In fact, that’s considered blasphemy, and academics have been charged with capital offense for actually questioning capital punishment. So, he doesn’t really want to address those issues. And there have been major purges in the university recently, and of course the plight of the newspapers is very dramatic. I mean, mass newspapers have been closed down. Editors have been brought before courts, and so on. So, I would find that the human rights situation—I would agree with the Human Rights Watch, that things are bad. But I would like to stress that human rights organizations in Iran don’t want that issue involved with the US-Iran relations, because every time the US steps in and tries to champion a question of human rights, I think that backfires in Iran, because most Iranians know the history of US involvement in Iran, and they feel it’s hypocrisy when the Bush administration talks about human rights. So they would like to distance themselves. And Shirin Ebadi, of course, the Nobel Peace Prize, has made it quite clear that she doesn’t want this championing by the United States of the human rights issue. AMY GOODMAN: Big protest outside. The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, the Israel Project, UJ Federation of New York, United Jewish Communities protested. They invited Hillary Clinton. She was going to speak. But they invited—then they invited Governor Palin, and so then Clinton pulled out, so they had had to disinvite Palin. And then you had the peace movement inside, meeting with Ahmadinejad. ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Yes, I think—I mean, the demonstrations outside are basically pushing for some sort of air strikes on the premise that Iran is an imminent threat and trying to build up that sort of pressure on the administration. And clearly, I think the Obama administration would not want to do that, but they would probably have a fair good hearing in the—if there was a McCain administration. AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave it there. Part two of our conversation tomorrow. We talk about the Israel-Palestine issue, we talk about the treatment of gay men and lesbians in Iran, and we talk about how the Iraq war has affected Iran with the Iranian president

Immediately after the Israeli onslaught on the Palestinians was under way there was also an immediate reaction from the rest of the world, particularly in the west. That reaction had been quite predictable. The outgoing US president George Bush immediately said that Israel had the right to defend itself. His outgoing secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said that she wants an end to violence but then added she holds Hamas responsible for what’s going on over there….click on the video below for full brief. By Zafar Bangash Director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT)

She is being identified as Huwaida Arraf who is part of the Free Gaza Movement. She is also the co-founder of International Solidarity Movement which is a nonviolent activist organization. I think the commentary in this clip is in Korean. Her courage reminds one of Rachel Corrie. This clip was uploaded on Jan 28 2008 on youtube. So it is a year old at least.

The opening of a United Nations conference in Switzerland on anti-racism was marred by chaotic scenes Monday as protests and a walkout by delegates disrupted a controversial address by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The presence of the Iranian leader at the conference had already prompted Israel to withdraw its ambassador from Switzerland, while several countries including the United States are also boycotting the gathering. Dozens of delegates walked out of the chamber as Ahmadinejad accused Israel and the West of making "an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering ... in order to establish a totally racist government." Video Watch delegates make their exit » He said Zionism, the Jewish national movement, "personifies racism," and accused Zionists of wielding economic and political resources to silence opponents. He also blasted the United States-led invasion of Afghanistan. Protesters in brightly colored wigs interrupted Ahmadinejad as he began to speak, shouting: "You're a racist!" in accented English. But some delegates cheered, while security officers dragged at least two protesters from the chamber. Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called Ambassador Ilan Elgar home to protest a meeting between the Swiss president and Ahmadinejad, Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement. "The meeting of a president of a democratic country with a notorious Holocaust denier such as the Iranian president, who has openly declared his intention of wiping Israel off the map, is not in keeping with the values represented by Switzerland," the ministry said. Netanyahu's office had earlier said the diplomatic move was a response to the presence of Ahmadinejad at the conference. Ahmadinejad has said that the Holocaust is a myth, and Iran hosted a conference in 2006 questioning the Holocaust, in which about 6 million Jews were killed. The United States, among others, is refusing to send envoys to the Durban Review Conference. The U.N. high commissioner for human rights said Sunday that she regrets -- and is "shocked" by -- the United States' decision to boycott. "I am shocked and deeply disappointed by the United States' decision not to attend a conference that aims to combat racism, xenophobia, racial discrimination and other forms of intolerance worldwide," High Commissioner Navi Pillay said in a written statement. "A handful of states have permitted one or two issues to dominate their approach to this issue, allowing them to outweigh the concerns of numerous groups of people that suffer racism and similar forms of intolerance... These are truly global issues, and it is essential that they are discussed at a global level, however sensitive and difficult they may be," she said. The U.S. State Department said Washington's decision was based in part on a conference document that "singles out" Israel in its criticism and conflicts with the United States' "commitment to unfettered free speech." President Barack Obama noted Sunday that the United States had previously warned it would not attend the conference if the document was not sufficiently altered in advance. According to the State Department, the document contains language that "prejudges key issues that can only be resolved in negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians." The language reaffirms the Durban Declaration and Programme of Actions from the 2001 conference in Durban, South Africa, which the United States has said it won't support. Obama said the United States hopes to partner with other countries "to actually reduce discrimination around the globe, but this (conference) wasn't an opportunity to do it." Australia, Canada, Germany and Italy, among others, are also boycotting the conference. Poland announced Monday it too would pull out of the conference. Netanyahu on Monday praised the countries that refused to attend: "I congratulate the nations that boycotted the show of hate."

