New world order — Iranian style

American presidents such as Woodrow Wilson (when speaking about global change after World War I) and George H. W. Bush (when referring in 1990 to global changes that could spark a crisis in the Persian Gulf) have discussed the idea of a "new world order" (Novus ordo seclorum).

The presidents of the world's superpower were talking about a freer world, more open and democratic. Their message offered a sense of comfort. But when Iranian leaders speak about a "new world order" — as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did on Wednesday at the U.N. General Assembly — they are talking about a very different world than the one Wilson and Bush had in mind.

There were those who were surprised by Ahmadinejad's moderate speech. In his eighth and final appearance before the U.N. General Assembly as president, Ahmadinejad focused primarily on "spirituality" and "values" and less on the pressing matters of the hour. Only once did he mention Israel, when he referenced the "uncivilized Zionists" threatening to attack Iran.

This time around he spared us the blistering rhetoric we have become so accustomed to, but this speech to the Assembly was even more dangerous. He revealed the Iranian dream — a new world order ruled by Islam. Tehran, too, understands that the world is changing, it also foresees America's decline; it knows that when the world's number one superpower begins to fade, it signals the dusk of the entire Western world. It's not surprising that Tehran is calling for a new world order. In the power vacuum that could be created by America's decline, Iran wants to position itself at the top and lead the nonaligned countries.

In August, Tehran hosted the Nonaligned Movement summit and assumed the organization's rotating presidency for the next three years. The Iranians exploited the event to promote their cause and complain about the "unfair" sanctions imposed on them. They also preached, of course, about the Palestinians' right to a state (the summit lasted only three days, therefore there was not enough time to raise the issue of Kurdish independence in Iran) and expanded on their idea of a "new world order."

On August 30, it was Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who exhorted this new world order by saying "To our luck, the prospects of international changes are very promising. … the rise of new superpowers runs parallel to the collapse of old superpowers."

Ahmadinejad concluded his moderate speech by mentioning the long-awaited return of the Mahdi (the hidden 12th Imam according to Shiite eschatology), which promises to usher in the new world order along with the salvation of the Shiites. It doesn't necessarily promise, however, to be our salvation.

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