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| November 12, 2002 See this month's letters by subject * Women can do it, and do it well This is in reply to a letter by Bev Pogreba called "My husband claims she was the perfect wife". It is a common syndrome to see some women feel that they are being measured up against their mother-in-laws and consequently feel competitive and even insecure. However, in this case, she tends to misjudge Iranian women. Although not all Iranian women tend to have the same aforementioned qualities, a great many do. Bev finds it difficult to believe that a woman can have a professional career, take care of her family, cook, clean and shop. Well, guess what? Many of the Iranian and American women that I know can do it all and they do it well. As an example, my sister who I love dearly and idolize, is a hard working doctor (works 12 hour days), her house is immaculately clean (has no maid), cooks amazingly delicious meals for the whole week in a half a day (usually on Sundays), has raised a well balanced and intelligent son, is kind and helpful to all her friends and family and, oh yes, she can dance very well and shake her bootie as well. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe that women should be solely responsible for taking care of the house and making a living and raising a family, but it is well within their capabilities to do so. I have two suggestions for you. One, try to get to know and learn from your mother-in-law without being ethnocentric and two, go see My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Shahrokh Nikfar To top * You talkin' to me? What I can not stand is again another piece from an American or any Westerner writing such degrading nonsense [My husband claims she was the perfect wife] and telling us how our mothers looks to them, a mother who has been so generous and kind bringing gifts to and putting up with a "belly dancer" (we all know what it means, as we know what a valuable person a teacher or principal is). The one that I can't stand at all from a Westerner is a bimbo of them telling us how anti-semitic a poor grandma figure from our culture is. That grandma and her likes never sent anyone to Auschwiz. At most there is "rivalry" (that's the word I would use) between religions in our land, given that everybody thinks their religion is better and it ends right there. That's the point, no more aggressive measures, no Buchenwalds (you Westerner bimbo and likes of you who still to this very day carry the same dirty bag of hatred of Jews and at times confess it to us Middle Easterners as a suck up during some intimate conversations). A. Esfandiary To top * Rejoice you are living in Canada Dear Picha, [My last trip to the United States] I read you story, My Last Trip To The United States, with deep sympathy.Let me explain the situation of Iranians here in US : First to speak of our children , we are most probably the last immigrants of Iranian descent in US.So there is a very good chance that our children, at least those who are born here or don't carry any marks of being Iranian wont be harassed that much after us. But talking of ourselves as the first generation of Iranian immigrants in US, you asked what happened to protests or standing together? Wake up please! Such a thing doesn't exist here at all! I don't know about Iranians in Europe or anywhere else but I can see that Iranian community here is kind of trapped, sadly but truly their last and only venture was surviving immigration. Since then, they live day by day in a secret misery and degradation, in a terrible unspeakable situaition.And somehow, perhaps through a collective unconscious process, they seem to have reached a silent agreement not to talk about their lives, their rights, their fears etc.and rather be as much Invisible, Unseen,Unnoticed, Unheard as possible-it would be better to be Nothing rather than being 'something' coming from Iran, wouldn't you agree? I wonder how our plight might resemble the situation of Jews in Nazi Europe in some aspects? Well, to fix things a little bit, some have tried to coin the term Iranian-American.This is a useful euphemism to remind American people 'politely' that there are some Iranian immigrants in this country too,but since behind the new label and deep in our minds still lies the same sense of vulnerability and fearfulness, that label too hasn't helped us to find our place in society or in defending our rights against unjustified rules and regulations against innocent Iranians. The most you see here from influential or wealthy Iranian immigrants is to invite a mid-ranked official to a dinner party or the like-as if to bribe Them emotionally in order to feel safe to live in Their Country, but no civil protest neither verbal nor in action. Ironically but not surprisingly, the discriminatory New Act of Immigration Regulations was proposed by a Senator from California, the very state that has the largest population of Iranian immigrants or Iranian-Americans.I think she must have felt pretty confident that there wouldn't be any considerable protest from Iranian immigrants in her electoral state, and she was right. Last but not least, after your trip to US, you can now rejoice that you are living in Canada.You might not have a brand new car or a luxury house, but you can keep your dignity instead. Not a bad deal! Khashayar Beigi To top * Doubt I seriously doubt that you were holding a Canadian passport [My last trip to the United States]. In fact I'm positive you're not holding anything but the brown Iranian passport. If you are holding a common market passport (i.e. Schengen States or EU) or Canadian passport, Japanese, or Argentinian passport, not only will you NOT be fingerprinted, but you would not even need a visa to enter this country. Not to say fingerprinting does not occur, which by the way I agree with wholeheartedly. But only if you are holding an Iranian passport. Plus on one (NO ONE) under the age of 16 is not fingerprinted, no matter what his/her nationality. If this has in fact happened to you, it is a violation of law and accords between the US and Canada. You have the right and in fact should exercise that right by making your complaint known to the Canadian ministry of Foreign Affairs, and I can assure you they will pursue it. However if this did not happen, which my guess is that it didn't, I suggest you keep your America bashing confined elsewhere. Afshin To top * Mocking tone I found Bev Pogreba's article humiliating and anti-Iranian! [My husband claims she was the perfect wife] It is amazing how a decent magazine like Iranian.com approved publishing propaganda. Well, each nation have their own style of living, cooking, and praying. It is really sad to see the way the author mocks Iranian attitudes and custom. It was not fair to criticize a nation if the author has some personal problems with her in-laws or with the archetypal image of "mother" in her husband's mind. The racist, mocking tone of the article is so far from the slogans of the multicultural atmosphere of the post-colonial era in the 21st century. Khatereh Sheibani To top * Making fun of us not funny I can't believe that you actually printed this [My husband claims she was the perfect wife]. What is she trying to say? is she trying to describe an Iranian women to us? Or does she think making fun of an Iranian mother-in-law, visiting her son, is funny to Iranian readers? I don't think so. To me it was insulting, the way that she was talking about Iranian women. I love and have respect for this magazine, but I don't appreciate you let these people come to our small world of communication, and talk like that, she even doesn't say where she is from, name for sure is not American. Mitra B To top * Fair treatment? You're hallucinating Dear Picha, [My last trip to the United States] I fully sympathize with you. All these disrespects to Iranians have started since Iran's regime changed and became hostile to Israel. Many believe that USA is run, controlled, and operated by Israel and not by Americans. If Iran would have a regime change, most of these disrespectful acts against Iranians or Iranian descent will end too. Also, please note there is a reason that in your Canadian passport (American passports are the same way) your birthplace is mentioned. This is solely to distinguish you from real Canadians easily at times like these when they want to screen, discriminate, and profile you if they deem necessary. It would be purely hallucination if any Iranian, citizen of the West, would think that he or she would be treated equally and respectfully at the sensitive times just because they hold an American or Canadian passport. It is indeed very sad that we have to tolerate all these inhumane treatments of Iranians who were once a superpower of the world. One of my dreams is to see a day when our motherland becomes livable again so I may go back to Iran and live in my real country in peace and tranquility till I die. West is good for those with blue eyes. Our eyes are mostly black or brown, our heritage is different, and our identity marks are Eastern and not Western. So, West can never treat you the same way they treat themselves. Man has not reached that level of civilization yet. People like us need respect from Americans at the times of difficulties and when the air is full of suspicion against Easterners. Respecting us (or not disrespecting us), at the time when everything is normal and quiet, is not so self gratifying after all. Furthermore, West has not realized yet that Iranians are people of tenderness, love, peace, poems, music, song, innovations, and admirer of beauty, justice, equality, and harmony, and not believers in hate, war and bigotry. As long