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November 9, 2001 * Took them to heart Kobra Khanom joon, I think your loyal readers deserve some last note as to why you quit! It was so good to read your column and I always loved your advices and took them to heart. Even though the topics didn't relate to everybody, I know I would learn from them one way or another. I never liked advice columns in newspapers, etc. But I came to believe in your wisdom and your sincerity, and after that I never missed any of your columns. You appear to be a modern Iranian. A lot of Iranians abroad (especially the new generation) are the same way and so we could relate to you well. I especially think women enjoyed your column and that gave iranian.com a new (and good) characteristic. I think it would be so good if you could at least do this on a weekly basis if the daily advice was taking too much time? Regards, * Don't give up on us... The following is a letter I sent to Kobra Khanom yesterday. I don't know what happened and why she's not going to be part of Iranian.com anymore, but she was a very knowledgeable person and her free services would be missed a lot. As a subscriber, I encourage you to solve your differences and try to bring her back. It's not fair and right to loose someone like her! Disappointed reader, Dear Kobra Khanom, I'm going to miss you a lot. I have been reading your advices every day since you started this column. You don't believe how frustrated I was during the past few days looking for a new story/problem under the "Advice" section. I was like a "Morgh-e par kandeh", until today when I read that you would no longer enlighten us with your beautiful wordings. Please don't give up on us... Thanks for your kind advices all along, * I will miss you Dear Kobra Khanom, I will miss you. You are an Iranian who does not judge or moralise. You perceive issues and their underlying basis and give practical and efficacious advice. Your kind and all-embracing attitude helped me appreciate all aspects of myself as a complete being -- an Iranian being who could be all that I was, rather than compartmentalise and alienate myself into pieces that belonged to various cultures due to outdated mores many seem to hold on to. Thanks also to all those people who wrote in and shared their problems. You helped me do away with the false stereotypes I had of ourselves as Iranians. Best wishes for what you choose to do in the future. You did a great job with your column. * Enjoyed by husband & wife Dear Kobra Khanom, Thanks for your great column and I will personally miss reading it. The interesting thing is that my husband and I both enjoyed reading your advice and then we discussed it too! I hope I get to read your other articles in iranian.com. Good luck to you and your family. * Tell her to come back Ba arzeh salam va ahvalporsi... mikhastam bebinam chera Kobra Khanom maro tark kardan? I think her section was the best in here, and so helpful to many of us. Is she coming back? I really hope you tell her to come back. Thank you, * Khatami no Gorbachev Mr. Shervin, ["Son of fire is ash"] As an employee of Wall Street Journal, I ask you what guarantees do you have that Khatami truly believes in democracy? There is no comparing Mr. Khatami to Mr. Gorbachev. How much improvement have we witnessed in Iran's international policies and standings in the past 5 years? In 1978, Iran was a respected member of the International community. In 1980, Soviet Union was a respected member of the International community. Six years after his coming to power, Mr. Khatami has never criticized the excessive use of death penalty in Iran, stoning of people in public! According the policies of Mr. Khatami, it is still illegal in Iran to be a Bahai. Mr. Khatami, unlike Gorbachev, has never seriously challenged the deadly policies of Islamic republic. Mr. Khatami has never apologized for crimes that have taken place since 1979. Unlike Mr. Pahlavi he has never disavowed the legacy of his predecessors! As a member of this publishing institution, I am disgusted that you have questioned the journalistic integrity of Mr. Pope and Mr. Waldman. I am aware that many Iranian expatriate businessmen in order to win favors with the molla rulers of Iran have jumped on Mr. Khatami's public relations bandwagon. However, simply because individuals such as Mr. Shervin are so motivated to score personal high marks with Islamic republic for their personal gains, that is not enough justification to question descent people's professional integrity. Sincerely, * Refresh your memory Mr. Pishevar, ["Son of fire is ash"] I was sincerely disheartened to read the article you submitted to the Iranian.com website. For a person whom considers himself a "roshanfekr", and is considered so by the American business media, you really proved them wrong by making numerous asinine comments regarding Iran & it's history! How can you make such derogatory comments regarding the Pahlavi's and your so-called belief that they as a family have done nothing to better Iran? I will attempt to refresh your memory of Iran during