Iranian President Underlines Necessity for Protection of Cultural Heritage

Ahmadinejad made the remarks in a ceremony to celebrate the UNESCO-sponsored International Registration of Isfahan Ancient Congregational Mosque.

He stressed Wednesday structures as old as Isfahan Ancient Congregational Mosque are in fact global and belong to entire mankind.

"Many of the visitors of the Isfahan Ancient Congregational Mosque are non-Muslims, believing in different religions and citizens of various countries, but after arriving in this building the feel safe and secure, and gain a spiritual feeling of unity (with the Creator)," Ahmadinejad added.

He reiterated, "It does not matter whether a building would be a mosque, a church, or the Imam (P) Square (former Naqsh-e Jahan Sq), as the important point is that the building in question should manifest the unity, tranquility, and return to innate nature of the human being in the visitor."

The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran considered the cultural heritage of a nation as their identities, reiterating, "If this identity would be taken away from a nation that nation would have trouble in distinguishing its path."

He pointed out that for preserving the historical sites great investments are made, emphasizing, "The cultural heritage of a nation is their greatly precious resource and such sites are used for evaluating the nations at international societies."

Ahmadinejad said that the Isfahan Ancient (Atiq) Congregational (Jame'a) Mosque is one of the prides of the Iranian Islamic architecture and a part of the heritage of the mankind, adding, "This historical site is unique from the architectural, geometrical, and engineering points of the view, and even the topmost architects in the world cannot find any faults with the architecture of this building."

"The atmosphere changes during the centuries have not been able to damage this building the slightest bit, which shows how scientifically advanced the Iranians were thousands of years ago," he added.

Ahmadinejad said that the Isfahan Ancient Congregational Mosque as a precious work of art, reiterating, "The great values of this building is not merely due to its engineering and architectural values, but due to its dynamism, its gracefulness, and the feeling of tranquility that this building generates in every human being."

Noting that in order to construct historical sites in other parts of the world many slaves have lost their lives, he reiterated, "In construction of the Isfahan Ancient Congregational Mosque you cannot find even a single case of a construction worker whose wage had not been fully paid."

Ahmadinejad said that the other historical sites in the world were constructed to bring fame for individuals, adding, "The constructors of the Isfahan Ancient Congregational Mosque erected this place of worshipping God merely for worshipping the Creator and for the human beings' paving their path towards perfection, and beyond doubt this structure invites the human beings to the highest peaks of perfection of the humanity."

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