America! Give the Iranian President a Chance

Mohamed Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, has always been mistreated by the western world, and particularly by the United States. Yet again, the absence of the U.S and Israeli delegations at his UN assembly address proved that his views and ideas are popularly neglected. At a time where the West and the Arabic world still essentially need to comprehend each other, it seems to me that misunderstandings are still remaining.

At the UN assembly, Ahmadinejad said, “Iran has a global vision and welcomes any effort intended to provide and promote peace, stability and tranquility in the world,” also accusing the western world of having double standards when it comes to its nuclear program. Whether the U.S. or Israeli delegates would have agreed or disagreed with his statements, I simply do not understand the reason behind their absence at his speech. Walking away to avoid a prevalent speech was easy, but what would have been difficult would have been to critically listen to Ahmadinejad’s statements and find a way to work things out with Iran and Iranian government.

Ahmadinejad recently had an interview with the popular talk show host Piers Morgan to discuss the reactions of the Arabic world against the anti Islamic video, which recently became a prevalent issue. In his interview, Ahmadinejad said that he condemns any sort of extremism and he condemned any sort of violence against people. Now, the president also expressed his controversial views on homosexuality and he called the Israelis “Zionist” as he usually does. I personally don’t want to focus on the president’s controversial views. I disagree with them as many people in the West would. But I think an important fact that many of the westerners don’t understand is the impossibility of neglecting Iran in the modern world.

Iran, one the oldest civilizations in the world, is home to about around 75 million people. Apart from its historical, geographical and political significance, I see both the exciting and unpredictable thing about Iran is its technological advancement. Iran’s nuclear program and its intentions is an important topic today, and certainly will be in the future. Unfortunately, the impact that the President of Iran can make is unforeseen, since the Western world has not tried enough to negotiate with him.

President Ahmadinejad may not be the most desirable man this world, but we have to listen to him and respect his views because he is a key player. Unlike many other leaders in the Arab world, he is coming forward and addressing the Western audiences amid his utter unpopularity. I would like to see more negotiations and discussions about his views among the public, as well as among the political leaders in the United States. The Arabic world and the West need mutual understanding today more than ever, and Ahmadinejad is the person to establish the liaison.

Samantha is a junior majoring in journalism.