as human race is entangled with discriminatory thoughts and beliefs, mankind will keep suffering on this planet in one way or another. I pray for a day to come so that all men are regarded equal and the same irrespective of their appearance or place of birth. Contrary to general belief, I think mankind still lives in darkness in many ways. If we are all created by one and the same God, then no man is better than the other because of his or her look or birthplace. I am better than you, only in some ways, only if I am more educated and only if I have contributed something to the happiness and advancement of the mankind. Of course this does not mean those with less chance and opportunity of education should be treated with an ill manner by those who were more fortunate to blossom in life. I also pray for a day to come that Americans would stay in line in front of Iranian embassies in order to get visa to visit Iran. I understand the frustration you had at the border crossing point, and I hope such ugly acts and treatments would never happen to another Iranian or Iranian descent, or any nationality, anywhere in the world again. Mehran To top * Bravo Ebi! I was lucky to get some tapes for Ebi from one of my friends. I'm Kuwaiti but when I heard this voice before few years I got a lot of Ebi songs. He's been my best songer with his worm voice. so i can say bravo Ebi (DARAMET GARM) Naser Javad To top * Intelligent discourse I think that the Hemmat message was the first to appear on the then-newly-created soc.culture.iranian. Anyway, I hope all's well with you, and I really enjoy iranian.com. I started first semester Modern Persian at Harvard a few days ago (I had taken Old Persian (Achaemenid) before, but didn't know any Farsi), so hopefully I'll be able to read those elusive Persian-language articles on the site soon. Keep up the good work; the world needs more venues for intelligent discourse like yours these days. Dan Sheffield To top * Deceitful Canadians Dear Passenger, [My last trip to the United States] Still, you haven't understood what discrimination means. I am emailing you to modify your view of carrying a Canadian citizenship card and helping you to come to the world of reality. Being a Canadian Citizen doesn't mean that they have accepted you as a Canadian. Even if your children are born in Canada they are still non-Canadian. They are lucky just in American borders since they show their birth of certificate not their citizenship card . Thanks to Americans of being honest with you. At least you know that there is discrimination so you are ready to face it. In Canada you see nothing except some deceitful and charming real Canadian faces. God knows what is going on in their hearth. They are waiting for a chance to stab you from back. Unfortunately, most of the Iranian-immigrants in the Canadian big cities are unsighted and cannot see their surroundings. They feel Canadians since they usually see Bengalis, Indians and other immigrants. Arsham To top * We are all foreigners here I have some comments about the letter "Iranians are their own biggest fans". In some points may be you are right and the lady that has written [no sands between my toes] has gone a little bit too far to idealize Iranians or putting down other nationalities. I believe we should never generalize people, religions or nationalities every country and culture has it's own strong values and poor points. For example she is right we Iranians in general (not every one) are kind towards others and usually try to be helpful, this does not mean that all Iranians are the same way on the other hand most of us are not really on time and this bad characteristic can some times be a disaster! Americans are mostly honest people which I always admire in them so I guess you both ladys are wrong to put down each others culture or underestimate it. you mentioned that all Iranian men are abusive about their wives and children which is not really true like every other country like U.S there are some men who are so nice fathers and husbands and there are some that can be mean or abusive. Maybe you have had a bad experience about Iranians but it does not mean to put down every one and consider every one as lier, unkind,materialistic, selfish,... you are right lots of people(not every one) from Iran love to come and live in U.S because you have a great country with lots of opportunities but you can not get all the credit by yourself, because lots of foreigners like us has helped you to build this country. Do you know that Iranians are one of the most educated minority in the U.S.? So we are helping to keep this great country as good as it is and we are paying high taxes like other citizens. So it is not really fair to threaten us that we may be forced to go back home. We are all foreigners here some came to this country 100 years ago some 200 hundred years ago and some 20 years ago and we all have the right to live nice and freely, but we better respect each other, I respect this country and it's people and admire their good values but I am proud to be originally from Iran! NM From California To top * Yeki az mafaakhere adabiye ma Chand rooz-e pish az tarighe televisione aghaaye shahraam-e homaayoon baa khabar shodam ke Dr. Hassan Honarmandi dar shahr-e Paris khodkoshi kardeh ast [New meaning]. Ishaan yeki az mafaakhere adabiye maa hastand ke motaassefaaneh dar khaabgaah-e kargaraan-e khaareji dar paris eghaamat dashtand!! Kaafist harkas ketaab-e bonyaad-e sher-e no dar faranse va peyvand-e an ba sher-e farsi ishan raa khandeh baashad ta befahmad che kar-e bozorgist. baa in vojood hatta khabar-e dargozasht-e oora niz dar hich noghtehye web natavaanestam peydaa konam man jaaye behtari az site shoma nemishenasam ta betavan chenin mataalebi raa mon'akes kard ... Farzad Ahadi To top * Forough collection I saw your Forough collection [I can fly] on the Iranian.com website today and I really enjoyed them. I wonder if they are available for sale? If so, I would be interested in buying one. Yahya Fathi To top * We are what we are Dear Ms. Homa Sarshar, I have written a comment to your book about Shaban Jafari, when it came out in the Iranian.com. I also read the parts published by Kayhan of London. Now I got the book & read it, I enjoyed every bit of your book. The outlook of Shaban to our society is an interesting one. All the Iranian authors have looked down at our society either from the top of the Empire State Building, or with a built in ideological bias. You made an unprecedented difference by bringing out Shaban Jafari, who looks at our society across the spectrum face to face. It means that we are, as ordinary people, what we are. It is indeed refreshing. Thank you again for your courage & effort. By the way, I was very much amused to know that my great uncle Ebrahim Hakimi, Hakim-al-Molk, had leftist tendencies. I had to chuckle a bit. Since it was a revelation to me. H. Hakimi Norway To top * Daste shoma dard nakonad Khanoom Nemati salam, allan daaram be avaze Zibaye Mahmoodi Khonsari keh shoma be jaye Mahmoud Adib Khansari baraye "iranian" frestadid gosh mikonam, daste shoma dard nakonad, Aya Morghe Shabahange ishan vaa ketabe dar morede isahan raa khande va gosh kardehid? movafagh bashid Bardia To top * Nim sa-at khoshi Khanom Nemati, Kolli tashakor ke Navar-eh- golhaye Mahmoodi Khonsari ra be gofteye farangui ha ba ma share kardid. Nim sa-ateh khoshi beh man gozasht. Merci. Az in karhaye khoob baz ham bekonid! Golnar To top * Irad bar she'r-e Iraj ba tamame ghovat va ghodrate adabie Iraj Mirza [poem on the chador], az nazare mahiati iradati bar in sher vared ast va man mokhalefam. Ameri To top * We are a reasonable people So many times I hear people bashing America for the wrong things our government has done. As Americans, we understand that we are not perfect. We understand that there have been times when our national government did not act in a way that is to be commended. Americans have set an ideal before us -- through democracy, through equality, through understanding, and whatever virtues one can claim that we embrace. But what must also be understood is that yes, we are a nation, and yes, we are people. This means that things aren't always going to be done right. Most Americans aren't informed enough to know that wrong things have even been done by our government. Most good, average people would be horrified. But, the worst thing for someone to do is act with violence, and emotion, against what is viewed as their enemy. Martin Luther King knew the best actions to take when making a plea, a statement, against something that is greatly wrong. It certainly isn't a hateful voice that is heard, but kind and firm voice. We as Americans are certainly less likely to listen to anyone who is shouting against us, or acting in violence against us, or attacking us. Such people establish themselves as our foes, and we will fight hard to defend our country if need be. But mostly, we are a reasonable people, and despite bureaucratic or corporate corruption - strive to do the right thing. Sometimes it takes a long time to listen, but if voices are wise, and gentle, their point will be made. And eventually adhered to. Christina McClain To top * Cannot stop laughing I just wanted to thank you for all your efforts in making us, the Iranians, smile :). I cannot stop laughing at Mr. Kirakosian. How nice is that to carry a kir in our everyday's life. Arsham To top * A bit of positive thinking I will have to, without reservation, agree with Dr. Etminan's observations on Iranian film [My big fat Persian culture]. When another American friend tells me that he/she saw an Iranian film, I cringe with discomfort, because I anticipate the next line of dialogue, "How horrible life