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Friday * Can tourists take pictures? I very much enjoyed reading the article by Setareh Sabety, "The first stone"? I also read Joonevar's response letter, "Don't visit America". As a person who enjoys travel and who looks forward to traveling and learning about new locations and cultures, Sabety's article made a much greater impact (and sense) to me. True, violence and crimes are committed in all countries. However, for such inhumane acts such as a stoning to be endorsed by the government and to be actually a part of a "legal" system, definitely presents a much different picture than visiting a location where you know to expect pick-pockets, drug traffic, prostitution, murders.... all take place in spite of all the measures taken to prevent them. (Evil and crimes have always existed if not flourish through out time.) If I were Jewish, I would not have wanted to visit Germany during Hitler's reign of terror, even if Germany had been my home. Nor would I have wanted to visit China during its cultural revolution, especially if I were an "intellectual" or an "artist/musician". I would not have wanted to invite any of my Black friends to visit the Old South during the days of slavery in America. And I don't think as a non-Muslim woman, I would want to visit a Muslim nation (such as Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia). I have several close and dear Muslim friends and I greatly enjoy visiting in their homes and inviting them to mine. However, visiting a nation who has an Islamic government is scary -- especially for women! While these countries may offer a tourist many beautiful historical locations, or architectural sites and wonders to visit; however, isn't mercy, generosity and justice measured by how it is administered and exhibited toward all the people including the poor, the wretched, the criminal and the undesirables? What man / husband / father wants to save money all year long just to take his girlfriend / wife / daughter on a vacation to a place where women are considered second class citizens?! What mother & father would want to take their children to a location where they would actually witness such inequities endorsed or even worse, actually happen upon a stoning taking place. I've often wondered if Iranian children are permitted to witness such atrocities. I don't' know if a "stoning" would be open to the public in Iran or just how it is decided who attends a stoning or who actually throws the stones? Are there people who serve on stoning committees, like jury duty, and are people allowed to be the audience without actually throwing the stones. That's creepy just thinking about it! Does one buy a ticket, or receive an invitation or is there a "usual" site where to go if one is interested to witnessing a good-ole-fashion stoning? Do you bring your own rock or will the rocks be provided on site? Do the rocks have to be of "regulation" size? Does one have to be able to throw accurately in order to participate or do you get three strikes before you're out of the game? Is there a starting signal to begin throwing your stones or do the throwers take turns individually? Are tourist buses allowed to stop and take pictures? Would a tourist be likely to see a stoning featured on the local 6 o'clock evening news? Just what is the official etiquette for stoning in the Islamic Republic of Iran? While just about any location one wants to visit there are advisories to watch out for this-or-that, or to be aware of deceitful law enforcement officials or crooked business owners, or seedy hotel managers, or certain restaurants which don't observe proper health codes or certain areas in the city where there is a lot of crime. However, these are all activities which embarrass the honest residents and which are continually under attempts to be "checked" or eradicated. However, when events such as a stoning occur with the endorsement of the government and religious community, then no one is safe. If one person's rights are at jeopardy, then everyone's rights are at jeopardy. I've heard of people who had the ability to sell anything "such as a truck load of whiskey to a holy man" or "a glass of water to a drowning man". Perhaps these are the people who need to be recruited to sell Iran as a destination for tourism. (See reply below) * Hollywood not government I agree with you that America has many, many faults ["Don't visit America"]. But what you say ("because there are teenagers being killed for their basketball shoes, there are drive-by shootings, drug wars on the streets, and an image of sex and violence being part of every day life as portrayed by Hollywood movies?") is not a planned, openly-discussed community occasion organized by the government [such as stoning in Iran]. (See reply below) * No state-sposored American crimes? That is true ["Hollywood not government"], but the point I was trying to make is that, yes, both countries (actually all countries) have a lot of faults. For each country there usually are some typical ones that are picked up on by foreign people. For example stoning in Iran, drug and race wars in USA, Nazism in Germany, etc. And I don't think you should penalize all the other things the country has to offer. When, as an insider (just the fact that she is Iranian) Ms. Sabety ["The first stone"] is discouraging or not encouraging people from going to Iran, what do you think people that do not know better and only see what's portrayed in the press will think of Iran? Then the stereotypes will be the only images people will have. Yes, there are a lot of terrible things that happen in Iran, but there are a tremendous amount of good things too. How about trying to show people those views too. Are you saying that there are no state sponsored crimes comitted by the US? that are illegal? * Biggest sin of all Most of your letters in reply to Setareh Sabety's "The first stone" relate to her concerns. Others try to make it insignificant by comparing this to examples of people being killed for their shoes in other countries. Have our sense of nationality grown so much that when we can not deny a crime in our land? We claim that the blood of a man shed in other countries is darker and thicker than our own? Crime exists everywhere and it has to be