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| September 30, 2002 See this month's letters by subject * No tears here With all due respect for Kiarostami, the gentleman didn't showed up in the consulate by himself [No entry for Kiarostami]. As such, the interview was not conducted and the visa could not be granted. The End. We should learn to respect other countries laws and regulation. I think Kiarostami expected to receive invitation from President Bush himself. As far as Mr. Lang goes, I wished he was a bit concerned for the killing, stoning, prostituting, and drugging of Iranian people by mullah's regime, than visa for a famous director showing up in a festival. Just few days ago, France signed a huge agreement with the murderous regime of Imamis for a power plant, and IRI has a strong present in Paris and elsewhere, and open hands for terrorizing opposition to its regime. Did Mr. Lang ever considered the faith of Iranians over money. If not some body tell him please shut up with the entire French government thugs. Where are/were Mr. Lang or for that matter Mr. Kiarostami on these more important humanistic matters. While Iranian people are suffering, some director showing up in a festival and even winning an award only contribute to legitimization of the most backward regime in the history of the Iranian people. I would like all countries in the world follow the US strategies in dealing with terrorists, and fanatics regime. Then You can see less Moosho-Gorbeh Baazi by the Mullacracy. You cannot be mullah and make film too. You just cannot. Why? Because you have no respect for humans, so humans have no respect for you. Simple... Kourosh Ferisian To top * I hope tolerance for all religions will accelerate Your socially conscious and fair-minded articles about the treatment of Bahais in Iran was very uplifting for me [Heechee kam nadaaran, Medieval ignorance]. It takes a concerted effort to bring about a change of attitude in any society, especially that of Iran. Being a young Iranian Bahai myself (I'm 20), I hope that tolerance for all religions will be accelerated in Iran and other places in the world where people are oppressed because of their beliefs. When this tolerance is realized, I will be able to visit my motherland for the first time, without any fears or extraordinary restrictions. Thank you for being an instrument for the quickening of that process. The founder of the Bahai Faith (i.e., Bahai religion), Bahaullah, has said in many contexts, but this time from the Arabic Hidden Words, the following: "O SON OF MAN! If adversity befall thee not in My path, how canst thou walk in the ways of them that are content with My pleasure? If trials afflict thee not in thy longing to meet Me, how wilt thou attain the light in thy love for My beauty?" This is essentially why as Bahais, we see hardship and difficulty as a blessing, though not necessarily desirable or sought after. In this regard, Bahaullah's son, Abdul-Baha said, "Men who suffer not, attain no perfection. The plant most pruned by the gardeners is that one which, when the summer comes, will have the most beautiful blossoms and the most abundant fruit. The labourer cuts up the earth with his plough, and from that earth comes the rich and plentiful harvest. The more a man is chastened, the greater is the harvest of spiritual virtues shown forth by him. A soldier is no good General until he has been in the front of the fiercest battle and has received the deepest wounds." For a greater understanding of this theme, see the book "Crisis and Victory" online. Sincerely, Mavaddat Javid To top * Malcom X: Constantly evolving I wish you had read the narrative [Constant or consistent?] a bit more carefully. Nowhere, in that narrative did the author claim that Malcolm Little had "discovered 'true' Islam in prison" as you paraphrase it. Here is how the narrative reads: "Then he had been drawn into a life of crime, ending up in prison, where he used the library to educate himself, having been indoctrinated into the reactionary and racist anti-White Black Muslims movement. Yet, eventually, through self-education, he found the false basis of that movement, and courageously left the grips and bondage of that Mafia-like organization, despite serious threats to his life and that of his family. He discovered true Islam and yet went further, having gotten attracted to the ideals of Socialism. But after a trip to Socialist Europe, he returned with dismay with great disappointment, as he did not also find the Truth he was searching for in the myth of Socialism. There was a far and wide ocean between the ideals of Socialism and what the proponents of it practiced. I know of no other man who has gone through so much change and growth in the short time of 30 years as Malcolm had. The greatness of Malcolm X and the shortcomings of John F. Kennedy were both eclipsed by their early death at the hands of assassins. " The Islam to which Malcolm Little had been introduced while in prison was a adulterated version of Islam which preached that all Whites are children of devil, etc. For a more details and accurate portrayal, I'd like to refer you to The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley, or if you do not enjoy reading, the 1992 movie "X" by Spike Lee is not a poor portrayal either. Actually, Malcolm found what real