Letters

January 2005
January 5 | January 6 |

Then ban FoxNews too

In response to Alex Feld's "Stop criticizing free world on censorship":

Dear Alex,

I wasn't talking about Arabs or their countries ["One-way propaganda"]. None of them have any kind of free speech (except Qatar and its Al-Jazeera).

My point was something else. If America and France are banning Al-Manar Satellite for the claim that it is "spreading hatred", then it should close down L.A. based satellite stations as well.

L.A. satellite stations that broadcast into Iran spread hatred against Islam, Muslims, etc. Their fight isn't only to overthrow the Islamic Republic, but to actually cause the people to hate Muslims and everything Islamic. I said neither should be banned, but their shouldn't be this double standard.

If we go by the same standard, we should ban FoxNews as well, because FoxNews spreads hatred of Arabs and Muslims constantly 24/7. It actually does a better job creating hatred of Muslims and Arabs than does Al-Manar against Jews. But one man's enemy is another man's friend. One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. The world will always have double standards.

Excessive independence

In response to Maziar Shirazi's "Fathers and daughters":

Dear Maziar,

Despite what seemed to be the jist and the essence of your comments, which is to blame the current system of parenting in effect in our country, You seem to have described a perfect example to the contrary, namely your friend who is completely well-informed on all the issues that truly are significant to her and are on her list of priorities, exhibiting a perfect sense of independence and the mind power to accomplish it all, even though she comes from such a strict home and background.

I really believe that there has been a tremendous changes taking place in our society these days and the empahsis is mostly on parents taking charge and creating all kinds of incentives to encourage such behaviors, such as their daughters sharing and talking about what goes on in their lives in an open manner.

of course, we see such similarities in many other cultures and societies but one has to keep in mind that in most cases such complacency and submission to parent's decision would not come with too much of a reluctance on part of the offspring and is quite mutual, so you can not actually refer to it as a universal predicament.

The reason we see such wild and reckless behaviors from some iranian females, is in fact the excessive independence that has been given to them (in most instances, i am not arguing for backwardedness), and how these freedoms have been taken advantgeof and interpreted in the wrong way, in spite of the equal attention and dedication that was given to them by their parents. I think that daughters are as much to blame as the parenting techniques used to raise them. This is a clear example of an equal treatment gone to waste.

Iranians never forced to convert to Islam

In response to Kathy Koupai's "Choices and changes":

If you want to write about the history of Iran, why don't you start out by being honest. You stated that Cyrus's tolerance is revered as "an ideal democracy". HOW? Democracy is when the PEOPLE chose their government and have the freedom to speak out against it, etc. Cyrus never allowed that. Cyrus was a self-appointed (or as he called it, divine appointed) leader with no form of election or freedom of expression amongst his ruled populations.

On the other hand, the Greeks had democracy and ruled through the people and from the people, and had laws that we still use today. Cyrus wrote 3 lines on a tablet and many mistake it as the pre-cursor to modern human rights. 3 lines cannot be compared to modern views of human rights (in the west at least).

Also, you claimed the Persians were "forced to convert to Islam." I would like you to sit there and try to prove that statement. Never were the Iranian people FORCED to convert to Islam. That is why it took the Iranian nation 300 years to have a substantial Muslim population.

The first 100 years of the Arab invasion their were no Muslims except amongst the Arab populations. The only time Iranians were "forced" to convert to anything was during the Sassanids where many were forced to convert to Zoroastrianism (or were killed for leaving Zoroastrianism) and again during Safavid times when they were forced to change their sect from Hanafi Sunnism to 12'er Shi'ism.

Never was any part of the Iranian population "co'erced" or "forced" to convert to Islam. They didn't even have any incentive to convert the first 200 years (for taxation was double to become muslim, than to stay your previous religion) So again, if you are trying to talk about the "history" of Iran, don't make up lies and propoganda to suit your needs. You will become as low as the people you are trying to defeat. Good luck to you.

Time to acknowledge the positive

In response to Reza Bayegan's "Immortal trinity":

I read Mr. Bayegan's article on his reflections about the importance of restoring the monarchy in the Constitutional form with interest.

In my opinion Mr. Bayegans writing contrasts with many other Iranian Royalists in that he maintains an objective look on the past. I also saw the French documentary on the Shah called "Le Shah: Un Homme a Abbattre" . The documentary had the credit of being truly objective in that it did not try to minimize any shortcomings of the Pahlavi Regime such as the Corruption or the abuses of the SAVAK >>> Full text

Dariush KADIVAR

Clever Brits

In response to Saeed's "Victimns of superstition"

Dear Saeed,

Thanks for your comments. It's very difficult to convince a nation of good-hearted people that their revolution was nothing more than a clever manipulation by the same powers that pulled the same trick on them a few decades earlier, in a different way. The reason Shah had to go was he did not want to renew the Consortium Contract with the British in 1974. All the other reasons have been given by other Iranians in a mile long articles here and there and no space to repeat them here.

We are all very busy, but if you get some free time please read some of my articles.

What I am trying to convince people is that we Iranians should not be so self-assured that "we" were the one who brought this fanatic group to rule us, we were just instruments of deception, we fed the frenzy. I think your father was very correct and so was mine, but not many wanted to listen to them >>> Full text

Farrokh Ashtiani

We don't owe them

In response to Farrokh Ashtiani's article on the "Googoosh concert" in Las Vegas "Here we are":

Hi Farrokh,

I am very sorry that you had to drive all the way to Vegas, without any luck whatsoever in enjoying your favorite performer live in action. You sounded very critical of the way some iranians go about making a profit in so many illegal ways, by promoting an artists's work through illegal means.

Although i agree with you in condemning such activities and scam artists who commit them, but when it comes to protecting the integrity of a singer or a performer, i think we have done our fair share and devoted ourselves ever so emotionally to that cause and I doubt it if anyone could make the claim that we owe these artists more than we think.

