[Farsi PDF] Ladies and gentlemen,
dear friends,  My name is Fathiyeh Naghibzadeh. I am so pleased that I can speak here on behalf of the Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin. Back in 1973, six years before the downfall of the Shah of Persia, the Ayatollah Khomeini called on all the Muslims of the world to join together in a holy war against Israel. Immediately upon taking power and establishing the Islamic regime in Iran in 1979, the Ayatollah Khomeini declared the International Day of Al-Quds as a global day of fighting against Israel.  In addition to the oppression of women and the obligation to wear a veil, the Iranian regime's first and most important goal was spreading anti-Semitism throughout the world.  The latest expression of this anti-Semitism on German soil was the speech by Iran's so-called Secretary General of the Iranian Human Rights Committee, Muhammad Larijani, at a Hessian Foundation for Peace and Conflict Research conference in June of this year here in Berlin. During this conference, which was politically and financially supported by the German federal government, he was able to call for the destruction of Israel and declare that the denial of the Holocaust in the Muslim world has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. (See the MFFB press release) Most Iranians know Muhammad Larijani. As chairman of the "Human Rights Staff of Iranian Justice" he declared in 2007 that stoning is neither inadequate nor torture: "Some people think that we are ashamed if Westerners insult us because of the stoning, while we are only obeying the law. This is not the case at all. One does not need to be ashamed of the religious law."  Muhammad Larijani voiced the foundation on which the Iranian regime is based years ago.  "Up to now everyone always thought that the source of political power was military and economic strength. Imam Khomeini's fatwa [against Salman Rushdie, in other words the inducement to murder the author] has shown that the source of political power is something completely different than those two."  Ladies and gentlemen, what Mr. Larijani was insinuating with this sentence 14 years ago is something that the people in Iran, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Lebanon and in Israel learn from experience every day. The source of theocratic Iran's political power and global expansion is terror. This regime's brutal anti-Semitism is in no way Ahmadinejad's invention. It is the foundation of the Islamic Republic of Iran and is held by each and every one of this regime's top officials and politicians.  There are executions, people are brutally suppressed, and union officials, opposition leaders, women, gays and lesbians, and national and religious minorities are persecuted every day in Iran.  The regime constantly associates this persecution with anti-Semitism. Anyone who gets in the regime's way is branded as an agent of the Zionists.  The Iranian government is currently conducting another terrible campaign against the Baha'i Faith. The Baha'i have always been a thorn in the mullah's side; they are considered fair game in Iran. And of course the government also calls them Zionists.  Ladies and gentlemen, the more suppression there is in Iran, the more shameless the regime's anti-Semitic smear campaign will be in the world. We have the support for the Iranian regime from the European Union and particularly the German government and German companies such as Siemens, Daimler, Steiner and many others to thank for this.  Not every dictatorship is as popular as the Iranian one. It is the regime's anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism that wins over such extremely diverse powerful allies.  United Nations General Assembly President Miguel D’Escoto hugged Ahmadinejad following his inflammatory speech in front of the United Nations a few days ago.  In Germany, well-known political consultants such as Christoph Bertram openly campaign for a strategic partnership with Iran and hardly anyone is outraged.  And while Neo-Nazis are filled with enthusiasm for their new heroes in Teheran, the so-called leftists demonstrate hand in hand with religious Islamic fascists, for example at this year's Al-Quds demonstration in London.  The Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin was founded to combat this disastrous development with everything it has. We would like to say to the German society and German politicians: The Al-Quds demonstration is not a peace demonstration, but rather a demonstration for the Iranian regime's global war.  A regime that is based on anti-Semitism and terror, that constantly pushes for Israel's annihilation, should under no circumstances be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.  Any support or toleration of this regime on a political, diplomatic or economic level does not lead to the easing of tensions, but rather to a militaristic escalation.  Those people who do not want war must now and immediately call for the total isolation of the regime, stand up for consistent political and economic sanctions and fight for the support of all the people in Iran and those living in exile who fight for human rights, personal freedom, gender equality and a secular democracy in Iran.  The Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin is a co-initiator of the STOP THE BOMB campaign in Germany, which will start soon. We have lots of additional information available if you have questions and ask you all to support this campaign.  Ladies and gentlemen,  In conclusion, please allow me to add a personal remark. As an Iranian woman, I know that the Israeli and Iranian people are the people who are suffering the most under the Iranian regime. I would like to say here, without any hesitation: anyone who is serious about standing up for democracy and human rights in Iran must stand up against anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism and for the defense of Israel against the Iranian regime.  Thank you very much!