LettersJuly 2005 Highly educated & Western. What's wrong with that?On Asghar Massombagi's "Being Lolita in Tehran": Let me guess you are a middle aged man of a middle class family from Tehran, with either only brothers or very submissive sisters! either way there was a lot of testosterone where ever you were raised. you are or were active in the marxist movement. although you don't believe religion to be opiate of societies. All of this is more than clear from your way of approaching this book. As you said in your so called book review, "this is not a book review....what I am interested is the politics" (3rd Alinea). Even this statement is not true. you are right in one thing, what you wrote is definitely not a book review, it is a namaze jome speech, or whatever the marxist version of that might be! the problem you seem to have is that the leftist movements are not represented in this book, so what?this book is not about politics this book is about women's lives. you however in your infinite wisdom, which some persian men seem to have been born with, have chosen to ignore that completely and go straight to your own bruised ego. As Azar tells the man she loves towards the end of the book "living in Iran is like being forced to sleep with a man you don't love" to me that is the essence of the book. I am sorry you chose not to understand that. You have not for one minute acknowledged that this book is about the truth of woman's lives and by extension have chosen to vaporize the problems facing the women of my generation in today's Iran. Ms Nafisi writes her perspective of the events. that is why she uses literature as a central line in her book. she tells her story in her language... which in this case is literature which appeals to her. Yes, she is a Highly educated woman who was raised in the west. but that doesn't give you or any one else the right to ignore that the story she wrote, however irrelevant it might seem to you is the story of thousands of us. Refusing to wear the hijab might not be a big deal to you, but it is to me. a head scarf however innocent might seem to be to you, is a method of slavery to me. telling men its ok to have urges, telling women the control of the urges men experience is their responsibility. the hijab takes away all femininity, and it doesn't stop there, In Iran femininity is just short of being illegal. Politics which amends an individuals being such as this, is personal. when a woman's right to her future, her body and even her appearance in public are being dictated by politics, the political does become personal. Even if the phrase seems to be outdated to you, it is our every day reality. If you have a something you want to get off your chest, I hereby encourage you to pick up a pen and right down your own story. I'll even help you get it published, I my self will write a review, and I'll even be courteous enough not to misspell your name. The least we can doOn Akbar Ganji's hunger strike: I have read somewhere that Mr. Ganji in Iran has taken a hunger strike to make you people to hear the awfulness of human kind in Iran. He has taken this step to challenge not only the unrightful government but you and me living abroad in the so called safe heavens of the world. This is rather a bold and strong move expected from a modern hero of democracy. Not only is his action a non-violent act of civil disobedience to protest the inhumanity but also a spiritual protest against people who claim themselves models and teachers of spirituality. And of course the world is watching the behavior of the Iranian authoritis and finds them responsible should anything happens to Mr. Ganji. Mr. Ganji simply asks the authorities to respect what is written in the constitution of Iran. It is rather a simple request and one sees nothing wrong with it. But even with this simple request the authorities find themselves in disarray. It makes them so nervous that they do not know what to do with his strength. I find Mr. Ganji worthy of walking with Gandhi the great teacher of the 20th Century and Martin Luther King, Jr. and all those who believe in Dreams like freedom of humanity. It is by all means necessary for all freedom loving people to sign petitions and make sure the right people get to see them in regards to Mr. Ganji. That is the least we can do to support him when he needs it the most. I ask the community of Iranians to take this seriously. Just imagine... he has been on this hunger strike for more than thirty days now and he is said to be suffering from fragile health. It is up to us who always day dream about democracy in Iran to do something. Long before warIn response to Shappi Khorsandi's "This is war": Shappi may be too young to remember, but the fact is that the large scale terrorist attacks started in Nairobi & Dar el-Salaam, New York (twice), Beirut, Buenos Aires (twice) and in many other places, long before either the Afghan war or the war in Iraq. I am glad she has her brother back: I am also glad that the terrorist training camps in Afghanistan are closed, while the mass graves of Iraq are being opened, and those responsible are being prepared for trial. These are two steps towards a world order of security and justice for all, and it is no small thing that -- at last, after Rwanda and Yugoslavia and Cambodia and a dozen more shameful non-interventions -- the major powers are now showing a little willingness to put their blood and wealth on the line, and heads of state no longer enjoy immunity. Sen McGlinn You have a wonderful voice, SusanIn response to Azam Nemati's "Khorramshari Cinderella": As part of my daily routine (searching for Iranian news and music[old and new]) I tried Susan Roshan (for the first time).Would someone please tell her that she has wonderful voice (I mean it.). Thank you. Fereidoun Maybe it's herIn response to Azam Nemati's "Khorramshari Cinderella": And one more time she did it! For what seems like the millionth time Ms. Nemati has managed to make me sick and nauseous about all Iranian feminists. Or on second thought maybe it's just her.... after all every basket has its few bad apples. I really have to give her credit for the smooth way she makes Iranian women sound oh so "oghdei". P.S. someone please explain to me, what is the joy in hating men and blaming them for all mankind's problems? And what can possibly make one so proud of being anti-religion? Intersting but pessimisticIn response to Shahriar Zahedi's article on uniforms, "Az maa behtaraan": I enjoyed your piece. Your are right there are crooks in every filed. Your points are intersting but pessimistic. Be careful that you might need the help of all of those crooks and you will do better if you have an optimnistic view on them. There is hope for everyone to change, and your optimistic view on them might help them to change for better! If a criminal knocks at your door, you will be very pleased to have a police officer around. Maybe not you, but those whose only hope is a
higher power turn to those who give them a spiritual lift.