Islam is long after he had left the prison and had left the Black Muslims movement. Here, I believe the intent was to present a man constantly evolving and searching in comparison to a life intellectual and spiritual stagnation. On a side note, while in 1979, Black American leaders, such as Carter Administration's U.S. Representative to U.N., Andrew Young, called Khomeini "a saint," others like Khadijeh Shabbaz, Malcom X's widow, expressed doubt and misgivings regarding Khomeini's character and his claims to the leadership of the Muslim community. When in 1982, the Islamic Republic of Iran's Post and Telegraph Ministry printed a special stamp in honor of Malcolm X, Khadijeh Shabbaz wrote several letters to the Iranian government, citing the regime's violations of human rights and failures in fulfilling the hopes and expectations of the Revolution for which the Iranian masses had paid with their blood and body. Furthermore, she criticized the leadership of Islamic Republic for turning Islam to a tool for seizing power. In a series of other private letters, she criticized IRI's leaders for pursuing an anti-Islamic war policy in the sense that Iraq had repeatedly offered proposals for a ceasefire after having lost much of the Iranian territory it had captured in the first few months of its aggression. She also criticized the leadership of IRI for drafting young boys to the war while their sons and grandsons, and themselves were exempt from fighting at the front. According to her, in Islamic tradition, the leaders of the community fight at the forefront of their defending army and that Islam allows justification of war only if the Muslim community is physically invaded and its survival thus threatened. Islam, according to her, does not permit belligerent aggression of any kind for any justification. Finally, when in 1984, she threatened to go public with her criticism of IRI using her late husband's reputation for its political gains, the IRI stopped printing its "Malik Shabbaz" stamp. Kaveh Ahangar To top * zoghzadeh ba salam va doorode faravan bar hameh shoma azizany ke zahmatkeshydid va in sit ra barayeh ma hamvatananeton dorost kardid. man ke vaghan ba didane in site chenan zoghzadeh va shad shodam ke zabanam ghaser az tashkor hast . man hamsaram yk ensane CANADIAN hast ke be din eslam vared shod va khily bedonbale sitey migasht ke betoneh az tarykh va zaban ma iranian ke khod haal nyz irani hast bedanad. vaghty ke man ba site shoma ashna shodam be hamsaram goftam hala mitavany az tarykh va farhang va zabane ma ashna beshy. vaghean zahmate zyady keshydehyed va omidvaram ke khodavand be shoma va hameh kasany ke baraye en sit zahmat keshydand lotf va karamesh ra behetoon aata konad va agar az daste man kary bar my aayad lotf konyd va ba hamin emaill ba man tamas begyryd va motman bashyd ke kotahy nakhaham kard. Ba taghdyme Ehteramate faravan baraye shoma azizane hamvatan IRANAN.COM Masee& Eric Tadayon Anderson To top * More people die in Africa from acts of war Concerned citizens took their cheque books out faster than the twin towers fell on Sept. 11/2001, raising more than US$2.4 billion to assist families touched by this terrorist-driven tragedy. President George W. Bush called these attacks an, "act of war." A greater tragedy, though, is that many more people die each year in Africa from acts of war and receive no compensation at all. Is an American life worth a million times more than that of an African? Individuals who are able to give don't, believing their small contribution will do little. It only takes a little, however, by many, to do a lot. Universal primary education is a good start. Estimates place the cost at around US$8 billion a year. This represents about four days worth of global military spending, or half the amount American parents spend on toys each year. It is refreshing, then, to hear about Canadians like Riaz Abdullah and his school, the Canadian College of Business and Computers (CCBC). Riaz has been providing scholarships to third-world students so they can study IT in Canada. Now, the CCBC is leading an initiative to provide online education to as many as 92 million African students at no cost to them. Governments and business should be supporting efforts like this and perhaps we'll never experience another 9-11 again. Sean Mason 80 St. Patrick Street Toronto, Canada To top * Translate, please Could you please translate this poem into Persian? I need it for my class. I will give your credit. I'm so confused and lost, I don't know what to do. For I've just realized tonight, You don't love me the way I love you. But how could I expect you, Someone who's already taken. To continue with this game, This "love" that we are faking. I think I always knew, though, That this wouldn't last forever. But I always had dreams of us, Of us being together. And there was a time, A moment when those dreams did come true. And that moment was when, You had me and I had you. But now times have changed, And you're no longer mine. My life is in shambles, And, no, I'm not fine. You're so close to my touch, Yet so far from my reach. There's a barrier between us, That I just can't seem to breach. In your heart I wish I was, In your dreams I wish I lived. I let you go once in my life, And still I can't believe I did. So this is the price I pay, for my very thoughtless deed. A