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October 26, 2001 * Reformation of Islam A few comments on Ms. Sabety's "Anthrax of the masses". I agree that what Bin Laden represents is not really a perversion of Islam but a fundamentalist form of it. But knowing the futility of trying to make atheists out of 1.4 billion Muslims, the best practical solution may lie in a reformation of Islam. The Christians and Jews did it and so can the Muslims. The fundamentalists will not disappear but they can be rolled back and marginalized. Iran is the center of such a conflict between a fundamentalist ruling minority and a non-fundamentalist majority. I hope that it will eventually give birth to such a reformation of Islam that does not require it to rule over people politically. That reformation is not, however, coming from Khatami. He is part of the problem, not the solution. Being an optimist, I see these events as the desperate convulsions of fundamentalist Islam under the siege of worldwide secularism. I share Ms. Sabety's puzzlement over the American doubts over the war continuing into the Ramadan. These "concerns" really are a media invention. There is no talk by the Bush Administration of halting the war over Ramadan. I also share her appreciation of Machiavelli. Much of his bad reputation is certainly undeserved. I, however draw different lessons from Machiavelli. You have to win the war using whatever means at your disposal. Success breeds success and nothing breads contempt as much as failure. Ms. Sabety sees the use of air power as cowardly in this case and wishes U.S. would use substantial ground troops right away to fight the Taliban and Al-Qaida face to face. She brings up the example of WW II. But there are a few problems with this analogy. Allied powers continued to have horrendous air raids on Germany and Japan until the end of the war, long after the Axis air power had vanished for all practical purposes. Terror bombing was a valid war theory in WW II. Many German and Japanese cities were systematically firebombed to nothingness. The most famous one is probably Dresden. It had no war industry and little military value. Its population of 630,000 had been doubled by German refugees, mainly peasants fleeing the Red Army. On the night of February 13-14, 1945, 10 weeks before Germany's surrender, the concerted British and American attack dropped 650,000 incendiary bombs, causing a firestorm engulfing eight square miles and killing an estimated 135,000 men, women and children. This is more than Hiroshima. The Americans war against Axis powers was justified. It liberated hundreds of millions from the brutal empires of Hirohito and Hitler, but the methods were not always honorable. Furthermore the sort of beachhead war in Normandy that the allied fought was against a classical army. Even that was achieved after years of "cowardly air raids. The current Taliban and Al Qaida are not a classical army. They are guerrilla fighters and it would be a big mistake to wage classical war on them. Historically classical armies have lost many wars against guerrilla fighters. British lost to American revolutionaries. Americans lost in Vietnam. Most recently and relevantly the Soviet advanced classical army slowly bled to death in the valleys of Afghanistan until their will was broken in the course of 10 years. This war is not even 3-weeks old. It would be a huge mistake to put substantial ground forces on the field until they have paved the way to destroy the enemy. Americans will eventually be on the ground as special forces and go after the enemy cave by bloody cave, but they must first destroy a lot of the logistics, communications and resources of the enemy. They do not want a well-run network of guerrilla fighters in and out of caves raiding down on them as they please. They want to reduce them to various groups in isolated caves and fight them that way. Wait for the winter phase of the war. The Muslim public opinion may be too hard to win over when so many of them are willing to believe that September 11 attack was done by Israel, and U.S. is covering it up. Many news sources in the Middle East have reported that as fact. Rafsanjani has mentioned it as a valid explanation. According to this conspiracy theory no Jews were killed in the attack because 4,000 of them did not show up for work that day since they were warned not to go to work by secret phone calls. I have heard this even from Iranians who have lived in U.S. for many years. That is the level of deep ignorance we are up against. U.S. does have a public relations problem in the Middle East, but that should not force U.S. to fight the war in a manner that is almost doomed to failure. U.S. loss in this war would embolden and encourage the militant Muslims around the world. That is a much worse problem than being seen as fighting the war in an "unfair manner. As Ms. Sabety mentions