October 15, 2001

* Ahmad Batebi play

Once again the effectiveness of drama as a powerful medium for communication was proven tonight (October 15) in London during the play about Ahmad Batebi, the jailed Iranian student.

More than 100 people, mainly English, packed the main lecture theatre at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London to watch the play performed by Iranian Arts Projects. The evening started with a short introduction by an National Union of Students representative describing the clerics in Iran as the enemies of knowledge and an outline of the anti-university measures by the Ayatollahs from the cultural revolution to the present day.

The audience were so impressed by the play based on Ahmad Batebi's interrogation that they queued up afterwards to sign up the petition demanding for his release. The petition will be sent to Jack Straw, the British foreign secretary who has been advocating closer ties with the clerics in Iran and ignoring the human rights violations taking place in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The play will also be performed in other UK universities in the near future.

Potkin Azarmehr

* Letter to Khosro Parviz?

I agree with Mr. Parsi's thesis in "Asserting principles". He blames a culture that increasingly favors only discussion when assertion is required. He calls it a lack of faith.

I think a substantial part of the "American weakness" is the growth of rampant multiculturalism. When one advocates that all cultures are equally valid then it becomes difficult to attack or even criticize any cultural practices of other societies. That is the logical conclusion of the moral relativism that has been preached in schools for decades.

There is an eerie similarity between what is happening to the U.S. and the barbarians at the gates of ancient Rome or the Arabs on the brink of invading Persia. Are Osama's videotaped warnings all that different from Mohammad's famous letter to Khosro Parviz? In booth cases the empires fell ultimately due to a lack of resolve despite their prosperity and superior armies.

I hope the U.S. fares better than the preceding superpowers against these postmodern Barbarians.

Ali Kazemi

* Filled with hate

This is a letter in response to Mr. Parsi's article, "Asserting principles". I was shocked at the ignorance of the author's views on political and economic issues of the Middle East and Iran. In answer to the question "why do they hate us?" is very well justified. In what was once the state of Palestine, America continues to support Israel both financially and militarily. Israel in return murders innocent palestinian civilians on a daily basis. Just think of the tragedies in Sabra and Shatila.

America continues to maintain a military existence in the Persian Gulf? Why? OIL. And no Mr. Parsi, America cannot just "take" oil from Iran or any other state in the Persian Gulf. The oil is on our soil and therefore it belongs to us, to our governments, and to our people. Or are you in doubt of this fact? The U.S. government did not kill Sadam like it killed thousands of Iraqi women and children, not because it does not want bloods on its hands, but because it wants oil in them; Sadam provides a good excuse to maintain U.S military existence in Saudi, Kuwait and Qatar (conveniently close to the largest oilfields and rigs of this world).

These "bedouins" you speak of, their oil money, their petro-dollars are running the world economy and they are paying a large price for it. The Persian Gulf states are ruled by puppet leaders, loathed by their own people, but supported by the American government. Let us at least give them the basic right of getting an education anywhere in this world, as they please, without having to endure racist attitudes from you or anyone else.

And as for our own country, as for Iran, the U.S. government gave military and financial support in an eight year war against our country to the very same Iraq it bombs today. During this war, 2 million Iranian soldiers lost their lives. In 1998, the American navy hit an Iranian plane killing innocent Iranian civilians. Their motive: to stop a war they supported for eight years. America continues to impose economic sanctions on our economy, crippiling it even further.

Mr. Parsi, you sit in your safe haven in the U.S. away from all these atrocities in the Middle East and pass ignorant and arrogant remarks on our people. Are you so naive or have you conveniently chosen to forget these facts because of your personal interests. People like you, who are filled with hate, racism, and ignorance harbour the sort of hatred that exists in Middle East for your kind.

Sanaz

* McGovernment not the answer

Mr. Parsi, in response to your letter ["What we do best"], I'm finding it difficult to comprehend your seemingly childlike approach to such complicated matters as "identity", "culture" and "civilisation". You wrote: "How is it then that we surrender completely and passively to the violation of our IDENTITY, CULTURE and CIVILIZATION by the Islamic invasion, initiated over 1000 years ago by the Bedouin Arab invaders."

