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.American
Free Press |
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| ...Volume
VI..#43
October 23, 2006.americanfreepress.net |
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P. 10, AMERICAN
FREE PRESS * October 23, 2006 Behind the Scenes
with
Michael Collins Piper
Iranian Filmmaker: Iran & U.S. Have Much in Common
By Michael Collins Piper
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. .Touring the United States, putting together a documentary
film he hopes will prevent a war between
the United States and Iran, Iranian filmmaker
Nader Talebzadeh sat down with AFP to talk about
the growing U.S.-Iran crisis and relate his efforts to
reach out to Americans in an open dialogue to discuss why it
is vital for the two countries to seek peace.
. . . “America is a religious country and so is Iran. On that
basis,” he said, “I can see a future close relationship between
the American people and the Iranian people, after this current
crisis comes to an end. Religion is a great common
ground. And Americans — like Iranians — also have a deep
sense of patriotism.”
. . .Talebzadeh has interviewed a broad cross-section of
Americans who come together on one issue: they oppose
the idea of a war against Iran as dangerous and unnecessary.
. . .Many of those the filmmaker has met with have been
academics — “from Boston to Berkeley” as he put it — noting
that the working title of his forthcoming documentary is “From Tehran to Texas.” Talebzadeh was quite impressed
with the state of Texas and its people. “Texas,” he commented,“is like a country all its own but one which represents
the heart and soul of America.”
. . .As a Muslim, Talebzadeh was pleased he was able to
build a special rapport with fundamentalist Christians who
were skeptical of dealing with a Muslim from an “evil”
country, as George W. Bush described Iran.
. . .But Talebzadeh was able to build kinship on the basis of
religion, letting Christians know that “every day when we
Muslims get up at dawn and pray to God, we are praying for
the safe and timely return of Jesus Christ.” This is something,
he noted, most Christians don’t understand about Islam.
"If you like the war in Iraq, wait
until you see the war in Iran. It will
be a massive, global war."
. . .In Talebzadeh’s judgment, much anti-Islamic hostility is
the consequence of political propagandizing by what he
candidly referred to as “Zionist” elements determined to stop Christians from learning how much there is in common between Islam and Christianity.
. . .On Oct. 11, Talebzadeh attended a Capitol Hill briefing
organized by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio). Equally outspoken
in his opposition to the Bush regime’s intentions
against the Islamic Republic of Iran as he was to the Bush
drive to eviscerate the secular republic of Iraq, Kucinich
brought together an array of observers who laid bare the disinformation put forth in furtherance of the Israeli lobby-promoted scheme to destroy Iran.
. . .As a consequence of the building confrontation with
Iran, Talebzadeh sees America going through a subtle transformation
process. The transformation, he believes, arises
from the realization by many Americans that they have lost
control of their own government that is now carrying out policies that could prove disastrous not only to Iran but to America.
. . .In that vein, Talebzadeh cited remarks by one of those
who spoke at the Capitol Hill seminar, Joseph Cirincione of
the Center for American Progress, who said, “If you like the
war in Iraq, wait until you see the war in Iran. It will be a massive, global war.”
. . .Talebzadeh predicts Americans will ultimately change
the direction of their government and that the United States
will not continue to act as an empire but that it will survive as a free republic, transformed for the better.
(Issue #43, October 23, 2006, AMERICAN
FREE PRESS)