is over there? How can they live like that?" I've always wondered if Iranian film, in fact, is a sounding board for social criticism or commentary, isn't admitting to a problem the first step toward salvation? One film after another shows social problems, inequality, poverty, misery. How can people hurt so much and not do anything about it? Or are Iranian filmmakers another strata of cash hogs who use the subject of misery to add to their own wealth--because misery sells? I am aware of the limitations placed on artists in Iran, and I know how difficult it is for artists to do what they want, but why does every movie portray misery or negativity? Or sometimes happiness despite great misery? I am not looking for a hollywood ending, but a bit of positive thinking, as Dr. Etminan states, goes a long way when it comes to our own culture and it's portrayal in the western world. Bahar Jaberi Portland, OR To top * Mordechai (Ramin) Rahimi My name is Mordechai Rahimi, My first name used to be called Ramin when I was back in Tehran. I am looking for Ms. Mozhgan Soleimani who was my classmate/ class president at Kourosh High School - Tehran , whose mother name Mrs. Simani (Our teacher). Please contact me if you or anybody else who knows Mozhgan sees this, I am now a religious person, so even you happened to be married by now, my intentions will be honest and pure. Thank you, Shabee To top * Simply because they are good I have to disagree with the Sohrabi's idea that the West is patronizing Iranian cinema [Debating everything]. In his article she displays her feelings on the West and how they view Iranian films. She finds that Western countries patronize these films by not taking all their movies as a whole but simply seeing it as a tiny faction that is used in international film festivals. She also feels that the only reason a small portion of Westerners like Iranian films is due to its un-Hollywood nature. Sohrabi believes that many view and identify the passionate humanism that these films portray and the rest of the content is ignored. I feel that her idea on how Westerners view Iranian films is completely ignorant. Many like the films simply because they are a good form of entertainment, just the same as why people like many other films available by different cultures. I do not think the West is patronizing these films in any manner. Lil Laura To top * Humanism draws Americans to Iranian films According to Naghmeh Sohrabi's article [Debating everything], Iranian films generally focus on the idea of "passionate humanism". I believe that Americans could truly be patronizing Iranian films because of the way it is centered around humanism. I myself have never seen an Iranian film, but if this concept is true, then I would probably be able to relate to the film and it's characters and ultimately enjoy it. Humanism is feelings, emotions, and situations that all human beings have dealt with and can relate to. It is evident that people enjoy watching others and their real life situations through the emergence of many reality sitcoms on television such as The Real World on MTV. Everyone finds enjoyment or interest in stories that they can relate to. LoVe alWaYs & FoReVeR, cHeRyL To top * Bonyad-e Mostakberan  Email E. To top * A woman dared to defy the rules On Freya Stark's book, The Valleys of the Assassins, [For the explorer] I purchase one this book (original print) in SF in 1993 and truly am glad that is published again for everyone to read. I loved it because it takes us back in time when the explorer spent time in Iran and with the its people. I found it fascinating because at the time a woman dared to defy the rules and go to Persia,. I absolutely recommend this book . By the way, the new edition is much easier to read because the book is larger. The first edition which I own is very hard on the eyes because of the size of the book (palm) and the print fonts. Azam Nemati To top * Nightclubs I am looking for information about the closure of nightclubs in Tehran during the revolution. I would also like to find a list of owners, and what happened to them. I would be very grateful if you could help me find this information or point me in the right direction of where to look for it. Ayshea Ruth To top * Origins of "sher-o-ver" Regarding the origins of "sher-o-ver", see also "shivaree" in American English: A noisy mock serenade for newlyweds. Also called regionally charivari, belling, horning, serenade. Dennis Wilson To top * Two biggest egos, one great couple Let's arrange a date for Azam Nemati [Make it your bible, bubba] and Siamak Baniameri [Zan zalil]. These two biggest egos will surley create lots of stories for us to read! Dana Jalali To top * Tuggs at your heart i just saw your "Musicman" photo essay on iranian.com. it tuggs at your heart... really great peice. at first it seemed random, but there's something very comfortable about the second picture that drew me in... the first few pics of the living space where interesting but i made no correlation between them and the man playing the guitar. slowly everything comes together and you realize the story. he seems to have lived/be living a very full life, but at the same time there are depressing undertones. there are pictures of pictures and a great crescendo hits that really made me feel... not bad for him, i'm not sure exactly what it made me feel... it's that sort of melancholy one sometimes associates with artists. your description about pictures telling 1000 words was right on... sanaz To top * Revulsion against their own people I would like your readership to ponder one point, why is it that so many people of middle eastern descent wish to visit and live in countries that are predominetly white caucasion, christian countries such as western europe and the united states, and australia? why dont these people wish to stay in their own countries and contibute to their own societies? it would appear that these people who wish to get out of their countries have a revulsion against their own very people, yours, Sean Dwyer To top * Zoroastrian "tolerance towards minorities"? Dear Mr. Latif, Please do read the accounts on the " Arab invasion of Iran " as a parsi Zoroastrian it is difficult to buy this "tolerance towards minorities" you so claim. [Controlled democracy] The horrific intolerance in Iran and how my forefathers suffered just because they wanted to cling to their ancient faith, is a tale I feel no compulsion to go into its detail, it would serve no purpose today. I do however admire that you yourself espouse beliefs in tolerance towards all, but such was not the case in so called golden years. I do read your articles in the Iranian from time to time and I do admire your courage to tell it like it is, but not on this score, here every body is mute, hope fully some day some one will have the courage to talk about the holocaust that took place after Qadisiyah and the aftermath on the Zoroastrians of Iran. I leave you in good cheer and wish the same to you. Feroz Dinshah To top * I realised why I have never dated an Iranian After having read "Make it your bible, bubba", I realised why I have never dated an Iranian woman despite always wanting to. (Firstly I hardly ever see any where I live but more importantly) I am just not smooth enough. I take my hat off to the practitioners of the Persian art of courting for their insistance and perseverance but I must say I find it impolite to persue a relationship where an equal measure of enthusiasm is not exhibited by my prospective partner. So I would never get past the first stage on the list. I am fast approaching middle age ( I am thirty next year) and now realise how much I need to polish up my Iranian dating skills if I am ever to marry an Iranian. The task seems daunting. What was interesting i the article was that apparently being shy is attractive to Iranian women. I can not see a how a shy man will survive this Byzantine relationship maze. I am used to being friends with girls whom I find attractive and then if there is enough common ground and genuine affection to ask them out. Unadventurous? Boring? Maybe but effective in finding beautiful and intelligent romances. Do all Iranian women go for this long and ritualised test of character? If yes, then woe is me. Regards Arash To top * Kash kamtar harf mizadid Kanoome Azam Nemati aziz, Avalin bar nist ke neveshtehaye mozheke shomaro mikhoonam. Aksolamalhaye khannadegane mohtarame Iranian.com ro ham nesbat be neveshtehaye shoma barha khoondam va lezat bordam. Khastam begam ke shoma kash kamtar harf mizadid va kamtar aberooye zanhaye irani ro mibordid. Man age mard boodam bad az khoondane tosiyehaye shoma dar "Make it your bible, bubba" hatman bala miyavordam!!!!! va parvande zanhaye Irani ro baraye hamishe mibastam!!! Shomaro be khoda kamtar dar iranian.com matlab benevisid. Bezarid kamtar heysiyat va shoíoor zane Irani latme bebine. Ba ehteram, Parisa To top * Intelligent view on the war I find it appropriate to thank Nima Kasraie for his intelligent and independent view on what caused the war between Iran & Iraq. [Gheirat] A.S. To top * Pahlavi: Unifying figure Dear Mr. Milani, [An apolitical solution] I totally agree with your articles's conclusion with John F. Kennedy's famous quote, "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." I nevertheless don't see any contradiction with what you promote and what Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi or even some reformers say either. The Crown Prince advocates before all a non violent mouvement within a religious theocracy which is still extremly rigid and denies basic democratic rights to its citizens be it vestimary, political as well as human rights. What you advocate is an individual approach