stopped. The sad thing is that a crime in other countries is considered a crime, and one committed by religion in Iran goes unpunished since it is done in the name of justice. For some "hamvatans" that claim stoning is not a part of original Islam and therefore try to purify it. According to Sura Nessa, Verse 24 of the Qu'ran, "... committing adultery with married women is forbidden to you unless the women you have taken ownership of in war..." So, basically, Iraqi soldiers who attacked Iranian towns and raped women and children (girls over nine are considered women according to Islam as long as they have begun their monthly period) were acting according to Islamic guidelines, same goes to the Pasdar brothers, who raped women of the opposition before their execution. Some friend mentioned four witnesses must testify to the crime of passion according to Islam. True, but what he failed to say is in the Arabic language of the Qur'an we have feminine and masculine sentences. In the "witness" part, it is totally masculine: "The witnesses have to be all men". All religions have many of these issues within them; women have always been less than a man in the eyes of gods. "Who among you without a sin, should throw the first stone" a wise man we all know once said. Are we all so pure that we can judge a life and sleep at night because we did it in the name of god? Or is it that the first drop of blood proves to the thrower he/she has a purpose in life? Or is it simply another justified sin we commit in our small insignificant lives? Whatever it is to you, knowing the existence of such sins and being silent about them or justifying them is a the biggest sin of all. * People voted for Islam Most of the replies to the well-written article "The first stone" by Ms. Sabety tend to put the blame on the Islamic Republic of Iran. To some extent this is true, but I believe that the Islamic Republic is only fulfilling the promise made to the public more than 20 years ago which was establishing the rule of Islam and Sharia. Most of our noble people who voted "yes" to the Islamic Republic were well aware of the laws of Islam. Stoning, seegheh ... are all individual laws of the religion. Although Islam brought prosperity and wealth for our people, it also brought a few laws that are not acceptable and seem barbaric by some people. The Islamic Republic was undeniably the republic that our people yearned and voted for. Va-Salam. * God wants happiness I have been reading all the opinions about "The first stone". Come on people. There is total religious discrimination in Iran. The Iranian government controls people with religion and makes them miserable. I say wake up and drink your coffee with pleasure. Believe me you won't go to hell if you do the things you like. God wants people to be happy, free ,and free to believe in what your heart feels is good. I feel so sorry for all of those people who are killing because Islam tells you it is the right thing is to punish bad actions. GOD IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DECIDE THOSE PUNISHMENTS, NOT PEOPLE. BEFORE YOU THROW THE FIRST STONE, LOOK AT YOUR OWN ACTIONS. I am not trying to offend Muslim people. If you believe in Islam go ahead. But please don't force others to believe in what you believe and don't judge others . Women and men are equal in god's eyes. Let's be happy like god wants, and let him take care of the rest. Eyes M * German arrest In reply to "No relation": You said: "Are those people who visit Iran going to be caught for sleeping with someone? No. " (No relation) Hodoodeh 5 saale pish vaghti man Iran bodam, yek aalmaani ro be ellate ravaabetash baa ye dokhtareh Irani gereftand va zendaanish kardand. yaadam nemiaad ke dar nahaayat chi shod, vali sareh oon mozo ravaabeteh Iran va Germany kharaab shod! * Not funny If Hadi Khorsandi thinks he is being witty, he is sorely mistaken ["Hojatoleslam dar zendaan"]. While he sits comfortably in London, Yusefi-Eshkavari and a number of other "hojjat-al-eslam"s suffer in prison because they chose to stay in Iran (or even return to it from the safety of Europe as Yusefi-Eshkavari did) and speak their mind where it matters. By questioning the authoritarianism of velayat-e-faqih from inside, they have done more to frighten the power-holders in Iran than Khorsandi with his vacuous "poetry" ever will. While I can only support a secular regime in Iran, I recognize also that it is easy for me to say my piece here in Europe, at a long geographic distance from Iran. As such, I have nothing but the most profound respect for those clerics who have put their necks on the line in Iran to question the legitimacy of the regime, and as a result are imprisoned and/or sentenced to death. Mr. Khorsandi, if you have chosen to be safe and critique the regime from Europe, then at least, do us all a favor, and don't criticize those who are in the regime's prisons because they didn't choose the safety of distance. * Reality was different I too visited Niavaran Palace a few years ago on my first visit to Iran since 1979 ["Firmly planted"]. Having heard all the stories about the excesses of the Pahlavis, I was expecting opulance beyond belief. The reality was somewhat different. Niavaran Palace was nowhere as big and spacious as I had expected. It was quite frankly rather cramped, considering it was the main residence of the Iranian Royal Family.The homes of many middle and upper class Iranians in the 70's were more lavish inside than what I witnessed inside Niavaran palace. The furnishings, what was left of them, and the paintings that Mr Nafisi refers to, were rather dated. I did not think they represented "Farah's taste in loud represenation of the nouveau-rich" I just reminded myself that I was looking at a Palace in a time warp. How many of our homes circa 1978-79 would stand up to a "good taste" survey in the year 2001?! It never ceases to amaze me how many different sticks your writers seem to find to beat the Pahlavis with. This article, with it's simplistic and OGHDEI way of looking at things feels as dated as the items inside the palace -- it belongs to a post-revolution magazine circa 1980, not the year 2001 and on the internet ! * He was the man The boots of tyranny Mr Nafisi refers to belong to Reza Shah "Firmly planted". This man in boots was