lifetime of unhappiness, no love, and so much need. And now I wanna apologize, for the many times I broke your heart. For tonight I finally realized, it's from you I don't want to part. El Temporary Name O To top * Truly painful Fariba Amini's article on Soudabeh Ardavan's prison drawings is truly painful [Life inside]. The drawings express this pain as in a way real pictures could probably not illustrate. Despite all the horrible things we have heard over the years we have the tendancy of becoming immune to human misery. To think of all these lives destroyed in the name of politics or religion is shattering. Mrs. Ardavan's testimony and drawings deserve attention and It should remind anyone that Human rights are far from being respected in the dungeons of our country, past or present. Darius Kadivar To top * Sher-o-ver not French I disagree with the explanation given for the previous quiz on sher-o-ver. If that French explanation is correct, then what is the French root of verag (one who speaks too much). In Kurdish, "ver" is a person who is not completely balanced (Farsi: "gheg" or "sarghashteh" / "heiran"). Jalal Hosseini To top * We are the prisoner & the tyrant The prison drawings of Soudabeh Ardavan capture devastatingly powerful elements [Life inside]; they are the historical attestment of continuous cruelty and inhumanity in Iranian prisons. Her drawings have truely saddened me and simultaneously opened the doors to a new understanding of our travesty as a nation. We are the Tavvaab, the prisoner, the ward, the interrogator, and the tyrant, wearing the shifting masks of the oppressor and the oppressed. Where does it end?... Leila Farjami To top * Studying in Iran through scholorship I am from Pakistan. I wish to conduct my PhD in sociology in Iran through scholorship. Please give info. Sehrish Ali To top * And maybe...? Hello and thank you for all the mail you have been sending me. I would like to have an Iranian national soccer tean jersey. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of money to donate to get this, so please let me know and maybe...? Chettory To top * That, they respect Mr. self-proclaimed international lawyer, [The company you keep] Since you asked for it here is your answer by the one you call: "an anonymous coward with a funky screen name, obviously a pathetic sort given more to braying than intelligent and civil discourse". First: Unlike you the courageous fighter for the prolongation of the Islamic Republic, I fight a regime who kills his oponents even on foreign soil. You only have to look at your father's former boss that the Islamic Republic decapitated in France. I therefore do not disclose my name to your kind . I am not suicidal. Second: I do not have a problem with your personal finances. Do not confuse the readers. I have a problem with your whole value system, the very essence of your being which in my book is "Tcharpayi bar ou ketabi chand". I have a problem with the fact that you intentionally confuse the Islamic regime with a secular republic. I have a problem with the fact that one "bache nane" who all his life was provided for by money belonging to Iranians, who leisurley tends his garden in Massachussets, whose favorite restaurant is some snail joint in Paris tells Iranians that they should give the Mollas a chance because they distribute the loot amongst themselves efficiently. I have a problem with you because "the company that I keep" are my compatriots who on the average make $75/month, have no public health, cannot afford to buy their children schoolbooks and have no hope whatsoever of ever having a life worthy of a human being as long as the Mollas are here. The favorite restaurant of the "company that I am blessed with" is the Sangaki next door. Their favorite vacation spot is not Paris but affording a taxi ride from the slums of Tehran to Shemroun. They support and love Reza Pahlavi because he is the one courageous voice of protest against those bastards who rob them every single day. They do not know Reza Pahlavi's father, mother, grandfather. They could care less. They know their own fathers who tell them under the Shah they had jobs, they afforded to eat and pay rent. And now they see his son fighting for their very basic needs. That is why they support him. True, he does not come from amongst them, he has never gone hungry in his life but nevetheless he fights the Mollas in any way that he can. That, they respect. They cannot give the Islamic Republic a chance because to them it is a question of life and death not some intellectual divergence that sprang up in their heads while leisurely observing their garden with a glass of Chianti. That is why I ridicule you and your kind. You ask for an intelligent and civil disourse? You want to give the Islamic Republic a chance? Move to Tehran and give them a chance. Start a civil discourse with the Edareh Hefazat or the Intelligence Bureau of Sepah. And last but not least: Not only the Pahlavi foundation paid for your entire education but you were a C student with slim chances of admission to the Fletcher School. You were specifically admitted because Ardeshir Zahedi wrote to the dean of admissions and recommended you as a future diplomat. Should you insist I will ask some of your classmates in Fletcher to come forward and elaborate. Now you have your orders. "Discuss" Zat