Becoming a diva and a super star should not be the ultimate goal and objective for any singer, and even when such an status has been achieved, we should not blame ourselves for not taking the responsibility to see to it that such fame comes with abundant fortune. It is so unfare to say that we actually destroy our poets and singers and maybe even actors in certain instances.

I mean come on! Would we not be appreciating them if we express our gratitude in non-financial means and simply through unveiling what we feel in our hearts? Are we supposed to create an iranian-style hollywood for music and film industry by ensuring big pay for their talent?

Googoosh and others will never feel cheated and taken advantage of, if they exactly what they are doing and the type of people they do buisness with. this is not about us, the fans not holding their end of the bargain, or some of us turn out to be scam artists. The former is the bigger picture, while the latter does not play a major part, in the buisness of appreciating art.

36 years later

Dear Azam:

My name is Francisco. I live in Portugal in spite that I am from Barcelona (Spain) and I just loved to found iranian.com with all the music is in it plus all the information. I have been a real fan of Demis Roussos since I was 16 (now I am 50) You made me fly back to old good times.

Thanks from Portugal
Francisco EspriuFrancisco Espriu Juncá

Shah's religious attenion

In response to Reza Bayegan's "Immortal trinity":

Dear Mr. Bayegan,

I hope that our compatriots read your opinion article with an open mind and look deep within themselves before responding with derogatory comments.

The late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi guarded and preserved for the country and its people the three pillars of our unity and strength: religious faith, national heritage and political tradition. Any one pillar toppled could and would lead to weakness and instability, as we have witnessed these past 26 years.

A family member of mine had just recently gone on her first trip in 26 years to Iran. She sent me her observations, amongst which she mentioned her trip to Mashad.

You had written in your article: "Thanks to the Shah's special attention the city of Mashhad, the burial site of the 9th century Shia saint Imam Reza gained high prominence as a magnificent pilgrim city and a reputable center of religious learning."

She wrote in her letter to me: "My husband had been responsible for the twenty five-year Master Plan of that city (Mashad) before the Revolution. They have not only executed his plan to the last detail but his name is well known in the city and both young local architects and the authorities were anxious to meet and consult with him. As a result of his plan Mashhad is a beautiful city compared to Tehran with tree lined streets and no high rises in the middle of the city aside from those in specified zones and has preserved much of its old character."

I am including this to reinforce your point on how much the late Shah paid attention to the religious needs of Iranians. Unfortunately those who were planning the monarchy's demise were too arrogant and power-hungry to foresee the horrendous consequences of their betrayal of Iran.

I believe history will in hindsight bestow Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi the respect he deserves, and I also believe the people of Iran, soon and without bloodshed, will rise up and reclaim their true religious faith, national heritage and political tradition.

Correcting the confusion

I appreciate it if you would print this Email as an article that has a (short and simple) message.

I wholeheartedly agree with those who have been emphasizing that the appropriate name of our country in English is "Persia" and of course our language is "Persian language."

But, in the meantime before this name change happens, I suggest that we start using Persia and Iran interchangeably and use them together more frequently like what British people have done for their country's name, ie. England, Great Britain and UK.

I hope this simple step lead to correcting the confusion that Iran has created for English speaking people.

Nouri Ghorbani, M.D.

Keeping memories alive

In response to Music compiled by Azam Nemati:

AT this time of the year, around holidays, I thank those people who make me happy and proud. You are on the top of my list. I thank you for all your dedication and hard work to keep our past memory alive. I thank you because I know you are an honest and educated person.

And I thank you because you are from Khorramshar and Abadan. Your articles always create pictures on my mind and take me to the time and place where I grew up. The Khuzestani people have many good things in common, no need to mention you, know all of them because you are the one that every Khuzestani should admire and be proud of.

Happy holidays,

Hamid

Bonne continuation!

In response to Music compiled by Azam Nemati:

I'm so pleased to surf on your site and listen to all kind of music. Since I know a little about the job, I would like to congrdulate you for all the efforts you have made. I hope very soon you could enjoy the result of what you have invested . I'll try to make you more known by all means possible. I wish more advertises for your site so that your efforts would be compensated in financial terms.

Good luck and ... bonne continuation!!!

Engashteh

Referendum? Under this regime?

In response to Foad Pashaie & Pooya Dayanim's "One thing and one thing only":

Recently we read daily statements from Amnesty International and/or Human Rights Watch about the potential imminent executions of young girls in Iran by either stoning or hanging ! This is THE story of these days, in addition to articles regarding journalists' incarcerations and torture for writing articles or blogs unacceptable to the authorities of the IRI.

Then remember the promises of the IRI to the The International Atomic Energy Agency on nuclear issues.

Do you, can you or should you believe them on any promise ?

Then think again and ponder: is it possible to hold a REFERENDUM with this regime in place ?

And don't forget that they still have the EU support in some fashion, in spite of all this !

I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel for all the suffering going on. I would love to believe in this dream of a 'referendum', but it will take much more than this well-intentioned unspecified plan. In my opinion it is meaningless under present circumstances.

The only way out for our compatriots is for the civilized world to acknowledge the truth about this regime and to completely shun them, boycott them. Leaders of the free world must constantly attack the regime in speeches; they should not promise economic deals. Articles should be written by non-Iranians as well as Iranians and expose them to the world.

Do NOT travel there - do NOT invest there - and anything else which will bring the regime's elite to their knees; otherwise, and I believe this with great regret, the people inside Iran are living with such fear and weariness, that this talk of a referendum will be one more time any hope they have will go up in smoke.

This is my personal opinion.

More beautiful with age

Wow I was amazed seeing our National Icon Googoosh. She seems to grow ever beautiful with age. Catherine Deneuve and Monica Bellucci can go and put her cloths on, Googoosh outshines them all. As for narges from tehran, I don't know what Googoosh has done or not done, she is the best Thing Iranians can look up to with Empress Farah as a role model for generations to come.