to the problem, through economic and human investments, which would contribute to enhance individual political rights which would bring the current leaders to have to change in the process. True Reza Pahlavi Third Wave mouvement is indeed based on civil disobedience but he clearly underlines that Iranians do not need a providential leader, but a unified goal to over throw the religious theocracy and then leave the choice to the people to choose their favorite form of government which has to be secular and democratic. Their are some extremly pertinent suggestions you do make regarding the positive effect individual initiatives can have in changing mentalities, which would help create a much more responsible citizen. This is certainly neccessary for I believe that an eventual counter revolution or inner reform of the system can only lead to a vaccum among potential political leaders who could assume future responsabilities in a future secular government. Nevertheless this vaccume will be created at some point and the current regime due to its internal divisions and discredit among the people of Iran could lead to an internal conflict and that is why contrary to what you advocate a unifying figure be it a reformer or Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi ( who has my favor at least ) could play such a positive role. Let me take the example of ex-Tchekoslavakia, one of the rarest countries in the ex soviet satellite countries to have succeeded its peaceful transition towards Democracy. This was due thanks to two emblematic figures of the opposition to the communist regime, ex-Communist Prime Minister Dubchek and dissident writer Vaclave Havel. Both were present when the regime transition was to take place, thanks to which no bloodshed took place.The same can be said of Poland and the Solidarnosc mouvement led by Lech Walesa. Reza Pahlavi's civil dissobedience is inspired by these non violent but efficient mouvements. A figurehead I believe is neccessary because a political vaccum will be created at some point. I personaly favor a change of the regime for two reasons: The first because this religious theocracy openly claims to be against Democracy and second because it is incapable of distancing itself from the hardliners. It may be too soon to evaluate whether Mr. Khatami will be able to reform towards a religious democracy. On the other hand even if he succeeds their will be contradictions within such a system due to its religious nature which will continue to under evaluate other religious minorities such as the Bahais or the sunnis as well as in having to respect many islamic laws which are discriminitory towards Woman in particular. I am not against the existence of such a religious political party in a future secular Iran. It could indeed evolve like in Turkey towards a religious democratic party( even if their intentions are not yet transparent ) which also exists in Democratic countries such as Germany who has the Christian Democrats which combine religious ideals with democratic values. This could be possible within a democratic society, but seems to have much more difficult within our religious theocracy. I personaaly believe contrary to you that at some point unity will be important. Precisely because we still have hardliners within this regime like the Velayateh Fagih who contrary to an eventual royal constitutional candidate like Reza Pahlavi refuses democratic values as he has repeatadly reminded his followers at friday prayers. Contrary to some of my fellow monarchists I personally believe that Khatami is a relatively flexible person, but lacks political courage. His insistance on wanting to work within a totally undemocratic political framework has contributed to ebb political rights in the country instead of increasing them. Even if today this seems to be impossible since both Reza Pahlavi and Mohammed Khatami and some reformers in Iran seem to stand on opposite sides of the political framework, I believe that at some point if Mohammed Khatami decides to dissociate himself totally from the current political system he could very well join the third wave mouvement launched by Reza Pahlavi, in order to guarantee a peaceful transition towards a democratic platform which would be representative of all Iranian political sensitivites. Unlike Mohammed Khatami who sticks to the present political regime which he tries to maintain the Islamic nature of the regime, the Crown Prince has put his future role as King and in that the monarchy into the balance for the sake of Democracy. Also Countrary to be it reformers who want to reform the religious theocracy, or the mujaheddins (who have already elected their own president ( Mrs. Rajavi not to name her )in a self appointed parliament in Irak) and Reza Pahlavi is that he has taken the only truly positive initiative which consists on proposing a platform where all political representatives can have a say.It is now up to his political foes to accept the olive branch for the sake of Democracy. A Unity approach is therefore necessary in order to guarantee the establishment of a democratic system be it a Republic or a Constitutional Monarchicy. Some may claim that Reza Pahlavi is pulling the blanket towards himself through such an initiative, but I believe on the contrary that such an initiative can be compared to that of General De Gaulle or Winston Churchill at the wake of WWII with the difference that the Battle today is a political and not a military one. A referandum will allow all feelings to emerge and be canalized in a democratic way allowing everyone to have their say. The ideological debate between the virtues of a Secular Republic and that of a Constitutional and yet Secular monarchy can then be openly debated by our compatriots without the fear of being denounced for their legitamate choice. Nevertheless what your suggestion for personal initiatives to change the system through apolitical change is still interesting and seems a coherent and efficient way of bringing change. However at some point the more change you bring the more people's demands become important so its all the more important to canalize it towards a common goal and that is democracy. That is my opinion at least. Darius Kadivar To top * Is it California or Semnan? I have no idea how this " too obvious to explain" culture pervaded into the Iranian psyche. However it is quite ubiquitous. You see it on all magazines, newspapers, TV screen and now on THE IRANIAN when it publishes Artists' photographs! A beautiful (or otherwise) photograph of a scene, be it of mountains, valleys or what have you (sometimes even of people), no matter where they appear remain unidentified. The observer is expected to know. What is wrong with including a little explanation at the bottom of these photos for us the ignorant ones. I am referring to almost all the photo albums that THE IRANIAN, recently, has become a popular forum for their exhibition. For example photos of FIN Garden are just that. No explanation, except to email it forward. Can you tell me what is the very first photo? I assume it is a general layout. What about the second one? I have seen many interesting scenes (you, too, may recall) on TV screens in Iran, or here on Iranian TVs, showing a fantastic photo. One has no idea which country it is from and the specific locality, beyond a general area, is seldom, if ever, mentioned. A gorgeous clear stream is depicted, but it has no name and you don't know whether it is in California or Semnan! You see pictures of historic monuments, but no identification. I have seen group photographs of people in Iranian papers or magazines and I am supposed to know them all. One gets a rough idea by the adjoining article(s), but one still has to have seen them before. Perhaps it is a national characteristic. Do you recall when in Iran you asked someone for a direction, they would simply say "go up there and you can't miss it" or "when you get there, ask anyone, they all know". You are made to feel so bad because you are the only one, apparently, who does not "know". We don't seem to like to be precise. Either because we are not sure and therefore it is safer to be ambiguous or we feel detail explanation is for the retarded. I remember when very young, studying in London or visiting Paris, I used to hear frequently from my locally acquainted friends that Londoners or the Parisians must be quite dim to have so much detail directions in their respective subways. Never mind that the same individuals in the other's unfamiliar city, would get completely lost, complaining about the confusing directions or the lack of them. Ash Farhang To top * High rating for "Shahrbanoo" Dear friends, Thanks for your support. The showing of our documentary "Shahrbanoo" on PBS in New York went extremely well [The human side]. The rating of the show according to the PBS rating department was a total surprise. Our rating was as high as NOVA show! The rating was 1.7. This rating for an independently produced documentary is almost unprecedented. They usually get 0.3 to 0.4 rating for this kind of production. Thanks again for your support. Hamid Rahmanian To top * We will decide for ourselves Dear Mr Cohen, [So what?] Your views are only partially informed. The fact that cicumstances play a role in the success of nations is no fallacy. Americans were freedom loving people who were lucky enough to be able to revolt against tyranny at the same time as the French and the Dutch governments were intent on weakening Britain by helping the American War of Independence. Iranians are also freedom loving people whose attempts at democratic change, however modest, were at a time of Anglo-American ascendancy in the middle east. America is