The People Of Iran.. Are A Good People
Iranian Dissident Video Beef Today. (NOT MUSIC!) Hashem Aghajari feels that the people of Iran are a good people. Even (especially) the journalists!
'The People of Iran Are a Good People' featuring Hashem Aghajari from PBS's Wide Angle, Episode 'Red Lines and Deadlines'. Aired Sept 23, 2004.
In this clip from the PBS documentary series "Wide Angle," an interviewer asks Iranian dissident Hashem Aghajari how he feels about the support he received from the Iranian press.
(Transcription and emphasis are mine. Translation is PBS's.)INTERVIEWER: How do you feel about all this support? HASHEM AGHAJARI: I feel that the people of Iran are very good people. The young generation and journalists showed, by their actions, that in the battle between truth and lies, they stand on the side of truth.It's worth mentioning at this point that Mr. Aghajari had just been released after a death sentence was commuted. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison, but was released pending his appeal. His crime? (from the BBC bio page linked above)
He was sentenced to death for apostasy in November 2002.He had enraged conservatives in June that year, when he questioned the rule of clerics and the principle of emulating religious leaders.
He said Muslims should not follow Islamic clerics "like monkeys."
Watch his face, and listen closely to the words he uses. This is clearly a man who understands the importance of saying the 'right' thing. I think he's being very clear when he says the people of Iran are a good people. He's right. They have real journalists, too.
If only they could have a government worthy of them.