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Friday * Let's accept our weaknesses Dear Ataollah, Nice writing style ["Camel's neck..."]! It's a pleasure to read a well-written article. Keep up the good work. As for the contents of your article, please allow me to comment on the small portion that concerns me, Rasheed. I am not sure what you mean, and what you have assumed, by using a label such as "shock-struck immigrants" (please refer to your second bullet), but I am confident that you have used this label in a less-than-down-to-earth context. Apparently, you believe that mixing cultures, or as I put it originally, collecting positive attributes of different cultures and eliminating the negative ones, is not only impossible, but also simple-minded and baaaaaaad! According to this point of view, the Iranian culture has not changed since "Iran" was formed! Afterall, it would be impossible to learn a few good (or bad) cultural attributes from our neighbors and gradually adopting them. Right?! Well, I think we all know that that is not true. We are, and have been, living in a constantly changing world. As human beings, we are always trying to be better people, more successful, healthier, more united, etc...To do so, you and I need to come to the self-actualization stage of our lives, rather than self-centeredness stage! If you and I believe that what's right is right and what's wrong is wrong, no matter what the culture says, and act upon that, then we improve ourselves and improve our culture. This may be a simple-minded way of thinking, but it IS simple! Why should we be bound by our culture, if we know that our culture has weaknesses? Why shouldn't we try and transform our weaknesses into strengths? And why should we think that we "have fallen from an elephant's nose" and that we are better than everyone else? Let's accept and realize our weaknesses. Let's work on fixing them. Let's emphasize on our strengths. Let's learn from others. Let's teach others. Finally, from your writing style and vocabulary I conclude that you are complex-minded (and I am not being sarcastic here), and I hope that you forgive my simplicity and simple-minded argument. But I sincerely believe that it is simple. If we try and simplify matters, we can solve them more efficiently and more consistently. Or we can keep it complex and be overwhelmed by its complexity and not want to change it! ;) Moxless, * Quite simple Mr. Togha, How could you think the "Mexico, USA" photo essay had no meaningful sense? ["Camel's neck..."] It was actually quite simple: It showed how you can live in the same city but two totally different worlds. The photographer was contrasting the pictures of wealth so vast that happy children can afford to waste water (so precious in this arid climate) for play, while a few streets away other children live in dire poverty and have to beg on the streets and eat out of dumps. I especially like the two photos, one of the dumpster with all the pieces of wood scraps and the other picture of a basket full of children's toy cellphones. It had so many meanings: Consumerism, the values we give children from their young age, pollution and waste... I found the photo essay really moving and meaningful. * You are American! Yariz, Very well put ... your article really hit home ["Embrace"]. I was born and raised in America by Persian parents. They taught my brother and me to speak both English and Farsi and have taken us frequently to Iran on visits. Of course to see family but also to show us how fortunate we are to be American. The Iranians that are involved in the "Persian communities" here (Alabama) unfortunately are a bunch of egotistical hypocrites and back-stabbers that tend to find lots of time to gossip about good people. These are the same people that supposedly have so much "Persian pride" and yet don't even support their fellow Persian businesses. I think Persians are the only people that have no love for other Persians; always having to outdo each other and having contempt for those that are doing well. I find a lot of humor in that. It's sad. My Mom has always told us to stay clear of these fakes and make our own lives as Americans (never forgetting our history of course). She would remind us by saying, "You are not Iranian; you are American! You don't know what it's like to be an 'Iranian'". So I really am glad that you also feel this way. I believe it is perfectly all right to have pride and awareness of your heritage/culture but don't let it consume your life in that you don't open yourself (and your mind) to other things in this country. For example: My roommate is Indian by heritage, American by birth, but she acts more Indian than the Indians in India; surrounds herself in it to the point that she doesn't have respect for non-Indian things and people; only Indian friends and Indian