democratic by nature but only for its own people and wherever economics and strategy dictates is willing to topple democratic and semi-democratic governments throughout the world. There is no argument about this. America toppled Mossadeq in the 1950s for example with no regard for the democratic future of Iranian people. As for your historical allusions, they are incorrect. There was never a person as "Jamshid Shah" in Iran. Jamshid or Yima is the primordial man of Zoroastrianism which is transformed to Jamshid the King in the Shahnameh of the Pishdadian (Pioneer) dynasty. The "throne of Jamshid" is no more a historical reference than the "cube of Solomon" next door. As for Cyrus, your comments show a lack of understanding of Greek as well as the Persian history. Athens was run by the free men of Athens who numbered in the hundreds. The Azadegan of Persia who numbered in the thousands sought representation in the tribal council and later the Royal Council in Achaemenian times and Mahestan in the Arsacede times. The election of Darius to the throne is instructive as an example. As for constitutional monarchy not being good enough and therefor the West having every right to destroy it for its oil interests, all I have to say is that no amount of oil can justify the suffering of the Iranians in the hands of despots ever since. It is not up to you to decide what form of government is best for us. That is what democracy is about. We will decide for ourselves as the English have. No empire in history has been benovalent and the USA is no different. Arash To top * Arrogant Iranian men Hi Azam, Thanks sooooooooo much for a wonderful manuscripts that you posted in Iranian.com [Make it your bible, bubba]. Hopefully some of these arrogant Iranian men out there would learn something. Everything you said made perfect sense to me. I would have added just one more note to your steps. Make sure you pick up the check for dinners instead of presenting it to lady and ask her if she wants to treat you. Or don't you ever pull any of these old and rude gestures after dinner saying "Oops I forgot my wallet!" Yes, I have heard it all. I am a 41-year old female who moved to Northern Virginia after having lived on the west coast for a number of years and I can not tell you how disappointing it has been dating wise. I didn't do my homework right before moving here and didn't know that the ratio of men to women here is so out of whack. Which is one of the big reason's these men have the upper hand because they know if you don;t want to go out with them there are six other women waiting. I have chosen not to give in to these jerks and their demands for the past couple of years, therefore having a VERY lonely life. And I am very tired of it. I love to know what kind of reactions you will get from these guy's out there and even more I like to know if there is any man out there who can at least follow these steps. I appreciate your time to spell out the steps to our homeland men. Gita To top * Reverse chauvinism Ms. Nemati: I cannot decide which facet of your article I find most distasteful [Make it your bible, bubba]. Is it the way you handle (mishandle!) the subject matter or the poor English? Is it the snooty attitude, the abysmal attempt at satire, or simply the crude title? Not since Cyrus Rafat's infamous article on Iranian girls, have I found any article published in Iranian.com, as insulting, offensive and down-right nauseating. You , my dear lady, win hands down in the uncouth, coarse and ignorant department. Your intolerance and dogmatism come to the reader as a bull in a china shop. No matter how many letters you may have listed after your name, your awkward diction and abysmal spelling shamelessly give away your illiteracy. Your command of the language which is not past 8th grade, combined with your teenage brain installed in a middle-aged body must be every man's nightmare. As if that were not enough, your attitude stands to scare off an orangutan let alone a bipedal homo sapien. The Lord be with the Iranian males. You claim to be above White-trash but I dare say your zip code could not be too far. Afterall where else could you have learnt to flush a gift down the toilet and more so, gloat about it - certainly not in a 'proper' Iranian home. Your brand of feminism reeks of reverse chauvinism which is a far cry from a recipe for a successful partnership - Iranian or other. Please restrain your urge to speak for the rest of us Iranian women. We will try and do without your help - thank you. A word of caution in case you want to 'borrow' phrases from the English language to lace your future articles. Bible, when used as a euphemism for 'knowledge' is always spelled with a capital B. Bubba is a slang word for a prison-mate, a far cry from the Persian slang Baba. It would have been more apt for you to use the title "Beegeer dashsham!! " - yes - more in tune with the laate-chaaleh-meidooni style which appears to be yours. Zozo To top * Wish list I red Azam Nemati's "Make it your bible, bubba". Of course not all of it! It's rather obvious that the article is a WISH list, and too damn long and terribly demanding at that, and nothing else. Azam jaan, this will never happen for you, as it has not happen yet. May be you are (one of) the reasons Iranian men marry non-Iranians. By the way, it will be nice to post you picture, preferably full body and nude, for those few disparate Iranian men who might find your beauty good enough reason to follow their little heads and ask you out. I doubt you'll do that. A lady, specially beautiful, smart and successful, as you claim you are, wouldn't need a 13-stage plan with tens of warnings and cautions; Iranian or not. Just to get laid, on the other hand, a couple simple words will do. Hamid To top * Gentle sacrifical rams needed Dear Iranian men in North America, I just read Ms. Azam Nemati's article about the do's and do not's of dating (and perhaps marrying) Iranian "princesses." [Make it your bible, bubba] It was quite an "educational experience!" Of course, learning from her Highness (high in could nine, somewher), I speak for all animals with Y chromosomes. we ignorant Iranian men know that she speaks for ALL Iranian women, of course, no, no, no, for all womanhood, please excuse my moronic ignorance--I hope she forgives me. Oh my god, I "bombed" already and will live the rest of my life in miserable loneliness, without the "honor" of her being my possible wife! Where is Dr. Kavorkian? Now that I have "bombed" and am hopeless for such paradise, let me tell you some secret: DO NOT LISTEN to any of her "advice." She is just desperate for a husband. That's all. Be a good sacrifical Persian Lamb--I mean Ram--OK? Somebody marry her for God sake. She is so desperate that she has written a manual (a giant and desperate ad, saying she is available, in a "hard-to-get-way" of course! A manual to teach us how to "practice" not "coming accross" as phoney, how to "appear" to be sincere. I tell you my dear "brothers," she is easy. All she cares about is the size of your... wallets...not your hearts. So, hurry, make her manual your bible and learn not to come accross as phoney, but above all, marry Azam Khanoom ASAP--PLEASE! Narmo Ahesteh To top * Factory line of Iranian men Lady, [Make it your bible, bubba] You are asking this man to be original yet you have very specifically laid down every action and even what he has to say! Contradiction? Reminds me of the cloned little boys of Spielberg's film AI. Someone must set up a factory line of Iranian men who behave like the way you have described. Maybe then you middle-aged Iranian baby boomer women (phew! long word that!) can buy yourself two Iranian men each. We all get it now that you are really beautiful and cultured and educated. Can you please stop mentioning that fact now and again? We get it! Congratulations. Now, can we move on? Shabana To top * When you are that much in love with yourself When I read Azam Nemati's Bible of do's and don'ts for Iranian men who want to woo Iranian women [Make it your bible, bubba], I went through five stages: 1) Disbelief 2) Hilarity 3) Disgust 4) Sadness and finally 5) Pity. My god! She has constructed in her mind the "Ideal Man", whose every action and utterance is scripted from what seems to be a Barbara Cartland bodice-ripper. Where is the room for spontaneity? For novelty? For individuality? Without it, how can there be really any romance and love? Why is that so many women engage in the futile exercise of making up such shallow, narrow-minded lists? It is marginally excusable for teeny-boppers to adhere to such immature ideas about human nature... Unfortunately, I have witnessed more than my share of grown women who each have accumulated their meticulous lists of do's and don'ts throughout the years. (The list seems to get larger and weirder as years go by). Requirements may have started simply as "nice blue eyes" and "a nice car" when the woman was just a teen. Then they go through that college phase of faux intellectual chic where the ideal man must "read kafka in the original german" or "he must demonstrate his support for third world debt relief." After a while, the list gets freakishly more specific. The TV show Seinfeld was a good illustration of the wackiness of adult singles, breaking up with their suitors for reasons ranging from the fact that they "ate their Snickers Bar with a fork? or had an outdated haircut etc. The problem with constructing a phantom man out of thin air is that you will go through your whole life in love with an imaginary creation, rather than giving the chance to someone to reveal themselves to you. When you fall in love, it should be unconditional. Accept qualities and flaws alike. After