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Abu Saeed
Opinion
It's over
Conservatives are fighting a losing battle
By Kamran Qezelbash
November 30, 1999
The Iranian
For those of us looking at events in Iran from abroad, it's hard to
understand how a cleric like Abdollah Nouri has been sent to prison by
an Islamic court ...
But all the pushing and shoving in Iran, including Nouri's incarceration,
the student uprising last July, the shutting down of opposition newspapers
and the bitter fights over the upcoming Majlis elections, or even the chain
murders of dissidents, should not be a cause for concern -- that is if
you think the country is moving backward. In fact every attempt by the
conservatives to counter the march toward liberty has exposed their lack
of popular support as well as their diminishing influence on the course
of events. They have lost the initiative. They are reacting to a wave they
cannot control ... GO
TO FEATURE
Outlook
How can you imprison one of us?
Senior cleric condemns Nouri jailing
 
... FULL
TEXT IN PERSIAN
Not even a great cook
The Shah's 1977 interview with Barbara Walters:
WALTERS: I am quoting, your Majesty, "In a man's life, women count
only if they are beautiful, graceful, and know how to stay feminine. You
may be equal in the eyes of the law, but not in ability. You have never
produced a Michelangelo or a Bach or even a great cook. You are schemers.
You are evil. All of you." Your Majesty, you said all of these things?
... FULL
TEXT
More Letters
* Delplored life, glorified death
Engscience@aol.com
writes in response to Mehrdad's letter:
Some people may think of Khomeini as a true fundamentalist who was acting
on pure Islamic values without any regard to human rights or interanationally
respected democractic principles ["Lunch
with Khomeini"]. But, the fact is that Khomeini knew the power
of religion over the unedcuated masses, and he used that to the utmost
of his abilities ...
To call Khomeini as a man who only acted upon his fundamentalist view
is a critical mistake; he delplored life, he glorified death ... FULL
TEXT
* More thankful than Americans
B. writes in response to, "What are you thankful for?"
You should be thankful that you are living in the United States, and
not anywhere else in the world.; thankful for the freedom that you are
provided to breath freely; thankful for walking in the streets without
fear of paasdaars, thankful for being able to look at hundreds of beautiful
women of all ages; thankful that your daughter doesn't have to wear the
chador and can get an education and have a future; thankful that you can
publish your thoughts and ideas on the Internet without having to get permission
from anyone; thankful that you can turn on the TV and radio and hear music;
thankful that there is a huge bookstore in every neighborhood that you
can go and browse hundreds of thousands of subjects; thankful that you
can go to a bar and order a beer without fear; thankful for abundance in
stores; thankful for cheap food of the highest quality; thankful for security...
Actually, come to think of it, as immigrants we have more to be thankful
for than the natives. We were not born here, but we are extremely lucky
and blessed to find ourselves not only out of Iran, but in the U.S., land
of freedom and prosperity, like no other on earth.
* Film: Iranian films in Berkeley
Iranian Cinema: December 3, 9, 10, and 15 through 19 at the New Pacific
Film Archive in Berkeley, California. The PFA presents new features and
documentaries-as well as influential 1970s films-selected in Teheran by
Alissa Simon of the Film Center of the Art Institute of Chicago, an institution
that has presented 10 annual Iranian Film Festivals ... DETAILS
HERE
SELL
TICKETS ONLINE AT YOUR SITE
Books of the Week
* Saaniyeh-yeh
aakhar (1999)
Y2K issues in Iran
By Dr. Ali Parandeh
* Barandeh-haa
ham baazandeh-and (1999)
A memoir by a former mayor of Tehran, with photos
By Ahmad Nafisi
* Jazireh
sargardaani (2nd edition, 1998)
Novel
By Simin Daneshvar
* Mumia
va assal (1996)
Novel
By Shahriar Mandanipour
* Mehr-e
giaah (1998)
Novel
ByAmir Hassan Cheheltan
See more
Iranian books for sale
THE IRANIAN
Bookstore
Video of the Week
Divorce
Iranian Style
A new documentary that goes where Western camera s have never before
gone: into an Iranian divorce court. The film is directed by award- winning
independent filmmaker Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir-Hosseini, an Iranian
anthropologist and writer, based in London, whose specialty is women's
rights and family law in the Mid-East.
THE IRANIAN
Video Store
Copyright © Abadan Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.