movies. Se makes me and other non-Indians feel totally out of place when we hang out with them, because the topic is always India and how great it and it's people are. I, on the other hand, have friends of all nationalities, except for an Iranian, which I wouldn't mind having. It's kind of hard since there is a shortage of them here in Alabama. It's good to be involved in your community to an extent, but I feel I am a better person for not being influenced by "The Iranian clique". I have grown to respect other cultures and people in general. So when people ask me, "Where are you from?" I always say, "I'm American with Persian spice"... LOL :-) Enjoyed your article, * Since when we became American? Wow since when we became American? ["Embrace"] If we did as you say, why are we still in search of our roots? Italians came way before us, and they are still ITALIANS and hang out in Little Itlay all the time (Manhattan, NY). I underestand how our role models are going down the hill right now as TV shows and singers, but hello! The Number 1 Network Admin. in AT&T is IROONI, and many more. So what's wrong with letting our kids know where we came from and WHY? Have you thought about this question? * Horrified in 2001 Dear Sirs, I have received an email recently stating that this lady was sentanced to death by stoning on 11/3/01 by the Islamic regime of Iran & so far is still surviving in prison. I have no idea whether this is true or not ! However, I was horrified that in the year 2001 anyone is being sentanced to death by stoning for any reason! I wholly do not advocate violence in any event, but this particular type of "person to person" violence I find abhorent and I truely hope it is not true. However, if it is true, then I would like to officially register my concerns with the appropriate authorities & would seek some/any advice you may offer. Many thanks for your time & I hope you are able to give me a response in due course. Yours sincerely, Louise Ball * Lifted my body and soul Now this is a writer ["That girl from Iran"]. I had almost lost hope in The Iranian after your experimental section graced my monitor. This short piece lifted my body and soul outside my world and into Gelereh's life for a brief few moments. I could almost feel the butterflies in her stomach, or her sense of release during the last few lines... It's not that I'm offended by the sexual content of pieces like Bahram or Dariush -- it's the bad writing that makes me faint. * Must like your favorite singer? Dear Mr.Majidi, How did I f... the country by saying that I will not pay $300-400 to see a musical performance ["Give me one good reason"]. I could not even afford the addmision fee plus the hotel and travel expenses. Only the freedom fighters in N.Y. and LA could afford it. I did not politicize the issue. I just expressed my opinion and preferences , because whatever I had read about her trip was admirations and I did not, in my opinion, know what was this all about. And I was trying to see if someone else would agree with me or if I was really missing something. But since you brought it up, I am not sure how "the love of this woman is a symbol of the opposition." From where I am sitting I read that according to Persian Heritage magazine No.19, Fall of 2000 , she apparently in New York rejected interviews with Iranian news media and she only granted interviews to "imperialistic" Washington Post , New York Times and a few other American news media. And to her credit , she earned significant amount of dirty American dollars (compared to other singers income in U.S.), some of which she probably has to share with those who made it possible for her to leave the country and sing for the sympathetic audience in America "about the mothers who lost their sons in the war" or the Iranian "birds who don't sit on palm trees and the palm trees that bring no dates anymore." And this is at a time when the visible and invisible hands in the country are jailing and killing the real freedom fighters for remotely saying anything or barely attending a conference abroad and saying nothing. If these are your reasons for loving her and her songs fine. And if you believe by doing so you are fighting oppression, fine again. But I still don't know what I said that made you so angry and made you think that we Iranians can not tolerate each other. Would I have been considered tolerant and a freedom fighter had I admired Googoosh? Do I have to adore your favorite singer? Can I express my opinion about my kind of music without being called uncivilized and f.....and sh... Was I right for expecting a storm over nothing? And how long can we afford not to tolerate each other's opinion over even some trivial matters as choice of music? And finally if the use of emamzadah is bothering you, how many of emamzadahs in Iran are real and not the