Jewish girl, Muslim boy

Long before prophet’s
Hatred disguised itself
As twisted truth, promising
Virgins in paradise’ turf.
Long before bigotry became
Official - calling Jews impure,
Christians infidels, Bahaie’s
non-existent for the sake of its moor. >>>

We are ashamed!

As Iranian human beings, we are ashamed for what has been perpetrated upon the Baha’is in the last century and a half in Iran. We firmly believe that every Iranian, “without distinction of any kind, such as, race, color, sex, language, religion, politics or other opinions,” and also without regard to ethnic background, “social origin, property, birth or other status,” is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, from the very inception of the Baha’i Faith, the followers of this religion in Iran have been deprived of many provisions of human rights solely on account of their religious convictions>>>

Score

Something interesting happened in the city of Tehran on January 20th. For the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran an all-female soccer club played a match against an all-male team comprised of players between 15 to 18 years of age. As expected, the event did not sit well with Islamic authorities and coaches of both teams were fined and suspended. The managers of Estegllal soccer club who organized the match were hoping that the incident will quickly blow over... not a chance>>>

Muslim & Modern

After the rise of so called Islamic fundamentalism and the perceived threat against the west, Islam has been subject to scrutiny, interpretation, and critical analysis by Muslims as well as non-Muslims in the United States. Countless numbers of books have been published. "The Muslim Next Door" is one of the best. It is a very fascinating book that offers a refreshing departure from the ordinary presentations of Islam by others. It examines a wide variety of issues pivotal to the religion of Islam. The author, Ms. Sumbul Ali-Karamali, a Western educated Muslim woman, offers her own views concerning these pivotal issues, especially those related to Muslim women, their role, and their rights under Islamic law>>>

We made a big mistake

Last night I went to see the movie “Slumdog Millionaire”. It was a good movie, and brought back some bitter-sweet memories. I was visiting India for a few days, in early 1980’s. I found India an interesting country, with ancient culture and history, beautiful natural scenaries, dense population, rich and poor living side by side, and democratic. But, what took most of my attention, coming from Iran after the revolution, was the intense clash between Hindus and Muslims. Every night on TV, I watched burning maabads and musks, put on fire by someone affiliated with the two religious groups>>>

تولدم مبارک

روز پونزده آبان ماه هزارو سیصدو هر چی‌ که بود
مثل هر روز دگر برخاستم
ناگهان به یادم آمد که من امروز متولد شده ام
پس شتافتم سوی آینه تا ببینم صورت سی‌ ساله‌ام را
توی آینه محو خود گشتم و گشتم
آینه باز شد من به داخل رفتم آنگاه
سی‌ سال عمر گذشته روبرویم شد نمایان >>>

Take the Last Chance

...>>>

Rehabilitating the Shah

A common narrative concerning the Shah and the Pahlavi legacy unites much of Iran’s intelligentsia with liberal-left opinion in the West. According to this narrative, Mohammad Reza Shah’s father, Reza Shah, was an absolutist dictator who attempted to modernize Iran at the point of the gun and an entirely unacceptable pace. Meanwhile, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi is depicted as a corrupt stooge and a “westoxicated” lapdog of American imperialism who, by squashing the authentic democratic urges of his people, ultimately empowered the fundamentalist scourge now raging in his homeland. As the 30th anniversary of the late Shah’s departure from Iran approached, I had the opportunity to read Gholam Reza Afkhami’s magisterial biography of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi>>>

Fooled, several times

Like many other Iranian-Americans, I was so proud and happy to see one of our own, Goli Ameri, first run for Congress and then later be appointed to a high-level position in the State Department. But just as the last 8 years have been a lesson in discarding political naiveté, it has also been a rude awakening to see how ruthless and ambitious politicians can be – even if they are Iranian-Americans. The election of Obama is not just a rejection of past policies to me, but also a rejection of ethnic policies: I much rather have a black president that stands for the values that made this country great, than an Iranian-American President that would pursue and defend the ruthless and backward policies of the Bush crowd>>>

Too Much of a Good Thing

Manufactured smells that permeate in public used to be limited to occasional wafts of smoke, industrial fumes and/or fragrances. That’s changed. Nowadays, if it isn't burning incense, it's aromatic baths, scented candles, air-fresheners and God only knows what else. Even the “new and improved” household cleaners are like a cheap perfume that while failing to mask the stink, they can bring tears to your eyes. While it’s good to be considerate of others, sometimes the attempt to mask a pungent odor can exacerbate the situation. Personally, I’d rather smell tobacco than put up with the stink of a cab driver's extinguished cigarette added to the strong scent of that fake pine tree cutout dangling from his rearview mirror>>>

خروج بی هزينه از بن بست؟

هر ساله، به ماه بهمن که می رسيم، بی اختيار، ياد معلم سال آخر مدرسهء ابتدائی ام می افتم که، با گام زدنی همچون انشتين، راهروی بين دو ستون ميز و نيمکت ها را می پيمود و برای ما مسئله می گفت و ما بايد تا آخر ساعت جواب مسئله اش را دو دستی تقديمش می کرديم: «خانه ای داريم که هوس کرده ايم خرابش کنيم و عمارت نوئی را بجايش بر پا کنيم. قيمت مصالح ساختمانی دو هزار تومان است و قيمت کار کارگر روزی 10 تومان. اگر عمليات ساختمانی دو ماه طول بکشد خرج اين کار چقدر خواهد بود؟ و يادتان هم باشد که ماه سی روز دارد!» و فاتحانه می خنديد. و من با خود فکر می کنم که سی سال پيش کدام نابغۀ رياضی می توانست جواب مسئله مشابهی را بدهد که آن روز معلم تاريخ پيش روی ما نهاده بود: «مملکتی داريم که شاهی دارد به نام محمد رضا شاه و نخست وزيری به نام اميرعباس هويدا... >>>

تبعات روانی جنایات جنگی

آتش بس شکننده ای بر غزه حاکم است. در صورت پیروزی جناح راست اسرائیل تحت نخست وزیری بنیامین نتنیاهو در انتخابات آینده احتمال تجدید خشونت در غزه نیز افزایش خواهد یافت. با گسترش روز افزون مستوطنات یهودی در کرانه غربی و تکه پاره شدن این منطقه توسط شاهراه ها و راهبندها شاید "راه حل دو کشوری" که متضمن ایجاد دولت مستقل فلسطینی در کنار اسرائیل است و از سوی میانه روان (از مذاکرات اسلو و نقشه راه بوش تا طرح ملک عبدالله و تأیید اخیر پرزیدنت اوباما) پیشنهاد شده است کم کم از دایره امکان خارج شده باشد. جناح راست اسرائیل راه حل را در صلح نمیبیند. آنها رویای دولتی سربازخانه ای مانند اسپارت باستان را در سر میپرورانند: جنگ دائم و پیروزی دائم توسط ملتی جنگجو. برخی از آنها حتی رویای ناممکن تبعید جمعی فلسطینیان یا سایر جنایات جنگی علیه آنان را هم میبینند. >>>

کمی خانگی

نیما هنوز تنهاست
نه نور نورانی‌ست
و نه این گنبد خالی
کلید را می‌زنم
چراغ روشن نمی‌شود
این‌جا خانه‌ی من نیست
باید کمی خانگی شوم >>>