Dariush KADIVAR

Says it all

In response to Farrokh Ashtiani's article on the "Googoosh concert" in Las Vegas "Here we are":

The article says it all and in a funny way. I could not have said it any better. Good job.

Beenazir

In response to Leila Farjami's "Fil-e Pelaastiki":

salam leila,

ettefaghi az rooye aksaye jahanshah be sherat residam, file pelastiki beenazir bood! nemidoonam shayad be khatere in bahash inhame hal kardam ke chand rooz pish man ham too ye bahsi, goftam man tarjih midam arab basham ta .... oon jomleye "aaah , ey nehilisthaye seksi, kash enghadr ranhaye zomokhtetan pashmaloo nabood" ham beenazire. kholase ke divane karde.

khob hamin! hadaf inbood ke begam kolli hayejan zade shodam.

shad bashi
morad

rasti medeye man soorakh shod az bas vaseye oon aksaye ab goosht asid tarashoh kard.

Wonderful idea

In response to Dariush Abadi's "One-way propaganda":

Wonderful idea and I totally agree

Making fun of minorities

I am outraged with your Joke section. I think in this time and age where the foreign nations have focused their attention to Iran and it's weaknesses, it is absolutely stupid to have jokes that makes fun of minorities. I actually am always ashamed of our jokes and think that instead of being funny for our people, we are disrespectful of our diverse population.

Please respect all different cultures and languages in Iran and unify Iranians by removing these stupid jokes. I did not expect this from Iranian.com

Thanks
Arman Nosrati

Beauty & the beast

In response to Jahanshah Javid's "Publish and flourish":

Jahanshah khan,

I was just watching your pictures of Hoder, and noticed something. It is kind of embarracing and hope you don't take it the wrong way. Also, it is interesting that sometimes one notices something, but really realizes it much later. Anyway, the thing is, your wife, Javaneh, is really beautiful. Good going. Well done. You are okay as well, but really nice catch... I guess it pays to spend lots of time on the internet chating up girls...

Anyway, happy new year and all the best. Please excuse my occasional temper.

Truth lies in differences

In response to Saman's "Every right to compare Bush to Ayatollahs":

Arbab al-Cartoon, [Saman's cartoons]

Does your highness have to constantly screw the very people who give you the freedom to express your fundamentally cartoonish, radically populist, mediocre, polarized, anti-actual and ideological crap, ever since the 79 revolution, before and after it and now from nowhere other than the VOA offices, the director of which, and its increased budget to hire the likes of your Meisterness, is a Bush appointee?

Oh the internationalist good-guy Meister of the third, the second and the first class world, please spare the ra'yats, the free and the bondaged world, the grace of your broad brush strokes in letters and polemics, and for the love of fuck refrain from repeating the same animal farm rhetoric of your elders, which has lead some of us, unwillingly and without the direct support of the US government - off of which you leech and which you continuously try to undermine - into this forced exile.

Yes there are many things that are similar in apples and oranges, but for ra'yats who pick them and have to live with them, in each there is a distinct universe... Truth lies in differences, not in crass similarities.

Stop criticizing free world on censorship

In response to Dariush Abadi's "One-way propaganda":

In Mr. Abadi's article Banning Hizbollah TV I find it unbelievable how someone can advocate a TV station that does nothing but spew hatred and death to Jews and Americans. Show me a TV station in the United States that asks for the death and destruction of Arab states. Come on!

Let's compare apples to apples. Mr. Abadi talks about free speech like it's a word that swirls off every Arabs tongue. How many Arab states advocate free speech? How many actually have a democracy and a constitution?

Mr. Abadi should stop criticizing the free world on censorship issues and start looking at the dictatorships and theocracies in the Middle East that not only incite hatred amongst their own people but in fact kill anyone who threatens them.

About the new poets

The late Siavash Kasraee once wrote : "Pas az man shaaeri aayad keh she'reh oo bahaareh baavar dar sineh andoozad"..... Well, my poor Siavash Kasraee!! Where are you to see that the poet who came after you is too busy describing his genitals to his/her readers, playing with dildos and updating us on the moisture of his/her underpants (poetrism.com/4/) !! He/she is way too busy to carry on the torch that you and poets like you handed out to him/her!!

As we say in farsi "Har cheh begandad namakash mizanand, vaay beh roozi keh begandad namak!!" What has happened to poetry? Where are the TRUE poets? Don't we Iranian have a reputation live up to in the field of poetry and literature? What will we pass on to the next generations?

I mean, are these new "poems" (poetrism.com/4/) really the voices of our pain? The cries of our helplessness? The expression of the injustice and sufferings we are going through as a society? Do they give us hope for the future? Do they talk to us about humanity? Do they inspire us in any way? Do they at least make us want to learn them by heart and recite them to our loved ones? What political, social, spiritual messages are these new "poets" delivering to us?.... God I miss Shamloo!!

Just for the heck of it let's compare a self-description of a poet from the previous generation with one from a poet of the new gerenation:

Shamloo:
"Baamdadeh nakhostin o aakharinam man,
Haabilam man bar sakooyeh tahghir
Sharafeh keyhaanam
Taziyaneh khordeyeh khish
Keh aatasheh siyaheh andooham doozakh raa az bezaa'ateh naachizash
sharmsaar mikonad!!"

And now Nandook:
"Man hamaan kassi hastam keh zireh sandalim az aabam sefid shodeh!
Haman kassi hastam keh ghabl az sher goftan jagh mizanam
Kassi hastam keh darkam az dar hadeh yek soorakh ast
Hastam barayeh gaeedaneh to!!!!
Zanhayeh chadori beh khaatereh gheyreh montazereh boodaneh didaneh
badaneshoon bayrayam jalebtarand
Va avalin chizi keh baa didanat beh fekram miresad naghshe'eest barayeh
sex!!"

No comment!!!