creation of Roazeh Khans who for centuries made us cry over Zeinab's tragedy rather than for those who lost their brothers, fathers or sons in fighting for justice and freedom? * Googoosh not mardomi I totally agree with Mr. Ramin Tabib ["Romanticizing the past"]. Unfortunately, our cultural judgnments have always been dependent on our emotional, but not realistic views. I admire people supporting an artis and a musician. But is that an equal, indiscriminative support for all of our musicians? Definitely not! We all know how many of our best musicians have lived and died in total poverty in the past and recent years without any support from their Iranian fans and friends. Googoosh is a good singer and entertainer but she has always been entertaining the rich people. The nightclubs that she used to sing in Tehran was always packed with rich drunks who could never understand and feel the music. Googoosh, one more time, proved that she is not a "mardomi" singer who really belongs to all of the people. She sang and cried and expressed her deepest love to her "people" in her glorious stages and overly priced concerts all over US and Canada. I could afford to attend her concert but I prefered not to support a singer that I could never afford to attend even one of her performances in my young days. * How Brits worked against Iran It is not in my nature to enter into arguments via email ["Apologetic"], but given your complete misunderstanding of the point of the article on Skrine's account of the internment of Reza Shah ["The Iranian Napoleon"], I had to respond and express my amazement at your vitriolic reaction. Although the writer Skrine had adopted a diplomatic tone, that was not the point at all. The point of publising this account was to show what the Brits wrote about Iran and how they worked against Iranians (the same way they worked against Dr Mossadegh). Part of the reason for their success was and is that Iranians often put their egos first before uniting against foreigners because we are so emotionally charged or fanatical in our beliefs. Unlike Iranians, the Brits always set their differences aside and unite when it comes to dealing with a foreign threat or when their common interests are at stake. The nature of your reaction and intolerance clearly demonstrate the point made above. By the way, Iran enjoyed democracy in periods other than Dr Mossadegh's government and he was not the only Iranian democratic leader. We had a number of them from different sections of our society and Reza Shah's biggest mistake was to destroy that, albeit shaky, democratic base which later he came to regret bitterly but by then it was too late. We were the first in the East to demand and get a constitution, a fact to be proud of except that it seems to get completely lost in our obsession with the cult of personalities. Finally please think before you fire off angry emails next time. * Non-existent glorious past Dear Mr. Farahani, I decided to send my comments immediately so that you have enough time for making any modification or enhancement in your response before its publication ["Changing historical facts"]. My comments on your points follows. First of all, I understand your admiration of ancient Persians and I am not that much fascinated by Arab or Islamic culture anyways. What bothers me is that us Iranians are pretty much living in a non-existent glorious past in order to avoid accepting hard facts: That we are nothing more than a poor, third world nation much behind others. First about the Arabs: the fact that some Bedouin Arabs today live the life of centuries ago does not indicate that the Arabs have always lived this way. The Arabic empire during Umavid and Abbassid was mightier and much more glorious than any previous Persian empire, with its pick during Ma'moun Abbassi. You may Refer to any major book on history of civilization to confirm this point >>> FULL TEXT * Pride in Iranian and Islamic culture Dear Mr. Sanizadeh, Thank you very much for your prompt response I appreciate that ["Non-existent glorious past"]. Unfortunately, it seems that you, either did not read my article correctly or you are twisting some of the points I was trying to make. First of all, throughout my letter I never intended to demean or demise Arabs or Islamic Culture and empire. I am as much proud of being a part of Islamic culture as I am Iranian. Below you shall find my replies to issues set forth by you: A. Sanizadeh" <asanizadeh@yahoo.com> wrote: >Dear Mr. Farahani and Iranian Times, My admiration is not for ancient Persians. I admire spirit of Iranian at any time in history and that was the point I made in my first letter. I am very much fond of Islamic culture and all the other culutures that introduced to Iran because that is what made us a survivor nation. I absolutely agree with you that we should not cling