the 20th century up to the clerical hijacking of our country. During the times leading up to the forced abdication of the Qajars, Iran was a complete wasteland as a result of incompetence, not to mention their apathy, towards Iran just as long as their thirst for sexual escapades were met. To meet this end, they proceeded to sell parts of Iran to the highest bidder; do not forget the wars they lost due to our Army being vastly under-trained and ill equipped to go into battle. Why do you ask?? The answer is simple: The Qajars. When Reza Shah came to power, his aim was to make Iran, or Persia back in the day, respectable ONCE AGAIN. One simple achievement of the Pahlavi's was the adoption of a last name. Prior to that time, Iranians were simply known as "Hassan, pesareh Hossein, navayeh Mustafa khan"; this undoubtedly was the case for your beloved great-grandfather, whomever he was, god rests his soul. From this point forward, we had a sense of identity as it related to ourselves! Then he set out to industrialize the country by building factories, schools, dams, providing electricity to the remote parts of the land. Do you still believe the Pahlavi's did not do a single good deed in their 50+ years? Everything you and your family enjoyed up to 1979 was a direct result of their achievements, as they brought Iran out of the "sea of darkness it was floating in for nearly 200 years. After the revolution, YOUR Khatami and his band of hooligans, set Iran on a course to revisit that "body of water once again. YOUR Khatami is the worst type of molla, as he is the type that will smile at you while doing what molla's do best: lie, cheat, steal and not to mention KILL. You might even dare to say that he is "The Devil in Cleric's Cloth". Your promotion of the clerical regime can undoubtedly rest on the fact you will stand to gain financially if the "baboons remain in power! Prove me wrong on this pointPLEASE do. You are not thinking about the average Iranian whom has to hold 3 jobs just to put food on the table for his family; you are simply imagining how many dollars you will make if these "jackasses hold on to their monopoly! I will first ask you your position on religion: are you a devout Muslim? The reason I ask is simple as YOUR Koran is 100% against any monarchy, yet at the same time, the clerics seek to create their own Theocratic Monarchy by monopolizing their influence, or I should say GREED, over the masses to serve their own purposes. This is where Reza Pahlavi steps into the picture with the promotion of mosque and state. Period. You cannot govern any country, let alone our Iran, based on the mutterings of a non-Persian and his cult of killers. He has learned from the mistakes of his father, HIM Mohammad Reza Shah, may he eternally rest in peace, and is willing and eager to let the people of Iran choose their destiny. Mr. Pahlavi is advocating a Constitutional Monarchy, where the Sovereign is a figurehead signifying the unity of Iran. The concept does work, for an example you can look to Spain, England, and even the Netherlands. I urge you to indulge yourself in Persian/Iranian history in order to obtain a better sense of our history, culture and psyche, for it will enable you to make OBJECTIVE arguments regarding our Iran. Zendehbad Iran! Regards, * What is your motive? Once again innuendo rules!! ["Son of fire is ash"] Mr Pishravi, the garb you wrote is slanderous. Where is your evidence of for these billions? I am genuinely interested to see the evidence to back up the statements you have made. The young Pahlavi is dangerous mainly because he gives hope to innocent people who believe in him whereas they should believe in themselves. Not only is Mr Khatimi ineffective but he is extremely dangerous as he is helping an evil regime survive by giving false hope to millions when BY HIS OWN ADMISSION HE DOES NOT HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE ANYTHING, NOT LEAST TO STOP THE ATROCITIES COMMITTED BY THE ISLAMIC GOVERNMENT IN BREACH OF ITS OWN PERVERTED CONSTITUTION. What is your motive or business interest to write in such glowing terms of the President of such a regime which by its own admission has murdered thousands? Shame on you! * Pahlavi has not done jack Dear friends, It is understandable that many of us Iranian Americans are upset about the latest hoopla regarding Reza Pahlavi. Many of us are enraged that he is invited to universities to give his views. Some of us are even afraid that he might actually come to power! To all that, I say -- chill folks. Really, grab an ice cold Pepsi or mango juice. Really, let's not get emotional! Enjoy life -- don't take everything you read seriously. Don't let your hair turn grey. Take comfort in the fact that you know the truth. You know that the Iranian youth and women love Khatami. Journalists like to write about sensational things. They like to make themselves feel good. You all know that the Iranians admire individuals with charisma. Individuals that are "ba-orze." Reza Pahlavi is no such person. At least his younger brother (I think his name is Ali) is more street-smart. We