herself "we haven't had an honorable or just way to fight since the invention of gunpowder. All war is hell. * Bin Laden not an aberration Well Ms. Sabety, a cult is a cult, and Bin-Laden's brand of Islam is a cult. And that cult does not represent Islam. ["Anthrax of the masses"] Bin Laden has as much to do with Islam as Mazdakites had to do with Buddhism and Mani had to do with Zoroastrianism. I know you are pissed off at the world but let's not insult our Muslim country(wo)men and others around the world with blaming it all on Islam. You must have read of Mazdak, that little sneaky guy who advocated atheism and communism long before it was fashionable and then took political power and was subsequently stripped of his power and killed by, of all people, the peaceful Zoroastrians! How about Mani, the founder of Manichaeism, who traveled throughout Iran, Afghanistan, India and even China (notice similarities to Bin Laden) and converted people to his own brand of fundamental Zoroastrianism (yes there was a fundamental Zoroastrianism!). Mani used the lexicon of Zoroastrianism against the contemporary brand of the religion just like Bin Laden does with Islam. The history of the Middle East is so filled with figures such as Bin Laden and other cult leaders that you cannot go 100 years without ruining into one. It is just our bad luck to be running into Bin Laden at the age of planes, internet, and bioterror. Bin Laden is not an aberration, he is a historical norm; just look at him historically, not as product of now and here. There is a Bin Laden bound to rise up every few decades. If Texas was as f.... up as the Middle East is, then a figure like Bin Laden would come up in there too, using violent Christianity as his weapon. But wait, it did! And he was called Koresh. Remember him? If he had the Texas state troopers and Texas national guardsmen on his side and if his followers ruled the Governors office, we would have the same situation in Texas that we now have with Bin Laden in Afghanistan. Nobody would have cursed Christianity though as its instigator. Like Mani and Mazdak were killed by their contemporary power structures and state apparatus, so will Bin Ladin be probably put to rest by the reigning power of our time, the U.S. and we can all say out loud "good riddance!" But let us not blame and insult Islam as Anthrax of our time. There is nothing about Bin Laden that is exclusive to our time or to a specific religion. Religion, and Islam specifically, has always been the perfect tool for power-hungry cult leaders bent on shaping the world to their own vision. * Atheists killed more I have to disagree with the premise behind the commentary by Setarah Sabety and state that atheists are to blame for more deaths and wars in the last century than the religious ["Anthrax of the masses"]. I can't recall Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge being to big on God during their little fiasco in Cambodia. Or maybe Stalin and his politburo when they creatively killed of millions of Ukrainians. Hitler and friends dabbled in the occult but were atheists for the most part. Mao and his revolutionary compadres were responsible for the biggest massacre and forced starvation in recorded history. The North Vietnamese didn't hold prayer breakfasts and the gruesome Albanian socialist party didn't go to confession or celebrate ramadan. But that was just the last century, lets look back a little further. Julius Caesar said he seriously doubted the existence of the gods, maybe that helped him plan the enforced genocide of 2 million Gaul's. Kublai Kahn though semi-enlightened didn't really favor any particular religion, and ordered the wiping out of whole cities. And how about the bloody french revolution and it's reign of terror? Choc full of atheists, no religious allowed. Even bloody old Napoleon wasn't religious and often fought the clergy. In fact when you take a step back and look at the whole picture of human history you find more people were murdered by atheists than all other belief systems combined. Sincerely, * Blame blindness Setareh Sabety ["Anthrax
of the masses"] wonders: * What's the big deal? There is one article that has stuck out recently, written by my favorite commentator, Miss Naghmeh Sohrabi's article on Prince Reza Pahlavi ["His royal lowness"]. I really like all of her ideas and generally find her to be the most intelligent in analysis of the world. Let me just ask, isn't the real question though, how can one presume that a particular group (or political persuasion) within the body politic of a given country undemocratically not be allowed to participate, when the very precept of democracy is the participation and protection of the unpopular and unsavory minded persons, herein refering to Reza Pahlavi, who may disagree with the ideas of the majority? Inotherwords, is it democratic to wish the demise or silencing