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October 22, 2001 * Fight bigotry I am writing this as a response to Pedram Moallemian's "A different war". First of all I am glad he came forward to tell his story and to pass on a message of courage and committment to the community - these are trying times indeed. In the midst of so much grief and anger - those of us from the Middle East or with family ties there are experiencing a dual sense of unease. On the one hand, America this optimistic young country we have adopted has suffered terribly in the wake of September 11th. The pain we experience is born out of the empathy we feel for the tragedy that has affected so many. On the other, there is the sense that simply because of how we look, or how we dress, or how we pray, or how we identify ourselves - that we are branded with the enemy. We know that such a view is not American, but how do we respond when someone makes an ignorant remark, an unfriendly gesture or an outright attack? Like Pedram, I believe we should hold our heads high and that we should not cower in the shadows. Where there is ignorance - offer information, where there is fear - show understanding, where there is bigotry - counter with a smile, where there is anger - offer hope. In the last few weeks I have drawn comfort and courage from an organization that serves all faiths and backgrounds and would like to hear from anyone who has suffered any kind of attack: verbal, physical, work related, or otherwise as a result of anger about the September 11 attacks. I have started to volunteer my time with them, and I have seen this quiet, dedicated group of men and women from countries all over the Middle East do the work on the frontline defending what I consider to be America's greatest aspiration - equality and justice for all under the law. It is justice that we all desire. It is with a respect for the law that we grow as communities, because law helps to establish the trust that we need for civil society to flourish. It gives us something to rely on, a constant voice even when emotions run high, a rational argument when irrational anger might otherwise prevail. It may surprise many Muslims, Arabs, Iranians and others who are victims of discrimination at this time - that they are now at the frontline to defend and hold America's civil liberties intact. In these times we are doing no more and no less than that. It is our voices, our claim to the law, as other Americans before us have also claimed right to its sanctuary, that strengthens the very foundations of freeom and justice on which this country is built. We should not let those values down. I urge anyone who has been a victim of discrimination or hatred in these past weeks - to turn to the rule of law. We should not cower in fear - it is necessary to fight aggression, bigotry and misunderstanding in all its forms. I offer the address and phone number of the organization below - which is accepting calls from anyone who has experienced a hateful or discriminatory action since September 11. All claims are being investigated by the U.S. Dept. of Justice. Be courageous, you are the hope for the future. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee * You ain't Iranian I liked what Mr. Parsi said on previous posts. He seemed to be an Iranian nationalist, a bit to the right for my taste, but nevertheless some good points were brought to the forefront. He seemed to know the real roots of our cultural dualism regarding Islam and the unblivable price we paid for catastrophic battle of Qadesieh. (He did not mention that we ended up or more precisely crafted and perpetuated the Shiism -- a heretic form to confront Sunni dogma -- and therefore stop domination by Arab and Turkish empires.) But Parsi is now coming out of the closet ["Killing in self-defense"] and in his on his new outburst he is sounding like an ultra-nationalist and may I say, racist, person of western skin-head type with a Shas mentality. First of all we know that any type of religion should not be part of any government in this day and age, and we know we have lots of ignorant fanatics in Iran and even in the US who do not agree with this policy. How we go about marginalizing these fanatics is what makes us different. Parsi starts by attacking Western powers for being too soft and passive in dealing with these ignorant people, but nobody could blame Western powers for being soft, just read headlines on past century's events. We applaud the mature way that US seems to be going about dealing with this mad event on 9/11, but Mr. Parsi is not satisfied; he wants "carpet bombing" all over that troubled region which includes Iran. I do not know how he proposes to separate the fanatic, ignorant, bushmen and the average Joes in the streets of southern