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| March 28, 2002 * Do we have to advertise this? I doubt very much that Mr. Roozbeh is a journalist and an unbiased one at that. [Hossein in Norooz] Do we have to advertise and show the world this barbaric custom of beating on one's chest or using chains? By the way, nowhere in any hadith and certainly Islamic text it is recommended that a person inflicts injuries on himself. I am so embarrassed and outraged. What big liar you are Mr. Roozbeh! I bet you the majority of progressive Iranian celebrated Norooz in Iran but, your biased little mind ignored them and assumed we are just nostalgic to see these embarrassing images. We need to move forward and stop making a spectacle of our identity by letting people of the world on our dirty and shameful secrets. shame on you for being so backward. Regards, Azam Nemati To top * What happened to Norooz? The essay from Mr Roozbeh showed Ashura pictures, although he talked about both Ashura and Norooz. What happened to Norooz pictures? Are we supposed to forget a celebration of life and traditions? Imam Hossein went against those soldiers knowingly, to prove that no matter how immense and how cruel the opposite forces are, you have to stand up against the evil. We forget the message he wanted to send to all the Muslims. We cry and beat ourselves up every year for Ashura, and we forget that the message was to stand up and say "I want my right to freedom", or "I'm against unnecessary cruelty to my people", or "Hear me out". Imam Hossein got killed for what he stood for, so many others still do... Mojgan To top * Feminism and primates This is in response to a letter from Saeed entitled "Among chimps" that expressed his views on "One Iranian woman", feminism, and primates. First of all, feminism is not about "teaming up, getting stronger, and putting men down." Perhaps certainly militant feminists in the 1970's shared that view, but the majority of the men and women who consider themselves to be feminists believe that the movement is simply about equal recognition. Males have dominated females throughout much of human history, but few are proposing to turn the tables upside down and turn it into "male oppression". Feminism is about creating a more holistic worldview--neither man nor woman is dominant, but each is recognized in his and her own right. No one is proposing to erase men from the history books, but merely to *add* more perspectives from women. As for our primate cousins, the danger in using chimpanzee or bonobo behavior as a model for the ideal human system is that it ignores the fact that we are all separate species. Human nature is not chimpanzee nature. Bonobos may be more peaceful than certain other primates, but blanket statements about the lack of violence, rape, and infanticide are simply untrue. Saeed seems to have spent quite a lot of time learning about the intimate details of bonobo life, but he ignores the scores of other primate examples. Macaques, gorillas, lemurs, and chimpanzees all have very different behavioral patterns. Even within a particular family, two different species of macaques can exhibit markedly different mating habits, childraising behaviors, and living arrangements. In some primates, males are completely outside of the social circle, leading solitary lives in the jungle and only coming into contact with the mothers and children, the heart of the society, during mating season. The hamadryas baboon typically lives in the desert, one male moving about with a band of females (sometimes anthropomorphized into a "harem"). Others, such as the Indri lemur, form male-female pairs that mate for life and exist as family units of mother, father, and offspring. It is obvious from these few examples that primates can and do exhibit the full range of societal structures, many of which are also exhibited by various human societies. Therefore, how can we choose a single species to represent the ideal society? I am tired of hearing about individuals who promote certain primates as the ideal human model. I would suggest to Saeed that before he thinks any more about feminism and bonobos, he should read Sarah Blaffer Hrdy's book, "The Woman that Never Evolved". In it, one may find a wide range of examples that support and disprove the various suppositions of humans about ideal societies and primates. Perhaps then he would have a more balanced view of the position of females within the primate world. Also, I applaud Setareh Sabety for her insightful article. [One Iranian woman] Susan Bennett Department of Anthropology University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill To top * Iranian-American: Annoying Please, please, please can someone tell me who coined the ludicrous phrase "Iranian Americans?" As an Iranian living on the other side of the Atlantic I find such euphemisms annoying, and they are simply another attempt by my hamvatans to embelish their identity. "Iranian American" sounds as absurd as those Iranians who called themselves "Persians" during the nineteen eighties when the word Iranian was sysnonymous with terrorism amongst bigoted westerners. It is so obvious that Iranians who call themselves Iranian American are trying to adopt the kudos of other ethnic minorities who are labeled as Italian Americans or Afro Americans. Trying to assimilate in the society you live in is one thing, being bogus and pretentious is another. Afshar To top * Need for tolerance This is in