of someone like him, who one may disagree with, simply because he espouses radical political viewpoints different from your's? So what's the big deal if some guy wants to be the pretender to a throne that doesn't exist and probably wont ever come to fruition? At least Iranians should be proud to have all kinds of people arguing about this stuff, rather than using guns like the Afghan's, who out of pitiful desperation have to knock on the door of a 90 year-old retired ex-king HM Mohamad Zahir Shah, rather than get over petty tribalisms. * Best of both worlds I applaud Dr. Zanganeh's assertion in "All sticks" that Iranian parents now living in the U.S. (or elsewhere) need to instill in their children a sense of pride in their culture and heritage. He writes, "Our children do not have a place to call 'the old country' because of our relationship with our motherland... we need to make sure that our children can connect to the old country without being fearful of hurting our feelings, and without being ashamed. We need to set the example by finding a way of defending the old country without associating ourselves with the repressive elements and factions of the IRI regime." As one of the few 30-somethings born in the U.S. of Iranian parents, I wish to add: Mothers and fathers must ensure that their children connect with both the Iranian and American cultures -- not an easy task, certainly. Of course, parents might fear that the unsavory aspects of American culture -- rampant individualism, in particular -- are ubiquitous and, thus, their children will not only learn these but also stray from their Iranian roots. However, by stressing the diversity and fluidity of the Iranian and American cultures as well as evaluating the positive and negative aspects of both, parents will take a crucial step towards Dr. Zanganeh's goal, while engaging their children in the exercises of critical reflection and tolerance. These exercises are vital to the integration of "Iranian-Americans" into communities around the U.S., where we may and should lift our voices as full participants in the cultural, economic, and political realms. The best of both worlds -- beh qol-e ma`aruuf -- is possible, as long as we are also aware of the worst of both. Kheili mamnuun to Dr. Z. for raising so many thought-provoking points! * Weak argument Hamid Zangeneh in his article "All sticks" states: The Israelis and their cohorts who want to see Iran hurt are still pushing the idea that "terrorism started in 1979". This inaccurate statement set's the stage for all the rest of the article. Iran and the caliphate system in power are quite different things. If the terrorist training camps in Iran, their financing structure, or their ideology is 'hurt' that does not constitute Iran being hurt. How one "invites disaster to the people of Iran just to hurt the regime" is not made clear in this article. It sounds like these people in Union Square, Manhattan, marching behind a no war platform stating - Bush stop bombing innocent Afghans! As if the US military machine has gone halfway round the world just to bomb the already impoverished civilians in Afghanistan. The logic that links those of us who believe in fighting Islamic fundamentalism as a matter of principle, and resisting it as part of our Persian national identity, with an Israeli cohort or Shahzadeh Pahlavi's is another weakness of this article. But best bit is saved for the conclusion: "In order for our critical voices to be valued by the IRI, we need to become a collective asset to them" and "We need to create a web of independently controlled ... connected to...regional...national center...with elected Boards..." (1.) If us Iranians, at least those living in free Western societies, could have united, there would not be an IRI by now, would there?! (2.) If Iranians could effectively work outside of a charismatic authoritarian hierarchy we would not have ended up with Reza Shah in the first place, let alone the great Imam, peace be upon his name. (3. & unrelated to this article) I understand, and sympathize, with any Iranian who gets agitated and irritable at the thought of the result of their cherished revolution being squashed as the Taliban are being right now. However, be comforted in knowing that the US policymakers have disliked the previous regime and it's oil-pricing policies more than these holy men. Only these mollas are so stupid that for 2 decades instead of opening up dialogue with an eager US they have practiced so much taqiyeh (the dissimulation of the truth), that even Allah does not know where they stand. Consequently it's best and serenely comforting, to look at IRI's fate vis-a-vis its enemies as just that: fate. * Pop-Tart policy in Afghanistan Last night I heard that the U.S. military was dropping Pop-Tarts and peanut butter on Afghanistan. I wondered why the U.S. millitary is not dropping some thing a