all know that a very small percentage of Iranians in Iran have satelite dishes. Heck, most Iranian American don't even have one. Take comfort in the fact that very few people actually heard what Reza Pahlavi had to say. And only God knows how he came across. Afterall, it doesn't take a lot to have a speechwriter write your speeches. It is how you actually deliver it- the non-verbal gestures and moves leave a long lasting impression. Take comfort in the fact that the great majority of Iranian activists are actually educated and can read through the lines. They can see that Reza Pahlavi has not done jack for democracy or liberties. Take comfort in the fact that Iranians are also human beings. We curse at God and Prophet Mohammad when things don't go our way -- yet we know that we are Muslims. So too the Iranian youth- they get frustrated sometimes and want to blow off some steam and piss off the basijis -- so they say things llike, "We love you Reza." It is all part of human nature. Even those of us that support Khatami, sometimes curse him when we are all emotional, for example when we see that Judge Shahroudi is flogging our youth. But at the end of the day, we get back to our senses. The recent public displays after the games were acts of temporary hysteria and mania. It is completely normal to act out of one's character during such times. Finally, rest assured that if this war has taught the world anything- it's that the US is really impotent militarily. They have been unsuccessful so far in destroying the Taleban tribe. Do you really think any future president will ever want to take on Iran. Think again, this is the land of Cyrus the Great! Faithfully, * Youth want change NOW In "Had enough of both" , the author, Mr. Ata, presented his qualifications for being Shah. While I don't want to discount his qualifications :-) , I would like to ask why his family or Reza Pahlavi's family is relevant? Please focus on your own qualifications, not your family's. Today, I would say that two qualifications are key: 1-You are dedicated to democracy , pluralism, and the national interests of our homeland Iran. (many people meet this one) 2-You are willing and able to step forward and publicly get involved, not just rant and rave your opinion when you feel like it. (most people do NOT meet this one) The time for talk is up. We the youth of Iran want change NOW. Stop telling us to be patient with dictators, and stop telling us who our leader should be. If there is a better leader out there, step forward. If there is not, it doesn't matter because we are all leaders this time. Our culture is changing and we will not give any single one person so much power again ever. In the hope of our homeland becoming free, * Whoever came to power... I have recently arrived in the UK to participate in a certain professional training course. I came across the Iranian.com quite by chance. The good thing about the letters section is that it provides people of various social and political factions a forum to reflect their ideas. In the past week I noticed there is a broad spectrum of ideas ranging from pro-monarchist to pro-republican. I'm not a politician nor a scholar in any relevant field but there are some things that I wish to point out. Since I have lived in Iran through pre revolutionary years, the revolution, war and the turbulent post-war years, I think that I've seen enough to be able to answer to some of the comments that have been made in the letters section: 1) There is no doubt that WE -- the people of iran -- have been suffering under the yoke of autocratic rulers for many hundreds of years. Every now and then dynasties would fall, only to be succeeded by yet a simillar type of Tyranny, or even worse. The Pahlavis WERE indeed corrupt (both of them) and the present regime in Iran is also riddled with corruption; but have you, wether you are for or against either monarchy or the present regime, ever given it any thought that why nearly every liberation movement in our history has gone astray. There are many theories that can give an answer to this question. In my opinion (and I hereby open this to a discussion between the correspondents to this forum), we Iranians create our own dictators. We Iranians have developed a certain (unfortunate) national trait (which is deeply embeded in our psyche) to make an autocrat of whoever comes to power. We Iranians havn't yet reached that point to be able to exercise true democracy. It's some sort of self induced patriarchy. UNFORTUNATELY WHOEVER HAS COME TO POWER IN THIS COUNTRY HAS CAPITULATED ON THAT WEAKNESS . BOTH THE PRESENT REGIME AND THE LIKES OF REZA PAHLAVI KNOW IT VERY WELL >>> FULL TEXT Mohsen Gorji M.D. * Sorry for those students I read the comments of M. Sahimi ["Dream on"]. I do not know what TV station he was watching. Reza Pahlavi never said anything about bombing Iran against terrorists. He said the majority of population are fed-up with this regime and if you support the people of Iran against the Islamic regime they will get rid of the government. I am very sorry for those students he is