Obviously

In response to [still unresolved] Quiz on unusual gravestones "Standing tall":

I think they are for guys with small penises!

Ali B.

Take history into consideration

To:
John Fahey
President and CEO
National Geographic Society

Dear Sir,

My comments are addressed to you based on your discussion with Prince Reza Pahlavi on Dec. 6th of 2004 concerning the Atlas of The World 2005 (8th edition.)

Sir, I was not convinced that your organization is "in the midst of an in depth study and reflection on the merits of the use of a secondary name for the Persian Gulf." You needn't look too far, in National Geographic's own archives prior to 1967 you will find this body of water called the Persian Gulf.

Following Egypt's defeat by Israel in 1967, Abdul Nasser conjured a bright idea to save face in the Arab world. In his appeal to the greater Arab populace, Nasser declared that the Persian Gulf should be changed to the Arabic Gulf.

Sir, the beauty of your most prestigious organization is that it is not swayed by political persuasion. Now, some branch of your organization has decided to overlook the prestige and honor of the National Geographic Institute by making political statements in regards to several islands in the Persian Gulf.

Actually, these claims should be settled between the two parties or the United Nations before the map is modified. One does not change the name of a historical body of water based on any individual's wish. I suggest that you look more closely at several historical examples that shed light on the circumstances under which the world map has substantially changed: Rhodesia became Zimbabwe in 1979, Siam became Thailand in 1939, Ceylon became Sri Lanka in 1972.

I do hope that you take history into consideration.

Sincerely,

Parvin Ramazan-Nia
Tiburon, California

Burning nation

In response to Masoud Kazemzadeh's "Burning candle":

I read your article on the predicament of Iran's or should I say the Islamic Republics longest serving political prisoner Mr. Abbas Amir-Entezam.

I would like to say that I share your concerns on the sad detention of Mr. Entezam, and I believe that he does not deserve the detention he is subject to. However his predicament is the ironic conclusion to a political path that unfortunately Mr. Entezam (and his friends of the ex- National Front such as Mr.Sanjabi, or Mr. Bazargan) who decided to side with Ayatollah Khomeiny took. 25 years later I will not shed crocodile tears for Mr. Entezam, an indeed educated and particularly well dressed revolutionary. Mr. Entezam in no way can be compared to Mohamed Mossadeg or Nelson Mandela.

Mr. Entezam inspires sympathy but in no way can we compare his importance to such national figures who were at the forefront of the national struggle for independance in their respective countries >>> Full text

Poor selection

In response to Noah's "The divine encounter":

I don;t think your site is a proper place to publish articles such as "the divine encounter". There are thousands of sites and journals Mr. Noah can send his story for publishing. I was disappointed on your poor selection of articles.

I agree with your policy there should not be any discrimination based on any bodies personal believes or ideas. However editor should have a standard and certain limitations for personal writing that may suitable for publication at site like Iranian.com.

Esmail Behboodi DVM, Ph.D.

From Zoroaster to Bahaullah

In response to Payam A.'s "Don't blame Islam":

Dear Payman,

Not all Muslims call Him Allah and not all Christians call Him God. Allah is an Arabic word for God and God is an English word for the same. The origin of the word 'God' is German which means good. Persians call him "parvardegar", "khoda", "izad". Jesus Christ spoke Aramaic which is a Semitic language similar to Arabic and Hebrew. In Aramaic language, God is "Ela" and Gods is ""Elohim" which seems to be from the same root as Arabic "Allah". In Persian we have another word for God which is "Elahe" which indeed is very similar to Aramaic word. Anyway a name is just a name and He is the owner of all names.

The religions can be grouped into 2 major ones. The Semitic religions among which are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. And Aryan religions such as Hinduism, Zoroastrian, and Buddhism. There are lots of similarities among religions of Semitic. And the same is true among Aryan religions. Basically all religions have two types of Teachings, one is considered spiritual teachings which are eternal and almost always repeated in all religions such as not telling lies, or not committing murder, etc.

The other types of teachings are social teachings such as the punishment for murder or how to get married or what can be eaten or not, etc. These social teachings have changed from one prophet to another based on the culture, condition or the exigencies of the time. A social teaching which was perfect during a given dispensation may not work well during some other dispensation. That's one reason that God has sent His Messengers during various ages and places to guide mankind.

We Baha'is believe that for this Age God has sent a new Messenger called Baha'u'llah to renew all those spiritual teachings of the past dispensations and bring along new social teachings for all the humanity to unite mankind no matter where they are, what race or color they might be. Among the similarities of the teachings of all the past religions is that they all prophesized about the coming of a universal Manifestation.

In Islam it's about the coming of Mahdi. Christians are waiting for the second coming of Christ, Jews are waiting for their Messiah, Hindus are waiting for their next Avatar, Zoroastrian are waiting for coming of Shah Bahram, and Buddhist are waiting for the coming of fifth Buddha. Different religions call him by different names but they all refer to the same thing. Bahaullah claims that He is the fulfillment of all the past prophecies. It's good to study and verify such a big claim by ourselves. Specially we Iranian should be proud of having such a universal Messenger from our land.

I still blame Arabs & Islam

In response to Payam A.'s "Don't blame Islam":

I fully agree with your comment stating that we (the Iranian people) should not blame everything on Islam or the current regime. I recently went back to Iran after twenty some years and I have to admit, I couldn't wait to get back to U.S. I feared for my life every second while being driven on the streets of Tehran. Folks would violate traffic laws and drove like maniacs with complete disregard for one another. It was insane.

However, granted all that is due to us "the people" and may or may not have anything to do with religion or government but let's not forget the History here. Iranians were Zoroastrians until the 7th century that the Arabs attacked us. If you read the Persian history books you'll find out that we were FORCED to convert to Islam. There was no choice given... Those savage nomad Arabs beheaded 7000 Iranians in ONE DAY ... those were the Iranians who refused to convert to Islam.