tad more nutritions, like say, some grains. I surfed the net and I got some information about Pop-Tarts. Pop-Tarts are very wholesome. They are among the best selling products in the U.S., easily outstripping Corn Flakes or Rice Krispies or Eggo waffles. Last year, Americans bought $500 million worth of Pop-Tarts. And strawberry's the most popular flavour. Pop-Tarts have entered the lexicon of popular culture. They have their own Web site, www.poptarts.com. I think, once, Afghan hooked on junk food, the Taliban won't stand a chance. * Madness Once again something really illogical happened in our nation of Iran. The police have gone all over the capital and to individual apartment buildings and houses to take away our satellite dishes. They were courteous enough. The ones who had come into our building were really nice and they themselves thought it was a waste of time in taking away our satellite dishes. Our nation is ruled by... well I prefer not to insert any words into the blank space so I'll leave that up to your own imaginations. The cops were sent all over the nation to take away satellite dishes whereas dope is still being sold on the street way out in the open. It indeed is a dog eat dog world and we are all wearing milk bone underwear. Take care all and let us hope that this madness in Iran will soon come to an end. Sincerely, * Pretend you're from Bahrain Dear Mr Derakhshan ["Khodbozorgbini"]: It is very easy to sit behind a computer and criticize and meticulously pick apart a sports team. Just for your information, majority of the Iranian national team have full time careers and families that they must attend to first. So next time you write your commentary, make sure you have all the facts, or maybe you are just vicariously living a fantasy thru them. In that case I'm sorry you had such a bad fantasy. Maybe you can pretend you're from Bahrain. * Princess Soraya's sad demise Upon the sad demise of the beautiful Princess Soraya, I wish to extend my deepest condolences to all the Esfandiari-Bakhtiari families all over the world. In the history of our country her name, together with our king's, will always shine, as a couple who had to sacrifice their personal happiness and love, for their beloved Iran, may their gentle souls rest in eternal peace! * No comparison I hope your Royal family can go back. I have so much respect for His Imperial Majesty The Shahanshah of Iran and the Empress! Everything that the mollas complained about, they have done 100 times worse; there is no comparison. They only rule through terror. * New dimension to Globalisation This morning (Thursday 25 October 2001) I learned with great dismay that the United States has started using cluster bombs in Afghanistan. According the United Nation, Cluster Bombs were used last night attacking the village of Shaker Qala. The news was relayed yesterday but it was difficult to believe that after the tragic events of September 11th, the U.S. policymakers could be so insensitive to the faith of civilians Afghanis. Almost immediately, the latest developments in Ireland were announced. The IRA the Irish Republican Army) had been asked by the Political wing of the Republican movement to start a "Limited Decommissioning" of their weapons. And finally the news that Israel is pressed to refrain from escalating the crisis in the Middle East. While the first and the third item are clear in their interdependence, one may think the new drive for a peaceful settlement in Ireland may be unrelated to the events in Afghanistan. However, one could argue that this new development in Ireland could be the outcome of the September 11th attack on the United States, the unconditional support of British government for the U.S. administration especially its bombing campaign in Afghanistan and the understanding that in the past, some of the money raised by the Irish sympathizers in America may have been spent on paramilitary activities aimed against the civilian population in England and Northern Ireland. One could further argue that in future fund raising in the United States for the IRA will be much more difficult and as a consequence, the hawks in the IRA had to recognize and accept the reality that the time for a political settlement has arrived. Of course this does not devaluate the merits of their decision >>> FULL TEXT * AAArab-looking SOB I saw President Bush's speech some days ago urging Americans that they should not use the events of Sep 11 as an excuse to persecute people who "don't look like them". I'm afraid his speech rang very hollow in the light of the experience of one of my friends in London. My friend, who is a Sikh and wears a turban, was asked by an American organisation to make a presentation on his area of technical expertise at a forthcoming conference. He went to the American Embassy in London to get a visa. When he walked up to the counter the official listened