We received in Al-Hayat a letter from Mr. Ali Al-Husseini, commenting on my article about the Arabs and Iran. I will try and do justice to its author by posting here as much as possible from what came in it, because it exceeds the space available for this entire column, and then I will respond to it. He claims that he follows this column regularly, and while he sometimes agrees or disagrees with what I write, the article about the subject that he's commenting on had shocked him because of the ignorance I showed when it came to Iran and its leadership. I said that Iran was bankrupt and Mr. Al-Husseini asks where I get such information from. He stresses that Iran, a country of seventy million, has a cash surplus and is witnessing a scientific, economic and development boom. Mr. Al-Husseini adds that Iran, unlike the oil-rich Gulf States that are poor in population, was only slightly affected by the financial crisis that is hitting the world today. He adds: Saying that Iran is an oil and gas producer but that has no gasoline does not reflect reality. Yes, Iran imports a part of its demand of oil but that depends, in part, to the nature of the oil produced by its wells, and in another part to the embargo imposed by western countries ... Also, some of the Arab oil producers import diesel and gas, while they burn the natural gas resulting from the extraction of oil. Moreover: To say that Iran is ruled by a clueless governor led by an actual ruler who is still living in the second Hijri century is strange and not worthy of a veteran journalist... The Old man is closely following the achievements of Iranian scientists who have reached outer space, harnessed nuclear technology, and produced industrial uranium while making great achievements in medical science, including in stem cells. Furthermore: As for his talk about the man being a hollow drum, I will not respond to it because it is nothing but hollow words far from press etiquette. He also says: The same broken record about Persian ambitions is inaccurate and untrue, and I don't believe that Mr. Jihad is unaware that American and Western and recently some Arab embargo is due to Iran's position of supporting the Palestinian people, oppressed by both enemies and brothers. Perhaps the worst thing about that was that an Arab state was imposing siege on Gaza... I was hoping that Mr. Jihad would denounce the leader of the largest Arab country's siege of Gaza... He carries on by saying: I would say that it is incomprehensible that Mr. Jihad would talk about the silence of the Arabs about Israel's racism while denouncing Ahmadinejad's decision to revive the United Nations resolution of 1975. I think I was fair to Mr. Ali Al-Husseini by giving him half of my column and I'm going to respond to him in the other half. Starting from the end of his letter, I say that I did not condemn Ahmadinejad's speech against Israel's racism, but rather supported his position every time I raised the topic, and what I had written is undeniably there. What I denounced was the Arabs' silence. The whole article was more critical of Arabs than it was an attack on Iran. I wrote my article as an Arab citizen, but Mr. Ali Al-Husseini wrote his response as a Shiite citizen, and as a member of the Political Bureau of the Amal movement and one of the leaders of ‘religious leadership'. He thus takes Iran's side in any matter, and attributes to it the feats in the heavens and on Earth, while faulting Arab States, for their politics, oil and the struggle against Israel, whereas everything Iran does is better and more far-reaching. He even criticized Egypt, which has sacrificed so much, and prefers Iran, which sacrificed the ‘remote control'. I still think that Ahmadinejad is a ‘hollow drum', and the letter's author says he will not respond to my words, and he says they are “hollow words far from press etiquette.” However, I did not call Ali Hashemi Rafsanjani, for instance, or Mohammad Khatami, a hollow drum. But Ahmadinejad talks too much nonsense that only brings himself and his country further hostilities. He is a self-appointed attorney for the Christian West which killed six million Jews then sent the survivors our way with all the misfortune that caused us. Why should the Iranian president deny a crime that he is not accused of? If he remains silent, he would rest and let rest. Also, perhaps Mr. Al-Husseini can convince the people of the three islands of Bahrain of the absence of any Iranian ambitions there, because I am personally not convinced. What's most important than all of his letter is that I support Iran when it comes to the letter's most important point, and which is Iran's right to possess nuclear weapons. If Mr. Al-Husseini really reads my column regularly like he said, he must have read that at least 20 times or more. Reading me regularly should mean that he read me 40 times or more enthusiastically defending Hamas and Hezbollah, and saying that they are national liberation movements in the face of the Nazi state of Israel. However, I do so from a national perspective and not a sectarian one, and when the Hezbollah militants used their arms in Ras Beirut a year ago, I criticized them and should they come back I will go back to criticizing them. I also criticized Hamas because of the confrontation in the Gaza Strip, which ended up with a loss of 1400 Palestinians, at least half of which were women and children, compared with only 20 Israelis, or the ratio of 70 to one. The situation then returned to exactly what it was before the fighting, but without the martyrs. Had there been a reason for me to criticise the Amal movement, I would have, but Speaker Nabih Berri is wiser than exposing himself to any criticism. I have never withdrawn something I had written in my entire life, and I will not do so today; this is not being stubborn, but it is my right to express my opinion. I belong solely to the Arab nation and not any foreign country, or sect, or political party. I have written while knowing in advance that I will not please any radicals or extremists. If Mr. Al-Husseini ever visited us in London, I would show him the letters accusing me of supporting the Persian ‘devil' or ‘enemy'. All letters, just like my articles, are preserved, and my documented stance is that I am with the UAE and Bahrain against Iran, with Iran against The U.S, and with the U.S against Al-Qaeda. Mr. Ali Al-Husseini, however, is with Iran only. Al-Hayat 12/05/09
