The following is the full text of the letter.
Mr. Lee Bollinger
Columbia University President
We, the professors and heads of universities and research institutions in Tehran , hereby announce our displeasure and protest at your impolite remarks prior to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent speech at Columbia University.
We would like to inform you that President Ahmadinejad was elected directly by the Iranian people through an enthusiastic two-round poll in which almost all of the country’s political parties and groups participated. To assess the quality and nature of these elections you may refer to US news reports on the poll dated June 2005.
Your insult, in a scholarly atmosphere, to the president of a country with a population of 72 million and a recorded history of 7,000 years of civilization and culture is deeply shameful.
Your comments, filled with hate and disgust, may well have been influenced by extreme pressure from the media, but it is regrettable that media policy-makers can determine the stance a university president adopts in his speech.
Your remarks about our country included unsubstantiated accusations that were the product of guesswork as well as media propaganda. Some of your claims result from misunderstandings that can be clarified through dialogue and further research.
During his speech, Mr. Ahmadinejad answered a number of your questions and those of students. We are prepared to answer any remaining questions in a scientific, open and direct debate.
You asked the president approximately ten questions. Allow us to ask you ten of our own questions in the hope that your response will help clear the atmosphere of misunderstanding and distrust between our two countries and reveal the truth.
1- Why did the US media put you under so much pressure to prevent Mr. Ahmadinejad from delivering his speech at Columbia University? And why have American TV networks been broadcasting hours of news reports insulting our president while refusing to allow him the opportunity to respond? Is this not against the principle of freedom of speech?
2- Why, in 1953, did the US administration overthrow the Iran’s national government under Dr Mohammad Mosaddegh and go on to support the Shah’s dictatorship?
3- Why did the US support the blood-thirsty dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-88 Iraqi-imposed war on Iran, considering his reckless use of chemical weapons against Iranian soldiers defending their land and even against his own people?
4- Why is the US putting pressure on the government elected by the majority of Palestinians in Gaza instead of officially recognizing it? And why does it oppose Iran ‘s proposal to resolve the 60-year-old Palestinian issue through a general referendum?
5- Why has the US military failed to find Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden even with all its advanced equipment? How do you justify the old friendship between the Bush and Bin Laden families and their cooperation on oil deals? How can you justify the Bush administration’s efforts to disrupt investigations concerning the September 11 attacks?
6- Why does the US administration support the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) despite the fact that the group has officially and openly accepted the responsibility for numerous deadly bombings and massacres in Iran and Iraq? Why does the US refuse to allow Iran ‘s current government to act against the MKO’s main base in Iraq?
7- Was the US invasion of Iraq based on international consensus and did international institutions support it? What was the real purpose behind the invasion which has claimed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives? Where are the weapons of mass destruction that the US claimed were being stockpiled in Iraq?
8- Why do America’s closest allies in the Middle East come from extremely undemocratic governments with absolutist monarchical regimes?
9- Why did the US oppose the plan for a Middle East free of unconventional weapons in the recent session of the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors despite the fact the move won the support of all members other than Israel?
10- Why is the US displeased with Iran’s agreement with the IAEA and why does it openly oppose any progress in talks between Iran and the agency to resolve the nuclear issue under international law?
Finally, we would like to express our readiness to invite you and other scientific delegations to our country. A trip to Iran would allow you and your colleagues to speak directly with Iranians from all walks of life including intellectuals and university scholars. You could then assess the realities of Iranian society without media censorship before making judgments about the Iranian nation and government.
You can be assured that Iranians are very polite and hospitable toward their guests.
Ugh, the Columbia event could have been such a great opportunity to expose, for example, some of the Ahmadinejad administration’s policies towards academia and scholars in Iran. Instead, it was turned into a circus by Lee Bollinger.
I am sorry Pouya, but your post smacks of pure IRI propaganda.
First of all, a true Iranian University Chancellor would either be in Evin prison, or would have been killed or disappeared by now. These “current Iranian University Chancellors†are no less a puppet of Mullahs than Ahmadinejad himself – a bunch of powerless clowns that could not have gained their positions and salaries without the OK of the Supreme Leader. In other words, they are mere ass-kissers of the Mullahs.
Second, since Ahmadinejad is a nobody, a mere ventriloquist’s moppet with no power and no brain (believing in the re-appearance of the 12th Imam?!), I’d like to take “The Islamic Iranian Chancellors†on, and answer their 10 questions posed to Lee Bolinger.
Q1- Why did the US media put you under so much pressure to prevent Mr. Ahmadinejad from delivering his speech at Columbia University? And why have American TV networks been broadcasting hours of news reports insulting our president while refusing to allow him the opportunity to respond? Is this not against the principle of freedom of speech?
A1 – Because Ahmadinejad is an idiot who claims that the Iranian women have the most freedom while he pushes them under chador and allows them to be arrested if their hair shows, let alone authorizing them to be stoned or flogged merely because of his 7th century belief system. Rightly so, the US media prevents savages, barbarians, torturers and clowns like Ahmadinejad to deliver anything to Columbia University, an institution that is against superstitions such as God/Allah delusions and re-appearance of a 12th Imam. In fact, the American TV networks did allow Ahmadinejad the opportunity to respond to a simple question “Mr. President: could you comment on gay rights in Iranâ€? To which, Ahmaghinejad exercised the principle of free speech and responded “There are no homosexuals in Iranâ€. Well, anyone who discredits himself like that in a public forum, needs to be insulted. I just wish one of the PhD students in the audience would have asked this monkey (with a PhD) if he had ever been to Ghazvin.
Q2- Why, in 1953, did the US administration overthrow the Iran’s national government under Dr Mohammad Mosaddegh and go on to support the Shah’s dictatorship?
A2 – The US Administration was not solely responsible for the overthrow of the Iran’s government back in the cold war era of 1953. True, the US did send Kermit and a few CIA agents to Iran with a meager budget of
(It seems your comment section does not allow for detailed answers. But here we continue)
A2 – The US Administration was not solely responsible for the overthrow of the Tran’s government back in the cold war era of 1953. True, the US did send Kermit and a few CIA agents to Iran with a meager budget of
Shocking, I massacre JZ and he magically dissapears.
Nice propaganda! It is official you are nothing but IR’s bitch. How much are they paying you?
It is truly a shame that the prior commentors are so ignorant as to think this is IRI propaganda. This is the truth. Yes, Ahmadinejad is not an incredible president. Honestly, he hasn’t done much for the domestic policies of Iran, REGARDLESS Lee Bollinger was a completely disrespectful speaker!
And I love this letter, Iranian professors and intellectuals DO EXIST outside of Evin prison.