Fear NPod

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11:50 AM, Nov 19, 2007 • By MICHAEL GOLDFARB

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Over at Contentions, Norman Podhoretz has responded to Andrew Sullivan's charge of intellectual dishonesty--the matter of contention being the accuracy of a quote from Ayatollah Khomeini, via Amir Taheri, which NPod has frequently repeated to demonstrate the threat from Iran. The quote in question:

We do not worship Iran, we worship Allah. For patriotism is another name for paganism. I say let this land [Iran] burn. I say let this land go up in smoke, provided Islam emerges triumphant in the rest of the world.

Sullivan says it's bogus, but NPod, with Taheri's assistance, seems to make a pretty strong case--pointing to an official compilation of Khomeini's speeches where the original quote can be found. Regardless, as Taheri points out, the Iranian revolution subordinates nationalism to Islam in a manner that precisely echoes the sentiment of the quote above. Sullivan, in addition to being wrong, seems to miss this point entirely.

Update: Sullivan responds here.