teaching. * Is the man insane? The year 2001 is called "Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations" mainly due to a speech given by President Mohammad Khatami to UN General assembly in 1998.Now Khatami is back in NY for another speech. In the meantime Maghaame Moa'zame Rahbari , Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, in a recent speech in Isfahan declares "WE have reached the conclusion that not just relation but ANY NEGOTIATION with America is against the nation's interest.If anyone in government or parliament takes a stance against the ideas of the Islamic system , he is not fit to continue his duties from a religious point of view (haraame shar'i)." Is the man insane? Not really. He is only a puppet installed by bazaari-molla alliance to serve a purpose and he is too stupid to even realize that his statement does not make any sense anymore. We all clearly remember the days that bazaaris would respond to the cries of VAA ISLAAMAA by closing the shops and paralyzing the government. Now they don't have to that anymore.All they have to do is to hire mercenaries to protect them and their interests, the same way the Shahs protected themselves by military. It took us four shahs to die in GHORBAT to get rid of monarchy.Will it take four ayatollahs to die in GHORBAT to get rid of the "Islamic" part of the Republic and the Baazaari-Religious alliance? I hope not. * Allowed to disagree It's shameful that again and again the saltanatalabs have belittled Khanoum Sohrabi for her views on the restoration of monarchy in Iran under Reza Pahlavi ["His royal lowness", "I had a dream"]. It's especially sad to notice that so many people,such try to put Sohrabi down because of her being a Harvard graduate! We are allowed to disagree with each other. That's the beauty of freedom of discussion. Darius Kadivar has disagreed with me a couple of times and he has sent me very civilized emails. However belittling Sohrabi and suggesting she does not belong in Harvard is completely out of place! Most of us probably don't know her and it's not up to us whether to decide whether she belongs in Harvard! That's the job of an admission committee! One of the letters listed a bunch of names such as Farmanfarmaian and Amouzegar and suggested that Khanoum Sohrabi does not belong to that group. Just because she does not agree with our point of view, we should not put her down and suggest she is not intellectually fit! * Persian Aryan myths Dear Mr. Begli Beigie, ["Cultural continuity"] I couldn't agree more with you that Iran and Persia are synonymous and is being acknowledged by Europeans slowly but still with alot of mis-conceptions and mis-interpretations. Tonight their is a documentary on French television on the Hormuz straight and in the preview to the program they refered to the Arabo-Persian Gulf. Western Litterature is highly influenced by the Myth of Persia. One unfortunately can fall into generalizations very quickly. Iran "The Land of the Aryans" was united not by racial considerations for their is nothing as a pure Iranian or Aryan Race but by a linguistic unity of Iranophone languages. Hitler and the Nazi's was wrong in wanting to attribute the notion of an Aryan race to the Germans or other racial entities. Paradoxically the "Swastica" or "Broken Cross" is an Indian sign found also on some Persian potteries and architectural Items however the Symbol is reversed as to the German Nazi sign and does not have at all the same significance. It is still a mystery to me by what narrow considerations Hitler got to the stupid conclusions of Race associated with the "The Blond German with blue eyes" all the more that he himself was not blond. Both Wagner and Nietzche also accused of Anti-semitism, were fascinated by the Aryan Myth. Aryans have been associated to a type of "Viking super-hero" which they never were. German archeologists participated actively to excavations in Iran from an early start even before Germany was overtook by Nazi thugs. This is all the more surprising that the Father of Human Rights "Cyrus The Great" established the famous "Cylinder" today in the British Museum to celebrate the Liberation of the Jews from Babylon among other ethnic groups. It was also the Persian scribe Esdras who under the Reign of Artaxerxes II reassembled all the sacred writings of the Jews into what was to become the "Torah". As for Iranian Jews they are the oldest jewish community in the World and have been more attached to their Iran than to Israel >>> FULL TEXT * Another reason to stay humble Reading Mohamad Navab's very wise comments ["Still complaining"] on Sadaf Kiani article "Gharibeh", inspired me to share some thoughts. Let's wonder in the polarized world for a while. I assume people are have a negative attitude, which sooner or later end up being depressed and/or unsatisfied or have a positive attitude which then either end up wondering why others are always nagging or spend their time convincing the first group that they should focus on positive aspects of life and blah blah blah... Of course some people keep switching camps during