Ahmadi-nejad met last Wednesday with Amaneh Bahrami and her parents and thanked them all.
“This forgiving act of altruism is an honor for us and the Iranian people. It has led many to draw a lesson and to change their ideas,” Ahmadi-nejad told the family, according to a report on the president’s website.
He further expressed the hope Bahrami’s decision to forego retaliation would seriously move the people and also forestall any similar acid attacks in the future.
“Every good found in the world is the result of altruism and forgiveness,” he said. “All must learn to love one another because hostility and grudges are caused by the devil’s domination of some people.”
In 2004, Majid Movahedi, a rejected suitor, threw acid on Bahmani’s face, blinding her and greatly disfiguring her. Under Iran’s qasas statute or law of retaliation, Bahmani has the right to demand quite literally an eye-for-an-eye. She insisted on that right, but the Judiciary—apparently fearful of the international reaction—dallied and delayed until Bahmani was finally pressured to drop her demand. (See last week’s Iran Times, page one.)
Within Iran the public has appeared divided over the case. The fact that Ahmadi-nejad chose to meet personally with Bahmani and praise her action suggests that his view is that the bulk of the public did not want Movahedi blinded, for whatever reason.
Former President Moham-mad Khatami also heaped praised on Bahrami for her “magnanimity.” He sought to extend her example to Iran’s fraught political life by asking, “Is it possible to learn from Amaneh in the political and social arena and respond to crisis with peace and resolve conflicts with regard to one another and respect for one’s rights with pride, especially among those who are more powerful?”