Though it embarrasses me when President Bush says or does something stupid; (most recently, fumbling up and referring to Australian troops as Austrian troops) by comparison, the embarrassment that I feel, and have felt constantly for six years now, due of the ignorance of the fanatic Muslims that are out to destroy the world is far greater than the former. People such as Osama Bin Laden, his many supporters, and the Muslims wreaking havoc in Sudan have tainted Islam in the eyes of the world.

After the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, spoke at Columbia University last week, my humiliation plummeted to what I felt was the lowest of the low. Or so I thought. At first, all I read was how President Ahmadinejad had made a fool of himself with statements such as In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country and denying the Holocaust.

However, as I delved deeper into the subject and read more about the forum, I realized that perhaps my embarrassment regarding this matter was impulsive. It turns out that for the most part the Iranian President did a good job of remaining calm and collected. After being introduced at the forum by Lee Bollinger, President of Columbia University, as a man who exhibits all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator Ahmadinejad took to the stage.

Let me pause here and take a moment here to say that I find it rather amusing that Bollinger defended his decision to invite Ahmadinejad by stating that he was doing so to support a free exchange of ideas, yet some of his very first words on stage were more judgmental than pretty much anything his petty and cruel guest had to say.

Ahmadinejad began speaking by reciting an excerpt from the Quran and then proceeded to tell-off Bollinger in the most fashionable way. He stated that in Iran when a guest is invited to speak they allow the students and professors to make their own judgments and do not think it is necessary to come in before the speech is even given and make a series of claims and provide inoculation to the students and professors. Though the Iranian president refrained from naming names he made it a little too easy for the audience to figure out whom he was referring to when he said, Did those who in the course of human history wage wars not understand that lives, properties, dignity, territories, and the rights of all human beings should be respected, or did they understand it but not abide by it? and, By creating nonexistent enemies, for example, and an insecure atmosphere, they try to control all in the name of combating insecurity and terrorism. They even violate individual and social freedoms in their own nations under that pretext. They do not respect the privacy of their own people. They tap telephone calls and try to control their people. They create an insecure psychological atmosphere in order to justify their war-mongering acts in different parts of the world.

During the question and answer segment of the forum, Ahmadinejad was asked questions regarding the state of Israel and whether it should continue to exist, his denial of the Holocaust, and women's rights in Iran. He responded to each question tactfully by not say anything that would incite a riot. He believes that Palestinians ought to vote on whether Israel should continue as a state (though we know exactly what the outcome of such a vote, should it occur, would be), that the Holocaust needs more research (despite the fact that I strongly disagree with all of Ahmadinejad's notions regarding the Holocaust, I will not criticize him for stating that it needs more research because Americanhistory itself has been revised numerous times after further research was conducted on previous wars and events) and that Iran not only encourages women to get an education but it also has cabinet ministers, scientists, engineers, Parliament members, and other professionals that are females.

The President of Iran lost the crowd (and some of my respect he had won during the course of this forum) with his response to a question about the execution of two gay individuals in Iran. He answered that homosexuality does not exist in Iran. Clearly, the man is very stubborn and ignorant in regard this topic. Most of the arguments made against Iran and Ahmadinejad during the forum stemmed from the following issues: execution and capitol punishment, wrongful imprisonment, secret torture camps, suppression of freedom of press, nuclear weapons, gay rights, racism, tasered college students, nooses hung from trees, censorship and violations of freedom of speech, reverends being tackled and beaten by police in the halls of Congress...wait a second, who was I talking about again? Iran or America? Bush or Ahmadinejad?

It's a well-known fact that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is no Mahatma Gandhi. However, I must give credit where credit is due. For the first time in a long time, I don't feel too embarrassed by the comments made by the representative of a Muslim nation. Yes, he fumbled with the homosexual comment, but as a country where you can get kicked out of the military for being homosexual, who are we to criticize? We should appreciate the fact that President Ahmadinejad got on stage in a hostile environment, remained calm during the verbal bashing, booing, and jeering and did not even once shout out to the audience, Long live the glorious nation, and death to its enemies!