Tehran, a 500 pond dumb bomb or 200 smart bomb!?cSir, we are sitting pretty here in the West. After decades, which seem like centuries, we have no right to ask for blood from a destitute people who we (the cream of the crop) have left to their fate. I hope they get rid of these fanatics, and they will. I am sure the Iranian Third Force, the young brave souls who confront the fanatics in every step, will stop them. I love that patch of grass in the sun and I'll be dammed if I would recommend military action to get back at those fanatics who have done me and my family wrong. I cannot see how we could protect the population from death and starvation -- that is the difference between us. I would recommend, sir, that you drop the Parsi pseudonym, because you might be Omid and a zealot nationalist, but you ain't Iranian. * Not clever I find Mr. Hadi Khorsandi's humor and jokes regarding the Afghani people and refugees (not the Taliban) exteremly tasteless and rude. These people are suffering in the worst way and Mr. Khorsandi just makes fun of the images of that very ordeal. It is not clever, nor right. * Blondes have higher IQ Regarding the use of the word BLOND as in "Blond or bearded" and this sentence from it: "While you are in America planning your divine duty, take a look around, you might just find a gorgeous blond who has the hots for you. That would negate any reason for 'martyrdom' and the promised hoors in the afterlife." STAFF of THE IRANIAN, I will ask you to think twice about what "blond" hair means in this world. First of all blondes have the highest IQ of any other group. Second, show me a picture of a blond mother holding a blond bloated starving baby on her lap. You will not find one. Why? NOT because blondes have more fun, but because blond leadership is supreme. The more blondes one finds in a country, the higher the literacy rate, the better the quality of life for all who live there, including the elderly and children. So why so many blond jokes? Because blondes can take it and know if the word blond in those jokes was replaced by any dark hair group it would be anti-something or the other. Best wishes to you from a blond teacher, * Took our money I would truly appreciate you posting the following in your site to further alert other Iranians who might be thinking of using these so-called currency exchange services. Sehaty took the money and left town. Do you remember the Sehaty currency exchange advertised here in iranian.com up to a few weeks ago? Well, they took thousands of dollars of our money and closed shop, with no sign left behind. Family members in Iran waiting to receive the money to live on have been waiting ever since. Mr. E. Khamooshpour (I am not even sure if that is a real name), who has been running Sehaty, has discontinued his phone numbers and ran away and took our trust with him! Anyone who know his whereabouts is asked to let us know. Can we trust Iranian businesses here in the U.S.? What: Sehadty Currency Exchange * It all became clear I just read the book The Iranians by Sandra Mackey [excerpts (1) (2)] and here is a review: Today, with the cultural pendulum seemingly going full swing away from Islamic Iran towards Persian Iran, I thought I should spend a weekend recapping my knowledge of Persian culture and Shia religion. What is in the first 1/3 of the book is, I believe, an accurate reflection of both. I found fault in the second third of the book in just one area. The author has a difficulty or inability to say that Mohammed Reza Shah did any good at all! She begrudgingly acknowledges his liberal policies, though gives credit to the US government for them, and makes the last two decades of Pahlavi reign seem like the last 9 months, namely a regime with a dying icon and a crisis of leadership. It all became clear reading the last third of the book. The author must have some personal relationship with the offices of Rafsanjani / Khatami, and is whistling their tune. The mood on the street at the time the book was written may have given the "farr" to the moderate Rafsanjani, but he has been since been discredited for his secret murder campaigns. The mood at the time the after-word was written may have been in favor of the moderate Khatami, but that is changing also, after the cheating and duplicity of all the leadership of the Islamic Republic has becomes apparent. In promoting the Islamic Reformist camp, the author is obliged to write in a way that suggest the path taken in the Islamic revolution, being a reaction to Pahlavi rule and Western monkey business, was inevitable. This false premise leads one to think the current status-quo is inevitable and should be respected, and further assisted. In any case it is a good book all in all. Here are a few minor factual