to him and, without saying a word, took his passport and stamped it as "Entry Denied". My friend was astonished and asked why his application for a visa was rejected. He was told that it "would not be appropriate" for him to travel to the US at the moment. My friend contacted the US organisation which had invited him. They said that there must have been some misunderstanding, and that they would send him an official invitation letter, which they duly did. My friend contacted the Embassy and explained the situation. On the phone, the embassy staff were very friendly and helpful and asked him to come to the Embassy. His second visit was a re-run of the first. Though this time he was told that his application was rejected on "social and economic grounds". If they'd just told him we're denying you entry because you're a turban-headed, AAArab-looking SOB, at least one could have given them some credit for honesty. * Why silent? Dear Compatriots, I am quite surprised why Diane Fienstein has been adamant about restricting Iranian foreign students from getting educated in Iran. I can understand that she is vehemently opposed to the Iranian regime but why does she want to hurt the Iranian people? Furthermore, why has the Iranian community in California been silent? Does Diane Fienstein know that to date no Iranian student have been implicated or indicted for terrorist activities? I honestly cannot fathome why she hates Iranians so much! It does not surprise me that the hardliners in Iran are so anti-US. Afterall, the conservative establishment rejects any dialogue with the US even though it may be in Iran's best interest. In the same way, I think politicians like Diane Fienstein are like the hardliners in Iran- she hates Iranians no matter what their ideological beliefs. It is quite striking to see that the Honorable Arlen Spector has been a true advocate for better Iran-US relations. I have no doubt that he is a friend of Iranians. Finally, I believe that the Iranian community needs to voice their concerns with their respected representatives. Iranian- Americans should call up Mr Arlen Spector's office and thank him for his initiatives to open dialogue and invite Iranians to the US. In the same manner, Iranian- Amercians from all over the US should call up Diane Fienstein's office and remind her that her State enjoys the greatest number of Iranians and she should be more sensitive to our concerns. I would not be suprised if I learn that Diane's hatred for Iranians is a result of the increasingly intelligent Iranian students at UCLA. Maybe her son or daughter could not compete with intelligent Iranian minds! Maybe, her son got turned down by an Iranian beauty/ Or maybe an Iranian stud ran away with her son's girlfreind or fiance. We will never know the real reasons but we should do our best to stop her anti- Iranian legislations! Sincerly, * No bias against blondes The sentence that JC Wolf ["Blondes have higher IQ"] has taken exception to, is from a satirical piece that I wrote after the September mass murder ["Watch out"]. The usage of a "blond" was meant as the ultimate incentive to coax the would be zealot-come-murderer to mend his ways. For our blond teacher's information, there is no negative social/cultural bias against the blondes in Iran. In another words, if you tell a blond joke to an Iranian who hasn't been to the West, invariably, he/she will not get it. Natural Blonds (in Persian, bolond or more correctly, boor), are highly desirable in the Middle East. They are valued so much so that the Koranic word "hoor(nymph)" is sometimes misinterpret as meaning a blond -- where in actuality, a hoor (hoory) is someone who's white of the eyes is stunningly white and her skin is fair. * Wrong side of the track I did the same thing, and I still have the bad taste of "I do " in my mouth ["One of them"]. I remember writing "light complexion" in my application and the women who was doing the Q&A looked at me with disdain and said "dark complexion"?! And she was right in America I am considered "dark" regardless of my hazel eyes! Being born in wrong side of the track I guess! If someone listens to propaganda blowing out of media about "the poor and retched millions welcomed in America" and observes the racist attitude of most (not all) Americans, he/she would have a hard time believing in anything! * Confirming blond jokes Dear JC Wolfe, ["Blondes have higher IQ"] As a gorgeous and intelligent brunette, I forgive you for your silly letter "Blondes Have Higher IQs". Not just because I'm a kind, wonderful person, or because of my stunning abundance of melanin, but because I know you can't help saying such things -- you're blond! I expect these things from you! You're blond! Thanks for confirming all those blond jokes for me. Unabashedly beautiful, brunette, and brown, * I was wondering I read this story twice ["What is this?"], and was