Ahmadinejad: Islamic Awakening Belongs to All Human Beings

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday that since the religion of Islam is a divine gift to all human beings, the Islamic Awakening movement, which sparked democracy movements in the middle-East and North Africa last week, also belongs to all people worldwide.

“Islam belongs to all human beings; therefore, Islamic Awakening also belongs to all human beings in the world,” Ahmadinejad said while addressing the International Conference of Muslim Scholars and Islamic Awakening in Tehran.
The first International Conference on Muslim Scholars and Islamic Awakening started work here in Tehran on Monday with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as its keynote speaker.

250 university scholars from at least 71 countries along with 350 Iranian colleagues have attended the two-day conference.

The conference is also attended by different high-ranking Iranian officials, including President Ahmadinejad, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian, member of the Iranian parliament Seyed Mahmoud Nabavian, former legislator Zohreh Elahian and a number of other officials.

Scholars from Muslim and non-Muslim countries will express their opinions about regional developments during the conference.

The organizers said that the participants will also have the opportunity to exchange ideas about the ongoing developments in Syria, Bahrain and Palestine in five different commissions and panels.

Observers believe that the recent developments in Egypt as well as the rise of Islamists in Tunisia and other parts of the region are indications that the Islamic Awakening is prevailing among the regional states.

Since the start of 2011, the region has witnessed a growing wave of popular protests resulted from the people’s growing awareness and vigilance.

Tunisia saw the overthrow of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in a popular revolution in January, which was soon followed by a revolution which toppled Hosni Mubarak in Egypt in February.

Libya was the third country touched by the Islamic Awakening. Libyans also embraced victory after months of bloody campaign against the country’s dictator, Muammar al-Qaddafi.

Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Yemen have since been the scene of protests against their totalitarian rulers, who have resorted to brutal crackdown on demonstrations to silence their critics.