And those scientist and scholars you mentioned should NOT be regarded as Islamic scholars. They were Iranian scientists. Also as stated on history books, Omar personally burned our Persian Science books and burned down our libraries.

Islam may not have said to attack, kill or destroy but that's the tool Arabs used on us. Them and their religion have taken too much from our beloved land. So you see, although the Iranians may be careless drivers and a superstitious bunch, I blame the Arabs & Islam for a good portion of our current predicament.

Omitting victims

In response to introduction to Fallahian arrest warrant:

I was disapointed that in the news about Falahian the name and mission of the victims was not disclosed on
the first page. You could do better in promoting democracy and defending human rights!

My pleasure

Salam e garme man va khaanevaade am ro be monaasebate saale jadide milaadi bepazirid...

Not a day goes by when I don't visit your great great site... thanks for your hard work and keep up your great job... I wish you Health, Wealth (in all its forms) and Happiness during the year to come.

Haleh, Kian, Kazuhiro Nakashima
Yokohama
Japan

Nasty returns

This is my response to a man named Mehrdad for writing such a nasty comment on Farjami's poetry:

sheeri keh maadar beh dahanat gozaasht
keere pedarat bood, ahmagh.

Thank you for publishing my comment too.

McCartney song for freedom-loving Iranians

In response to B. Bamdad's "KhKhKh":

You are correct, B. Bamdad; music can change the world. In fact, it already has. A potent factor in the liberation of East Europe in 1989 was the music of the Beatles, whose message (such as that given in the song "Revolution") even the repressive Communist regimes could not keep young people away from. Similarly, a Paul McCartney song, written around the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, would be an ideal theme song for the freedom movement in Iran.

This Paul McCartney song, which I've heard over in Europe but never in America, is called "Hope for Deliverance". It goes something like, "There is hope for deliverance, hope for deliverance, from the darkness that surrounds us." As "Ode to Joy" inspired freedom-loving East Europeans, so "Hope for Deliverance" will, in my opinion, inspire and give hope to freedom-loving Iranians.

In the novel "The Return of Scheherazade" (which has been translated into Persian), the story ends with Iranians listening to Paul McCartney's "Hope for Deliverance" and being inspired with hope for Iran.

Eric Jerpe,
Author of "Beckoning Star" and "The Return of Scheherazade"

Oil: Well informed

In response to Hashem Farhang's "Pump power":

Finally a well written and well informed article! Thank you very much for sharing that w/us!

Jaan

He didn't bother to check with us

In response to Trita Parsi's "Miserably lousy":

I share your passion and pride.

Don't get me wrong. But I think Oliver Stone subtly planned on show-casing homo/bisexuality and the salacious aspect of it. Historical accuracy was shamelessly sacrificed.

I have taught biology for about thirty years and do agree with you that, women with dark complexions were a rarity in the Prsian Empire at the time of Alexander. Persians' skin color did not begin to change until after foreign invasions-Arab occupation, in particular.

I wonder if Oliver Stone bothered to consult an Iranian scholar of Persian history.

Despite some occasional spelling and gramatical mistakes, your comments were insightful and thought-provoking.

Farhang Farsad
Laguna Niguel, California

REAL poets please

Wonderful job of running this site. I wish you continued success. BUT.... What happened to the quotes that you had from Persian poetry before you changed the design of your site? Please bring that section back... Iran and Persia is synonymous with "poetry" ! AND... Please put some poems by "REAL" poets, like: Hafez, Sa'di, Mowlana, Nezami, Ferdowsi, And Nima, Shahriar, Shamloo, Sepehri, Rahi Mo'ayeri,... NOT just anyone who puts a few words together and calls it a "POEM" ! ! Thank you A devoted fan of your site.

Hawaiian Peace

In response to Majid Tehranian's "Blessing in disguise". Dr. Tehranian is a professor in Hawaii:

Khob hameeneh degeh... to Hawaii debsh saali davaazdah maah bahaar -- aadam shoro meekoneh kabkesh khorroos meekhoneh ke solh cheh cheezeh khobe-eh vaaseh pool o beezness harf nadaareh. Mardesheen beeyaan taa jahanam shoro koneed az solh harf bezaneed -- vagarnah ke hamash harf mofteh ye seree doroogh mahz.

Abol Hassan Danesh

Jews/Neo-cons

In response to Foad Pashaie & Pooya Dayanim's "One thing and one thing only":

This article was co-authored by Foad Pashaie (OK, not an attention getting name) and Pooya Dayanim (wait a second!). The latter author has a Jewish surname. The suffix "-im" implies plurality in Hebrew, like the charged term "goyim", which means "nations" but has taken on a sinister term of insult for gentiles, such as nigger for blacks.

Anyway, as I read the article, I wasn't astounded by its grandiose goals of regime change in Iran. However, what started catching my eye more and more was the last paragraph. To quote in part: "We along with the rest of the pro-democracy movement support President Bush's vision of a democratic middle east... The Bush administration must engage Iran's pro-democracy movement and support those who are fighting for a free and democratic Iran."

Iranians who support Bush's bologna about a democratic mid-east? Iranians who want "Bush's" (more like Wolfowitz's, Feith's, Perle's, and other blood relations') administration to support anti-IRI forces (communists no doubt included) in order to topple the Mullahs?

Now, hold on a minute. One of these authors of this article is, seemingly, (based on the name alone) Iranian. The other is not. Dayanim is advertised as "the President of the US-based Iranian Jewish Public Affairs Committee (IJPAC)" no less! Am I missing something here? Am I the only true-blooded Iranian who read this and didn't get in a "koshtee-geer" mood? From when is an Iranian Jew allowed to tell us Iranians what's best for the land of our Fathers?

An Iranian Jew who is in cahoots up to the hilt with AIPAC, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, ADL, and other Jewish Supremacist organizations knows what's best for Iran? Why isn't Dayanim more vocal about what his racial kin are doing in Palestine to its original occupants? Why are he and co-religionist Nikbakht screeching about the traitorous thirteen Shirazi Jews accused of spying for Israel when said nation is discriminating on an ethnic level against all Palestinians?

