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Iran's Khatami Condemns Bin Laden
Former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, in a speech at Harvard University, condemned Osama bin Laden for committing crimes in the name of Islam and said Jews have the right to live peacefully, but he skirted the issue of whether they have the right to do so in their state of Israel.
Speaking on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Khatami said he had two problems with the al-Qaida leader behind the attacks.
"First, because of the crimes he conducts," he said, "and second because he conducts them in the name of Islam, the religion which is a harbinger of peace and justice."
Khatami, whose speech in Farsi was relayed through a translator, said he was one of the first world leaders to condemn "the barbarous acts" of Sept. 11.
In response to a question about the notion of suicide bombers gaining entry to heaven as reward for their martyrdom, Khatami said, "Those who put others through hell will never go to heaven."
Story Continues Below Khatami took a softer tone on Israel than current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when asked whether he favored the elimination of the state of Israel. He said he opposes the systematic elimination of any people. "The Jews have a right to live in peace and control their destinies," he said, but he didn't say whether they have a right to do so in an Israeli state in the Middle East.
© 2006 Associated Press.
Editor's note:
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