The Battalion
OPINION 2
Thursday, June 15,1989
Khomeini: savior or Satan
He was a maniacal fanatic to some, a
spiritual leader to Others, but the Aya
tollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who died
June 3, is finally gone.
To the members of the Society of Ira
nian Students at Texas A&M who
mourned Khomeini’s death this past
Saturday at a memorial service in Rud
der Tower, I ask ‘why’? Khomeini de
nounced Western ideals such as free
dom of the press. If you support
Khomeini, then you condemn the same
right to a free press that you were af
forded via The Battalion by printing
your ad.
In the United States our leaders do
not ask fellow Americans to kill authors
of books. Nor do they ask us to take in
nocent persons hostage. We have free
dom, something the Society of Iranian
Students at A&M, who mourned Kho
meini’s death last Saturday, are taking
for granted as visitors to this great na
tion. Freedom is something our forefa
thers fought and died for, so groups
such as the Iranian students can enjoy
the right to free press and free express
ion.
I am glad The Battalion accepted the
request of these students to print the ad
vertisement announcing their on-cam-
pus memorial for Khomeini. However,
the idea that they met to “mourn” the
Michael
Kelley
Guest Columnist
death of the man who would not give
them the same rights to peacefully meet
and use the press appalls me. Their
praise for Khomeini indicates that they
want to continue to support his despotic
policies of banishment of Western cus
toms, censorship of the media and the
execution of racial minorities.
Let’s not forget who the Ayatollah
Khomeini really was. He was the same
person who had 10,000-20,000 minori
ties executed in Iran. His policy of try
ing to expand his power into Iraq led to
the death of over 900,000 Iranians,
some not even teenagers, during the
Iran-Iraq War. Despite all of this, I won
der if the Society of Iranian Students
really feels that Khomeini cared about
the Iranian peopleMs it not obvious that
he was a power hungry tyrant who,
since 1979, enjoyed exploiting those
who blindly followed him?
As far as his foreign policies were
concerned, he was no saint either. Who
can forget the Iranian Hostage Crisis, in
which Khomeini’s hatred of the United
States, or as he called us-the “Great Sa
tan,” led him to support the militant Ira
nian student’s seizure of 52 American
hostages in Tehran for 444 days.
The Ayatollah is also considered re
sponsible for the American hostages be
ing held in Lebanon, as well. Khomeini’s
latest act of zealousness was to exoner
ate and financially support the would-be
assassins of Salman Rushdie, author of
The Satanic Verses. The Ayatollah
made a worldwide plea for Moslems to
kill Rushdie, as well as anyone who pub
lished the book. By this deed, Khomeini
acted as a potential murderer, while also
angering foreign governments, intim
idating publishers and subjecting many
airlines to bomb threats.
Instead of memorializing the Ayatol
lah Khomeini, the Society of Iranian
Students should start denouncing the
evils he has brought to Iran and the
world. The organization should use
their energies to support a policy of ba
sic freedoms by his political successor—
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsahjarii.
As for the loss of the Ayatollah Kho
meini, all I can say is - good riddance.
As with all columns, opinions ex
pressed by Guest Columnists are not
necessarily those of The Battalion. Per
sons interested in submitting guest col
umns should contact the Opinion Page
Editor at 845-3314.
Mail Call
Staff should use garage for parking
EDITOR:
The following letter concerns a problem we have had here at Texas A&M
for quite some time now. I’m talking about the infamous lack of parking for
students. Now it has gone too far.
The other morning I was returning from class and I had just missed a
campus policeman writing me a ticket. The violation? What else, parking
parking in a random staff lot in front of Neeley and Hobby Halls. Please, did we
not just spend too many dollars on the parking garage located not 100 feet from
this sight. Plus the fact that as far as I could tell, there is no sign located
anywhere nearby stating that these spaces belong to staff. Let the staff park in
the garage. Wasn’t that one of the main reasons for building it.
Chris Schnitger
Class of’90
On-campus memorial questioned
EDITOR:
I was in absolute disbelief when I opened Friday’s Battalion and saw a
notification of death for “His Holiness” Imam Khomeini.
The notification went on to say that a memorial service would be held in
Rudder Tower.
What a blatant slap in the face it is when this cowardly murderous is being
worshipped next door to a memorial center for those who died fighting
everything this trash stood for.
I only hope Khomeini was in as much fear and agony in death as those who
were shot, maimed and mentally tortured by his command.
It is claimed that Khomeini is a great spiritual leader, so great that his
people rip his burial shroud to pieces as sacred relics.