Ziad, Kerman01 To top * Thank God for young talents I am very pleased to see that the very talented young writer has also decided to write poems as well [Paeez]. I loved his approach in using beautiful symbolism that makes the reader enjoy the poem and relate to the real message. Thank God for young and talented people like him otherwise, it will be really depressing that we would encounter more people telling us that "a blonde wearing Channel, red lipstick ordering sheep's balls", is a poem and we are simply not sophisticated enough to understand the brilliant and different approch! Omid, please continue to write more poems and stories. We sure can enjoy young and fresh approach that is meaningful and pleasing to the mind and eyes. Azam Nemati To top * CappuccinoMag.com My name is Nima Rasouzade one of Executive managers of an iranian and persian E-Zine called CAPPUCCINO. We are doing our best to make a fresh an likely time in our weekly magazine. But there is one main point: our readers are a special group of proffesional web-surfers! We want to make our hits to increase. Because of this, we need your help. Everyone I talked with said that in the United States your site is most powerful and is on first place! Please take a look at our magazine and write about it. We have an interview with EBRAHIM NABAVI, a story by NADER BAKTASH, a report about SPEED MADNESS (based on a bad crash in tehran), PANORAMA (about resturants in Tehran at night) and... Nima REPLY: Dear Nima, You have a wonderful site and I hope "kaaretoon hesaabee begeereh". My suggestion is that you or someone you know write an article about cappuccinomag.com (how it started, what are the challeneges, what's fun about it, how do you see the future...). And then I will publish it for my readers. This would give you good publicity. If you send an article, please make sure it is written from a personal "khodemooni" angle, not like a press statement. Baa behtareen aarezoohaa, Jahanshah To top * Mo Mahmood Ghorbani hastom Ba salaam be hameh bachehay Dabirestan Razi Abadan az salhaye 1345 ta 1352. Mo Mahmood Ghorbani hastom omidvarom chandnafarie az bacheh haee keh bashoon hamclasee boodom beyad beeyarand. Khaylee khosh hal meeshom azshoma kabaree dashteh bashom. Ghorbane hamegee, Mahmmod To top * Only one prerequisite for being Iranian Wake up people, Iran is in danger and all the pseudointellectual babble that comes so readily and cheaply from our lips is not going to make a grain of difference when bombs rain on our brothers and sisters in Iran. The argument about who is a real Iranian and who is not is a fraud. It is a wedge tactic by those who want to divide us to rule us. Yet we are stupid enough to fall for it repeatedly and never learn from our mistakes. You can not love Iran without loving Iranians. I love Azeris, I love Bahais, I love Bahai Azeris because they are all Iranian ["Heechee kam nadaaran", "Politicizing linguistics"]. It should be our collective shame that we stood by, beit freightened for our own safety, while evil persecuted our Bahai compatriots in our name. Shame on them for spilling the blood of Iranians. Shame on us for not acknowledging their suffering. And who can question the commitment of the Azeri people to this nation when in recent history they have always saved Iran in her darkest hour of need. From the Safavid Kings of Persia (from Ardebil) to Sattar Khan and Bagher Khan of the Constitutional Revolution. If our orphaned brothers to the north of Aras want to come back to the fold of the Iranian family we should welcome them with open arms. There is only one prerequisite for being Iranian and that is to love Iran and its beautiful and rich culture. The army of Ahriman can never destroy us for: Cho Iran Nabashad Tan e Man Mabad Bedin Boom o Bar Zendeh Yek Tan Mabad Agar Sar be Sar Tan be Koshtan Daheem Az An Beh ke Keshvar be Doshman Dahim Dareeghast Iran Veeran Shavad Konam e Palangan o Sheeran Shavad Meehandoost To top * A sincere apology in order It is so sad to see that even rude comments like Haajjee's published here specially that it has no meaning, point or substance ["Bebakhsheed, but..."]. Comments like Haajjee's, leaves all of us with a bad taste for wanting to participate. If there was any sense of decency, a sincere apology from Haajjee would be in order. Mehrdad To top * Internal issues I enjoyed reading Mr. Hoveyda's article "Open your eyes", albeit I got to it a bit late. It raises a very important issue, raised by others as well such as Prof. Bernard Lewis (What went wrong?, Oxford Press). The core issue of the demise of Muslim countries and civilization is not foreign intervention, but rather internal issues. After all, when you keep people under the yoke of autocratic rule, without the freedom of expression and life, how do you expect to keep advancing your civilization? I hope that this debate takes a more prominent center stage among the Iranian intellectuals, and sooner rather than later. We should perhaps also keep in mind that Islam, unlike Christianity, has a lot more social teachings which were very appropriate for 12th century, but are no longer applicable to today's needs and therefore will need to be placed on the shelf, so to speak ( punishments laws such as amputations, forbidding of interest, station of women and the central role of clergy in the day-to-day