Jundullah leader Abdulmalik Rigi received $100,000 from US operatives to fuel sectarianism in Iran in just one of their meetings, his brother has said. "My brother Abdulmalik met several times with US forces in Pakistan," Abdulhamid Rigi told a group of tribal leaders and citizens in the town of Iranshahr in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan. "I myself took part in one of those meetings, where we discussed recruitment, training, infiltrating Iran and methods of inflaming Sunni-Shia sectarianism for three hours. In that meeting, the Americans gave my brother $100,000," he added. Abdulhamid also said that during the meeting in question, his brother had asked for computer and satellite equipment, which he used to recruit young Sunni Baluchies. According to Jundullah's former number two, young men were attracted to the group because it sought to portray itself as an Islamic and Jihadist movement. He said that the group promoted the idea that killing two people from the Shia community would ensure entry to Paradise as they are infidels. Abdulhamid said that he had shot his wife dead in the Pakistani city of Quetta while she was asleep, because his brother had said she must die for being a Shia and a government spy. He added that Abdulmalik too had previously killed his own wife by slitting her throat for the same reason. Abdulhamid Rigi had earlier confirmed that the ring leader had repeatedly met with US agents in the Pakistani cities of Islamabad and Karachi since 2005. "In Pakistan, Malik [Abdulmalik Rigi] contacted an individual who resided in the US, who then put him through to the FBI," he said in a recent interview with Press TV. Jundullah (meaning 'God's Army') is a Pakistan-based terrorist group closely affiliated with the notorious al-Qaeda organization and is made up of disgruntled members of Iran's Sunni Baluch community. A 2007 Sunday Telegraph report revealed that the CIA had created Jundullah to achieve 'regime change in Iran'. The report said it was the very same US intelligence outfit that had tried to destabilize Iran by 'supplying arms-length support' and 'money and weapons' to Jundullah. Another report posted by ABC also revealed that the US officials had ordered Jundullah to 'stage deadly guerrilla raids inside the Islamic Republic, kidnap Iranian officials and execute them on camera', all as part of a 'programmatic objective to overthrow the Iranian government'. Jundullah has carried out a number of bombings and other violent attacks in Iran resulting in many casualties. Some of the attacks for which it has claimed responsibility are the killings of at least 16 Iranian police officers in a 2008 attack, nine Iranian security guards in 2005, and another 11 in a 2007 bombing. The group's leader Abdulmalik Rigi has also publicly claimed responsibility for a bombing in May at a Shia mosque in the southeastern city of Zahedan, which left 25 worshipers dead and scores injured. Soon after the attack, Abdulmalik Rigi admitted during an interview with a US-based satellite TV station that his group collaborated with another anti-Iranian terrorist group, the Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO). "They (MKO) inform us about the regime's activities in our areas of operations and let us know of the regime's forces in these districts and send us most of the intelligence of our interest by email and messages," Rigi told the station. MKO is listed as a terrorist organization by the US, Iran, and Iraq. Nevertheless, the US government has still not classified Jundullah as a proscribed terrorist organization.

