Wednesday, October 21, 1998 / Mehr 29, 1377, No. 588

Baba Taher Wedding The chosen one His choice, not hers. From Crowning Anguish: Memoirs of a Persian princess from the haren to modernity, 1884-1914, edited by Abbas Amanat (Mage Publishers, Washington, DC, 1993). The book is the memoirs of Taj al-Saltana, one of Naser al-Din Shah's daughters. One morning when I was in [my father's] presence and a number of ladies were standing nearby, several eunuchs came in carrying trays on their heads. When the covers were lifted from the trays, a large quantity of expensive toys and splendid precious jewelry presented itself to view. Everyone wondered what this was and for whom it was intended. After a lengthy silence, my father said, "Aziz [al-Sultan, Malijak]! These are yours. Give them to any girl you want." The boy had been advised earlier to choose me as his betrothed. However, one of my half-sisters, who was about two years older than I, had also been made a candidate for marriage to 'Aziz. Her mother, having cajoled and threatened the boy's nanny, had won her over to her side and had made the servant promise that 'Aziz would choose her daughter. The boy had acquiesced in the plan. As soon as my father had spoken, the boy picked up a ring and put it on my sister's finger, saying, "S-s-s-sir, I ch-ch-ch-choose th-th-this girl as my b-b-b-betrothed!" My father embraced him and said, "My dear 'Aziz! Your betrothed is this other girl, and it is my wish that you have her."... GO TO FEATURE Outlook Key facts about Iran's Assembly of Experts polls TEHRAN, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Iranian voters go to the polls on Friday to elect members of the Assembly of Experts, a powerful clergy-based state body which names and can dismiss Iran's supreme leader. Here are key facts about the Assembly and the elections. Under Iran's constitution, the Assembly of Experts has the power to appoint the supreme leader, who has the final say on all state matters and outranks the country's elected president. The supreme leader, who personifies the clerics' hold on power in the Islamic republic, draws up overall state policies and controls the armed forces, the judiciary and state media. The 86-seat Assembly also has the power to oversee the leader's work and can dismiss him if he fails to perform his duties in accordance with Shi'ite Moslem teachings... FULL TEXT Anyway Persian studies in USA Hello, I'd like to ask all of you for your help in relation to studying Persian in the USA. I'm currently studying Persian language and literature at the Sofia University, Bulgaria. I have completed two years of my studies. I am VERY interested in transferring to an American University which offers Persian studies. Any of you who work in that field and could give me information, please, contact me. I am also interested to know what chance international undergraduate students have for getting a scholarship. I appreciate your help, Diana dianak@st.fcml.uni-sofia.bg History Revolution: 1979-1999 Abadan defenders More Letters * No mercy Very sorry to see that following our mistake in exposing the emails of some of our subscribers yesterday, they have already been targets of spam: Zahra Mahloudji writes: I got these [promotional] emails from iranstar@iranstar.com, and Ahmad Alizadeh International News and Broadcasting ali@esse.com. I'm guessing that a lot of other people on your mailing list got them too. It might be a good idea to send them an email not to use our addresses any more. I'll do that myself too. Satire Sports officials' many jobs What's wrong with the economy? More Community Announcements * Art show: Qajar paintings at Brooklyn Museum of Art First Exhibition of Persian Painting from the Qajar Dynasty, 1785-1925 at Brooklyn Museum of Art October 23, 1998-January 24, 1999 Press Preview Thursday, October 22, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The first major exhibition to explore visual arts in Persia during the Qajar Dynasty, focusing on extraordinary large-scale court and popular religious paintings, will be presented at the Brooklyn Museum of Art from October 23, 1998, through January 24, 1999. Providing a window into imperial as well as daily life of a vanished culture, Royal Persian Paintings: The Qajar Epoch, 1785-1925 will comprise 106 exceptional works. It includes important loans from thirty-six internationally renowned private and public collections in seven countries. Among the lending institutions are The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg; the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institutions, Washington; and the Musee de Louvre in Paris. Also included in the exhibition will be a selection from the Museum's collection, which contains the most important holdings of Qajar art in North America... FULL TEXT Book of the Week The Spiritual Wisdom of Hafez : Teachings of the Philosopher of Love Translated by Haleh Pourafzal, Roger Montgomery Recent featured books THE IRANIAN Bookstore New! Bestsellers New! Books on Rumi

More news Journalists of banned daily freed on bail TEHRAN, Oct 21 (Reuters) - An Iranian court on Wednesday released on bail two journalists arrested a month ago after their outspoken moderate daily was banned, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported. It quoted a court official as saying Tous daily's managing-director Mohammad Sadeq Javadi-Hessar and columnist Ebrahim Nabavi, arrested on unspecified security charges in mid-September, were freed on bail... FULL TEXT Rights violated in Iran despite reform moves - U.N. UNITED NATIONS, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Significant human rights violations continue in Iran, though many of the country's leaders wish to move toward a more tolerant and peaceful society, a U.N. investigator said on Wednesday. "The obstacles to be overcome in achieving this goal are very evident and success is by no means assured,'' said the U.N. Human Rights Commission's special representative for Iran, Maurice Copithorne of Canada... FULL TEXT Conservatives risk prestige in polls TEHRAN, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Iran's conservative clerics have staked their prestige on a respectable turnout in Friday's polls to a powerful state body, but voters seem set to challenge them by staying at home and handing them a moral defeat... FULL TEXT Karbaschi's speech at rally TEHRAN, (Hamshahri) - "We have to use the power of the ballot to reach our goals," said Gholam-Hossein Karbaschi in a major speech at yesterday's Kargozaran rally... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN Behzad's home to be restored TEHRAN, (Hamshahri) - The home of the late great miniatursit Hossein Behzad will be restored as a national monument... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN Must win in Baghdad TEHRAN, (Hamshahri) - Leaguge champion Pass must win against its Iraqi rival in Baghdad this Friday to keep its hope of winning the Asian cup winners' cup alive... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN $ Rate The dollar now offered at up to 635-642 tomans Source: Sehaty Exchange (U.S.) Tel:602-595-0777 Business news The Web Iran Football There are several soccer sites out there but this one is among the very best. It is not just attractively designed but it also keeps fans informed of the latest scores in Iran and, yes, Germany, where several Iranian stars play. More web sites Quote Unquote Harf sheno "A seven-member committee was formed by the [2nd] Experts Assembly to supervise and investigate speeches and positions taken by the Leader [Ayatollah Khamenei] and the Leader's office. The committee was engaged in a number of discussions. However, as far as issues relating to political and military affairs were concerned, the Leader told us not to consider such issues. So we accepted this, and the fact is that we did not do anything in these areas." Ayatollah Amini Deputy speaker, and head of the investigations committee of the previous Assembly of Experts, in a speech to Tehran University students Salam newspaper, Tehran October 1, 1998 Photo of the Day Revolution & Marketiung More photos Music Musician of the Week Ebi Five songs from his greatest hits album. Music artists index

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