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Rumi
Fiction
Death observed
That pounding never goes away
By Shadi Ziaei
June 22, 1999
The Iranian
Khanum-jun decided to die a week before my birthday. It didn't
change much, though. I just had my party a week later. All I remember of
Khanum-jun is her silver braided hair and the sight of two white
pills on her warm, red tongue even after they had tried to force them down
with two glasses of water.
Everyone was sad, especially my grandfather, Khanum-jun's son.
I didn't know what to tell him. He was an only child like me. He visited
Khanum-jun every single Monday. I knew that I had to be sad too
but it wasn't any worse than when I'd leave your house at two in the morning
not knowing if I would ever see you again ... GO TO FEATURE
Translated by Laleh Khalili
June 22, 1999
The Iranian
one day we will find our doves again
and kindness will hold beauty's hand.
****
one day when the slightest hymn
is a kiss ... GO TO FEATURE
Outlook
Iran
Testing the Waters of Reform
By Fen Montaigne
National Geographic
July 1999
 On a sparkling afternoon in April, three young couples climbed
the steep hiking trail that follows the Darakeh River in northern Tehran.
The river rushes out of the Elburz Mountains, whose snow-covered peaks
form a majestic backdrop to the nondescript sprawl of the capital. At nearly
5,000 feet [1,500 meters] the area along the Darakeh is one of the few
refuges from the dirty air and clamor of Tehran, and on this Friday, an
Islamic day of rest, the couples were chatting easily as they strolled
under willows and plane trees loaded with brilliant green buds ... FULL
TEXT
Thanks to Mehran Azhar
They can't be serious ... CLICK HERE
(and hold your nose)
Always funteresting: Harper's
Index
More Letters
* No excuse
Shahram Mostarshed writes: Enjoyed
reading "I
must be a Jew" in The Iranian. I agree with the assessment
that anti-Semitism is alive and well in the U.S., although not as overt
as say anti-Iranian, anti-Arab or anti-Black sentiments.
This of course does not excuse those of us in the Iranian community
who express their hatred towards Jews. This is simply wrong and if enough
people stood up and complained it would go away, at least in the way that
it is currently being expressed.
I do however reserve my dislike for Zionism, because it is an ethnocentric
and racist movement which a lot of Israelis and some American Jews subscribe
to.
* Thank you
Farhad Ghassemi writes: Thank
you for reminding us about our poets and literary figures - this time Shamlu.
I hope we appreciate their contribution to our heritage.
* Shahnameh: Readings by Karimi Hakak
The artsEdge, an annual festival at the Seattle Center, Washington State,
is staging a reading/performance of various epic works from around the
world. On Saturday June 26 Dr. Karimi Hakak will read and talk about the
Shahnameh from 2 PM to 4 PM. He plans to speak about Iranian mythology
and history, about Ferdowsi's life and times, and read selected passages
from the Shahnameh, both in Persian and in English. For more information
please contact Mr. Kent Chadwick, the event organizer at kentchadwick@wolfenet.com
or at this Bainbridge Island telephone number: (206) 842-2119 or Dr.
Hakak at karimi@u.washington.edu.
Book of the Week
Iranian Nationality and the Persian Language
By Shahrokh Meskoo
Foreword by Ali Banuazizi
Translated by Michael Hillmann
In this insightful study of Iranian cultural history and national identity,
Shahrokh Meskoob, one of Iran's leading intellectuals, reviews the roles
of three social classes in the development and refinement of the Persian
language during the past one thousand years and gives the reader a fresh
perspective on Iranian cultural heritage and the struggle to forge a distinct
national identity ... GO TO BOOK
Recent
featured books
THE IRANIAN
Bookstore
Copyright © Abadan Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.