Iran is made up of dozens of different races and religions, as a product of the many times that particular bit of the world has been invaded, each invasion bringing something new to be added to the "national identity". Thus we are a product of the assimilation of the customs and practices of countless civilisations and cultures. Hence, for example, we wear trousers and play football.

The Arab invasion was a long time ago, and it wasn't anything different to the other invasions Iran has witnessed. Our culture is a fluid entity and one of our national symbols is the Cypress tree that bends in the wind but does not break. Hence our civilisation is around today to tell the tale (how many other civilisations can do that?).

Therefore I reject the notion that the Arab invasion was a "violation" of our "identity, culture and civilisation". It was no more a violation than the introduction of the sport "football" or the beverage "tea". Islam has been assimilated into the Iranian identity and is as valid as any other feature of our national identity. It's here to stay, if you don't like it ­ tough. The late Shah of Iran didn't like that aspect of Iranian identity either and discovered in 1979 how deeply intrinsic it is.

Mr. Parsi, Islam is just another part of our national identity we have to deal with and keep under control. We'd probably be just as upset if a fundamentalist Zoroastrian government emerges from the ashes of the current regime. We require balance.

The current regime is overemphasising the importance of Islam as part of our collective identity, I agree. I believe that such a regime has been allowed to come into existence partly because of the Shah's under emphasis of our Islamic heritage and the resultant backlash.

However, I believe that the mollas' days are numbered, not because of the threat of US bombs, but because Iranian society will once again find it's equilibrium. This requires time and will only be hindered by direct meddling by the US or any other country. The answer isn't the bombing of Iran and the installation of a McGovernment: this will set us back further and give future generations of Iranians another 1953-esque event to moan about.

Ehsan Ghorani

* America the bully

Unlike many people who read this site I am not an American-Iranian. I am an Iranian. I happen to be living here largely because of my job. Of course, compared with many others in the world, I probably am lucky to be here, no doubt about it, but that is not my point.

My point is that I do not need to talk about "our" government when referring to that entity in this country. And I want to say to anyone who feels they belong here that "your" government is a bully. It is a bully worse than any that history has ever seen. What it is doing in Afghanistan is not justified by anything that preceded it.

What gives this government the right to do the most cowardly act possible: to bomb defenceless people from miles above in the sky, just because some mentally-disturbed people killed some other innocent people? It claims that it is bombing military targets and airports and police academies, as if Afghanistan had any of these in any tangible sense. That is a sad joke.

Whatever there was of that sort wouldn't have taken more than a few minutes to wipe out. This government lost an historic opportunity after September 11 to make peace with the world, to build bridges, to try and create a dialogue, to follow international law to bring the perparators to justice. Instead it is back to what it does best: bullying and humiliating the world. I detest this government and the popular mentality that supports it from the bottom of my heart.

Hossein Samiei

* Killing is unjustified

Glad to read your good letter "What we do best", Mr. Parsi. But still, you insist on how lucky Afghans are to be freed "thanks to the liberating force of the beleaguered USA". Well, there is no luck at all in being assassinated.

You know, there is no difference between a fanatic mullah and a fanatic democrat; both of them think they own the right to kill whoever don't follow their own rules and they both do kill for higher reasons, protecting their own people of the demons they create or foresee, whether they will be the lack of morals of capitalism or the lack of the right to vote of some countrymen.

You know, you still defend a "murderous freedom" (in words of Nazanin Rafsanjani ["I was so naïve"]) and that is no freedom at all. You think that killing some Afghans (or maybe some Iranians!?) is justified because they are guilty of living under an oppressive regime and you are killing them in order to "save" them, to free them from that oppression and give them the gift of democracy.

I'm afraid that religious fanatics may want to save us, occidental capitalists, from our conformism and our "immoral way of life" and give us the gift of the 'true god'. I really do not care which one of the "gifts", theirs or yours is better, but definitely both, their and your methods, and even their and your reasoning, are the same thing. When it comes to killing, your (American) killing as well as their killing is unjustified.