respond to Mr. Lee Howard Hodges [Victimology] view of the Muslim world's expectations from the United States. Mr. Hodges article makes sense to the extent that he sees no justification for world's only Superpower to be obligated to be for lack of words on my part -a vacuum cleaner for the mess created by other nations. That has been the nature of superpowers throughout the history -to do what is best for your own country. Mr. Hodges comments also makes sense because he is an American and he is expressing the opinions of an American. For others as much as it's fine to disagree with him but to be upset with him is unfair, as he is not claiming to be a member of the United Nation Security Council or a misguided scholar in tenets of Islam; he is just saying what he feels. As an American and or naturalized Americans we are also victims of consequences that happens in the world and in the U.S. As the naturalized group of Americans, we Iranians should be tolerant when being criticized by a fellow American regardless of what his religion may be or if we encounter inaccuracy in one's statements. Tolerance is a virtue that only attracts respect. Never forget that in our own country we covertly and overtly make fun of every minority that we come in contact with whether they are Afghans, Hindus or whatever, let alone people of our own provinces and their accents and dialects. What prompted me to write these comments was the harsh response by one of the readers of Mr. Hodges' article, without offering an alternative. I do however think that the issue of Palestinians' struggle should not be considered as an Islamic phenomena, in its pure form it should be credited as a freedom fighting of a nation for its own existence and survival. What one calls a suicide bomber may be called "an-assisted-suicide-bomber by someone like me". Perhaps the difference between the depressed and oppressed children of Palestine with that of advance nations say Sweden, is that a depressed young boy in Sweden may kill himself in an act of suicide but a young depressed and oppressed Palestinians prefers to take a few others with him, who are we to judge what goes on in those innocent children's minds? For those who may remember or have seen the documentaries about atrocities that Jewish settlers committed during 1947-1957 against the British and the Palestinians to consolidate their own survival, then they may agree that those acts of terror only validates what Palestinians do today -to fight for their survival at any price. An eye for an eye...as said Jesus (a born Jew and of course a non-Muslim). It's a grand time for all Arab nations and Muslim countries to recognize all Jews as human beings, and understand that after all they are indeed a minority in any society no matter how rich and powerful they may be. I wish Iran had taken this initiative instead of Saudi Arabia. Iran is far more open minded as a Nation and well qualified to be the first Islamic Nation to recognize Jews as a group of people who are also entitled to a piece of land. Iran made this recognition 2400 years ago and then started to deny that fact just in the past 22 years after exposure of Iran to Khomeini's syndrome! Don't get mad but what would be wrong with giving half of the city of Quom in Iran to the surplus Jewish settlers in Israel? Do you think they would inflict more damages to Iran that the clergies of Quom have caused in the past quarter of century? The Jews in Iran offered us some of the best music that we enjoy today; we can list many other contributions as well. The end result and the crystallized by-product of the religious government ended up to be addiction, prostitution and poverty. So, let's not argue with Mr. Hodges and instead let him know that we Iranians have coexisted with Jews for centuries until we found out an Islamic Republic is mother of all cures of pains, of course next to opium. And here we are today, a paradise lost an alternative tourist haven next to Thailand! So much for Mr. Khomeini's promise of Utopia upon his arrival to Iran. In my humble opinion (which has no intrinsic or political value anyway) I do not think that Islam as a religion will ever reconcile either within itself or without. The reason is that Islam although a religion of peace, but only and for as long as that peace has not been shattered. The Doctrine of Islam does not dictate or allow pacifism, non-violence-resistance and peaceful demonstration towards what comes and stands against its theories and philosophy. Additionally Islam does not distinguish between religion and government nor does it recognizes political boundaries. For that, Islam from day one has been the choice religion for the victims, and staunch enemy of the power. Even within itself it's constantly at war with most political powers that it comes in contact with. In Islam the concept of "turning your other cheek" has been modified to: cut the hand that slapped you in the face and then for the punishment cut the other hand as well and let that be a lesson for those who observe the ceremony (a melancholic exaggeration by me of course). Islam grows bigger perhaps because like a magnet it attracts the oppressed, the victims, the poor, the orphans and the soccer teams that don't go to the World Cup and are pissed off. For those who studied Arabic they know that verses of Koran are music to the ears. Even the common Arabic language in its daily usage is adorned with rhythm, prose and balances and