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Baba Taher
Identity
The Blessing
Angels belong to the heavens, Pedar-jAn
By Ghasedak Parandeh
November 24, 1998
The Iranian
Pedar-jAn, do you remember, that cold winter day, when I stopped by
your home, our home, 7:30 in the morning, to plead with you for one last
time to attend my wedding? Do you also remember that you stared at me with
your cold blue eyes and said "No?" And do you remember how you
showed me the way out without saying another word? How well I knew the
way out of that door and how painful it was to go out one more time without
having your blessing. How I cried so bitterly on my wedding day and many
days before and many days after. Years later I still can not understand
why you refused to give your blessing and I know you still can not understand
why I got married regardless.
I remember that day all too well. You asked "Why? Have I been that
horrible to you?" I wanted to say no Pedar-jAn, you have been wonderful,
but now it is time for me to fly. How could you give me wings and expect
me not to? You were the one who brought me to this "Land of Freedom"
because you said no daughter of yours should live in a land of oppression
and darkness. You said you would do anything for me and that I am the love
of your life. You looked at me with your beautiful blue eyes like I am
the whole world to you and I believed your eyes and I believed your words.
But when I asked for your blessing you denied me what seemed to be a small
request. And I have always wanted to ask "Why? Have I been that horrible
to you?"... GO TO FEATURE
Outlook
BOOK REVIEW
Mojtabai movingly weaves life, death
By Richard Dyer,
The Boston Globe
November 23, 1998
 "Soon" is a book everyone should read because it
is about a subject no one wants to think about. But A. G. Mojtabai's theme
- terminal illness and death - is a universal one, and she approaches it
with sympathy, humor, and an educated heart.
Sixteen years ago Mojtabai, one of America's most gifted and sensitive
novelists, went to Amarillo, Texas, to do research for a magazine article
that evolved into her great nonfiction book, ''Blessed Assurance,'' a study of apocalyptic religion
in the town dominated by the final assembly plant for American nuclear
weapons. Up until that time, Mojtabai had led an unconventional but cosmopolitan
life in New York, Iran, and Cambridge, where she held an appointment at
Harvard; in Amarillo she unexpectedly found home. For several years she
has been a volunteer worker in the hospice at St. Anthony's Hospital in
Amarillo, and the 17 miraculous stories in ''Soon'' come out of that experience... READ MORE
Anyway
Top Ten Hit TV Shows in Iraq
10 - "Husseinfeld"
9 - "Mad About Everything"
8 - "U.S. Military Secrets Revealed"
7 - "Suddenly Sanctions"
6 - "Allah McBeal"
5 - "Wheel of Fortune and Terror"
4 - "Achmed's Creek"
3 - "Iraq's Wackiest Public Execution Bloopers"
2 - "Buffy The Slayer of Yankee Imperialist Dogs"
and the Number One Hit TV Show in Iraq. . .
1 - "Just Shoot Me"
Forwarded by Payman Arabshahi
More Letters
* Realistic reflection
"SMiss18754" writes: Despite the explicit, and at times offensive,
language, Iraj Mirza realistically reflects the psyche of many
Iranian men and women: that hijab serves to divorce a woman from assertiveness
and choice.
* Seminar: Iran-Taliban seminar, New
York
The Open Society Institute's Central Eurasia Project invites you to
attend :
The Stakes of the Iran-Taliban Confrontation
Central Asian Open Forum
Thursday, December 3, 1998
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Open Society Institute
400 West 59th Street (conference room 4D)
New York, NY 10019
You must RSVP in order to attend.
RSVP to Katya Nadirova (212) 548-0612 fax (212) 548-4607
email: knadirova@sorosny.org
Book of the Week
Soon: Tales from Hospice
By A. G. Mojtabai
Zoland Books, 1998
The Boston Globe writes: Mojtabai had led an unconventional
but cosmopolitan life in New York, Iran, and Cambridge, where she held an
appointment at Harvard; in Amarillo she unexpectedly found home. For several
years she has been a volunteer worker in the hospice at St. Anthony's Hospital
in Amarillo, and the 17 miraculous stories in ''Soon'' come out of that
experience... READ MORE
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Khatami orders action on dissident killings
TEHRAN, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Iranian President
Mohammad Khatami on Tuesday ordered urgent investigations into the murder
of a veteran opposition leader and his wife, saying the people had to be
reassured the government could uphold the law. ``It is necessary that a
special committee be set up to seriously follow up the case of the crime...so
that God willing the perpetrators would promptly be identified and pay for
their crime,'' state television quoted Khatami as saying in a letter to
Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mousavi-Lari... FULL TEXT
Murder report
Tehran, (Hamshahri) - A report on the murder of Dariush
Forouhar and his wife, with unusual details ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Russia to hasten work on Iran nuclear plant-radio
TEHRAN, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Iran and Russia
agreed on Tuesday to speed up construction of a nuclear power plant in the
Iranian Gulf port of Bushehr, a project strongly opposed by the United States.
Tehran radio said Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation,
and visiting Russian Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeni Adamov signed a protocol
under which ``the completion deadline of the Bushehr nuclear power plant's
phase one was cut to 52 months from the contracted 55 months.''... FULL
TEXT
Iranian vice president makes landmark visit
to Egypt
CAIRO, Nov 24 (AFP) -Iranian Vice President Massumeh Ebtekar,
the highest-ranking Iranian official to visit Egypt since ties were severed
20 years ago, attended an international environmental conference here Tuesday.
Ebtekar, who also heads the Iranian environmental protection agency, is
attending the 10th ministerial conference of the Montreal Protocol, an international
agreement aimed at protecting the ozone layer from damage.
Iran pledges to protect foreign guests
TEHRAN, Nov 24 (Reuters) - A senior Iranian
official has condemned a recent attack on a bus carrying Americans and other
foreigners, declaring that the government had a duty to protect visitors
of all nationalities. Deputy Interior Minister Mostafa Tajzadeh was quoted
by the daily Iran News on Tuesday as saying anyone granted a visa to Iran
had the right to personal security and safety... FULL TEXT
Imam Reza coin discovered
Tehran, (Hamshahri) - A coin with the name and title
of Imam Reza, while he was the deputy to Mamoun, the ruling caliph nearly
1,200 years ago, has been identified ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Eugene O'Neal's "Hairy Gorilla"
Tehran, (Hamshahri) - Eugene O'Neal's "Hairy
Gorilla" is being performed in Tehran; directed by Akbar Zanjanpour
... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Soccer: What a big mess...
Tehran, (Hamshahri) - It's a mistake to select the
national soccer team players based on league politics rather than real qualifications
... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
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Quote Unquote
Growing pains
I am not your innocent virgin daughter, I may fall in love with the wrong
men, I can not cook, I will not marry through an arranged marriage, I will
not agree that double standards are necessary evils, I will not pretend
that I don't enjoy earthly pleasures, I will not live a life of lies.
Ghasedak Parandeh
"The Blessing"
The Iranian
November 24, 1998
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