You say: "(...) the masses of people shepherded to hate and take a shot at our civilization cannot be treated as innocents, no matter how numerous and illiterate they are" If you just change "illiterate" for "educated" you may have the perfect excuse for the massacre of N.Y. [America has been (and still is) messing around the Middle East - and everywhere - almost always with selfish interests. Arming the talibans to fight communist Dr. Najibullah was no exception; undoubtedly not a pledge for the freedom of the Afghan people. I guess some people get tired of this kind of 'help' and finally get to hate America maybe just because they think America hates them.]

Just be careful with your "justifications", brother. Or you will end up calling the people who died on September 11th "collateral damage".

George Eo Saltasebes

* Sokoot

Meisam

* Civil liberties

Mr. Mirfendereski, ["Half-ass"]

"Without our civil liberties, McVeigh and Atta and their cohorts could not have been as successful."??? Talk about throwing out the baby with the bathwater! If you have a problem with YOUR civil liberies, feel free to trot over to North Korea where there are no Mohammad Attas, but in the meantime please don't presume to disparage MY civil liberties.

JM

* Eradication of Arab cultural influences

As an Iranian-American, I long for the day which I will witness the eradication of all imposed Arab cultural influences from out beautiful and great culture. I think that the current world opinion against terrorism and the states that support these actions against humanity, should give Iranians a platform to intensify our opposition to the current dictatorship in our nation.

If will take some time for a fundamental movement to materialize against the butchers of Tehran, but it will eventually come. Only then, will we have the opportunity to get rid of the pre-historic and the destructive values and ideals that were forced upon our flourishing civilization by Arab invaders thousands of years ago.

I only hope for the day that we will completely take back our pre-Islamic values and achievements and gain final victory against the savage and barbaric Arab nations that have been influencing and tainting our culture with their backwards values.

Long live Iran.

IR

* Measure of compassion

Mr. Makhmalbaf, ["Limbs of no body"]

In your article regarding the Afghan situation you state that the statue of Buddha "crumbled from embarrassment at the world's ignorance toward Afghanistan." I disagree; if anything, the embarrassment would be at the ignorance and selfishness of Afghanistan's Taliban rulers who choose to spend their treasure on explosives to destroy the Buddha rather than food for their starving citizens. Facing this reality and the fact that the US has spent more to feed hungry Afghanis than any other country is something that the anti-American critics must face. The US has done this only to find itself the victim of murderous terrorists sponsored by the Taliban and al Qaeda, yet it continues to risk American lives to feed the Afghan people. Is your ignorance of this likely to crumble your prejudice against America?

You go on to ask us to pity the poor, underpaid Afghan drug producers for not getting their fair share of the profits from the misery they're inflicting on the world. Are we to pity them over their poor business practices, or the fact that their expatriate Saudi "guest," Osama bin Laden, chooses to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to kill Westerners rather than educating or feeding the citizens that host him and al-Qaeda? Or that civil wars and inter-clan fighting leads to the death or starvation of thousands?`It's difficult to pity people, or leaders, responsible for much of their own suffering, but we do. That's the measure of a compassionate people.

Bruce Brown

* Ashamed to admit, but...

Hey I noticed you all took a bit of flak for the "Ironian men" photo essay. Well I must say I had no complaints, but I guess I am an inferior-minded red-blooded American woman, and liked seeing all those nices bods! Yes it is sad but true - I can't always think of politics or other intellectually superior subjects! I am ashamed to admit it, but oh well, I enjoyed the bodybuilders.

Regards,

Chris M.

* Felt sick

I've just seen the photo essay "Ironian men". I really felt sick, not because everything seems gloomy, rusty, old, and particularly fake, not because those people somehow are trying to discharge themselves by feeling to be superior especially to their audiences - something they couldn't gain through their spiritual lives, but mostly because they are just some deceived people who don't know what they are imitating.

This is doubly disgusting: to imitate dumbfounded people who themselves are imitating wrong symbols of power; to just pick up some colors without seeing the black context it is coming from. And I started to ask myself why we don't even try to think, why we are captivated by what they give us through the media. And I imagined all those activities which are developed around this sort of thing: exchanging photos of American champions, cutting and pasting photos to make oneself look like them, kids growing with fake heroes, and the worst of them, wasting time.