May not be duplicated or distributed in any form
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More
news
Khatami in dilemma over dissident jailing
TEHRAN,
Nov 30 (AFP) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami finds himself caught between
the rule of law he has insisted on implementing here and calls to intervene
in the jailing of the nation's leading reformist. Since a hardline religious
court slapped former interior minister Abdollah Nuri with a five-year prison
term Saturday, and closed his popular daily paper, Khatami's pro-reform
backers have called for the verdict to be overturned ... FULL TEXT
Reformers condemn and hardliners welcome
jailing of Nuri
TEHRAN,
Nov 30 (AFP) - The reformist faction of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami
on Tuesday denounced the five-year jail sentence handed down to a top reformer
and Khatami ally for dissent while hardliners here hailed the ruling. The
Association of Combattant Clerics (ACC) said the jailing of Abdollah Nuri
on Saturday and the closure of his popular Khordad newspaper by a conservative
court was an unfair decision motivated by partisan politics ... FULL TEXT
Parliament to reopen probe on murdered
intellectuals
TEHRAN,
Nov 30 (AFP) - The Iranian parliament is to continue its investigation into
a series of murders of intellectuals and opposition figures shortly, an
MP said Tuesday, contradicting a statement by a fellow deputy who said the
inquiry was being abandoned. "The Commission of inquiry will resume
its work next week," said conservative MP and commission member Ali
Movahedi-Savoji ... FULL TEXT
Conservative papers get Iran says Russia
accepts Moslem talks on Chechnya
TEHRAN, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Iran said on Tuesday that Russia had
agreed to a proposed visit by an Iranian-led Moslem delegation to Moscow
for talks on the crisis in Chechnya. The official IRNA news agency quoted
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov as telling his Iranian counterpart
Kamal Kharrazi by telephone that the Russian cabinet had approved the visit
... FULL TEXT
Nateq-Nouri again rules out dialogue with
the United States
ROME,
Nov 30 (AFP) - Iran's conservative parliamentary speaker reiterated Tehran's
opposition to re-opening dialogue with the United States in an interview
in an Italian newspaper Tuesday. "The actions of the government and
the US Congress go against dialogue," Ali Akbar Nateq-Nuri told La
Stampa daily, stressing that Tehran could not accept Washington's continued
hostility towards the Islamic republic.... FULL TEXT
Elf denies IOC joins Iran oil venture
LONDON,
Nov 29 (Reuters) - French energy group Elf Aquitaine on Monday denied a
report that Indian Oil Corp would become involved in developing Iran's Balal
oilfield. ``This is false,'' an Elf spokesman said, referring to a statement
by an IOC official that the state-owned company planned involvement in a
development contract for Balal ... FULL TEXT
Iran officials doubt quick economic recovery
TEHRAN, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Doubts are growing in Iran over quick
economic recovery, amid parliamentary resistance to President Mohammad Khatami's
liberalisation plan and apparent policy confusion in the Islamic republic.
Parliament, dominated by Khatami's opponents, recently blocked several key
market-oriented elements in the reformist president's economic plan for
the next five years and imposed provisions deemed contrary to the programme's
spirit ... FULL TEXT
Jafari awarded in Italy
Tehran (Iran daily) - Mehdi Jafari's short film, "Ziarat",
has won the jury prize at a youth film festival in Italy ... FULL TEXT IN
PERSIAN
Majidi hopes, Pashazadeh hurtt
Tehran (Iran daily) - An Austrian second division soccer club is
looking to lure Farhad Majidi. Meanwhile, Majid Pashazadeh, who plays in
Germany, may have to quit soccer altogether because of injuries ... FULL
TEXT IN PERSIAN
BBC
Persian Service
For the latest news,
interviews and features on Iranian current affairs ... LISTEN HERE
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All about beautiful Nastaliq caligraphy. Very nicely done.
Beyond Iran
Apocalypse!
PBS television's "Frontline" takes a look at "the
evolution of apocalyptic belief and how it shaped the Western world."
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Quote Unquote
Choices
The conservatives can dismiss the president, call off the Majlis elections,
mobilize their supporters in the basij, declare martial law and go back
to the days of mass executions and exterminate their opponents. Or they
can continue on the same basic course since Khatami's election: gradually
leave their bunkers and allow the reformists to lead Iran in a new direction
-- a sensible direction that won't be pretty but more in line with the wishes
of the people.
-- Kamran Qezelbash
"It's over"
The Iranian
November
30, 1999
Photo of the Day
Reporters
defend Nouri
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