the same man that rescued Iranian women from the compuslory hejab. He was the man who built us railways, roads and tunnels unsurpassed to this date and still in use. He was the man who gave us our first universities and proper non-religious schools. He was the man who stood up to the mollas and tried to loosen their grip on every aspect of the lives of the people of Iran. He was the man who united the country which was run by different tribes. He was the man that made our country safe from bandits. Sure he was a man with faults. Sure he used force to push some of his ideas through. But look at what he acheived. In the Iran of 80 years ago, you could not push these reforms through with velvet gloves. Modern Iran owes a lot to Reza Shah. It just never wants to admit it. * Amazing Dear Mr Nafisi, It is obvious from your article "Firmly planted" that as well as being the chairman of the Department of General Studies at Strayer University, you posses excellent mind-reading powers, for in just such a short article, you have mananged by just looking at some painitings and furnishings to get to the core of not only the Shah's thoughts, but also those of the rest of the royal family. It is amazing for example, that by just looking at the two pieces of Louis XIV funiture given to Reza Pahlavi by his aunt, you knew she gave it to him to inject aristocratic blood into him and so that he wouldn't become too middle class ! Truly amazing. * Your point? Dear Professor Nafisi, ["Firmly planted"] You could be a professor, lecturer or even a doorman in any Timbuktu University. But to people such as myself it does not mean a thing. What was the point of writing that article? Were you an observer? A tourist? Or just a passer by? Then what was the necessity to add such unnecessary comments? Where did you think you are stepping to? The Versailles Palace is Paris? Buckingham Palace in London? Or you simply thought that you can fit into the shoes of Khaghani (Eivaane Madaa'en?). Really, what was your point? Regards, H. Hakimi * Live life (without kids) I read the letter by Sharareh Shirazi entitled "Quiet weekends" and agree with a lot of her good points. I have been thinking a lot about the issue of having kids in the 21st century. It is a very complex issue. Although Ms Shirazi touched on many of the good issues on this topic, I have a few of my own that sometimes make me think, "Why have kids?". Although, I have lived most of my life in the West, my true upbringing and discipline that shaped my character occurred in Iran since I lived there until the age of 11. I remember how tough my teachers were in academics making me write page after page of "Takleef". This discipline became part of my character and allowed me to excel in schools in the West and has made me appreciate the importance of academics. This discipline simply does not exist in North American schools. This is why many young Iranians excel in academics compared to Americans or Canadians. I sometimes fear that if I had a child how I can be certain that he or she has the discipline that I received. There are other disturbing issues that when I was younger simply did not exist or at least were not as prevalent. When I went to school if one's kid did not do well in his or her course work or may be did a bit of drinking in a party, that was the ultimate sin. Now we have different issues to worry about. We worry about if we turn on the TV and find out some "psycho" has gone to a school with a assault rifle and massacred innocent children. The world has changed from the "happy family" image that our parents had. I give full support to those like Ms. Shirazi that have decided to not have kids and live life to the fullest. * Smoking veil The photos were good ["Born free"] but had a very sad massage. The first massage was that how Iranian women are behind and ignorant. It is quite a while that young educated women don't smoke in Western countries. It was celebrated greatly here when the tobacco companies were defeated shamefully. Smoking is prohibited officially in most places even outside buildings. The number of people who smoke now is limited to either old people who can not quit anymore and that is because of some health complication. Nowadays, there are enough literature in any magazine or newspaper about tobacco and the damage it causes to human health. It has been quite sometimes that smoking is not fashionable any more. The sight of Iranian woman in that black veil smoking was more than disgusting and at the same time very sad. It seems that our youngster have nothing else to turn to. I wonder why the government is so cautious about every aspects of life of the people in Iran is not aware of this diaster. All the countries have long started to educate their people against tobacco how come that we are not. Certainly hundreds of millions of rials are spent on cigarette in Iran each year and guess where this money go! This might be the duty of press to start to educate people specially our youngster, who are the only treasure of that country. Good luck. * Throwing in the towel Ak ke heyyy... Did you sign a contract or something with this capable representative of mediocrity, to print every "experiment"? ["Nooneh"] Like a sweet dream turned into a nightmare I liked the first, smiled at the second, objected to the 4th or 5th installments, ignored the one that followed and... even after missing a few issues, I come back to find the umpteenth episode of this nauseating [centi-logy?] Or is it gonna be more than 100 experiments? Oh boy... I can't wait till we get to Akbar... There simply must have been one there between Rick and the next guy! Throwing in the towel, in San Jose, * No more I read your article and enjoyed your honesty ["The good old days"]. It's funny and ironic that we both are from the south (I am Ahvazi) and came to Canada almost at the same time. The only exception is our political beliefs about the Shah and his regime, at least in our childhood. The "good old days" are no more. Very true. Good luck, * Get over it I just read the letter from the 30-year-old man to Kobra Khanom and his so-called problem! ["Sex & PMS"] First of all, dame shomaa garm for your answer. Tell him to get over it. What a spoiled boy he is! Naghmeh
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