black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

Would Americans accept if we decided to come here and decide who your rulers should be? So why do you expect us Iranians to accept the idea that the United States shall come in there and decide who shall govern us?

Akbar Ganji

The U.S. should start talking about disarmament, nuclear disarmament, of the region.
AKBAR GANJI

Disarmament Nuclear Region United States
We’ve had 60 years of intellectual development in Iran. How can we have the same system?
AKBAR GANJI

Country Development Intellectual Same System Year
Today, as a result of a miraculous set of circumstances,
AKBAR GANJI

Circumstance Country Oil Result Today
All manners of freedom, including freedom of expression, freedom of conscious, freedom of thought…it accepts tolerance. But it is not an atheist society.
AKBAR GANJI

Atheist Conscious Expression Freedom Idea Manner Society Tolerance
When women push their headscarf back an inch or two, this is interpreted to be a political act.
AKBAR GANJI

Act Back Inch Political Push Two Women
Religion is the private affair of an individual…be present in the public domain, but state has to be clearly separated from religion.
AKBAR GANJI

Affair Clearly Domain Individual Present Private Religion Separate
When there is a crisis, the first thing that gets damaged and gets harmed is democracy.
AKBAR GANJI

Crisis Damage Democracy First Harm Thing
There is no possibility of a public demonstration [in Iran] of such defiance, but these defiant acts are certainly going on.
AKBAR GANJI

Act Country Defiance Each Possible Such
The Revolutionary Guard was created to help defend the revolution, but it soon was diverted from its initial path.
AKBAR GANJI

Create Defend Divert Guard Help Initial Path Revolution Soon
We used to say that this is all lie, that we are lackeys of the United States.
AKBAR GANJI

All Lackey Lie Say United State Use
In a totalitarian state, the state views any act of an individual to be political in nature. For example, the clothing that a person wears in a modern state is a private affair whereas in the Islamic Republic all women are forced to wear the hijab (Islamic attire).
AKBAR GANJI

Act Affair Cloth Force Individual Islamic Modern Nature Political Private Religion State Wear Women
We have two kinds of oppression. Oppression that is universal – everyone in Iran is subject to it. But everyone has also their own, unique way of experiencing this oppression.
AKBAR GANJI

Country Everyone Kind Oppression Subject Two Unique Universal
Whatever Iranian people have bought, they have bought in the black market.
AKBAR GANJI

Black Bought Country Market People
I could witness that as a result of Ahmadinejad, they lived in a dream. They believed that paradise is around the corner and that all their demands shall be met.
AKBAR GANJI

Demand Dream Live Melt Paradise Result Witness
We can certainly be on the same side and the same front with the workers and with the oppressed people of Iran. We can certainly be on the same front with them.
AKBAR GANJI

Certainty Country Front People Same Side Worker
The difference between us and the other side is that they use populist and…kind of slogans that are…they fool the people.
AKBAR GANJI

Difference Fool Kind Other People Popular Side Slogan
I have spent six years in prison, the last six years. Even if I was outside the prison, how much actual space was there for an investigative journalist to do his work in Iran?
AKBAR GANJI

Actual Country Investigate Last Outside Prison Six Space Spent Work Year
Of course, everyone knows that I’m also opposed to the Iranian regime and I have said that we must change the regime. But it is us, the Iranians, that must change the regime.
AKBAR GANJI

Change Country Everyone Must Oppose Regime
Supporters of the national front, Mosaddeq, believe that in Iran, we don’t have a nationalities problem, we don’t have an ethnic problem.
AKBAR GANJI

Believe Country Ethnic National People Problem Supporter Wife
Let me begin by saying not only you can’t have democracy with $75 million. You can’t even have it with $750 billion.
AKBAR GANJI

Begin Democracy Million Saying
Negotiation talks are the best way to solve anything. We must replace wars and weapons with negotiations and talks.
AKBAR GANJI

Anything Best Negotiation Solve War Way Weapon
I did join the Revolutionary Guard, but I was simply a simple Revolutionary Guard, never a commander.
AKBAR GANJI

Commander Guard Join Revolutionary Simple
When I say that I am opposed to this budget, everyone says, “Well, what do you think the United States should do?” My response is, “Why should the United States do anything?”
AKBAR GANJI

Anything Budget Everyone Oppose Say Thinking
We must struggle for creating a democratic system that is dedicated to democracy and human rights.
AKBAR GANJI

Create Dedicate Democratic Human Right Struggle
Even theories of secularism are constantly being revised and changed.
AKBAR GANJI

Change Constant Even Revise Theory
Why did the regime put me in prison in the first place? I was put in prison for six years and it has been all illegal.
AKBAR GANJI

First Illegal Place Prison Regime Six Year
In the West, when all of these reactors, nuclear reactors, are matters…part of the public domain, there are all kinds of supervision over them.
AKBAR GANJI

Domain Kind Lying Matter Nuclear Part Public Reactor Tie West

Would Americans accept if we decided to come here and decide who your rulers should be? So why do you expect us Iranians to accept the idea that the United States shall come in there and decide who shall govern us?

Related Topics

Popular Authors

Would Americans accept if we decided to come here and decide who your rulers should be? So why do you expect us Iranians to accept the idea that the United States shall come in there and decide who shall govern us?

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Akbar Ganji Quotes