wondering, did the author want to say that he goes to Vegas on a yearly basis? Or that porn stars are real people too? ( Gee, I didn't know that ) Or he got lucky at video poker, and tips no less than $20? What the hell is he trying to say? * Hope it clarifies issues I remember reading a letter from one of your readers about the unethical practices of Sehhaty Exchange ["Took our money"]. I ran into this article on Payvand.com -- I hope it clarifies issues. Please look into the matter- let us make sure that no Iranian's reputation is hurt- let's assume innocence until found guilty. * Hedayat's birthday? Salam alaikum, aia ejaze daarad ke az shomaa beporsam ki metavaanad be man javab bedehad ke maah va ruze tavallod va marge navisandee Iraani Sadeq Schubak kei ast. Dar internet tanha saalash paido kard momken ast. Va kalemee "Tangsir" (esme romane Sageq Chubak) be engelesi maana'iash chi ast? Aia lotfan beguiid emaile aghae Iraj Bashiri az kojaa peida bekonam. Iraj Bashiri chandin maqale dar borae Chubak neveshte doshte ast. In barae encyclopedie litvanie taaze laazim ast dar institute encyclopedie litvoni, ke dar in enciklopedi ham maqalei dar baree ostade Sadeq Chubak chap shode boiad boshad. Khele moteshekeram, Algimantas * Abadan refinery I am writing to ask for help with an enquiry about the Abadan refinery. My father was stationed at Abadan during WWII. During that time he met and made friends with many people fron your country. I am trying to write a history of his life for the grandchildren and want to know if you could let me know if there are any sources online or otherwise where I might be able to read or download documents or pictures of the history of Abadan refinery during the period 1935 to 1946. I would appreciate any help from across the globe. Thank you, * Really wonderful We just discovered iranian.com und made a "link of the day" out of it - in German, because we are a Berlin-based cultural magazine, called Perlentaucher (pearl diver). Here you'll find it. Your site is really wonderfull! Yours, * Flyer? Assalaamwalaikum, It just goes to show that whether you are a Shia or a Sunni, as I am, we are still brothers, and we all feel for our brothers and sisters all over the world. May Allah bless you with Jannat ul Firdaus. Only Allah can give you the reward for this. Ameen. Where can I mail you a copy of our flyer? * Dying to learn your (Arabic) language Salam!!!! I'm originally from Seoul, Korea. I barely have any knowledge about Islam world. However, after 9/11 scene, I''ve become interested in Islam. And while looking for the latest fact about Afghan situation, here I came. I've been soaked in war news and gotten depressed a little. But when I encountered the satire section, it made me laugh! Feels so good. Especially, SAMAN MAKES ME ROLLING ALL OVER! Thanks bunchs. Yet , when I click on Persian cartoons I can't get the meaning, cause I don't know Arabic at all -- except "Salam". I'm dying to learn Arabic, but it's too difficult for me to start by myself. And in Korea, we've hardly had a chance to see Arabic. It's becaus , Korea is the last divided nation in the world. Main reason is due to the powerful neighbors including US. I HATE IT. I hope I could find a way to learn Arabic and enjoy more in your site. Love you. All Muslims. Inshallah. Brenda Young Kim * Dead worshipping kafirs Dear Sir: I would like to mention that one can not be a Muslim just by calling him/herself a Muslim. The same logic applies to Iran. Because it carries the name "Islamic Republic", it does not mean they are Muslims. For your information, the main principle of Islam is to worship one God without any intercession or intermediary in between. The religion of Iran is Shi'ism. They are a bunch of dead worshippers who go around the graves of their so-called Imams and ask for help, cure, money , etc ... So much for worshipping God and asking for his help. That is not the end of it. How about beating themselves with chains, or hitting themselves with daggers on the head during the Ashura? (I have witnessed both of those ignorant, stupid actions in Iran!). You find no reference to these stupid actions during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Indeed Shi'ites are as much Muslim as a Hindus are. They are the the most ignorant, chest beating tribe you can find on the face of this planet. So next time do not refer to them as Muslim. We have had enough of these Kafirs. Regards, * Gohe ziyaadi What the hell are you doing? Your Iran coverage based on IranMania is Junk. Even IRNA did not put Rafsanjani's speech in the English section and in the Persian section there was a few lines without details. If you continue this way, I will write a comperative print of your coverage with my comments, and will send it to Iran, Pentagon, FBI and whoever you can think of. Stop acting like Israeli agent!
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