poetry. It's the beauties of those words that attracts the ones who need to escape to the sanctuary of Islam. It's not Islam that is to be blamed for shortcomings of Islamic nations, it's the mankind who is responsible for atrocities in the name of Islam. The corruption, degeneration of cultures and self-inflicted moral injuries to those cultures are to be blamed for any shortcomings out of Islamic countries. As a naturalized citizen of the Unites States, I do however hope that the United States government allow the people of this nation who had elected that government and are sovereign to that government get better pictures of what goes on in the world beyond the lopsided news coming out of the CNN and the likes who appear to be more in service for countries other than these United States. One day Bin Laden is alive, the next day he is suffering from indigestion and kidney problems (perhaps for over indulgence on beer) and the next day he is at large.... the saga continues, but we need to be tolerant of each other and keep your sense of humor. F.A. Ashtiani To top * HARDLY an excuse Mr. Mirfenderiski, [Not defending allegations] whatever Iranians may or may not do to each other is HARDLY any excuse or justification for the murder of 290 innocent civilians by the US Navy and the subsequent US government cover-up of the true facts surrounding that atrocity. Mr. Mirfendereski, you should know better on the legal aspects too. The US has made exceptions to the principle of soveriegn immunity to allow lawsuits against Iran (but not against Israel or even the US!) to proceed in US courts. At the same time, the US courts have thrown out lawsuits brought by the relatives of the Iranian survivors of the Vincennes incident by claiming that the US government is immune from such suits. Apparently, the US believes in the principle of immunity only when it suits US interests. Secondly, Iran can't "institute an action in the World Court to have such judgments against it set aside as a matter of international law" because, as Mr. Mirfendereski knows or should know, actions can only be initiated in the World Court when both parties consent to it. The US has ignored World Court rulings in the past, so it is not likely for the US to accept the jurisdiction of the World Court on such matters. John Mohammadi To top * No-meat hypocrisy Why is it that someone is always opposed to the eating of meat or a particular kind of meat? My niece is similar to your father except that she didn't have a traumatic experience to excuse her aversion to meat. Or the views of Jews who won't eat pork. The reason God made pigs so ugly is so that men wouldn't make pets of them. That is why hamburger is called 'hamburger' it's made from pigs. So from my niece not eating any meat at all -- and what is a vegetarian hamburger when there's real meat around? -- to my son-in-law's father's views on what's kosher, meals are a problem. And the hypocrisy of it. Few foods or drinks don't contain gelatine, and that is the basis for aspic and other salads. Reminds me of the time my wife served what she calls cochise son Jacques, which is scallops in cheese sauce, and then found out that our in-laws only ate kosher. And never drank tea with cinnamon in it. What a disaster. Well, as somebody who has eaten squirrels, raccoons, and muskrats, if you don't like your lamb, just send it here. Leonard Clapp To top * Gives me great comfort Salaam Khanome Parvin Shirazi, [Be proud of your hejab!] I am writing to thank you for the wonderful poem about Hejab. I ware my Hejab every day here in the USA and it gives me great comfort. It helps me to keep my faith strong especially with all of the hostile anti-Islam people here in the United States and in the World. I know I am doing this for Allah (May he rest in peace) and myself and do not care what others think. Be Strong... Inshahlaa Khoda Hafez Fereshteh Alexandria, VA To top * One of the best poems ever I read Iraj Mirza's poem on the hejab many years ago. I's one of the best poems I've ever heard in my life. Not because of the obscene language (and you'd better know that the first time that I was reading this poem I paid no attention to the slang ), but because of the courage and the outstanding power of a man of the previous time. The time when EVEN making minor objections to the stupid rules of Islam could bring you the SENTENCE OF DEATH. I hope someday come that we, Iranians learn to think for ourselves and not just hearing to people. Regards, Mohammad Sarraf To top * Photography in Abu Dhabi I am writing to u from the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. I own a photography studio for ladies. I know Iranians are excellent in photography. If u know someone who wants to work with me please let me know. If u have any questions, send them to me. Looking forward to hearing from u .. Regards, Aisha To top * Rudi in my UFO I think you already have my Iranian Image of the day and she is Rudi Bakhtiar. I thought she was All American!!! I think she is the most beautiful anchor woman on earth! I doubt that I will ever meet her, but I would love to have the chance! Maybe you can send her my email address and website so that she can check it out? I am sure that even good looking chicks are interested in UFOs and Flying Cars. I would love to take Rudi for a ride in my flying car as soon as I get one! Ralph McCormick Site: UFO MAN's Earth & Space Place To top |
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