all, none of us are perfect individuals. It would be refreshing to hold up the mirror to ourselves from time to time, and ask ourselves whether this phantom metaphysical Prince Charming we are forever waiting for, will even take a second glance at us even if he does materialize! Chances are that he won't though, because people who make up lists do not realize they are not just demanding someone who shares their interests and caters to their likes. They want someone who is their own exact replica (emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, etc) and who will never dare express a different opinion or introduce them to another point of view. Essentially, they are simply in love with themselves in a male version! And when you are that much in love with yourself, there is hardly any room to love another human being. Niki Tehranchi To top * Alamoot?! I am totally puzzled by the Alamoot photo essay: despite all the research and info provided, none of the photographs featured are of the famous fortress of Alamut near the village of Gazorkhan, the "seat" of Hassan Sabbah and his sons for nearly seventy years... Although there are remains of many fortresses in the area used by Hassan Sabbah and his successors, it is accepted by researchers, historians, archaeologists and academicians that his "center of command" was the fortress at Gazorkhan. See pix (1) (2) by Jafar Nasiri. Perhaps some info can be added to the story as to where these photos were taken. Also after so many references to eagles, eagels nests, rocks, etc... why have a picture of a crow perching on the ruins of a fortress that is clearly not situated on a rock? Kaveh Golestan Tehran REPLY: I was given these photos and told they show Alamoot fort. I checked again and indeed I made a big mistake. The photo essay is of Takht-e Soleyman. -- Jahanshah Javid To top * So what? Dear Mr. Kadivar, [King Louis helped you] King Louis XVI helped the United States during the US Revoltion because they were opposed to the English which was also a monarchy. Lets face it the French even opposed their Monarch when they too also had a revolution and got rid of their king. Yes the American Revoltion was about independence but it was also about getting rid of a welfare recipient King who taxed the Americans and gave nothing in return. Mr. Kadivar how can Cyrus the Great be called "having democratic roots"? Who voted for Cyrus? And how many servants are seen bowing to Jamshid Shah at Persepolis (Takhte-Jamshid) outside of Shiraz? And the Constitutional Revolution of 1906 in Iran made the Shah a constitutional monarch. This did not help Iran because neither the future Qajar kings,Reza Khan nor Mohammed Reza Pahlavi upheld the Constitution of 1906. Face it what is a constitutional Monarch? A king who gets paid for doing nothing, a welfare recipient. The gum and band aid sellers on Tehran streets deserve more. And as for the Russian and British influence in Iran that is old news. Gengis Khan also sacked Baghdad. So what? Jacob Cohen To top * Persians civilized the Mongols Mr. Frank Wong, In respond to your article "Off the horse" trying to portray the Mongols as a kind, gentle and cultured people is not only an insult to the Mongols themselves but also fabrication of truth in history. I think if we could talk to Hulagu Khan today, he would rather be known as a savage conqueror that something that he was not. Why are you trying to paint him and other rulers of Mongols as gentle benefactors of arts and cultures? The Persians took time to civilize the Mongols. Like someone reading a history text you drop some names to the left and right about the Mongols who traveled to Persian Empire and making it sound as if they were of a superior culture or heritage! You are talking about how Chang Te was sent on a mission to Iran in 1259 and traveled to Tabriz in Iran! BIG DEAL! Do you know why he traveled to Tabriz? Because Tabriz by 1259 AD had already close to 8000 years of civilization. He went to Tabriz to become cultured and educated and to go back to China and narrate what he learned. Anyone who knows slightly about the Persian contributions to the human civilization will agree that the influence of Mongol art and culture in Persian heritage has never and will never be considered as an addition or an ornament to Iranian heritage , and you are talking about 1275 A.D.? To an Iranian that is only yesterday, let's talk about 7000 years and 9000 years ago. I quote your next to the last paragraph: "Hulagu Khan's main achievement lie in the realm of being able to bridge East and West with an opportunity and resources few had. However, his vestiges of Chinese culture introduced into Iran and Middle East was never able to reconcile with a completely different frame of reference of his subjects. It turned the tide when his grandsons decided to fully embrace Islam and make the Ilkhan empire into a Muslim one." Wrong! The bridge between East and West was established by Persians. They practically ruled the East and West and you are talking about Hulagu to be the man who bridged the gap? A cheap comparison would be if for example we let Bush take credit for civilizing Iraqis after invading helpless people of that country who offered the World its civilization. You see how history gets fabricated? Mongols succeeded to conquer Persians, a gentle, cultured and virtuous civilization. Upon their conquest, they burned, raped and killed not only humans but in Neishabour they killed all dogs and cats as well! Did you hear about that in your research? By staying among Persians subsequently they ruined everything Persian and forced the Chinese art and techniques upon them. While Persians were trying to fight two parasites of their heritage in two fronts -the Arabs and Mongols, the Mongols decided to kiss the Arab's feet and they converted to Islam! So here we are two invaders in Iran trying to reconcile with each other to further ruin the Persian culture. Both the exposure of Iran to Arab culture are as deploring as what they went through with Mongols invasion. In this case there has never been a lesser of two evils. The result of it is what Iran is going through even today. The regression to dark ages, due to loss of its own culture and values and exposure to inferior sub-cultures. So, here we had a beautiful civilization of Persians being invaded by two primitive cultures of Mongols and Arabs, one imposing its architecture and the other it's religion, and yes I agree with you the Mongols embraced Islam, but that does not mean a damn thing to an Iranian and a Persian. While the Mongols converted to Islam, the Persians were trying to free themselves from both and the rest is history and the struggle continues. I do respect Chinese culture and heritage, but never as a Persian do I agree that we became better by being exposed to Mongols culture. In our history we consider that as infestation of our culture. A deterioration of a glory of a fantastic civilization in the hands of savage nomads. When the Mongols arrived we had 8000 years of civilization. Read about Garden of Eden in Tabriz, Iran 9000 years ago. We offered the World many firsts but the Hellenic and Romans always took the credit for them. Now, the last thing we want to hear is that Mongols offered us something novel! Hulagu may have learned poetry and how to paint when he was a boy, but he ruined a civilization as a man. Please don't try to re-write the history, it is already adulterated sufficiently. Farrokh A. Ashtiani To top * Why do Muslims hate the Jews? Dear Editor, I have been trying to find answers on why do Muslims hate the Jews. I was not satisfied with my research. If I kill all the Jews one day, will the Muslims be in a peaceful condition and there will be no hatred to anyone anymore? If all the peoples of the world will become Muslims, will there be peace on earth? What is the purpose of Islam in the world? I will be most happy if anyone out there could share their thoughts without hatred. Marlon To top * I recommend massive distribution I red your article at Iranian.com this morning "Make it your bible, bubba". I would like to thank you for doing it, and would recommend massive distribution of your article among Iranian community and media (magazines, web site, TV, and ...). By the way, like you, I am also from Abadan. Aurash To top * Typical "torshideh" Reading the story "Make it your bible, bubba", just reminded me of what the perceptions of a typical Iranian "torshideh" are. In her tasteless story, using phrases such as, "Bimbo", "pimp", "big, fat, White-trash flame", virginal gold digger in search of a Green Card" and "our mothers serving our fathers by being a house keeper, baby factory or personal maids", just explains where she is coming from and how bitter and desperate she really is about life and relationships. May this "torshideh" find peace of mind and the "right divorcee". God bless her! Ebi To top * No man could go by your rules Dear Ms. Nemati, You talked about your DOs and DON'Ts for your date [Make it your bible, bubba]. However, I would like to ask you to kindly change all of the "us" words to "I", beacause these are not what every Iranian single woman expects from a date to be. Actually your conditions seem too difficult and complicated that I wouldn't be surprised if no man at all could ever fulfill them. They can only make the poor guys confused and scared to death. You are asking them to play roles that are not their real selves and I don't think it will do any good to either of you. As for me, I can say it all just in one sentence, I would say: Please just be yourselves and I will just be myself too. We both will be very lucky if we like each other the way we are and if we don't, then maa raa be kheir o