I contend that instead Khomeini is a spiritual leader of hate, murder and
fanaticism.
What man of God would take innocent people and leave them blindfolded
and mentally tortured for over a year, demanding ransom for release?
I don’t know why this blight to society is being honored in The Battalion, but
I do know that I hope Khomeini rots in hell.
Patrick McConal
accompanied by three signatures
Islamic movement not worldwide
EDITOR:
On June 9 I saw a notice on the back page of The Battalion announcing a
memorial service to be held in honor of “the great leader of the worldwide
Islamic movement,” the Ayatollah Khomeini.
I would like to point out two things. First, I would like to remind the
supporters who attended this memorial that they are fortunate to have the
freedom of assembly to mourn their leader and the freedom of speech to
express their feelings in a public paper : — all this in a country which the
Ayatollah Khomeini condemned and wished to destroy.
Secondly, I would like to clear the false impression which the announcement
may have given many readers. Khomeini is not the leader of a worldwide
Islamic movement. Khomeini supporters make up only a small part of the
people who follow the religion of Islam. I believe it is statements such as this that
cause a sad misunderstanding and fear of Arabs and other Moslems worldwide.
This is tragic because the teachings of Islam emphasize love, compassion and
peace, and the majority of its followers abide by these teachings and do not
support the terroristic actions which are advocated by the Ayatollah and his fol
lowers.
Donna Lee
College Station
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters
for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed and
must include the classification, address and telephone number of the writer.
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words.
Supreme Court makes way for racial equality
The Supreme Court announced a de
cision Monday enabling whites to chal
lenge affirmative action agreements be
tween minority employees and their
employers. The 5-4 decision has been
labeled a “setback” by civil rights activ
ists, and many affirmative action groups
have denounced the Reagan appointees
for “reopening old racial wounds.”
Claims of reverse discrimination by
many white Americans have validity in
the United States, and the Court was
justified in its decision.
The case resulted from a 1981 con
sent decree between the city of Birming
ham, Ala., and blacks alleging discrimi
nation in fire department hiring and
promotion. The decree included a pro
vision for the preferential treatment of
minority and women employees. White
firefighters, who were not a party in the
1981 agreement, later sued the city and
the County Personnel Board saying they
were denied promotions because of
their race.
To the Supreme Court, the big ques
tion in this case was not whether the
white firefighters were denied promo
tions based on their race, but whether
they had the right to challenge court-ap
proved affirmative action plans to which
they were not a party. The majority of
the Court said they did.
Chief Justice William Rehnquist, writ
ing for the court, said that the firefight
ers deserve their day in court to attempt
to prove they are victims of reverse dis
crimination. Just as a minority employee
has the right to protest the promotion
or hiring of an unqualified Anglo over a
qualified member of a minority group,
so should the Anglo have the same
right.
As I was walking on campus one day
last semester, I ran into a friend of
mine. I’ll call him John. John informed
me that he had just been admitted to
Harvard Law School and would be at
tending in the fall. I had always known
that John was a good student but not an
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outstanding one. So I asked him how he
did it. His reply was, “My mother is
Mexican-American, so I am counted as
a minority applicant.”
The thought running through my
head was, “My father is Greek-Ameri-
can, so shouldn’t I be counted as a mem
ber of a minority group also?” I soon re
alized “minority” in this case didn’t
necessarily MEAN “minority”.
Because I am not considered, in the
traditional sense, a member of a mi
nority group, I would not be considered
a minority applicant if I applied to the
same school. Although I know I proba
bly look better on paper than John does,
most likely I would be denied admission
because I am an average “majority” stu
dent.
The same type of action occurs in the
job market. Many times someone is
hired on his ability to fit a racial or sex
ual quota instead of on his ability to do a
job. These racial quotas are unfair to
truly qualified individuals. If a member
of a minority group is the most qualified
person for a particular job, then he
should have it. If an Anglo deserves a
position, it should be his. Race should
take a back seat to skill and qualification.
Promotions belong to those who earn
them, jobs belong to those who are
skilled and admissions belong to those
who are qualified.
Ironically, experts predict that in the
future the “minority” will surpass the
“majority.” The minority population
will become the majority population,
and vice versa. It will become even more
important to realize that discrimination
pervades all races. The Supreme Court
took a giant step Monday toward real
racial equality. And the key phrase to re
member is, “All men are created equal."
Damon Arhos is a junior journalist
major and a columnist for The Battal
ion.
i—mn
JESSE JACKSON
FOR MAYOR
OF
WASHINGTON,D.C