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Tuesday, December 24, 1996

Headlines:

-- Jannati: Internet feeds "poison" to masses
-- Jannati: Limit Internet use
-- "I am seeing you on TV"
-- The veil is a metaphor
-- Foreign reporter robbed in Tehran
-- Relase of 2nd "Vim-Farsi" Persian program

From: Payman Arabshahi <payman@u.washington.edu>

From wire serivices

TEHRAN, Dec 20 - A senior Iranian cleric called on Friday for restricting Internet access because the global computer network fed ``poison'' to the masses.

``Internet should be restricted to research and scientific centres,'' Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said in a sermon to Moslem worshippers at Tehran University.

``Beyond that, it is poison fed to people,'' he said in a speech broadcast live on Tehran radio.

Jannati, known for his hardline comments, criticised ``unalert and uncalculating'' officials who allowed unrestricted access to the information super highway.

He said the Internet ``poisoned thought, morale and attitude'' and ``was much worse than food poisoning since 100 doctors put together could not cure such a case in a short time.''

Jannati is a member of the influencial Guardian Council, a body of six attorneys and six clergymen which checks bills passed by parliament before approving it.

Iran's telecommunications ministry says it has over 10,000 Internet subscribers -- who must sign a statement pledging not to access any information deemed ``un-Islamic.''

Users often complain of high operating costs, but so far, there has been no public report of state censorship.

Pornographic materials and Western musical video shows are banned in the Islamic republic.

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From: Reza F Bourghani <davood@ix.netcom.com>

Tehran, Dec. 20, IRNA -- Substitute Friday prayer leader of Tehran Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati in his second sermon referring to scandles, rumors and empty accusations of Iran's involvement in Dhahran explosion stressed here on Friday that Dhahran explosion was an internal issue in Saudi Arabia adding that Riyadh had found no document yet to support Iran's involvement in the case.

Turning to the issue pertaining to expansion of Internet network, the Ayatollah called on the officials in charge to limit use of the system into scientific and research purposes.

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From: Reza F. Bourghani <davood@ix.netcom.com>

VOA Makes Waves

By Nora Boustany Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, December 20 1996; Page A46

When diplomacy fails, you can count on the airwaves.

With no official contact between Tehran and Washington, Voice of America's call-in show "Roundtable With You" has enabled Iranians to talk to Americans and to probe the truth firsthand.

People in Iran have chatted live with Iranian Americans and exiled singers and artists about their lives, their opportunities and how they have integrated into American culture. One of the programs, which air on Iranian television and radio simultaneously, featured an immigration lawyer. "I am seeing you on TV," a young Iranian chirped. "Iran TV had a program saying this is all theater. But now I want to tell all the Iranians who are listening I'm talking live and this isn't theater."

"In a strange, perverse way, there is a world of public diplomacy. It is not fully defined, because I think the definition of it changes with advancing technology," said David W. Burke, chairman of the presidentially appointed Board of Governors for the International Broadcasting Bureau, which oversees the Voice of America and other U.S.-funded foreign broadcasting. "If heads of state want to talk to heads of state, they can choose to do so, but how can people talk to people about the freedom from which they are deprived and which we enjoy? We have to get the message of freedom across to people who live constricted lives."

"The beauty of television is that a satellite dish cannot be jammed," he added. The mullahs did crack down on the possession of satellite dishes, so dish owners simply switched to radio. Regardless of prohibitions, people around the world have shown themselves to be quite ingenious in getting the broadcasts. A man in Belgrade, for example, stood in a bathtub with an antenna hooked up on a tree so he could receive the signal and hear about Serbian demonstrations on extended broadcasts of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and VOA. RFE/RL is a private, nonprofit public-service station funded by Congress, and VOA is the U.S. government's international broadcasting service...

***

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From: Reza F. Bourghani <davood@ix.netcom.com>

Islamic women's power, out from under wraps

By Barbara Slavin USA TODAY Dec 20, 1996

TEHRAN, Iran - Like most women who work in offices here, Shahla Sherkat is a study in black, from the hood that covers every wisp of her hair to the long loose coat that Iranians, with their fondness for French, call a manteau.

But beneath this garb, Sherkat has an agenda that seems to belie her dress. "I can tolerate this," says the editor of Women magazine, pointing to her clothing. "What is bothering me is far more important."

