Arash Abaie
Feb 2003
Hojat-ol-eslam Seyed Mohammad Khatami, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, appeared among Jewish people in Yousefabad Synagogue on Feb.8, 2003. In this meeting, in addition to Hakham Yousef Hamadani Cohen, the chief Rabbi of Iran, different Jewish authorities and clergymen as well as state authorities were present.
Haroun Yashayaei, chairman of Tehran Jewish Committee, after welcoming the attend of the president, stated a short review form the events happened with ups and downs in the past 25 years. He acknowledged that the most important event was dialogues between civilizations and religions that supported by UN, that was considered as the symbol for Iranian thoughts in whole part of the world.
Morris Motamed Eng., representative of Iranians in Islamic Consultative Assembly as another lecturer welcomed the attendance of President and the other people.
He considered the attendance of the president as the higher authority of the system among Jewish people as a non-happened event in 2700-year history of the Iranian Jews.
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Seyed Mohammad Khatami, the president of Islamic Republic of Iran, started his speech by a sentence from Moses (stated in Quran) and read its translation:”O God! Open my heart, ease my tasks and remove my problems…" Then he noted: the problems of us, the monotheists and followers of the divine religions who believe in inspiration, in today world are common problems and we should be beside each other till the end of every problem.
He said: every religious monotheist indebted to a great Jewish philosopher. “Philo” who lived at 1st century, may be the first philosopher that stated the relation between wisdom, inspiration, philosophy and religion.
Philo, the great philosopher of Jewish culture has great right to all philosophers of the world, believed that one could be a faithful and follows the wisdom and inspiration, since wisdom and inspiration could be compound to each other.
Seyed Mohammad Khatami referred to the role of the Jews in promoting science and culture across the world and their effects in the thoughts of scholars in present century. He also believed the effect of the Jewish learned people in culture and Islamic thoughts. He emphasized the cooperation of the Jews besides Muslims in creating Islamic culture and protecting our country and stated: Jews wherever they were, kept their religion but with flexibility. This is the good capacity of the Judaism that to be in the direction of its location culture and try to complete it.
President of Iran mentioned Iranians and Jewish effective and considered the Iranian culture and cooperation of all Iranians either Muslim or non-Muslim as Iranian unification. He pointed out the living of Iranian Jewish near to Muslim’s religious centers as such as Jame (general) Masques as another characteristics of this people.
He also referred to the visit of the Jewish clergymen in the foreign trips – such as recent trip to Switzerland and U.S.A. – with the aim of dialogues between civilizations and considered his appearance among Jews, then he mentioned his visit with chief Rabbi in Yousef-Abad Synagogue something like that.
Mr. Khatami by condemning any terrorist action, rudeness and killing around the world in the name of religion, especially in Palestine, stated the main message of religions and mission of the prophets was peace, prosperity and reaching to the highest grade and removing from any ignorance. He added, “ What we say and wish is a peaceful life and coexistence of Muslims, Christians and Jews in Palestine”.
This meeting ended by opening the Hechal (Torah scroll place) for preying health (Shir-Lama’alot) to the authorities and Iranians by Rabbi Hakham Yousef Hamadani Cohen.
