 Close enough
We're not Arabs but we
certainly have similar cultures, features, religions
By Shadi Akhavan
August 25, 2003
The Iranian
Having received my degrees in English
and History from one of the more respected institutions of "higher
education" in
the U.S. , I can say that for the most part, I have developed the
analytical skills to pretty much see every side of a piece of writing
in front of me. Even though emotions of anger, confusion and a
sense of misunderstanding might envelope me as I read, I can genuinely
reflect on most items that come cross my path and see at least
a measure of what the writer is conveying. Not at all that I agree
with most things I read, but the good writer can usually get a
majority of his/her audience to agree with some aspect of their
argument (however minute this morsel of a detail may be).
As such, the ultimate conquest in any critical writer's
framework would be to at least hold the reader's attention long
enough
to introduce them to a new concept of thought, a new idea they
might not have considered meaningful, or to challenge a preexisting
notions. After all, what can possibly be more rewarding and fascinating
than allowing people to think of things in terms they may not have
thought of them before, or open their eyes to a new horizon they
may never before have considered.
I introduce this piece with this somewhat long-winded
presentation on my outlook of writers and critical analysis not
to educate anyone
of the process, though if you think about it, it's quite
fascinating. No, my point is that there's rarely anything
I read these days that doesn't make me think, that doesn't
stimulate me in some way. Well, there was one such article that
I read on and decided, "OK, this
is absolute rubbish. This guy has no idea what he's talking
about." The consummate reader and writer, I decided to bookmark
this article in my PC, come back to it, and see if I didn't
feel the same way about it after a few weeks. I do, it's
a load of misdirected, incorrect, racist ideology that I can't
comprehend. Not even a little bit.
In his article "Forsaking
Iranians: I pledge allegiance to the Aryan race", Ali Aliabadi seems to feel
a great deal
of distain for the Iranian people. Mr. Aliabadi, I am sorry to
say, I do not consider you a member of my people. You see, from
what I know of Iranian people, we are a cultured, knowledgeable,
smart, passionate people. You may have run into a back-stabber
or an unpleasant few Iranians in your time, but this is by no means
an excuse to EVER forsake your ethnicity. I feel very sorry for
you, as you've probably so turned your back on your own culture
and its people that you seem to have forgotten what your culture
is. That is truly the saddest thing about you.
Above and beyond that, Mr. Aliabadi makes to sorrowful
point of separating his "Aryan" Iranians from what did he call
them "Saddam Hussein look-alikes who drive Benzs." Mr.
Aliabadi, do you realize that to most of the post September 11th
world, you are just as likely a target for the claims of being
a "terrorist" as your Saudi, Syrian and Egyptian Arab
brothers? You would rather stand in with the great imperialists
of the world, the Germans, Americans and British and join people
in lumping all brown-colored peoples in with the "axis of
evil"?
Perhaps you sir, who thank these western cultures
for their plumbing, computers etc. have no practical education
that it was the upon the great discoveries of many Arab cultures
that we have these modern comforts, like plumbing, that you seems
so enamored with? It would take just a few minutes of library research,
which Mr. Aliabadi might be incapable of, as it seems the bulk
of his opinions are based on biased personal experiences. Do some
research sir, and you will find yourself proud to be in the company
of our Arab brothers and sisters.
For example, I bet you didn't know (or just don't
want to take the time to know) the Egyptians (also considered Arabs,
in case you didn't stumble across this tidbit of information
at some point during your evidently abbreviated education) did
with their unwieldy mathematics system was, actually, pretty fantastic.
Not only did they just use it in their day-to-day lives, but they
built one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Something
that we, today, can not replicate despite our more complex mathematics
and our modern technology! Hmmm, makes you think they might be
kinda smart huh? Yeah, but then again, who'd want to be affiliated
with those bunch of Arabs who, as you so aptly put it, "brought
their blood into our veins."
Also, I found out some pretty neat things about
what Arab folks were doing during the Middle Ages. You know the
time period from
750 to 1100 A.D where Mr. Aliabadi's German and British friends
were going through a somewhat pathetic stage of self flagellation
and boredom until the awakening of a time period termed the Renaissance??
Yeah, well while these folks were dining on rotten
mutton the Arabs were actually thinking a little. In fact, it was
three Arab scholars
that were prolific during these times that helped save Europe
from the Black Death. As Oxford University's research on Arab society's
states; Razi (Rhazes), Ibn Sina (Avicenna), and Abu Ali al-Hasan
(Alhazen)
were the greatest medical scholars of mediaeval times. Al-Razi
was the inventor of "Seton" in Surgery and the author
of Al-Judari wal Hasbak, an authentic book dealing with measles
and small pox.
Avicenna wrote Al-Qanun fil Tib known as Cannon,
which was the most widely studied medical work of mediaeval times
and was reprinted more than twenty times during the last 30 years
of the 15th century in many different languages. Alhazen was the
world's greatest authority on "optics".
The contagious
character of the plague and its remedies were discovered by Ibn
Katina, a Moorish physician. Hmm, I wonder where your German
and British friends would be, Mr. Aliabadi, if there had never
been
a discovery of the causes and nature of the Bubonic Plague which
to some estimates, wiped out 60% of the European population? Now, getting back to today and our Iranian society.
I believe Iranians are a beautiful, smart fascinating people, and,
as with virtually
every culture on the plant, we are not ethically pure (for whatever
that term means today). Neither sir, are the Americans, the Germans,
or the Brits, so you might as well forget about that dream right
now.
The fact of the matter is, this is an attitude in
Persian culture that has bothered me for some time now. I was recently
asked by
an Arab friend at dinner if Iranians were Arabs, not being the
most tactful orator, I flatly stated "Iranians don't
like being called Arabs. If you call them Arabs by mistake, you
might as well be calling them trash." It had never occurred
to me until that very moment, what a truly sorrowful attitude this
is on the part of my people's behalf.
We're not Arab,
OK, it's a historical fact, fine. But, for all you Iranians
out there who look as if you're about to regurgitate your khoresh when
someone mistakenly assumes Iranians are Arabs, just remember, there's
much worse things we could all be. By taking
such an abrasive stand toward your association with other "brown" people,
you are indeed contributing to the sense of friction and cross-cultural/nations
turmoil that have made it so difficult for the Middle Eastern countries
to work together in the first place. We may not be Arabs, but we
certainly have similar cultures, features, religions and to disregard
or belittle the impact of that culture on our own is in fact
belittling our culture, something that you Mr. Mr. Aliabadi, seem
to revel
in. For that one fact, I feel desperately sorry for you. It must
be a terrible thing to wake up every morning and hate yourself
for being Iranian. I'm glad to say, I've never for
one instant walked in your shoes in that respect. Ensha'allah,
you will one day learn to love your people, your culture and
all the wonderful bloods that have melded to make up the Iranian
people
today.
Now especially, in light of recent world events,
is not the time for us to be focusing on the degrees of separation
between Middle
Eastern cultures.
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