Pooya Dayanim is not concerned about truth. Iran has no ties to al-Qaeda! Iran is not de-stabilizing the Mid-East! Iran had nothing to do with the Khobbar Towers! Iran gone nuclear poses no threat to America! One must read between the lines. The only reason Dayanim is concerned about Iran and pushes Neo-con lies is because Dayanim is a Jew.

Jews and their bought gentile politicians lied to us about WMD in Iraq. They lied to us about the uranium deals with Niger. They lied to us about Hussein's interactions with al-Qaeda, and his involvement in 9-11. Now, the Jews again are lying to us about Iran with similar lame fabrications so that the boobs are riled up again to go die for Israel. Jews like Wolfowitz, Feith, Perle, and Wurmser concocted the war against Iraq with their gentile catamites (Rumsfeld, Woolsey, etc.) because it benefited Israel. They are again boldly spewing falsehoods because Iran is the biggest threat to Israel, not America!

Iran wants to go nuclear because of fear of Israel's cache of undeclared nuclear weapons. A nuclear Iran blunts the military edge of a nuclear Israel. Israel cannot tolerate this. Iran's support of patriotic Hizbollah is a threat to Israel, not America. Hence, America the Shabbas-Goy puts Hizbollah and its al-Manar broadcasting station on a terrorist list. In fact, it is Israel that is de-stabilizing the Mid-East with its chutzpah, and military low-grade genocide.

It is "that shitty little country Israel", to quote the French ambassador to England that most Europeans in a recent poll view as the biggest threat to world piece. Why don't Dayanim and his fellow "Iranian" Jews talk about this? Why don't they ask for regime change in Israel? Indeed, if Dayanim is for religious tolerance and democracy a la America, then why doesn't he raise a fuss about the "only democracy in the Middle East" having Orthodox Judaism as the official state religion, where pious Jews (even kids!) have a history of spitting at the Cross.

" Every Jew a Pollard". "Every Jewess an Esther". Iranians must never forget this. I ask that intrepid Iranians go and read the "Book of Esther" in the "Old Testament". Compare Esther's ancient slitherings to gain power and exterminate the Hamanites by using the mythical Persian King Ahaseurus as her Goy-Toy to that of Neo-cons like Dayanim and his ilk today.

Let the above suffice for now. My unquenchable anger is for stooges. If Foad Pashaie is a gentile then damn him for collaborating with a backstabbing relative of Katsav and Mofaz. Damn all the gentile Iranians be they Baha'i, Christian, Zoroastrian, Muslim or Atheist for working with and/or praising Iranian Jews and American Jews like Lantos, Ledeen (hmm, sure sound like Levine to me!), Kristol, Krauthammer, and other Neo-cons (a.k.a., Jews) in order to bring about "regime change". Worst of all, damn this Pahlavi punk for giving a speech at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, for meeting with Netanyahu, Katsav, and Sharon, of all people!

Naive fools, regime change is only pushed because its good for the Jews and their parasite-state Israel. Bush and his Jewish opinion-moulders don't care about us gentiles, but only about using America the Bully-Goy for a Pax Judaica, the Orwellian "War on Terror". Think. You are being manipulated.

A wise man once said, "For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?"

Iranian for Aryans

Ayatollah Bush?

In response to Saman's "Every right to compare Bush to Ayatollahs":

Dear Saman,

While you are right that Hossein Bagherzadeh ["A Christian Revolution"] has every right to state his opinion in a public forum such as iranian.com, his views are unfair and biased. First of all, he's not a US citizen which means the difference between him and me on November 2nd was that my opinion actually mattered and counted in the form of a vote. In other words, Hossein's opinion is moot; he's not qualified. In a contest, would you care what I think of your cartoons if I'm not on the panel of judges?

Secondly -- and this is where I part from you -- I do agree that Mr. Pezhman is correct for criticizing the Bush-Khomeini analogy ["You compare Bush to Khomeini?"]. Are there any dress codes for women where you live? Are Jews and Baha'is fleeing the country in the thousands? Has the US flag exchanged its 50 stars with 50 little crosses? Are the universities closed and blindfolded foreign emissaries paraded in the streets? Is the moral police stopping and beating young people? I can go on and on.

Saman, the fact that you reside in this country and make a decent living and not fear the secret police all attest to the fact that Bush is nowhere close to the theocrats who run Iran.

A very big difference

In response to Dariush Abadi's "One-way propaganda":

Excuse me, but has it really come to the point that we are comparing cheezy L.A. satellite with the mouthpiece of Hizbollah? Come on, Mr. Abadi, zadi be simeh akhar. Let's get real. Inciting hatred is a criminal offence in most democracies. For example, in Canada, the law says that " Freedom of expression is central to a healthy democracy. Accordingly, although racist and hateful comments are offensive to the vast majority of Canadians, they are not necessarily illegal.

Sections 318 and 319 of the Criminal Code make it a criminal offence to:advocate genocide, publicly incite hatred and/or wilfully promote hatred against an "identifiable group." An identifiable group is defined as any section of the public distinguished by: colour, race, religion or ethnic origin." Hizbollah incites hatred and advocates genocide against a section of the public defined by their race, religion and ethnic origin.

Cheezy persian satellite TV rants and raves against the mullahs as the government of the IRI and not as Muslims. In this discussion, no one is disputing their right to be clerics (well that is another discussion) only their right to and manner of governance. That is the difference, a very big difference.

Most of the ranters and ravers are themselves of Muslim background and all are Iranians. They are not an organized, armed group with a history of violence against a defined group of people. How many innocent people have been killed by Hizbollah and Hizbollah supporters? How many people have been killed because disgruntled Iranians in L.A. complain about the regime in between videos of Mansour and Black Cats?