their lifetime. The start negative then realize that there is no point in that type of life so they chose to become positive. Those lucky stay in the new position for a while. Unlucky ones may take an unfortunate return to the nagging days. Losing a job, losing a close friend, a sudden death or a serious un-curable decease in those around us is strong enough to push us back in the dark side of the moon. On the contrary people have switched to the bright side with happy incidents such as falling in love, finding a new job or simply forgetting some past dark events. Ironically both camps have a strong case. One has many reasons to feel Negative. The simple fact that we as human beings will lose every thing we have sooner or later is bitter enough to ruin a all our sweet dreams. While this is true, we are all blessed with being able to forget. That may be the best thing around. We keep getting up after getting crashed. An old friend used to tell me how he is influenced by cartoon characters. Creatures who no matter how many time go down, come back again. Our vulnerability should help us become more tolerant. Sometimes its not the setback that makes us feel bad, its their surprising appearance. Like they were never supposed to happen. Lets not be surprised. Fate has some rainy days for all of us in store. Interestingly, this bitter fact provides strong grounds for positive thinking too. By lowering our expectations, spending less time watching happy-ending movies and thinking of how easily things could have been much worse, we may experience less thrilling moments but then we will not feel as low as we normally do in our bad days. At the core of all this what sparks me is the interesting Nature of human beings. Who are we? What is happiness? What rules explain our spirits behavior? What is this "mood" thing that can turn us down in a hear beat? All in all, this is yet another reason for us as human beings to stay humble when facing the much stronger world. Life is probably too short. Let's remember, let's respect... * I call it a strength Hello Sadaf, ["Gharibeh"] My name is Sahar and I left iran 3.5 years ago. I am a female, 28-years-old, married with an Iranian person, and very nostalgic about iran and specially tehran. I read all your stories in iranian.com and I like their theme since they are very close to my feelings and thoughts. I do some paintings and I love Iranian literature and poetry, but my major profession has been software engineering in the past 7 years. I appear to be successful from outside but there are things that I miss and lack, including some of the things I left behind in Iran and my heart. and yes, I feel stranger here and at the same time I cannot live in my own homeland since it doesn't let me breathe and be myself... I read a comment which one of your readers made in "Gharibeh", inviting you to be constructive & positive ["Still complaining"], but I don't think that you're not! The difference is that you're more sensitive in recording what you observe and you're open with your feelings and I call it a strength in your works. I found the electronic drawings elegant as well. Thanks for the good job, and please keep on writing and posting your articles to iranian.com. Regards, Sahar * You missed out PERSIA IOWA... ["Persia, Iowa","Found it"] but I grew up in the city so I had to come back to it. Oh yaeah, you missed out on the farm ponds for fishing, allso the pheasants for hunting... they're great in the frying pan. * Afshin Salary Trying to find an old friend, AFSHIN SALARY (age 29). He used to live in IRAN SHIRAZ, SAHRAK VALIASR, RD 111 (OR 115). If you know him please either let me know or give him my email. * I know It has not been discussed in the press, in news articles or on TV, but I know what the battle is about Islam vs. Christianity. Mohammad has challenged the deity of Jesus Christ as being the son of God, Koran, Surah 19:12,29-,88, "Praise be to God who has never begotten a son; who has no partner in his kingdom" just to quote one verse and this happened 1400 years ago. And that passion has reached a higher level and a time to test us. Most Christians have no idea what is taking place as most Muslims do. Jesus Christ is the world's Savior and there no comes to the Father except through him. That is the truth that must be told. Muslims are being taken down a road to hell and we must help them. They are not happy people as they chant in mosques, they are scared. They know they have no freedom to speak freely, that the dictators rule no matter what, that all wealth stays at the top and the billionaire religious freaks have no morals as they travel to sin citys where there is gambling, prostitution, partying, drinking and drugs and when they return home they pray to Allah. Rich Muslims rarely ever help the poor, comfort the sick, give to another country that has suffered a disaster, they just somehow build a more grand palace for themselves with lots of gold, silver, marble and high ceilings. And do they stop at building one palace, no, more and more.
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