Last week, Iran dropped an unexpected bomb on the United States. Luckily, instead of one of the nuclear ones it is developing, this one was composed solely of words.
In a speech at Harvard, Mohammed Khatami, the former two-term president of Iran, made a strong denouncement of Osama bin Laden and suicide bombings, in addition to extolling the concept of democracy. In his remarks, Khatami described the events of Sept. 11 as "barbarous," and went on to say that he was against bin Laden, "first, because of the crimes he conducts and second, because he conducts them in the name of Islam, the religion which is a harbinger of peace and justice." While most of his remarks could be viewed positively, Khatami also expressed support for groups like Hezbollah, which he said countered Israeli colonialism and he said that the United States has been pursuing "world domination."
Even though his tenure as president may be over, Khatami's remarks signify an important step toward moderation in the Middle East. As an important figurehead from a country that is largely at odds with the United States, Khatami represents an authentic and genuine voice. The strength of his remarks lies not with the fact that he is the first to express these ideas since this is certainly not the first time someone from the region has made similar sentiments, and there are many that share coinciding beliefs. The importance of the speech is that the person responsible for the ideas is the former head of what is now a hard-line Islamic theocracy. As such, it would be difficult for even the most radical of extremists to paint Khatami as a puppet of the West and someone not in tune with the people of the Middle East.
What is disturbing about the remarks is that they display the consistently negative attitude of Middle Eastern governments toward Israel. The summarily dismissive and hostile attitude toward Israel continues to portend regional instability. This is due to the inability of many of the Middle Eastern governments to remain impartial observers when Israel is concerned — for instance, not criticizing the aggressive actions of Hezbollah's kidnapping of Israeli soldiers and the role that action played in the recent conflict between the two. Israel could play a large part in the democratization of the Middle East, but other governments must soften their stance toward Israel. And leaders, such as Khatami, should be careful to not reinforce pre-existing biases.
The hopeful result of these remarks will be a growing disenchantment with Osama bin Laden, radical Islam and their actions. The United States should encourage strong moderate voices like Khatami's in the Middle East to speak out against radical forces, even if those voices, like Khatami's are not expressly in support of the United States. For there to be true stability in the region, and thus for U.S. interests to be protected in the future, the United States must realize that it needs to allow organic democratic support to realize itself. This is certainly much easier said than done, considering the current predicament. Yet, for the region to realize long-term stability, there must be an internally created process that moves Middle Eastern nations toward their own form of democratic governance, rather than one imposed upon them by foreign powers. The formation of government through these external forces creates more space for turmoil, as those that oppose democracy can use the issue of foreign interference as a wedge in the process.
While Khatami's speech is an encouraging sign of moderation from governmental actors in the Middle East, for there to be actual change in the region, more support from the citizens is required to create the widespread ideological reforms necessary to stabilize the region.
Mike Skelly ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in finance and political science.