Young people who every one of them could be an active and a responsible person not only for his country but for the world become consumer robots of Nike and MTV. And those who are ruling Iran: To safeguard their own despotic hold, they rather people engage in these alienating trivialities.

Raha

* Super-human leaders

There are many different political views shared by the Iranians both inside Iran and outside it. We have different kinds of hizbollahis from those who think that Khomeini was the only non-corrupted in the Islamic regime to those who think that Saeed Emami did Islam a service by murdering innocent people. We have communist people from Leninists to our own version of communism (Mujahedin), to aksariat, tudeh, and hezb-e kargar. We have Nehzate Azadi and some other national (right) parties. And last of all we have rayalists.

Though all of these groups are totally different in their goals, they have the exact same approach to their goals, namely submission to their "leaders" as if they are gods. Communists to Lenin, Stalin. Mujahedin submit to Masoud Rajavi and his wife. Nationalists idolize Mossadeq. And royalists idolize Reza Shah and his son Mohammad Reza.

It doesn't matter which of these people you discuss with, their leader is a super-human being, he can not be corrupted by power, he knows everything and understand everything better than anyone else, if he says or does something not appropriate like "Eghtesad kare khar ast", "ma khare ki bashim ke bedoonim", he does not do anything wrong, all the mistakes that has happened has been done by his closest or are not mistakes at all.

Even biblical prophets were not as perfect as these guys, Salomon were thrown of power because allowing people to pray to other gods, David was punished because he send his general to get killed so he could have his wife, Yunes, Moses all the way to Jesus (God can not make a mistake) were punished by god because of their mistakes. Muhammad was fooled by Satan and gave "satanic verses" to his people before he understood the mistake and removed them from Koran.

Could it be that the reason Iran is like it is now is because of our belief in "our" leaders rather than our selves and democracy.

According to Torah, Bible and then Koran there is just one god, but for many of us Iranians one is just not enough.

Choghok

* Be the judge

In a letter entitled "King of Afghanistan" Mr Mehdi Amini suggested that Prince Reza Pahlavi would advocate the US bombing of Iran! What an extraordinary claim.

Regardless of Mr Amini's reasons for this false comment I did what he suggested and l listened to Prince Reza Pahlavi's interview with Fox News. What Prince Pahlavi did say on Oct 9th, 2001 was this: "I will never want to see, and it pains, as an Iranian, to ever contemplate the possibility that my country could come under attack."

For those interested a transcript of that interview is available on the internet. Below is an excerpt for readers to judge:

HANNITY: Prince Pahlavi, welcome to the program. We appreciate you being here tonight. For those -- there may be some that don't know you are the son of the late shah of Iran. And I want to ask you specifically -- and you wrote the world should be wary of Mr. Khatami, and you talked about his inescapable track record, including inspiring, funding, training and harboring of known terrorists and militant organizations in an op-ed piece that you had put together. If that's the case and America is at war against terrorism, then America, by definition, would be at war with the Iranian government. Is that what you'd like to see or is that what you would support?

PAHLAVI: Let's separate two things together. The particular events surrounding the September 11th attack are clearly an attack that was brought from what we all concern from the bin Laden organization. Iran has yet to be officially implicated in this particular matter.

HANNITY: Well...

PAHLAVI: Number two, again, as I said, there has to be a distinction between the people of Iran and the regime. And ultimately, I will never want to see, and it pains, as an Iranian, to ever contemplate the possibility that my country could come under attack.

Cyrus Kadivar

* Distorted by presumptions

Regarding Mr. Mehdi Amini's letter accusing Reza Pahlavi of advocating the Bombing of Iran "King of Afghanistan":

Having listened to his interviews and read his writings several times I don't believe he has even hinted at direct military action in Iran. Conversely, he encourages the "West" to initiate a new policy of careful political engagement with Iran's emerging generation. and therefore by engaging this "Third Force" the international community can neutralize Tehran's militancy by fostering democratic development through indirect assistance to Iran's emerging political movement.

Instead of military intervention he advocates using new technological opportunities to encourage the dissemination of unbiased information to give Iran's young people hope and a tangible means to turn their democratic and economic aspirations into reality.

