Summary:
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, has officially
voiced doubts over the entire existence of the Holocaust. Iran has not recognized Israel as a country,
and has threatened to attack it using weapons from Tehran, one of the major
cities in Iran working on a nuclear program.
Other officials in the government have made comments supporting the idea
of the Holocaust and the oppression of the Jewish people. Many of these supportive comments, however,
have raised frustrations among people, especially those in strong support of nuclear
action in Tehran. Kahmenei made these
remarks in a speech about the Persian New Year, referred to the ideas of the
Holocaust as a “cultural invasion” against Islamic religious beliefs, calling
out Western countries on their treatment of those who cast doubt on the
holocaust. The UN, in turn, has criticized
Iran for the increase in executions, detention of dissidents, and
discrimination against woman.
Analysis:
There are a number of sociological issues brought to light
in this article, though many of them stem toward religion, or more correctly
using the excuse of religion. Many
peoples in the Middle East, especially in those countries with governments tied
to Islamic beliefs, dismiss Israel as its only country. The tensions between more fundamentalist Islamic
groups and Israel have been high since World War II. This is one of the first times, however, that
a country has discounted the Holocaust and called it a complete myth. Radical fundamentalist groups in all
religions have used their belief systems to justify violent acts against other
religious peoples. With this statement,
the Western world is sure to take notice of the denial of history and the steps
toward nuclear attack, not to mention the condemnation of Western ideology and
practices. This is sure to increase
tension in relationships between nations that are already very strained.
No comments:
Post a Comment