May not be duplicated or distributed in any form
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news
Iran appoints Shi'ite cleric as new top
judge
TEHRAN,
June 22 (Reuters) - Iran has appointed a founder of an Iraqi opposition
group as head of its judiciary, current judiciary chief Ayatollah Mohammad
Yazdi said on Tuesday. Yazdi, quoted by the evening daily Kayhan, said he
would hand over the post in two months to Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi, who
in the early 1980s helped found the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution
in Iraq (SCIRI), the main Shi'ite Moslem group fighting the government of
President Saddam Hussein ... FULL TEXT
UK Business Mission to Make Landmark Iran
Visit
LONDON, June 22 (Reuters) - The biggest British business delegation
to visit Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution sets off on Thursday hoping
to cash in on the political thaw between Tehran and London. Britain and
Iran finally exchanged ambassadors last month, ending a decade of estrangement
over the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's death edict against British
author Salman Rushdie for allegedly blaspheming Islam in the novel "The
Satanic Verses" ... FULL TEXT
Iran: Chief suspect's suicide will not
affect investigation
DUBAI,
United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Foreigners trying to tarnish Iran's image aided
in a string of murders late last year of dissident intellectuals, the military
prosecutor said Tuesday. The case, which shocked the nation because of acknowledged
involvement by Iranian intelligence agents, made headlines again when the
top suspect reportedly killed himself Saturday in prison ... FULL TEXT
Jews detained in Iran referred to revolutionary
court
TEHRAN,
June 22 (AFP) - The case of 13 Iranian Jews, whose arrest on spy charges
has provoked an outcry around the world, has been referred to a revolutionary
court in the southern city of Shiraz, a judicial official told Kayhan newspaper
Tuesday. "The case of Israel's spies is being examined by a revolutionary
court in Shiraz," the head of the provincial judiciary, Mohamamd Karimi,
said ... FULL TEXT
Retrial delayed for German sentenced to
death in Iran
TEHRAN,
June 22 (AFP) - The retrial of German businessman Helmut Hofer, sentenced
to death in Iran, was postponed after the official interpreter failed to
show up Tuesday in a new hiccup in a case that has dogged Tehran-Bonn ties
for the past two years... FULL TEXT
Top US official discusses Iran with Persian
Gulf states
ABU
DHABI, June 22 (AFP) - The United States came out Tuesday in favour of the
position of the United Arab Emirates over its island dispute with Iran,
said a top ranking Emirati foreign ministry official, quoted by the official
WAM news agency ... FULL TEXT
MKO denies top general's killers arrested
NICOSIA,
June 22 (AFP) - The main armed Iranian opposition group Tuesday denied that
any of its agents had been arrested in Iran in connection of the April killing
of top general Brigadier Ali Sayad Shirazi. "This claim is a sheer
lie. The operational units that punished General Shirazi ... are all safe
and sound and unharmed," the People's Mujahedeen said in a statement
quoting "a spokesman for the Mujahedeen Command HQ inside Iran."
... FULL TEXT
Iran welcomes US cooperation on Caspian
related economic projects
TEHRAN,
June 22 (AFP) - Iran said Tuesday it was prepared to accept US participation
in economic projects related to the exploitation of the Caspian Sea, while
voicing strong opposition to any Israeli role in the region.... FULL TEXT
Films will face censorship board AFTER
completion
Tehran,
(Neshat) - Currently Iranian filmmakers have to present their screenplay
to the Culture Ministry for approval in order to go ahead and make a film.
But the law may be changed to ban or approve films after completion ...
FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Musavi going to Germany, too
Tehran,
(Neshat) - National team and Esteqlal club's striker Ali Musavi will join
a second-division German team. Musavi had recently gotten a year ban from
domestic and international games after striking a referee ... FULL TEXT
IN PERSIAN
Soccer briefs
Tehran,
(Iran daily) - Alireza Mansourian has not yet decided whether he will leave
his Greek team ... Kurosh Barmak, Azadegan league's best goal scorer last
year, will join Persepolis ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
BBC
Persian Service
$ Rate
Updated June 21
The
dollar now offered at 850-882 tomans in the U.S. and 890 tomans in Iran
Source: Sehaty Exchange (U.S.) Tel: 602-595-0777
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Quote Unquote
Not any worse
Khanum-jun decided to die a week before my birthday... I knew that I
had to be sad too but it wasn't any worse than when I'd leave your house
at two in the morning not knowing if I would ever see you again.
Shadi Ziaei
"Death
observed"
The Iranian
June 22, 1999
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