Grand Ayatollah Monazeri in response to the letter written by 293 of enlightened thinkers and intellectualsIn the name of God
Only the patient will be paid back their reward in full without measure (A verse from the Holy Quran)
Honorable and Dear Brothers and Sisters, Enlightened Thinkers,
With greetings and blessings; In response to the letter of 88/6/1 and with gratitude and appreciation for the heroism and resilience of the dear people of Iran , I say that I have proposed ways of easing the crisis. It appears, however, that their Excellencies have isolated themselves and shut their eyes and ears for their own worldly aims. But while resistance still lives in the hearts of many and some still endure torture and prison, I am not hopeless. I still hope that more than this faction of the system that has languished and endured will survive and that before it is too late, the Islamic Republic can be salvaged.
Islam is the pure religion of the divine and according to it, freedom of thought and speech are undeniable. Of the nature of acceptance of religion, the Koran states: religion is not accepted through force. Religion must be accepted through logic and reason. According to the tradition of the Prophet of Islam and his progeny (his infallible successors) that with full freedom and the absence of any fear, the people must have the right to criticize and protest. The greatest injustice to Islam is the oppression of the people under the banner of an Islamic government.
I hope that the leaders who have strayed from the right path return and that they return the people’s stolen rights. I hope that they compensate the damages, that they free the innocent, and that they not embarrass the Islamic court any more with this propaganda trial. Or at least, I hope they have the bravery to announce that this government is not a Republic and is not Islamic and that no one has the right to protest or criticize.
I hope that in this holy month of Ramadan, God save us from our mistakes and continue to offer his holy guidance.
Hossein Ali Montazeri
August 26, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Scientists for a Nuclear Weapons Free World
Scientists and engineers bear a heavy burden of responsibility to society for the creation of nuclear weapons.
The immense destructive power of these weapons was demonstrated on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and in over 2,000 atmospheric and underground nuclear tests on the lands of indigenous peoples.
Thermonuclear weapons are capable of destroying cities, countries and civilization. They could end intelligent life on Earth.
Humanity has been warned again and again of the perils of nuclear weapons and nuclear war.
We recall the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, issued on July 9, 1955. The Manifesto warned, “Here, then, is the problem which we present to you, stark and dreadful and inescapable: Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war?”
Human fallibility and nuclear weapons are a dangerous and unacceptable mix. We rely upon human theories concerning nuclear weapons, such as the theory of nuclear deterrence, at our peril.
Since Nagasaki, humankind has been spared nuclear war far more by good fortune than by sound planning. This good fortune will not be possible to maintain indefinitely – particularly, as is foreseeable, if nuclear weapons continue to proliferate and fall into the hands of non-state extremist groups.
Nuclear weapons were created by humans, and it is our responsibility to eliminate them before they eliminate us and much of the life on our planet. The era of nuclear weapons must be brought to an end. A world without nuclear weapons is possible, realistic, necessary and urgent.
Therefore, we the undersigned scientists and engineers, call upon the leaders of the world, and particularly the leaders of the nine nuclear weapons states, to make a world free of nuclear weapons an urgent priority.
We further call on these leaders to immediately commence good faith negotiations, as required by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the 1996 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, with the goal of achieving a Nuclear Weapons Convention for the phased, verifiable, irreversible and transparent elimination of nuclear weapons by the year 2020.
Finally, we call upon scientists and engineers throughout the world to cease all cooperation in the research, development, testing, production and manufacture of new nuclear weapons.
www.inesglobal.com August 6th, 2009
The immense destructive power of these weapons was demonstrated on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and in over 2,000 atmospheric and underground nuclear tests on the lands of indigenous peoples.
Thermonuclear weapons are capable of destroying cities, countries and civilization. They could end intelligent life on Earth.
Humanity has been warned again and again of the perils of nuclear weapons and nuclear war.
We recall the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, issued on July 9, 1955. The Manifesto warned, “Here, then, is the problem which we present to you, stark and dreadful and inescapable: Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war?”
Human fallibility and nuclear weapons are a dangerous and unacceptable mix. We rely upon human theories concerning nuclear weapons, such as the theory of nuclear deterrence, at our peril.
Since Nagasaki, humankind has been spared nuclear war far more by good fortune than by sound planning. This good fortune will not be possible to maintain indefinitely – particularly, as is foreseeable, if nuclear weapons continue to proliferate and fall into the hands of non-state extremist groups.
Nuclear weapons were created by humans, and it is our responsibility to eliminate them before they eliminate us and much of the life on our planet. The era of nuclear weapons must be brought to an end. A world without nuclear weapons is possible, realistic, necessary and urgent.
Therefore, we the undersigned scientists and engineers, call upon the leaders of the world, and particularly the leaders of the nine nuclear weapons states, to make a world free of nuclear weapons an urgent priority.
We further call on these leaders to immediately commence good faith negotiations, as required by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the 1996 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, with the goal of achieving a Nuclear Weapons Convention for the phased, verifiable, irreversible and transparent elimination of nuclear weapons by the year 2020.
Finally, we call upon scientists and engineers throughout the world to cease all cooperation in the research, development, testing, production and manufacture of new nuclear weapons.
www.inesglobal.com August 6th, 2009
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