shomaa raa be salaamat. It is that simple. Sima To top * Photos of atrocities I am looking for photos of the atrocities committed by the Iranian government. Torture, executions, lashing, stonning etc. Shapour To top * He has courage to stand up Dear journalists: I am writing to you for help and assisstance. The Iranian judicial court has sentenced a public hero and a journalist like yourself to death [One of us]. Mr Hashem Aghajari's crime, was to speak out against the crimes and atrocitiies committed by the Islamic government of Iran. I beg you as journalist to help publicize this event and pressure the government of Iran in order to put an end to this horrific event. I can not do anything else just by writing letters to others and ask for their help. I have followed this case from the start. Hashem Aghajari is a man of integrity and honesty. He fought against Iraq (1980-1988) and lost one of his leg during that war. He then for the past few years has fought for the rights of all Iranians. He has courage to stand up to the tyrant rulers in Iran. Amir Sarvi To top * Instead, normalize the spelling system Though I respect the opinion of those who suggest that Farsi be transliterated into the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) or another Western script [Eurofarsi], I disagree wholeheartedly with the proposal. [Eenjoori beneveeseem?] I am an Arab-American, and as such I am not fluent in Farsi, nor do I have an insider's view of Iranian culture. However, I am a linguist, and I am fluent in Russian, Spanish, French, and Arabic aside from my mother tongue of English. As anyone who has seen the IPA can attest to, it is tremendously ugly, so ugly in fact that I would call it monstrous. No one in their right mind would want to willingly trade out the beautiful and elegant Arabic script used today to right Farsi for the clunky, asymmetrical IPA. I agree, however, that Farsi's adoption of the Arabic alphabet is far from agreeable in the spelling aspect: as was mentioned before, Arabic has a unique set of emphasized consonants that Farsi lacks. An Arabic speaker can understand why there are a letter each for the sounds z and z, because in Arabic they are distinctly seperate. However, to an Iranian who does not know Arabic this seems absurd: in Farsi they make the same sound, so why are they not the same letter? This means that Farsi requires native speakers to memorize the spelling of words just like English does: should I use dal here, or should I use dad? This is a problem that needs remedy, but I do not think that abolishing the Arabic script for a Western one such as the IPA is at all desirable. It would be turning your backs on the rich culture and heritage of Iran and attempting to fall in lockstep with the west. Does Germany want to abolish the Latin alphabet because the Romans conquered and pillaged their nation in times long past? Of course not, and neither should Iran wish to abolish the Arabic script. Instead, I would propose a normalization of the spelling system: just as French loanwords lose their accents in English (mêlée becomes melee), so should Arabic loanwords be changed when spelled in Farsi. Eliminate the emphasized consonants that are not normally present in Farsi and replace them with the normal versions, thus making the spelling system much more accessable and easy to understand. Circulicious One To top * I believe in a just universe As far as I am concerned people like Aghajari, Abdi, Nouri, and others, who were once part of the IRI establishment, deserve what they are experiencing today in the hands of their old comrades [One of us]. I believe in a just universe. You ultimately receive back what you give. What these people are receiving are the fruits of their own shameful acts. Still, I am a democtrat and a liberal and do appreciate your plea for defending these folks. But I do not think we should waste our time defending people like this person Aghajari before him and his buddies have been put on trial for their crimes against Iran and Iranians. Baa sepaas, J. Omidvar To top * No one has the higher moral ground In response to Darius Kadivar's letter "Monarchists are democrats too": I quote, 1. "If you have pity for Mr. Aghajaris predicament, I hope you share the same for Mr. Siamak Pourzand a 70 year old movie critic....who also happens to be a monarchist" I have a great deal of respect and sympathy for Siamak Pourzand and his wife Mehrangiz Kar...But I would not go as far as calling him a "monarchist"... He's been accused by the IRI of being a monarchist. 2. "The young generation you belong too has to realize that things are not as Black and White when it comes to politics" That was exactly my point in "One of us". .No one here has the higher moral ground to blame Dr. Aghajari and his comrades for the ills of Iran "I wish before jumping on monarchists and giving us lessons on Democracy that you people would spend some time listening to Reza Pahlavi's speeches and interviews" Actions speak louder than words... I would love to see Mr. Pahlavi condemn his father's undemocratic actions that are well-documented "I hope that our generation and yours will be able to see a Free, Secular and Democratic Iran where the likes of Siamak Pourzand and Hashem Aghajari will be able to have their say." I certainly hope so too! Mani Farhoomand To top * Sincere Iran-lover I am a long time reader of your site. Recently I came across and got acquainted with one of your feature contributors Ms Nemati. At first her comments on Khonsari caught my eyes and since there was a mistake in the name I thought some young lady is making a comment about something she does'n't know anything about which existed long before her age. Later I found out that although very young, she is well versed and really loves our Iranian culture. She sincerely put in a lot of time and effort in trying to find and compile such beautiful works of our great musicians, introducing them to our younger Iranian generation in the hope that they in turn do not forgret their rich culture. I congratulate you for having such a sincere Iran-lover among your team, and a note to Ms. Nazemi: keep up the good work. DAST MARIZAD. F Rafat To top * Monarchists are democrats too Mrs. Farhoomand, I quote from your artilcle "One of us" on Mr. Aghajari's predicament: "It has become fashionable for some members of the exiled Iranian community, particularly Monarchists and radical Leftists, to simply dismiss the validity and honesty of any indigenous political movement in Iran with former ties with the IRI. It's hypocritically ironic that we, the dominant secular majority of Iranians outside Iran, tend to simply forget the fact that many of us or our parents (as is the case with me and my generation who were born after the revolution) were at one or another time, supporters of the revolution." It does seem indeed that you were born after the revolution and therefore may not have the same bitterness towards the ex-radicals of the Islamic regime turned into democrats. I would nevertheless like to first and foremost say that despite being a young monarchist who was old enough to witness the Islamic Revolution, I do have sympathy and respect for anyone who fights for his beliefs even if they differ from mine as far as he supports Democracy for my country. What you unjustly seem to accuse some Monarchists, not to say Reza Pahlavi (whom you stereotyped in a cartoon, which is your right) of is I believe untrue. The majority of those who left iran willingly or were forced out by the horrible situation in the country in the aftermath of the revolution were either absolutely against the revolution or very quickly realized the blunder they commited in supporting a bloodthirsty mullah. The Iranian Diaspora for the great majority belonged to an educated elite, not always rich but wealthy and educated enough to leave the country with hopes for a better future elsewhere. Those who were less lucky stayed in the country and had to live up with the wrath of revolutionary zealots and an 8 year war with Irak, not to say all the restrctions imposed on them virtually overnight by an inquisitory regime. If you have pity for Mr. Aghajari's predicament, I hope you share the same for Mr. Siamak Pourzand a 70 year old movie critic, who spent an entire life in promoting Iranian Cinema and respected for his views as a critic in the prestigious French Magazine "Cahier du Cinema" by filmmakers ranging from François Truffaut to Jean luc Godard but who also happens to be a monarchist. The young generation you belong too has to realize that things are not as Black and White when it comes to politics. Any person has the right to change his or her political convictions with time and the maturity of years without necessarily rejecting their ideals. This is something many ex-revolutionaries don't seem to want to grant to monarchists and easily even want to categorize them in the same pot as the Mujahedin Khalg. Once and for all, Monarchists are Iranians and in favor of a Secular and Democratic State for Iran. This is as much true for Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi who repeatadly has accused the current regime for imprisoning political activists of all convictions and continuously insists on alerting public and political awareness on the Human Rights situation in Iran. I wish before jumping on monarchists and giving us lessons on Democracy that you people would spend some time listening to Reza Pahlavi's speaches and interviews and you would realize that we do share a common goal which is Democracy and Human Rights. I give you the credit of having your own opinion and political preferences, but do understand that the revolution created scars that are not always easy to