Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Columbia University today brought out the best and worst in modern American culture. Columbia University President Lee Bollinger showed courage in inviting such a polarizing and controversial figure to speak. There were calls to cancel the Iranian president’s invitation and now some politicians want to cut funding to Columbia University because he was allowed to speak at all. First I’ll speak about the man before I explain why he should be allowed give his speech and why those who wish to prevent him from doing so are performing a disservice to their country.

Ahmadinejad is without a doubt a smart, though intellectually dishonest, politician. Some may say that I’m being redundant but I want to make clear he’s not an idiot. He knows what he’s saying and why he’s saying it. He’s a talented speaker which only gives credence to the deceptions he bandies about.

But let’s be clear about one thing; he is not the source of power in Iran. He is largely a figurehead president who executes the wishes of the Leadership Council.

Article 113
After the office of Leadership, the President is the highest official in the country. His is the responsibility for implementing the Constitution and acting as the head of the executive, except in matters directly concerned with (the office of) the Leadership.

Ahmadinejad may be elected but that only gives the presidency a veneer of democracy on what is actually an autocratic theocracy. He doesn’t command the armed forces, he doesn’t issue binding decrees except as confirmed by the Leadership Council, and is only responsible for that which the Leadership Council has decided is not important enough for themselves to decide. The real power lies in Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who has held that post since Ayatollah Khomeini’s death in 1989 and also appoints the members of the Leadership Council. So let’s put to rest the notion that Ahmadinejad is the source of Iranian foreign or domestic policy. He’s the true-believing, media-savvy puppet of Khamenei and the Islamic revolution.

The American constitution guarantees our right to free speech. Period. No exceptions.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The Iranian constitution does not have such a blanket guarantee.

Article 24
Publications and the press have freedom of expression except when it is detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam or the rights of the public. The details of this exception will be specified by law.

It is those exceptions that set Iran’s form of government apart from America’s. Any time allowance is made for exceptions to a fundamental right, it ceases to be a fundamental right. It is that exception that allows governments to dictate its’ opinions on those who would disagree and thus strip them of their ability to exercise that right.

You want to criticize the the U.S. President? Americans do it everyday without fear of being jailed for it. That is the beauty of the first amendment. You can say the most rancid, vile and moronic things and you’re safe from criminal prosecution.

You want criticize the Iran’s Supreme Leader? You better have a high tolerance for pain. In 2005, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on how the independent media was faring in the face of the ascendant power of Iranian hard-liners.

Bloggers instantly became a popular source of dissident news and opinion, drawing the ire of Iran’s powerful judiciary, which launched a wave of arrests. All the bloggers detained in a 2004 crackdown were released except for Mojtaba Saminejad, who was sentenced in June 2005 to two years in prison and denied appeal. He was convicted of “insulting the supreme leader.” Many of the released bloggers said they were tortured in jail. Former Iranian president Mohamed Khatami ordered an investigation into the torture claims, but the judiciary threatened those who made the complaints. Since conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in June 2005, little has come of the investigations.

Does this mean Iranians can criticize the Supreme leader as long as they don’t insult him? What’s to criticize? He’s infallible. Just ask him.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that his authority is indisputable, apparently rejecting criticism from reformists who say he is not above the law.

Iranian radio quoted Khamenei as saying that the “true meaning” of the Iranian concept of “velayat-e-faqih,” or the authority of the leader, is that “the person in charge of the Islamic government does not make mistakes and if he does he will not be the supreme leader from that moment.”

“This is an obvious point that must be understood well and spelled out properly,” the broadcast quoted Khamenei as saying.

Free speech is a constitutionally protected right in America and that protection is what sets us apart from Ahmadinejad and the tyrannical regime he represents. This is one of the very things our troops fight and die for everyday. So when Congressman and presidential candidate Duncan Hunter to threatens to cut off all federal funding to Columbia University for allowing Ahmadinejad to speak, he does a disservice to this country and the very troops he claims to be standing up for. The same goes for the New York state and city legislatures who are beating their chests in indignation that the Iranian president was allowed to speak. They are claiming that the university is legitimizing what he has to say and are therefore threatening to cut state and municipal funding. Allowing him to speak doesn’t legitimize what he has to say but it does reinforce the legitimacy of the first amendment. As the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words.

It is painfully simple; you can’t protect free speech by restricting it. It is important for Ahmadinejad to be able to give his speech not because what he has to say is important, but rather that he can say it all. If you don’t like what he has to say- protest, write, yell, or get yourself invited to a university to share your view of the world, no matter how ridiculous it may be. If you want to restrict free speech, move somewhere that endorses that principle- like Iran.