Memories of Akbar Hashemi - February 17, 2002 - Meeting with Deputy Directors of the Strategic Research Center Regarding the Land Located in Niavaran, Where a Research Institute is to be Established, and the Court's Ruling on the Ownership of the Land by

Meeting with Deputy Directors of the Strategic Research Center Regarding the Land Located in Niavaran, Where a Research Institute is to be Established, and the Court's Ruling on the Ownership of the Land by the Foundation of the Oppressed, Including Hashemi's Account of the Previous Seizure History and Other Consultations

Participation in the Sacred Defense Book Festival and Listening to the Report from Brigadier General Alireza Afshar

Full Text of the Daily Journal:

We had a meeting with the deputy directors of the [Strategic] Research Center of the [Expediency Discernment Council]. They mentioned that the court ruled that the land of the center belongs to the Foundation of the Disabled, despite the fact that the land was originally allocated to the Revolutionary Committee by the Imam's order and was taken by Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi] Khoeiniha, [the then Attorney General], and has been settled with the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee, which later claimed ownership. It was decided to establish a research institute. Political, regional, and global issues, as well as threats from the U.S., were also discussed.

In the afternoon, I attended the [Best Sacred Defense Book] festival at the [Islamic Theology and] Knowledge University [of Tehran], where I presented awards to several authors from the 180 books submitted for the competition. Mr. [Alireza] Afshar, [the head of the Foundation for Preservation and Publication of Sacred Defense Works], reported on the event. I delivered a detailed speech regarding the causes, continuation, and conclusion of the war and the importance of explanatory work and preserving its honors. I answered several questions from reporters. I returned to my office and, as usual, worked until 8:30 PM.

Yesterday's armed attack by a group of Afghans on the English military base in Afghanistan has created fear among them and complicated the acceptance of command responsibility by other countries. In Palestine, Israeli aggression and the retaliatory martyrdom operations of Palestinians continue. Today, the Hayat-e Now newspaper falsely reported that Ayman al-Zawahiri, [Osama] bin Laden's deputy, is imprisoned in Iran, which could cause problems; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly denied this claim.

The government of Zimbabwe expelled the European Union's special envoy sent to monitor the elections. Western pressure on Robert Mugabe, [the President of Zimbabwe], is expected to increase. Leaders of Islamic organizations in the U.S. have protested against the remarks made by Sharif, the U.S. Attorney, as an affront to Islam. He stated that the difference between Islam and Christianity is that the God of Islam asks people to sacrifice their children for Him, while the God of Christianity sacrifices His own son to save humanity; this was a statement previously made by Christians against Jews, as Jews considered themselves descendants of the sacrificed son of Abraham (PBUH). After the protests, he retracted his statement. Since the [September 11] attacks, there have been several thousand attacks against Muslims in the U.S., resulting in various damages.