Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - November 20, 2002

Sheikh Mohammad-Taqi Bahloul, although 102 years old, recited the Quran with a clear voice. I joked with Mr. Bahloul, who dipped bread in soup and ate it heartily, in my diary, and he responded to the joke with good-natured humor.

Full diary entry:

Mr. [Mohammad-Javad] Asayesh, the new Iranian ambassador to Oman, arrived. I emphasized following up on preventing smuggling from [Khasab] port, activating the joint oil and gas sector, and also extending Iran's gas pipeline to Oman. He said that the approach of many ambassadors is consistent with the pragmatic policies of the Reconstruction period.

Mr. [Mohammad] Samadi, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Head of the [Organization] of Natural Resources, came. He said that slowing down the policy of removing livestock from the forests, which was active during your tenure, is harmful and expressed concern about the low attention to the protected southern forests. Mr. [Seyed Mohammad] Mohahed, a representative of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, came. He said that the pressure from unemployed job seekers on the representatives is intense, and that the government's emergency employment plan is mere rhetoric and a waste of resources; most of the people introduced as workers take money from the employer and do not go to work.

The distinguished Quran reciters’ evening took place in my office. The 11-year-old teenager, [Ali] Reza-zadeh [Joibari], who has memorized the entire Quran and Nahj al-Balaghah, performed very well. Mr. Sheikh Mohammad-Taqi Behlul, despite being 102 years old, recited the Quran in a strong voice. During the Goharshad tragedy in Reza Khan's time, he fled to Afghanistan because of an inflammatory speech he had given in a mosque and was imprisoned there for about 30 years before returning to Iran prior to the revolution. He has vision and hearing problems. One of his relatives hosted him. I also delivered a short speech. The program was broadcast live on Channel Four. They were also guests at Iftar. I helped Mr. Behlul a little. Mr. Reza-zadeh’s father said that in his son’s programs in Sunni countries, negative propaganda against the Shia regarding the Quran had been neutralized. I joked with Mr. Behlul, who was dipping bread in the soup and eating with appetite, and he responded to my jokes in good humor.

Even today, there have been weak provocations in some universities, but they have fallen out of favor. The United States claims that the Iraqi anti-aircraft fire at the American and British aircraft is a violation of the resolution and the attack is authorized, but [Kofi Annan], the Secretary General of the United Nations, and most of the European countries do not agree.