to our past and ancectors and fantacize about what could have and what should have! But the first phase of destruction is self loathing, not that I say it is your point, but being proud of one's heritage gives rise to self estem and self improvement. And yes we are a third world country. In fact we have been a Third world country for over 300 years and the point I was trying to make was that Iranians and Iranian culture has risen from ashes before, and it can rise once more, and more to come >>> FULL TEXT * Allow me to elaborate Dear Mr. Sanizadeh, I am truly happy that you responded to me with your letter, "Changing historical facts". I received many complementing emails and no one bothered to criticize my point of view ["Iranians always rise from ashes"] and I was a bit worried. The scope of the article simply did not allow me to elaborate more on most issues such as Pre-Islamic civilization in Iran, Iranian contributions to Islam, dawn of Farsi language and most importantly Shia Islam. I certainly do not dislike Arab people and never referred to them as barefoot. I simply mentioned the fact that they were desert dwellers. They still are for the most part. The Bedouin Arabs in Saudi Arabia are still living the same way they were more than 14 centuries ago and there is nothing wrong with that. I will try to address the points you mentioned in your response in an orderly fashion. Civilization: The culture and civilization of Pre-Islamic Iran is visible through ruins of more than 2500 years. Takht-Jamshid was burnt 2200 years ago by Alexander and buried under sand until 1920s. All is left of Ctisphone, the Sassanid capital destroyed by Arabs, is merely a half ruined arch. The only Pre-Islamic literary work that escaped from hands of Arabs is Avesta, the holy book of Zoroastrians, and the carving inscriptions on the mountains in Tagh-e Bostan and Naghsh-e Rostam. I agree with you that the glory days of Pre-Islamic Iran were during Hakhamaneshi rule. However, Sassanian rulers also created a mighty empire rivaling that of Hakhamaneshian. They were constantly in war with Romans, from west, Turks from North East, and various barbaric tribes from east over territories. Some battles were won some battles were lost as shown by rock carvings and incriptions in Taghe-Bostan. After 400 years of Sassanian rule and its downfall due to corruption and heavy taxation to wage Roman wars, many Iranians, not all, welcomed Islam >>> FULL TEXT * Simply don't mix I read with interest the e mail of our young friend who claims that she practices two religions ["Two gods"]. Though it is a bit strange, the claim simply comes from her lack of knowledge. Although Christianity and Islam have some common grounds but those two religions simply can not and do not mix. Christians are polytheists (father, son and holy spirit) and Moslems are monotheists (there is no God but Allah). That is a big difference. In Islam everything and everybody are God's servants including Jesus, but in Christianity Jesus is God and son of God. in Christianity you can simply go to heaven if you believe in Jesus even if you commit the most heinous crimes, but in Islam your deeds will make you end up in hell or heaven. Furthermore, God has denounced , many times, The pagans, christians and specially the jews in Koran. He forbids the moslems from making friends or even sitting with them. Seeing that in Koran I don't know how can a Moslem practice Christianity when he is forbidden to even have Christian friends. Well I can't get into details, because I am scared that it will be considered as violation of policy of this site and the respectable Editor won't let my email be posted on his site. But I hope he will be kind enough to allow this short e mail to be viewed by others. Thank you very much. * Khorramshahri I am not an Abadani, but I am a Khuzestani. I am from Khoramshahr. I attended Pars (later Jahan) school in Abadan. I read the article by Sharhzad Irani ["Oh, sweet home"] and I could relate to her joy and the bitter sweet experience it must have been for her. Tears were rolling down my eyes when she mentioned taking the dirt and explaining it to the airport authorities. Sharhzad, I envy you for having the courage to go back. Although I have returned to Iran several times since the end of the war, I can't bring my self to visit Abadan or Khorramshahr - to see my house in ruins - Khorramsharh was destroyed - Abadan was luckier. I wanted to perserve my memories of the last time I saw Khuzestan - Summer of 1980. Thank you for showing me pictures of places where I had many great memories -- Golestan Club, Annex, Cinema Taj, etc.... Thanks again... * Persian lessons in Dallas? Hello, I am hoping you can find someone who provides Persian classes in the Dallas / Arlington / Ft.Worth area.
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