|
News & Views Iran's budding revolutionaries quizzed on the Great Satan By Christophe de Roquefeuil TEHRAN, Nov 12 (AFP) - Budding Iranian revolutionaries are in line for major quiz prizes if they can answer questions about the "dark side" of US history and provide suggestions on how best to give the "Great Satan" a "big slap in the face." A revolutionary group is offering unspecified "valuable prizes" to anyone giving the correct answers to 40 questions about Iran's great enemy, the United States, especially in its relations with the Islamic Republic. The quiz -- "What is the US thinking?" -- has been compiled by the Islamic Propagation Organisation and published in three of the country's more conservative newspapers to test Iranians on their knowlege of America's historical misdeeds. But the organisation, set up after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to promote Iran's "enlightened" brand of Islam, is offering no prizes for guessing the identity of the first US president or the colours of the American flag. Instead, the multiple-choice test is designed to pick out budding revolutionaries, asking "What are the reasons for a break in relations with the United States?" and "How many black slaves were brought to the United States over a 150-year period?" And if contestants find those questions too easy, the quiz-masters have also asked: "Why does the US government insist on negotiating with the Iranian government?" "What is the best way for freedom lovers to give superpowers, particularly the United States, a big slap in the face?" and "Why are the Zionists so powerful in the United States?" But not all questions are so complex. "Who is the leader of the anti-Iranian movement in the US Congress" is a relatively easy question, the right answer (probably) being outgoing House Speaker Newt Gingrich, ahead of New York senator Alfonso D'Amato who is nevertheless reviled here as the architect of the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act. The other choices were US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and her predecessor Warren Christopher. The quiz has been organised to mark "World Day for the Struggle Against World Arrogance" which celebrates the anniversary of the November 4 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution 19 years ago. Iran has been openly hostile towards the United States since the revolution, and frequently derides it as "World-Devouring America," "the Global Arrogance" and the more familiar "Great Satan." Washington severed relations in 1980 after student revolutionaries stormed its embassy and held staff hostage for more than a year, and since then has worked to isolate Iran on the world stage. Prospects for restoring relations have become a matter of great controversy in Iran recently, with moderate politicians and students sending faint and often ambiguous signals calling for resumed dialogue while Islamic hardliners angrily reject the idea. Iran's supreme political and religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly poured cold water on any suggestions for US-Iran negotiations. But moderate President Mohammad Khatami has called for increased contacts between the peoples of Iran and the United States even without official dialogue, paving the way for travel to Iran by several US wrestling teams and even tourists. Links * Iran News
|
Copyright © 1997 Abadan Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved. May not be duplicated or distributed in any form
Web Site Design by |
Internet server by |