His basic message is not to appease the Islamic Republic, as it continues to harbor terrorists and moreover it oppresses its own people. I am sure that you would have a better understanding of what Reza Pahlavi has to say if you don't let the words be distorted by your presumptions and hate.

May I add that I liked Saman's Cartoon ["Reza Pahlavi's dream"]. To all the supporters of Reza Pahlavi out there, the mere fact that Reza Pahlavi is a subject of Saman's apparent ridicule shows that he cannot be discounted.

Yours,

Amir Afkhami

* Choosing your own government

In response to Mehdi Amini "King of Afghanistan", I wish to make a few points clear:

1. As Reza Pahlavi persistently emphasizes in his interviews/speeches, there is a clear distinction between Iran/Iranians and the "Islamic Regime" that tyranically rules it/them.

2. Reza Pahlavi advocates no such notion that you refer to ("bomb Tehran"). What he is saying is the truth about the nature of the Islamic Republic. And, therefore, the international community, including the peace-loving people of Iran must eventually (not necessarily by military means) be rid of the evil of terrorism and those (IRI) who promote/sponsor/support such an evil.

3. As I have pointed out in my initial letter, you need not concern yourself about Reza Pahlavi's future and finding him a kingdom (like Afghanistan). His country is IRAN and he is the Heir to the Peacock Throne, and whether he becomes the king of Iran will depend on the people of Iran. And if you regard yourself as an Irani who believes in democracy, make sure that you exercise your right in choosing your own form of government, even if it be the present one!

Regards,

Maral Beheshti

* I will never forgive

To the people who ruined my country: I will never forgive you - no matter how much you rationalize it in your newly learned American jargon.

Javid shah - you were not worthy of him. Don't forget, god knows the truth.

Reza Maleki

* Funniest

Your Osama bin Laden cartoons ["Saman"] are the funniest I have seen. I like the Mickey Mouse. Why don't you get it published in the mainstream media?

Sahba Sobhani

* I look forward every day

Hi I am the wife of an Iranian man and I love Saman's cartoons. I look forward every day to see what he has come up with.

Keep up the good work Saman.

Audrey

* No need to lose hope

I am glad to be getting The Iranian Times emails. I am an American who has followed world news fairly closely since I was young, so I am glad to see this perspective on the issues of Southern Asia and the Middle East.

I hope that one good thing that will come from the horrors that we are currently witnessing, is that the elected Iranian Government will be able to emerge as the real government of the country without being forced to cede power to a separate, unelected government. It is something to hope and pray for, that some day all of the world's nations will be able to live under leadership elected by - and accountable to - the people that they lead. This will not happen all at once, but it is certainly something to work for.

I was somewhat active in the worldwide movement to end apartheid in South Africa back at the time that there was still apartheid to oppose in South Africa. I remember an antiapartheid event at a church in Los Angeles in the late 1980's at which one of the guest speakers was Moise Tchitendero, who was leading the liberation movement in Namibia, which as you may know, is just to the north of South Africa, and was also at the time suffering under the occupation of the apartheid regime which then ruled South Africa.

At that event Moise Tchitendero said that because he had faith in God, that he knew that Namibia would some day be free. It might not happen in his lifetime, and it might not even happen in the lifetime of his son, but he knew that some day Namibia would be free. At that time things were not looking good for Namibia getting out from under apartheid any time soon.

It was within 4 years after Moise Tchindero made that statement that Namibia actually was independent, that the Namibian people were living under an elected government of their own choosing, and Moise Tchitendero was serving in the legislative branch of that elected government.

The moral of that story is that no matter how bleak things are looking, there is no need to lose hope. There are some who would be quick to point out that since the end of apartheid in South Africa and Namibia, there are still problems in both of those countries. And it is true; there are still problems in both South Africa and Namibia. But when the people have the means to govern themselves, and all the people get a chance to have their voices heard, the problems have a way of not becoming as severe as they get to be under a dictatorship.

Best wishes to all in the struggle to cope with the current troubles, and I hope that the day will come when the elected government of Iran will be fully able to serve the people.

Carl Jakobsson

* Listen to this

You know... I never send these sorts of emails... but... please listen to this one to the end.

SF

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