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“'Neocons'
The Same as Al-QAEDA"

ABC, Sunday February 12, 2006

By Ramón Pérez-Maura

Translated by Marisa Menna

Last Friday, while thousands of Malaysians staged a peaceful demonstration in front of the Dutch embassy against the cartoons (portraying the Prophet Mohammad), scores of scholars, politicians, businessmen and journalists gathered in the capital of Malaysia to discuss, “Who Speaks for Islam? Who Speaks for the West?”  The purpose of this conference, convened by Dialogues: Islamic World-U.S.-The West, is to build a bridge between Islamic and Western cultures.  The director of Dialogues, New York University research scholar Dr. Mustapha Tlili, stated that “There is not much that the Dutch and Norwegian governments could have done in order to avoid publication of such heated material, with the exception, perhaps, of presenting the case in court.  No other Western Government would have acted differently”.  The words of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia and current President of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, demonstrated a will to come to an understanding, something that is more comprehensible in a country that is majority Muslim, but with a strong Buddhist presence, and a relevant Christian minority.
Among the conference participants was former president of Iran Mohammad Khatami, considered by many as the face of moderation in his country, especially since his successor, Ahmadinejad, has developed a military nuclear program in Iran. In front of the room where the conference was held, a book was being sold— “Islam, Freedom and Development”— which compiles the thoughts of the moderate Khatami.  On the back cover one can read: “At this moment our fight against the West is crucial to our survival. Any form of reconciliation or concession, since the enemy is an expert in deceit, will not take us anywhere; it will only hurt us and make them step on our pride. We have to fight against this with all of our strength, and then victory will be in our reach. We must depend on God and ask for his inspiration, based on our own historical identity which we have regained through the revolution.” In this context, the reader can imagine Khatami’s tone behind closed doors. For example, he affirmed that “the Neoconservatives and Al-Qaeda are the same thing,” Skeptical of his assertion, I approached Khatami to ask for permission to quote his phrase and to reveal the secret of the meeting, imagining that he would modify what he said. On the contrary, he consented with an ample smile and illuminated eyes. No matter how the “neocons”-according to his views and those of a few others- control the Bush Administration, the implicit equation here is that the government of George Bush and Al-Qaeda are both equally criminal.  Khatami is a well known member of the high level group Alliance of Civilizations.

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