errors that the author might want to change in future re-prints: -- p175:
... he ranked as the largest landowner (wrong the government became largest
landowner.) I just had a quick look at "Nefrine Budha!" article. I am certain no Buddhists are glad about the current war in Afghanistan. The Buddhist religion would never, ever rejoice in anyone's suffering, no matter what they did. That is what attracted me to Buddhism in the first place: that it never says, "We'll get back at you," or "It is good and fair that you are suffering now." I don't think that the author of that article knows anything about Buddhism. * Make a note Your article, "How to win the war", is well written and to the point. The U.S. needs to make a note in its Middle East policy. * Lake Hamun As an Iranian and a Zoroastrian, enjoyed reading "The treasures of lake Hamun" very much. Keep up the good work. * Flashes of sanity A brilliant website. So many flashes of sanity. Is everybody listening? Regards, * Lacking news I've been receiving THE IRANIAN TIMES for a while now. I love receiving it, but what it lacks is NEWS. News from Iran. I don't mean news about "Art" or Body Building Champions, whose pictures have been taken in "mostaraah"(bathroom) or in a closed, dirty room. At least if the pictures were taken on stage, it would have been nice. But anyway, I live in Lanai, Hawai where there are no other Iranians. I've traveled to LA, so I know how life is like there. It's like another better type of Iran! It's hard to miss Iran when you live there. I know there are some other places like that on the mainland. (That's what we, in Hawai call the other 49 U.S. states). Anyhow, can we get news about what's going on there?! Baa Tashakour-e Faraavaan, * Film studen in India I am a film studen in India. I have seen lots of Iranian films and absolutely admire them. I want to go to Iran and work on a few films there, with some of the Iranian directors. I would appreciate if may be you could tell me of any student exchange programs for film students in Iran. Even if you could give me any telephone numbers, addresses and emails for Mr. Abbas Kiarostami or Mr Mohsen Makhmalbaf, I would greatly appreciate that. Thanking You * Mohsen's movies Hi , I am from India. Would like to know about Mohsen Makhmalbaf's movies. Also I believe u have made movies on Afghanistan. Well there was a good movie on Afghanistan called as "Khuda Gawah" made in India . We recommend that u see it . Please send more details regd ur movies. Regards * Is it safe? Hello, My name is Dina Vahed. I am married to an Iranian man. I want to know something about Iranian living. We are going to buy a house in Tehran in about 2 years. Is it safe for me to do this? I keep hearing horror stories about this, but I'm not sure this is true. I am an American through and through, but his culture just fascinates me. I along with our children are learning Farsi so we won't have a language barrier when we go. Is there anything I should beware of? From his family I have experienced nothing but lots of love and sometimes think I belong there instead of Texas. I know I would need to cover my head if I'm in public, is there a certain behavior I should know? Thank you for your time and advice. * Mohammad Gholizadeh Milani Mohammad Gholizadeh Milani who lived in Tabriz, Iran, please: it is very important that you contact me. * Abdul Ali Ghadimi Dear Sir, I'm looking for a person I knew long time ago... I lost his contact. His name is Abdul Ali Ghadimi and lived in Tehran. Please could you help me? Thanks a million, * Taghikhani, Niroomand, Azodi While at Sullivan Jr. College in Louisville, KY, during the year l979, I made some very good Iranian friends. I am wishing I could restore contact with some of these people. I am at a loss as to how to go about this. Would this be a good place to start, or could you direct me to some Iranian chatrooms where I might be able to ask around if anyone knew of their whereabouts? I'm not even sure if they are still in the States. I appreciate any help you can give. Just in case, three of the people I would like to contact would be: Mahvash (Maggie) Taghikhani, Mohsen Niroomand, and Abdollah (Abdi) Azodi. They all lived in Lousiville during that era. I have contacted a Mohsen Niroomand in Florida, but it is not the right one. Thanks, * Say hi Hey! I just have a little advice for Iranians all over the world. Have u ever realized that when you're walking and you see an Iranian, all of a sudden u "akhm" and look the other way? Well Americans and Canadians are totally the opposite. When they see each other they smile, and just simply say "hi". I'm not saying that we should say "hi" or anything, but it wouldn't hurt to smile at your "hamvatan". So plzzzz. change this ugly "rasm".
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