How to Kill the Dead Again

“The Children of Adam are limbs of each other
Having been created of one essence.”

Saadi Shairazi, Circa, around 1260


The August 26th ’06 New York Times was not much different from any other day’s. Obviously, the front page was filled with all sorts of interesting news, such as, over the counter availability of the morning after pill, the Chinese handing out generous prison terms to researchers, preparation for ’08 presidential contest. Without a doubt, extremely important newses that will leave a deep impression on the readers for years to come. The half page news on page 8 not only took me by surprise, but I felt like as someone stabbed me with a dull 12-inch knife right by my sensitive area. Imagine the hurt, and the loss of my manhood.

The news was about opening of an art exhibit in Tehran, titled “the Holocaust International Cartoon Contest”. Without getting into gory details about the type of art that was displayed (according to the news) let me just say that it was in pretty bad taste even by Islamic standards.

In international circles, President Ahmadinejad garners as much respect as king of Swaziland, and generally is never taken that seriously as a leader, mainly due to the way he came to power. He is made fun of on daily basis, but he is too dumb to even get it, a trait common among Islamic leaders. He had said after the Danish cartoon saga that Iran would organize a Holocaust cartoon contest (as if the cartoons in Danish press were drawn by the Holocaust victims – just think about how dumb the President is). No one took his words seriously, because he has a habit of sticking his left foot in his own mouth and right in the Ayatollah’s.

After I read the news, hundreds of thousands of thoughts went into my mind. The very first that came was how my mom used to read us Firdousi and put us to bed by reading Sohrab and Rustam. In later years, all of us siblings took a deep interest in Persian literature. My personal collection is half Omar Khayyam, half Hafiz and Rumi, the remaining 10% other. I long for the days to go to Iran to eat the sweetest grapes, and touch the walls of seminaries of Qum. I also have an added interest in Esfahan for it’s musical history.

Getting back to the Holocaust cartoon contest. What exactly was President Ahmadinejad thinking? I mean try to get into his head and try to figure out what kind of a human would like to poke fun at the murder of 6 million people? Would it be a Shia, a Sunni of a Wahabi persuasion, a Jew (naah) an Ahmadi Muslim (no way), a Hindu ( you kiddin me?). Without putting too much strain on one’s head, let’s just say that only a fanatic believer of a lowest kind would come up with such a brilliant idea for an Art exhibit. La Illa ha Il’lAllah

The other side of this is that the President Ahmadinejad was so upset over the Danish cartoon depiction of the Prophet Mohammad that he organized this exhibit to settle the score. Now we can say with full confidence that Prophet Mohammad is the winner because it is clearly depicted in the Tehran exhibit that Jews are bad, and they deserved what they got. Precisely what the Prophet would have wanted. Mohammad ar’Rasool Allah

The silver lining in all of this was that the exhibit has gotten a fairly cold response even among Iranians and within Tehran art circles, and most have rejected it as just as another Farsi farce.

To end with Saadi, and to invite a healthy debate over how stupid the leaders of the Islamic world can be:

“When the calamity of time afflicts one limb
The other limbs cannot remain at rest.
If thou hast no sympathy for the troubles of others
Thou art unworthy to be called by the name of a man.”

Saadi