heal. I hope that our generation and yours will be able to see a Free, Secular and Democratic Iran where the likes of Siamak Pourzand and Hashem Aghajari will be able to have their say. Darius Kadivar To top * Friends in Tehran, Isfahan I am looking for old friends from Tehran, Iran. Kourush Alimoradpur, Cavus (Tolid Daru), Bijan Shakouzadeh. All of these people were my old friends in one area in Tehran, called Tolid Darou. This was around 1975-1985. I am also looking for some friends from 1980 in Isfahan in from Samadsolehe High School . Their names are Reza Momeni, Ali Ahmadi, Farshad Mehdi Gholipour. Please respond to reza_lop@hotmail.com To top * Write something exciting Dear Nazanin, [Nazanin's great leap] What is going on?! Your stories are not as juicy and sad or happy as your previous ones! I am dissapointed. I used to look forward to read your stuff, now all I read is the same "everything is fine and dandy" repitition, come up with few fights between you and Ali, fly your mom to CA, hock-up with your X and etc. You know what I mean, write something exciting :) Yana PS: if you guys happen to be in my neck of the woods write to me I'll take you around (Las Vegas) where everyone (even the rich ones) are alchoholic, gambler, looser, AND I LOVE IT :))) To top * Deserves more respect My response to M.H. Farzin's letter "NOT one of us" to my piece "One of us": I respect Mr. Farzin' pont of view... but let's remember that throwing baseless accusations (murder?!) at people without any solid evidence, is what Hossein Shariatmadari does. Aghajari, a university professor, is an innocent man who has explicitly condemned his own past actions on several occasions he has further welcomed the idea of liberal democracy. And most important of all, he's a disabled war veteran who has fought for his country and quit frankly deserves a bit more respect. Mani Farhoomand To top * Duty to defend Aghajari Dear Mani, [One of us] I personally believe Iran is currently undergoing a phase of rational changes in understanding democracy and democratic process. These changes are not simply imported western ideas, but original thoughts and debates generated inside Iran, mainly by those who have assisted the rise of fundamentalism in late 1970's. The current movement have first hand experience of Islamic theocracy and life under Islam Republic. Today in Iran meaning and validity of some of the fundamental principal of religion in general and Shiia in particular are openly questioned by Iranian thinker living inside Iran. Resurrection of this new generation of thinkers such as Kanji, Aghajari, Hajarian, Nouri... etc is an inspiring fact of a new area, an area which is totally different from the period of naive, primitive and confused antiwestern feelings (Gharb zadeghi) by thinkers such as Jalal Al Ahmad! I concur with you that it is the duty of all Iranian thinkers, intellectuals or those Iranian who, use Iranian language and culture as an instrument of communication with this world to firmly support not only Aghajari but the changing environment in Iran. Iranians, who are exposed to the democracy and have experience of living under rule of democratic laws must help our thinkers, writers, artists, intellectuals to promote Iranian people's knowledge of phenomenal world and support those who are straggling for freedom and democracy in Iran. Iradj Yassini To top * Give it to the cowboy Very nice article, especially after reading so much garbage by hypocritical Iranian monarchists on what Bush has said about Iran [The unelected few]. Everyone knows the hypocrisy and self serving US foreign policy on Iran. But only a few like you have the courage to write about it. I especially loved your analogy of the "unelected few" as it pertained to Bush himself. Or all the "unelected few"s in all the other Middle Eastern countries. Now if only someone could publish your article in The New York Times, or Washington Post, or better yet, give it to the cowboy in the White House to read!!!! Any way, it was a wonderful article and I really enjoyed reading it. Keep up the good work. Nahid Shafiei To top * That's not what you meant i want to comment on mirfendereski's writing style [The unelected few]. i don't know where you learned how to write-perhaps you're a lawyer-but the essence of good writing is not a convolusion, comlexity, and verbage. good writing is conveying an idea in a simple yet clear style, getting an idea across without shrouding it in redundant verbage. that's effective writing. but it doesn't look like you're even remotely capable of that. case in point: "I squint into the not-so distant past, with a memory compromised by age and indifference, to visualize the time and place when President Bush's lips turned the phrase "axis of evil" into an amusing contemporary refrain." 'i squint'?? squinting implies deviation of the eye movements. i don't think that's what you meant, or at any rate this is completely the wrong context in which to use that word. you could have simply said: "i remember when president bush turned the phrase 'axis of evil' into a common catchphrase". simple, to the point, and without all the other nonsense. i'd go on and dissect the rest of the crap in your article, but that would take too long, you see. and i don't have that kind of time. in the words of my humanities prof at the Univ of Chicago, keep it simple stupid. NN To top * Please move on! Banafsheh khanoom, [Outside the tunnel] I'm sure you put a lot of thought and effort into this story, but why write about something that is so old and repetitive? Almost every single Iranian has left Iran with the same story, and I'm sure there are a lot more interesting stories out there. Was it Betty Mahmoody and her escape from Iran that inspired you to write this story, or was it that you have decided after all these years of being away from Iran that you need to get back to your roots, and the only thing that you remembered from Iran with this sob story? We're talking 20 years ago!!! One of the problems with us Iranians is that we like to talk about the past, how it affected our lives, how BADBAKHT we are, and how much pain and suffering weve gone through... PLEEEEEEEASE!!! move on!!! Use your initiative to write something inspiring or at least something interesting that?s worth reading!!! Dokhtareh Irani PS: We also need to learn to take criticism, so don't get too upset about my comments! To top * If you don't want to be expelled You want to tell readers that there is YET a new "law" (notice the quotes) from INS requiring all Iranian male nationals over 16, who are presently in the U.S. on nonimmigrant visa and planning to stay here at least until December 16, 2002, to present themselves to their local INS office (no appointment required) between November 15 and December 16 to register their presence. This requirement does not apply to asylees, lawful permanent residents, just nonimmigrants (most likely B1B2 visitors, F1 students, H1 temporary workers). They'll be fingerprinted, photographed and have to bring proof of lawful status. I would suggest bringing as many documents as possible. Students should bring documents from school. H1 holders should bring stuff from work. Niki Tehranchi To top * Equal pleasure Mr. Jason Allen, [The spirit lives] I really enjoyed your photos. I showed them to a bunch of my co-workers who don't know anything about Iran, and they took equal pleasure in viewing them. Could you share the rest of your pictures from your travels in other countries as well? S.B. REPLY: See more here To top * NOT one of us I disagree with call for support of Aghajari. [One of us] Even if one agrees with Aghajari's particular point that has caused his death sentence (allegedly he had said people do not have to follow mullahs blindly,) all reasonable people would disagree with call for support of Aghajari in general. Aghajari, if I understand it correctly, is (actually, I believe was) part and parcel of the mullahs power structure in Iran, the same way that traitor Bazarghan & Co. helped mullahs to get and stay in power (he was later apologetic also, but he was never-the-less responsible for most of the murders committed during his reign.) Now that he is in jail and waiting to be destroyed by his former "friends" over a drummed up charge (very much similar to the charges that he and his comrades were drumming up against others over the past two decades,) his lawyer claims that he is a "democrat" in order to gain world wide sympathy for this despicable individual. I suggest Aghajari's past behavior is a much better indicator as to what he really was, and most probably still is today: part of a large gang of murderers who only know to kill and lie and cheat, but hide behind the religious mask that they and their comrades have designed, and cover their track under disguises like "democrat." He may have started his recent death-bed conversion to democracy in order to further fool the rest of us and gain his release from death sentence. He is democrat until he gets a chance to murder again. Before supporting this despicable individual, one must ask himself: Did Aghajari, and his comrades who collectively have destroyed Iran over the past two decades (so that they could fill their pockets over the past 23 years) even knew the meaning of democracy and justice when they (and their comrades) were busy killing all the educated, young, and ruling class men and women in Iran, or Aghajari learned that trait during the past two months in jail when the same justice was being applied to himself? If the answer is no, then people do not have any responsibility to interfere with these murderers killing each other. M.H. Farzin To top
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