For the 30 million women of Iran and many of the half-billion women in Muslim countries from Morocco to Indonesia, this is a time of intellectual ferment and passionate debate. Many seek better lives without abandoning a religion that was progressive 1,300 years ago.

The Koran called for humane treatment of women in an age when they were little better than chattel. In recent years, however, Islam has been used to justify sexual inequality.

The veil is a metaphor for the status of Muslim women. To many, it is a badge of identity, worn proudly. To others it is an anachronism that symbolizes second-class status.

In most Muslim countries, the veil is a matter of choice. But it is mandatory in nations ranging from modern Saudi Arabia to parts of strife-torn Afghanistan. In Iran, even foreign women are obliged by law to wear the hijab, the Arabic word for "covering."

Every morning, the streets of Tehran are clogged with veiled women on their way to work. In the affluent northern suburbs, they show a modest rebellion by favoring a sort of designer hijab, a stylish coat and bright scarf showing a bit of hair and a discreetly made-up face. In the poorer neighborhoods of south Tehran, it looks as if every woman is going to a funeral. Black scarves, hoods and coats prevail, and among many, the traditional cloak known as a chador.

Inside homes or embassies, women can shed outer garments. Underneath, wealthy women reveal the latest fashions. At parties, they preen in miniskirts and decolletage...

***

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From: Reza F. Bourghani <davood@ix.netcom.com>

LETTER FROM TEHRAN

A Foreigner And His Money Are Soon Parted

By John Lancaster

Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, December 24 1996; Page C01

It was over as quickly as it began. One moment I was fighting down panic, fumbling for my passport as a man purporting to be an Iranian police officer accused me of carrying heroin and hashish. Then I was watching in dismay as his car roared away from the curb -- along with my wallet and money belt and $5,000 in cash.

Needless to say, I felt like a fool.

Why hadn't I taken a closer look at his identification card, the one he flashed so quickly that only one word -- "Police" -- registered through the fog of my anxiety? Why hadn't I become suspicious when he remained in the car, interrogating me through an open window, rather than getting out to confront me? And why was he so interested in knowing how much money I was carrying?

In retrospect, there is an obvious answer to such questions: Because I was an American, and because I was in Iran...

***

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From: Mortaza Shiran <shiran@sbs.de>

This note is to announce the second public beta relase of The Vim-Farsi.

** What is vim ?

Vim is a vi-compatible editor with many enhancements:

multi-level undo/redo, on-line hypertext help, mouse support, tag stack, interactive compiling/editing, visual block marking, command line editing, multiple windows, Athena and Motif GUIs, and much, much more.

** What is Vim-Farsi ?

Vim-Farsi is the vim with the support of Farsi keymapping and handling. Vim-Farsi is based on vim-4.5 . While supporting the Farsi keymapping, vim-farsi retains all original vim-4.5 functionalities. The keymapping is based on Persian ISIRI 2901 standard. The character encoding is close to Persian standard 3342. In addition there is a built in function via F9 function key, which toggles the text encoding between Vim-Farsi and Persian 3342 standard encoding. Since the Pmosaic browser supports the Persian encoding 3342 standard, you can write Persian HTML files with Vim-Farsi. Vim-Farsi also can be used by all languages, like Arabic, Urdo ... , that have the same keymapping logic.

For an impression of how the Vim-Farsi looks like, take a look at the following captured gif file:

ftp://ftp.oce.nl/pub/misc/vim/farsi/vim-farsi.gif

In this context also take a look at the following captured gif file:

ftp://ftp.oce.nl/pub/misc/vim/farsi/vim-farsi-html.gif

Important: For now you have to make/compile your own Vim-Farsi. Vim-Farsi has been tested on Linux and Free BSD OS. For DOS OS the proper font is contained in Farsi-HOWTO-Package.tar.gz but I have not compiled the vim-farsi under the DOS.

Where to get more information and the Vim-Farsi?

ftp://ftp.oce.nl/pub/misc/vim/farsi/

This is my present to all Iranians for "Shabe Yalda" or better to over come the "Shabe Yalda". I will be back on line at 10th of Jan. 1997.

Cheers, Mortaza

-- Mortaza G. Shiran

Tel: +49 89 722 31230 Siemens PN AN 613 Mch/Sc8

Fax: +49 89 722 31421 Germany E-Mail:shiran@scn.de

//www.scn.de/~shiran

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