How Do You Say "Jimmy Carter" In Farsi?

Mohammad Khatami, Iran's moderate god that failed, says the Muslim world is "fed up with violence and extremism in the name of religion and is ready for an era of progressive, democratic Muslim governments." Speaking at a conference in Kuala Lumpur entitled "Who Speaks For Islam, Who Speaks For The West," Khatami announced, "After about two centuries of dispute between tradition and modernity in the world of Islam (there is) a high level of mental preparation for the acceptance of a major transformation in the mind and lives of Muslims."

Ex-presidents are always full of high sentence. Despite my growing conviction that religious moderates are the real problem, I'm glad Khatami is still out there speaking reasonably. But you can get a pretty good idea of what his words are worth by comparing coverage of his address. The AP story above says Khatami "did not refer to the [cartoon] controversy in his speech," but the Islamic Republic News Agency has a different version of events:

Insult to holy prophet of Islam is not the sign of freedom of expression, rather the sign of negating the truth and fanning hatred, said Iran's former president….

Khatami said denial of facts and fanning hatred will obstruct the channel of dialogue, resulting in clashes of cultures and political violence.

Khatami stressed that the worrying signs in the West should be taken seriously and new steps have to be taken for their prevention.

In today's world when Muslims and other communities have become growing dependent on each other, holy prophet of Islam, who is the symbol of solidarity and cohesion in the vast portion of the world, is insulted, regretted Khatami.