Israel seizes vessel, protesters say Naval ships move in on a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, reportedly killing twenty people, protest organizers and Arab media report. The last we heard, Israeli soldiers landed on the top deck of the Turkish boat and opened fire," said Adam Shapiro, husband of one of the flotilla leaders. He said he spoke with his wife by telephone around 8:30 p.m. and she described watching the Israeli seizure from her boat. "After that, we lost communication with all of the ships," Shapiro said. "She said her boat was being chased by Israeli ships and they were trying to outrun it." According to one unconfirmed report, the other protest vessels had been intercepted and were being led to Israel. Some of the injured reportedly have been evacuated to a hospital in Haifa. Flotilla organizers, Arab leaders and Turkish diplomats have already condemned the reported attack. Flotilla organizers say they were carrying first-aid supplies and medical professionals in the event of casualties, but according to Shapiro, "we thought that the possibility that Israeli soldiers would shoot" was a remote one. Flotilla organizers said they carried no weapons. The six-vessel flotilla, packed with hundreds of international activists, food and other humanitarian supplies, left Cyprus on Sunday night and was attempting to break Israel's long-standing blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel had vowed to intercept the boats, by force if necessary, and tow them to the Israeli port of Ashdod, where passengers would be arrested or deported. Israel says the blockade of Gaza, which is controlled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, is needed to combat terrorism. A live video feed from the Turkish boat showed images of Israeli soldiers boarding the vessel and firing some sort of weapons, though it was unclear whether the weapons were live rounds or less-lethal devices, such as stun grenades. The feed was abruptly cut.

Naval ships move in on a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, reportedly killing three people, protest organizers and Arab media report. The last we heard, Israeli soldiers landed on the top deck of the Turkish boat and opened fire," said Adam Shapiro, husband of one of the flotilla leaders. He said he spoke with his wife by telephone around 8:30 p.m. and she described watching the Israeli seizure from her boat. "After that, we lost communication with all of the ships," Shapiro said. "She said her boat was being chased by Israeli ships and they were trying to outrun it." According to one unconfirmed report, the other protest vessels had been intercepted and were being led to Israel. Some of the injured reportedly have been evacuated to a hospital in Haifa. Flotilla organizers, Arab leaders and Turkish diplomats have already condemned the reported attack. Flotilla organizers say they were carrying first-aid supplies and medical professionals in the event of casualties, but according to Shapiro, "we thought that the possibility that Israeli soldiers would shoot" was a remote one. Flotilla organizers said they carried no weapons. The six-vessel flotilla, packed with hundreds of international activists, food and other humanitarian supplies, left Cyprus on Sunday night and was attempting to break Israel's long-standing blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel had vowed to intercept the boats, by force if necessary, and tow them to the Israeli port of Ashdod, where passengers would be arrested or deported. Israel says the blockade of Gaza, which is controlled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, is needed to combat terrorism. A live video feed from the Turkish boat showed images of Israeli soldiers boarding the vessel and firing some sort of weapons, though it was unclear whether the weapons were live rounds or less-lethal devices, such as stun grenades. The feed was abruptly cut.

'Shourd released over health condition' Iran's decision to release American national Sarah Shourd was based on humanitarian grounds, Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi has told Press TV. Sarah Emily Shourd was released on Tuesday on a bail of $500,000, more than 14 months after she was arrested with two other Americans for illegally entering Iran. "Based on the reports by her lawyer, our investigators and evidence provided by the government... we decided to take the detainee's health situation into consideration and grant her bail," Dolatabadi told Press TV on Tuesday. "Her representatives decided to bail her out... the judge has issued a release order and Ms. Shourd can leave Iran whenever she pleases," he added. Shourd, 31, Shane Michael Bauer and Joshua Felix Fattal, both 27, were arrested in July 2009 after illegally crossing the border from the mountains of Iraq's Kurdistan region. The three Americans were charged with espionage after the Tehran prosecutor found "compelling evidence" that the trio had been cooperating with US intelligence agencies. Bauer and Fattal will remain in jail and the trio will have to stand trial for espionage. Article Source: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/142497.html

Obama supporter tells him, in a town-hall meeting, that she is exhausted defending him. She says the middle class is being destroyed by his policies

This is a ‘meccan’ surah. It is narrated that the reciter of this surah will get the reward equal to ten times the number of letters in the divine books that were revealed to the Holy Prophet (saw), Prophet Ibrahim (as) and Prophet Musa (as). It is also said that in the hereafter, he/she will be told to enter Jannah through whichever door he/she pleases. Imam Ali (as) used to recite this surah often in his compulsory prayers. Surah al-Ala is also good for relieving ear pains and other ailments.

This is a ‘meccan’ surah. It is narrated from the Holy Prophet (saw) that the reward for reciting this surah is Jannah and its bounties. If a person recites this surah, especially on Thursday mornings, he/she will be rewarded with a hundred houries and four thousand slaves in Jannah and he/she will be given a place close to that of the Holy Prophet (saw). Reciting it during war brings victory. Drinking water in which this surah has been dissolved is good for those with heart ailments.