Mahmoud Ahmadinejad To Deliver UK Christmas Broadcast

LONDON — Iran's president is offering season's greetings to Christians in a British TV address and suggests that if Jesus were alive, he would oppose "bullying, ill-tempered and expansionist powers" _ an apparent reference to the U.S. and its allies.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Christmas Day broadcast will be delivered on Britain's Channel 4 television, occupying a slot that provides an often controversial counterpoint to Queen Elizabeth II's traditional annual message, the station said Wednesday. A leading British Jewish body said it was appalled.

According to a transcript released in advance, Ahmadinejad says most of the world's problems stem from leaders who have turned against religion. The Muslim president doesn't refer to rival nations or leaders by name or mention Israel, despite his past calls to wipe it out.

"If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly he would hoist the banner of justice and love for humanity to oppose warmongers, occupiers, terrorists and bullies the world over," Ahmadinejad said, according to the English translation of the Farsi-language speech. The broadcast will air with subtitles.

The U.S., Britain and others suspect Iran of developing nuclear weapons, while Tehran insists its uranium enrichment program is intended solely for a civilian energy program.

Ties with Britain were further strained in 2007 when Iran held 15 British sailors and marines prisoner for 13 days.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews _ which represents the Jewish community in the United Kingdom _ said the broadcast was offensive. "To invite him to deliver a Christmas message, even a so-called alternative one, fills me with disgust," said the group's president, Henry Grunwald.

The Israeli ambassador to London condemned the speech as a "bogus message of good will."

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"That (Channel 4) should give an unchallenged platform to the president of a regime which denies the Holocaust, advocates the destruction of the sovereign state of Israel, funds and encourages terrorism, executes children and hangs gay people is a disgrace," Ron Prosor said. "Outrage doesn't begin to explain it."

British human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell echoed the comments, saying the broadcaster was "aiding and abetting a tyrant."

"This is the equivalent of giving (Zimbabwean ruler) Robert Mugabe a prime-time television slot to promote his propaganda," he said.

Previous guests of Channel 4's Christmas slot have included the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sharon Osborne and the animated TV character Marge Simpson of "The Simpsons." Last year's message was delivered by Sgt. Maj. Andrew Stockton, a British soldier badly wounded in Afghanistan.

Dorothy Byrne, Channel 4's head of news and current affairs, said Ahmadinejad was picked because Iran's relations with the West would likely remain a big global issue in 2009.

"As the leader of one of the most powerful states in the Middle East, President Ahmadinejad's views are enormously influential. As we approach a critical time in international relations, we are offering our viewers an insight into an alternative world view," Byrne said.

The channel broadcast an interview with Ahmadinejad in September 2007, when he insisted Iran wasn't seeking to develop a nuclear weapon.

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Associated Press Writer Raphael G. Satter contributed to this report.

Comments

[vippy]

Well, come to think of it, Ahmadinejad has been right and Bush was wrong. Curious is that I read that
Valerie Plame was on the verge of detecting the Halliburton-Iran Nuke Deal about to be made.
Can you even fathom that? Then they ousted her. I remember back in 2000 when Rumsfeld was on the board of directors of a company that sold nuke material to N Korea and in 2005, he said surprise
they have nukes. It is about the money and we are always being duped.

[Bettysdad]

Ahmadinejad's problems are with Republicans, not Americans.

[RebelPatriot]

wrong.

His problems are with the elites and the Military Industrial Complex.

and this includes both Republicans and Democrats.

stop wear one-party blinders.

[BayAreaResident]

You are absolutely right, on many critical issues democrats in this country are barely any different from the republicans, both parties are still under the influence of hawks of one kind or another... we'll see how all this will play out under Obama's watch. Some people, though, already begin to express substantial pessimism over the prospects of the real progressive agenda in this country... but it is undeniably true that conservatism has virtually become the synonym of militarism and this notion is applicable almost worldwide...

[orangepetal]

His problem I hope are free people. They threaten his delusional worldview.

[BethA]

Gotta agree with you there. I think the Republicans have been a disaster, but the Democrats also sat back in Congress and to a degree own their share of letting it happen. BUT in order to fix it, we have to first become Americans again and not staunchly and unquestioningly Democrat or Republican. Wrong is wrong, there is no party for that 100% of the time.

[separatingwheatfromchaff]

Very strange,I didn't know about these yearly addresses.Why we as a "free country" aren't able to hear other view points in our own MSM never did seem"free".There was always a voice raised calling such actions anti-American and "giving comfort to the enemy"and I always wondered why we as American citizens being free and all weren't allowed to judge issues on their own merits.Sorry to say that raised voice invariably belonged to a"conservative".But I must admit I haven't seen the" progressive" side buck the tide very often either.

The older I get the more I see we're no freer than so many other fascist states around the world.

This has been one heckava year,at least we see a glimmer of hope in the year ahead.I wish everyone at Huffpo a Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday or just a nice break from work.Thank You Arianna and all the folks working at Huffpo for this oasis.

[TJCole]

Duly noted...!

[pokemon]

He could just say:

If we all spent a little more time feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and cleaning the environment our God, who our religions are but facets, would be pleased. Instead we war over ideological differences. What the HELL is our problem. I for one wish peace on earth, though know while greed is a human driver, while people remain uneducated, while hate for difference still sows its seeds in children through their parents, we will not see it. Heres for wishing for a holiday miracle that will not happen. Peace out...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

[NickNas]

This little man ( and I mean that literally) has a need for Attention that barely just BARELY surpasses Palins.

[marymansour]

LMAO!