life is among some of the issues that comes to mind ). The longer we tarry, the more we will have to run to catch up. Ramin To top * Who took the "Black Friday" photo? Your collection [on the 1979 revolution] is fascinating. Do you have any idea who would know the photographers in Tehran in 1978 who might have taken the "Black Friday" photo? Ray Segal Columbia University, New York To top * New respect for Iranians I have aquired a new respect for the Iranian people after reading in detail about the Iran-Iraq War and visiting this website. It is good to view things from anothers point of view. EMH USMC Persian Gulf Veteran To top * man kheyli nokaretam salam dariush jan. nokaretam. kheyli doostet daram. man har shab ta sedaye mahet ra nashnavam khabam nemibare. dariush jan mishe be man yek email bezani? man kheyli nokaretam. emaile man hast ali9369@hotmail.com. agar baram email beferesti ta akhare omr dooset daram. dariush jan man arezoom ine ke toro az nazdik bebinam va beboosamet. To top * "Sher o ver, "chart o part" and "dari vari" On the origins of "sher o ver", Clue #1: Think what the origins of "chart or part" might be. As you know, "chart o part" has the same meaning and use as "sher o ver." Clue #2 : Think what the origins of "dari vari" might be. As you know, "dari vari" has the same meaning and use as "chart o part" and "sher o ver". Kaveh Ahangar To top * He must have felt humilated I am writing this e-mail in response to an email from Dr. Soli Shahvar titled "Born in Iran? No visa for you" posted in the Shorts section. I have divided this email in three parts. The first is directly related to the contents of Dr. Shahvar's email. The second and third are slightly unrelated but it just sparked a thought in my mind. First Part: It is amazing to see that even citizens of the country closest to the U.S. are being discriminated against solely because of their place of birth. I have now finally made a concisous decision not to visit the the U.S. and if I have to spend a few hard earned dollars, I'd rather go to elsewhere where I am not treated like a criminal. Second Part: This is a bit complicated and has to do with Dr. Shahvar's "victims of Palestinian terror" comment. It's amazing how many times a day these few words are repeated by CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS and etc. I wish for once I would hear "victims of Israeli terror" in the same report. Terror breeds terror and it is disgusting to see how innocent Israeli and Palestinian lives are lost. It is also more disgusting to not look at these atrocities in the same light. A suicide bomber is as criminal as the pilot and army chiefs who authorize dropping a 1 ton bomb in the middle or a residential complex. Third Part: It was interesting to hear about IDF's Maj-General (ret.) Shaul Mofaz entry refusal to the U.S. I am sure he must have felt humilated when told that he could not enter the U.S. and evne more humilated when and if photographed and finger printed. I also hope that he thought about the Palestinians who have to go through this humilation on a daily basis. I must also say my hats off to the Israelis and Palestinians who seek unconditional peace and prosperity based on the fact that we are humans and not members of one religion or another; one nationality or another; one color or another. Regards, Abbas Soltani To top * Bebakhsheed, but... Baa Salaam, Regarding Sylvie Roya Kadivar, Iranian of the day: Bebakhsheed, golaab berootoon... Nice ass khaalo. Haajjee Las Vegas To top * "The Ugly Americans" I am writing a screenplay called "The Ugly Americans" about my American family's true live experience living in Tehran, circa 1978, on the cusp of the revolution. It is to be told from multiple perpectives, including my parents', the out-of-country business houseguests of my dad's who could not return to the Hilton as it was under seige, and lastly our driver Hamid, who eventually defected, who worked hard to support his family and whose brother was a revolutionary. Anyone who can contribute stories, photographs, or home movies that I may be able to intergrate will be much appreciated, and will get credits, if used. Thank you. Please contact me at tkmattson@yahoo.com. Todd Mattson To top * Reasons for attacking Iraq Cartoon by "SHE" in response to Bennett's cartoon about U.S. war plans against Iraq:  To top * Will there ever be a stop to this madness? I read Fariba Amini's touching interview with our brave sister Soudabeh Ardavan who spent eight years of her precious life in Evin prison with much horror, sympathy, and heartache. [Life inside] How can a group of people commit so much cruelties and atrocities to their fellow citizens and brothers and sisters in the name of God, religion, and Islam? But then, again, from the invasion of Iran by Arabs 1300 years ago, to the invasion of Crusaders some 400 years later and up to the present, to the centuries of European Inquisition, the pages of history is replete with inhumanity of man to man, but the worst of it all is such horrendous cruelty and viciousness in the name of God and religion. Will there ever be a stop to this madness? What can and what should the civilized world do about terrorists and terrorist nations? Roger K. Doost Professor School of Accountancy Clemson University To top
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