There is a big, huge super-size difference between "calling for armed struggle against Israel" and "calling for confrontation with the Baseej and Pasdaran forces in Iran". Surely even you must see that. Terrorism and dissent are two very different things. A definition of freedom of speech that includes the former and excludes the latter is extremely scary indeed.

Maryam Manteghi

Persian this, Persian not that

In response to Fouad Kazem's "A brief history of names":

Dear Fouad,

I hope all is well. Thank you for such an enlightening article. I enjoyed reading it very much. However, I have a question for you. Don't you think that by emphasizing the Persian this or Persian that, you are doing the same thing that the National Geographic has done, Fabrication. what about the Kurds, Turks and the Arabs of that country that you want the world to refer to as Persia? What about their contributions to what makes Iran our homeland?

I am an Iranian Kurd and I am proud of it. I am also proud of being able to speak Persian, but I am not Persian. I am an Iranian who loves the fact that the beautiful Persian language is my way of communicating with my fellow Iranians who might be Arabs, Turks, Persians, or any other ethnicity that I just forgot to mention.

Instead of devoting this much time and effort to re-educate the world to wrongfully, again, call our homeland Persia, why don't we try to educate them about the fact that being Iranian means you can be anything or whom ever you want to be without being discriminated against by your fellow Iranians.

Khak-e-payat va tamame Iranian jahan,

Getting the Iranian spirit

In response to Peter Lamborn Wilson's "Lingering perfume":

What a fantastic article! I devoured it in one piece. It's funny how at a time when many Iranians are tearing each other up on the superficiality of "being Iranian", "being Persian" or being "anti-Arab", it should be a "farangi" who would actually spend time and dissect -- with such knowledge -- the spirit of being Iranian, even if only one small aspect of it.

Get well & thanks

Get well message to Dr. Meshginpoosh who was hospitalized recently. Dr. Meshginpoosh, in collaboration with Azam Nemati, has digitized numerous classic songs for iranian.com Music section:

Dr. Meshginpoosh,

I have been enjoying your musical contribution to Iranian.com enormously. I thank you for your efforts, wish you a speedy recovery and eagerly waiting for more samples from your collections.

Over the years Azam has been my main source of reconnecting with my early youth and many times over she has brought tears to my eyes. 'ASHGEH SHOOGH' that is.

I thank you, Azam, too with a pat on your back. I am a regular customer on your site. Your genuine thoughts and comments on artists/tracks are heartfelt and welcome. And the Poetry section is totally unique and most enjoyable.

Keep it up my friend. Remember may you more than you think loyal and silent cyber audiences.

Mahmood

By the way, the 'Latest' section is a tremendous help.

We should embrace extremists?

In response to Dariush Abadi's "Blaming all because of a few":

Dear Mr. Abadi,

I am not sure what to make of your stance when it comes to your opposition to the remarkes made by our friend b.bamdad's "KhKhKh" with regards to the akhoonds and ayatollahs, in general. Are you making an attempt to side with the clergy and support them? Or is your sense of disdain and anger merely rests with targetting the conservative sect of our population, as a whole?

All religiously trained leaders and by extention those who attended some form of a seminary or Houzeh, as we like to call, must bear in mind that they have taken an oath to keep religion and politics as much separate as possible. they need to focus exclusilvely on religious matters and. The minute they have started to affiliate with one political group or endorse a certain form of government, Monarchy, etc.. they are in violation of that oath.

It is such an irrelevant comparison when you cite hating jews in general, while there are only so few of them who might be exerting some manipulating powers based on their status and wealth, is a bad strategy. Akhoonds have been trained to think and act conservatively and therein lies the essence of our dilemma, since such an strict way of thinking could cause harm in a society. How could akhoonds, be it that they belong to the good or the evil sect, serve as the victims of this revolution, in any logical way?

You are proposing that we should embrace all extremists and conservatives alike, and to earn their support to avoid a civil war? would you please take a look at today's iran and tell me if you see anything but a silent war taking place in there? we already have a war on our hands! please search for ways to stop such chaos. Regardless of what percentage of iranians back home truly follow the lead of their Ulama, I don't see that much of a difference between the guidance that they are getting from them, versus the informtion they are receiving through satelite gurus.

Kyle Saghafi

The past is past

In response to Fouad Kazem's "All together now":

Fouad,

Your points are well taken with some reservations! First, you like any one else are entitled to your opinion about any matter in daily life. I have no right to use profanities against you or any one else in our dialog. Why, because 1) I do not know you, and 2) free speech is a tenet of human rights and 3) using foul language harms the spirit of good will!

The past is past and we cannot do any thing to change it! However, we can influence the events of the future with good planning! You are right - the Iranian people supported the emergence of Ayatollah Khomeini and they are the ones who can change it. Although the foreign self serving interests have and can be detrimental to the outcome! What it takes is logical thinking by populace to use their good mind for making the right choices in politics as well as any objectives in life. It is my opinion that the major philosophers, writers, artists and scientists were of Persian origin in history of Islam!

It is clear to me, no matter who wrote the history, or how expansive the treatise are, that the Islam of 1400 years ago was the same thing Ben Laden is doing today to human life. There seems to be a great confusion about Islamic civilization and Iranian civilization. They are not the same! For the most part what is branded as Islamic civilization should have been called Iranian(Persian) civilization. This can be corrected if we start writing our own history.

Teegh dadan bar kafe zangiye mast
Beh keh oftad elm ra nadan bedast.

Khejalat dareh!

This email was received shortly before Zohreh Khazai Ghahremani's "The storm" went online:

Dear Iranian.com,

I am rather surprised to see no information on Iranian.com regarding the devastating tsunami that has killed 80,000 people thus far. Is the Iranian government helping? Are there any readers of Iranian.com who may have been vacationing there and gone missing? Does anybody at Iranian.com care? I see postings that continue to dwell on such idiotic things as whether the Persian Gulf should be renamed the Arabian Gulf or not, and not a word on the greatest humanitarian crisis of recent years. Where are your priorities, sir? Khejalat dareh!