You and all of us need desperatley the help of physicians when
facing
serious medical problems. Conflict resolution by self centered
parties is impossbile if a neurtral judge is not involved.
ExcellentIn response to Zohreh Khazai Ghahremani's "Toog smart for ourselves": Thank you very much for your contribution, and your thoughts. Excellent article :) Get our acts togetherIn response to Zohreh Khazai Ghahremani's "Toog smart for ourselves": This is a great article, and although it saddened me as an Iranian
by making me look in the mirror and to see what we are and
have been guilty of, it may be a reminder that we need to get our
acts together, and be one. She is absolutely right "az mast
ke bar mast". Funny & somewhat factualIn response to Shahriar Zahedi's article on uniforms, "Az maa behtaraan": This article is well written, entertaining and at some degree factual. No-win situationIn response to Siamack Baniameri's "Cute won't cut it": Dear Mr. Baniameri, I enjoyed reading your article on Reza Pahlavi's hunger strike. I know I am a bit late in responding to it. I admit that I came across it just today. I do agree with you on many points. The following sentence however struck me as a false note: "He (Reza Pahlavi) will not be executed by IRI since the international pressure by his neocon friends will be too great and consequences too devastating for the ayatollahs to do him any harm." You seem to be condemning Reza Pahlavi no matter what he does, or will do in the future. If he listens to you, heads for Tehran and is thrown as you say into Evin prison and manages to survive the experience winning the political battle for freedom and democracy in our country, you would still credit his neocon friends for saving his skin and pulling the strings. You would allege that it was the influence of his American buddies that did the trick. In other words, you mock and discredit all the contingencies that are open to him even before he has tried to embark on the journey you recommend to him. He seems to be in a no-win situation as far as you are concerned. Many Iranians did the same thing with the late Shah. He came to power, they argued, because Americans put him there. When he left, thinking that by doing so he could save the country from bloodshed, they said it was because he did not want to risk his life. Knee jerk reactions I believe will lead only to fanaticism of one sort or the other. I also think that you have misunderstood the role of a king in a modern democracy which is ceremonial and serves to hold the country together by its symbolic and traditional appeal. No one in Spain expected Juan Carlos to be thrown into jail and tortured by fascists before he could qualify for kingship. Two of the examples you gave, as great men who as you say put "their life where their mouth is", namely Ayatollah Khomeini and Mosaddegh are extremely dangerous patterns to wish for in a leader. Far from putting their lives where their mouths were, they sacrificed everyone else's lives and in Khomeini's case thousands and thousands of them. As you remember, both these men died a natural death. I repeat, I do agree with you on many points. We need courage, wisdom and fortitude and we need to offer constructive criticism for creating an effective opposition to the clerical dictatorship. In any case I admire your work and am looking forward to your next article. Warmest regards, Give it a restIn response to Peyvand Khorsandi's "Against the grain": Goes without saying that everyone has a right to speak their mind and that includes Mr. Galloway. I watched the interview and felt Mr. Galloway was given more than adequate time to say his piece and was treated no more harshly than many a British Government ministers I've watched being interviewed on Newsnight. So, nice
of you to crank up your liberal credentials a notch by
standing up for the one time Saddam fan, but time to give it a
rest on this issue. Tit for tatIn response to Debra Watts's "On the spot": I always like Siamack Baniameri's writings and enjoy them very much.. Thanks Siamack. I am not sure why someone wants to spoil his satire ["Heaven can wait"] with some serious writings with some quotes including some Hadith which even Islamists might argue about their value in interpreting Islam. As a tit-for-tat and also to give some defense ammunition to my fellow Iranians, who are constantly the target of Debra-type comments, no matter how hard they drink or which church/mosque/temple/pub/disco they go to. Quotes from the Bible Kill People Who Don't Listen to Priests Kill Witches Kill Fortunetellers Death for Hitting Dad All who curse their father or mother must be put to death. They are guilty of a capital offense. (Leviticus 20:9 NLT) Death to Followers of Other Religions Kill Nonbelievers Kill Followers of Other Religions Rape in the Bible So they sent twelve thousand warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children. "This is what you are to do," they said. "Completely destroy all the males and every woman who is not a virgin." Among the residents of Jabesh-gilead they found four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan Laws of Rape (Deuteronomy 22:28-29 NAB) If a man is caught in the act of raping
a young woman who is not engaged, he must pay fifty pieces of silver to her
father.
