State Department praises NIAC

http://usinfo.state.gov/mena/Archive/2005/Sep/21-140152.html?chanlid=mena

Certain of our friends are under the impression that the so-called National Iranian American Council is a “Mullah” or “pro-Islamic Republic” lobby group. My opinion, as I’ve stated elsewhere, is that NIAC is simply an American organization (as I see nothing “Iranian” about it) which, backed by certain quarters within the US, operates in our name in favor of normalizing US relations with the Islamic Republic. What’s the difference? It’s a question of interests. This, however, is not to say that NIAC's members are not Islamic Republicans themselves.

From this article:

"The volunteer spirit, however, is not unique to the United States. Among other countries, Iran too has an ancient tradition of voluntary charitable activity, based on an innate humanitarianism and the Islamic pillars of faith."


That is, my charitable activities for instance, as a non-Moslem, are based on "the Islamic pillars of faith," even as I have no idea what the hell these are.