Victims of superstition not super powers

In response to Farrokh Ashtiani's "Here we are":

Dear Farrokh,

My name is Saeed. I am an iranian living in Paris France.

I read your article about the Googoosh concert in las vegas...very interesting. specially when you drew parallels between the political situation in Iran and the behaviour of concert goers in Las Vegas.

What really struck me was that phrase "like when we told the British to do whatever they want to our nation and heritage as long as they give us an islamic regime".

As an Iranian, I think a lot about what has happened to our country these past 25 years and what's in store for Iran in the years ahead. I was in Iran during the revolution, and witnessed the popular uprising of a whole nation against tyrany. I also know that hardly in contemporary history of our nation has there been a major political change in which foreign powers (americans, russians, the british...) did not play a role.

As for the Islamic revoultion, I always believed that the old regime was bound to be toppled sooner or later. I'd like to think that the Iranians were not manipulated by any foreign forces and what happened in 1978 and 1979 was a genuine popular revolt against a repressive regime. Unfortunately, the old regime was replaced by another dictatorial regime.

I have always wonderd why the revoultion did not produce a democratic government; is it because of Islam as a religion? Is it because there had never been a democratic tradition in Iran and those who replaced the Shah didn't know how to handle their sudden rise to power. After all, money and power corrupt.

But in light of the current international events specially in that part of the world, I am beginning to think that maybe as you suggested in your essay, the British had something to do with the fall of the old regime and the rule of clergy in Iran. You know, I often discussed with my late father about the events in Iran and he was from a generation of Iranians who thought the British were always somehow involved in the iranian affaires;" kareh ingilissast" , he used to say.

I want to know if this true. Do you bleive that the British are the ones who pull the strings behind the closed curtains of Iran? Weren't they better off when the Shah was in power? After all Iran was a stable country under him and it's in the interest of superpowers to see stability in that part of the world; don't you agree?

I don't know but I believe that we Iranian have suffered a whole more from ignorance and "bisavaadi" and religious superstitions than from the interfrence of "khaareji" in our beloved country.

Thanks for your comments,

Saeed

Tashakor

In response to Music compiled by by Azam Nemati:

Ba arze adab va ehteram az eenke hanooz ham kesni hastand ke yaade gozashtehaa ra zende negah midarand khorsandam, az een tarigh az shomaa sarkare Azam Khanome (Dokhtar Abadani?) tashakkor minemayam.

Baa taghdime ehteram

Farid
Danmark

Parents who grew up in Iran won't change

In response to Maziar Shirazi's "Fathers and daughters":

Hi Maziar,

I just read your article on iranian.com. I understand the problem you're discussing, but there's a solution for it as well.

Your friend lives in America, and if she's 18 or older, she can become independent and live on her own. Yes, she will have to move in with roommates and Mommy's ghormeh sabzi won't be on the kitchen table anymore. Moreover, Dad won't pay for the tuition and the rent won't be free any longer. But your friend can get a boyfriend, travel to the far ends of the world, study whatever she desires, and earn money along the way. This is how many American girls (and guys for that matter) live after they graduate from high school.

The problem with many Iranian women is that they don't want to be financially independent. They'd rather stay at home until their mid-to-late 20s without paying one red cent for rent and utilities while enjoying dad's full-ride scholarship program and mom's 3-meals-a-day welfare system. In other words, they would like to see their 20s an extension of social services they received in their teenage years. This is all fine and dandy, except these women also like to have the independence of American women.

Let's face it. Parents who grew up in Iran won't change. They're 50 or older and that's how the Old World taught them to raise daughters. Tell your friend to either leave home and experience life or stay at the comfy home and live with her dad's rules. You can't have your cake and eat it too!

Lost & found

In response to Jahanshah Javid's "Mehmoon baazi":

Thanks a lot for the photo essay! It allowed me to find my little cousin Yasi that I haven't seen since she was 8! See below! -- Reza Zia-Ebrahimi

Hi Reza!

Hopefully, you remember me! This is Amoo Zia's daughter, Yasi. My mom was on the site and happened to see "Zia-Ebrahimi" and you happen to be my cousin! Just wanted to congratulate you on your marriage. Leila is beautiful! So you're in Berkley, which is close to where my half-brother, Kazem, lives. What a coincidence! By the way, my mentor at UCLA medical center, Dr. Navab, knows you guys too! Haha! Just wanted to drop an email.

Hopefully some way or another I will be able to see you after all these years.

Yasi Zia-Ebrahimi

Unworthy of dialogue

In response to Hooshang Amirahmadi's "Viable option":

Hooshang Amirahmadi continues advocating a 'democratic' Islamic regime. DIALOGUE has been his motto. His opinion/article makes sense to a reader who wishes for Iran's rehabilitation into the civilized world. The recent flurry of articles encouraging U.S./IRI dialogue, camouflaged as promoting human rights in Iran in exchange for the IRI regime's nuclear proliferation, is a total waste of time. One must be very naive to fall for this hogwash.

The mullahs will not go (as they said almost 26 years ago, they are here to stay and they will continue their dance and song with the West, doing whatever it takes while our people - the silent majority- suffer) unless the people stand up to them. However, Iranians have no incentive to endanger themselves or even unite peacefully against the regime, as long as some of the Diaspora are promoting the restructuring of a regime the people have come to despise in totality.

If we in the West present the IRI as worthy of dialogue, and if we send the message to those inside that all will be well once economic incentives are extended to the regime, then the journalists, the bloggers, the students and the silent majority who must live under this theocracy will have lost out. The winners will be the mullahs and the minority in the Diaspora who have a loudspeaker, a website or an academic position and are able to reach Western media or government officials; they do not really care about the people but both these groups mind their own status, power and pockets. So f..k the people !!!

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