Then he must marry the young
woman because he violated her, and he will never be allowed to divorce
her. "When you go out to war against your enemies and the LORD, your God, delivers them into your hand, so that you take captives, if you see a comely woman among the captives and become so enamored of her that you wish to have her as wife, you may take her home to your house. But before she may live there, she must shave her head and pare her nails and lay aside her captive's garb. After she has mourned her father and mother for a full month, you may have relations with her, and you shall be her husband and she shall be your wife. However, if later on you lose your liking for her, you shall give her her freedom, if she wishes it; but you shall not sell her or enslave her, since she was married to you under compulsion."Rape and the Spoils of War (Judges 5:30 NAB) They must be dividing the spoils they took: there must be a damsel or two for each man, Spoils of dyed cloth as Sisera's spoil, an ornate shawl or two for me in the spoil. (Judges 5:30 NAB) Sex Slaves (Exodus 21:7-11 NLT) When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her. And if the slave girl's owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but he must treat her as his daughter. If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing or fail to sleep with her as his wife. If he fails in any of these three ways, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment. (Exodus 21:7-11 NLT) On the spotIn response to Siamack Baniameri's "Heaven can wait": As usual, Siamack, your comical writing style makes me smile regardless of the subject. I know of very few Muslims that can joke about Islam and those few I know are invariably Iranian and definitely not hardliners. I wonder why that is? In any case, because I think you are tough guy who can take it, I’m going to put you on the spot now. It’s obvious that you like the rest of us, thinks of suicide jihadis as crazy and would appreciate it very much if they didn’t kill you on their misguided and violent way to heaven. (Do you REALLY think that’s where they’re going?) What about friends, family, neighbors, even non-Muslim neighbors, men, women, and children indiscriminately? Do you care about them? How do you feel about the Jihadis license to kill granted him in the Koran by Allah and in Mohammad’s/Ali’s examples (as described in the Haddith)? Here are some examples: Sura 8:13: When thy Lord revealed to the angels, saying, 'I am with you; so make firm those who believe. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Smite them above their necks, and smite off all finger-tips.' Sura 9:5: And when the forbidden months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever you find them and take them captive, and beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they repent and observe Prayer and pay the Zakaat, then leave their way free. Surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful. Sura 9:14: Fight them, that Allah may punish them at your hands, and humiliate then, and help you to victory over them, and relieve the minds of a people who believe; Sura 9:29: "Fight those who do not profess the true faith (Islam) till they pay the jiziya (poll tax) with the hand of humility." Sura 47:4: "When you meet the unbelievers in the Jihad strike off their heads and, when you have laid them low, bind your captives firmly. Then grant them their freedom or take ransom from them, until War shall lay down her burdens." Sura 5:33-35: Those that make war against God and His apostle and spread disorder in the land shall be slain or crucified or have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or be banished from the land. They shall be held up to shame in this world and sternly punished in the hereafter: except those who repent before you reduce them. For you must know that God is forgiving and merciful. Believers have fear of God and seek the right path to Him. Fight valiantly for His cause, so that you may triumph. Make war against God? Can that be done? And, if so, whose God are we talking about anyway? Religious people all over the world are prone to disagree vehemently on the issue. And how is the god named Allah being shown to be merciful here? Submit wholly or suffer a long and painful death? Bukhari, volume 9, #64 Bukhari,
volume 9, #58 I don’t know where in the Koran it says that Jihadis are supposed to get a heavenly reward with 72 virgins (not 40, by the way) when they murder fellow Muslims, but I’m disturbed about all the other murders that can and do justify by the Koran & Haddith. Aren’t you? You don’t strike me as a blood-thirsty crazy like those Al-Qaida pigs are. Nothing of the sort. But how can any Muslim avoid instant association with the Al-Qaida filth when, after all, they are only acting on what the Koran says… except for the murdering fellow Muslims part… I don’t know where they got that from. In other words, how can anyone who doesn’t approve of terrorism or other such acts of ultimate inhumanity be a Muslim? It doesn’t make sense. How does that work? How does it work for you? [See reply here] >>> More July 14
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