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Rumi
Cover story
I was once an Iranian
Now I must grasp what it means to be an American
By Massud Alemi
September 7, 1999
The Iranian
Many Iranian expatriates subscribe to the notion that their Iranianness
is separate from their humanity. They form consciousness raising "cultural"
groups to reach an understanding about what constitutes Iranianness. They
hold meeting after meeting (with a stiff, almost un-Iranian regularity)
to emphasize an affair that passed away many years before the revolution.
It is worthy of note that it had been through a similar search for an original
self, sans any foreign impurities, that the old country was pushed on the
path of cultural suicide, cutting itself off from the wellspring of civilization.
Therefore, despite all their posturing, I see the Iranian intellectuals
still bound to the double tyrants of fundamentalism and inept nationalism.
Meanwhile, waiting to be addressed, lurk the great questions, Who are we?
What are we doing here? ... GO
TO FEATURE
Outlook
Islamic Iran re-examines role of violence
By Jonathan Lyons
TEHRAN, Sept 6 (Reuters) - An unprecedented debate is sweeping Iran
over the role of violence in upholding religious and revolutionary values
in the aftermath of pro-democracy unrest and the use of shadowy pressure
groups to suppress it.
Long an article of faith with the Islamic republic's conservative establishment,
the notion that it is incumbent upon all Moslems to use force if necessary
to defend the faith has come under increasing attack in the aftermath of
the worst unrest since the consolidation of the 1979 revolution ... FULL TEXT
What the doctor ordered
Ayatollah Yazdi, raees-e saabegh-e qoveh-ye qazaaiyeh mariz misheh,
meereh pish-e doctor. doctor behesh regime-e ghazaaie mideh, migeh keh:
"roozhaaye zowj, goosht-o-protein nemikhori. roozhaaye fard, sabzijaat-o
miveh nemikhori. jom'ehaa ham goh-e ziaadi nemikhori!"
Thanks to Ali Nikseresht
More Letters
* Very insulting
A. Abedin writes: I believe that
this "work" of pseudo-Iranian Western cooking is very insulting
["Rice,
Iranian style"].
It has been twenty years since the successful changing and reshaping
of our society, and there are still reactionaries who believe that the
British caused a revolution in which two million common people (not 10,000
college students) poured out into the streets demanding rights and liberties
of man.
Being an Iranian of the non-LA community, I find it interesting how
the Iranian and Western society has molded into this comical mess of customs
and everyday living.
* Hold the mirror
Kambiz B writes: You are right
on the money when you say Iranians do not like Jews ["I
must be a Jew"]. But you should remember most of this nonesense
has religious roots which is being fed by hard-core Hezbollahis and repeated
by brainless stupid people who really don't mean it.
Iranians as a people have never been bigots or hate-mongers. But religious
intolerance is basically driven by the mollas and their supporters who
unfortunately these days rule Iran and carry on their self-declared religious
war all around the world.
Keep up the good work and continue to hold the mirror in the face of
all Iranian Jew-haters and let them see how ugly and criminal their thinking
is.
* Conference: Energy conference in Tehran
The preliminary program for "The 4th IAA Annual Conference on OIL,
PETROCHEMICALS, ENERGY & THE ENVIRONMENT, September 18-19, 1999"
is now out and available ... HERE
Books of the Week
* Do
gharib (1998)
Letters from two friends in Iran and abroad
By Farideh Golbou
* Yek
ruz maandeh beh eid-e paak (1998)
Novel
By Zoya Pirzad
* Istgaah-e
aabshaar (1999)
Back when we were just kids...
By Parviz Davaie
* Talkhaak
(1998)
Love story, best selling novel
By Nasser Karami
See more
Iranian books for sale
THE IRANIAN
Bookstore
Video of the Week
Ejaarehneshin-haa
Dariush Mehrjuie's post-revolution parody of Iranian society. A great
comedy that also makes you think.
THE IRANIAN
Video Store
Copyright © Abadan Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.
May not be duplicated or distributed in any form
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More
news
Banned Iran paper vows new daily
TEHRAN, Sept 6 (AFP) - The editors of a pro-reform Iranian daily
closed by the conservative courts denounced the ban Monday as a political
ploy to silence Iran's reform movement and vowed to start another paper
immediately. Editors from Neshat said Sunday's "illegal" closure,
the fourth time a leading pro-reform paper has been shut down this year,
was purposely engineered by conservatives ahead of February's key parliamentary
elections ... FULL TEXT
Iran says pullout of scholars is U.S. affair
TEHRAN, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister said on Monday
the abrupt pullout of U.S. scholars from Tehran was an American affair that
had nothing to do with official Iranian policy ... FULL TEXT
MKO elects new secretary-general
BAGHDAD, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The exiled Iranian opposition Mujahideen
Khalq has elected a 33-year-old woman, Beheshteh Shadrou, as its secretary-general
to replace Mhavash Sepehri, a spokesman said on Monday ... FULL TEXT
Khamenei blasts "disgustingly sick"
Western youth
TEHRAN, Sept 5 (AFP) - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
said the "disgustingly sick" behaviour of Western youth reveals
the West is ill-suited to control the destiny of the world, papers reported
Sunday ... FULL TEXT
Iran says may not give Russia new nuclear
deals
TEHRAN, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Tehran has threatened to withhold further
nuclear contracts from Russia, accusing it of failing to fulfil commitments
on building an atomic power plant in Iran, an Iranian newspaper reported
on Monday ... FULL TEXT
Iran set to create first non-governmental
bank
TEHRAN, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Iran plans to set up its first non-governmental
bank since the 1979 Islamic revolution as part of moves to reduce the state's
domination of the economy, a cabinet minister said on Saturday ... FULL
TEXT
Kiarostami stuns Venice with Kurdish tale
Sept
6, VENICE, Italy (Reuters) - If you're after action-packed drama, Abbas
Kiarostami's films may not be for you. If instead you're looking for beautiful
photography and a simple story that lovingly explores the rituals of a local
population, the acclaimed director's new film ``Le vent nous emportera''
(''The wind will take us'') may be just the ticket ... FULL TEXT
A really bad play
Tehran (Iran daily) -- Pari Saberi's direction of the play "Rostam
& Sohrab" has been trashed. Talk about a bad review! ... FULL TEXT
IN PERSIAN
Best films
Tehran (Iran daily) -- Awards will be handed out to the summer's
best films ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Objection
Tehran (Iran daily) -- Film director Alireza Davood-Nejad objects
to how films are screened ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Weightlifting: Asian champions
Sept 6, (Iran Sports Press) - Iran has won the Asian weightlifting
championship for the first time in 15 years ... FULL TEXT
National team arrives in Japan
Sept 6, (IRNA) - The Iranian National Soccer Team arrived in Yokohoma
to play a friendly match with the national soccer team of Japan, slated
for wednesday evening.
Tough match
Tehran (Iran daily) -- National soccer team head coach Mansour
Pour-Heydari warns that Iran match against Japan will not be an easy one
... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
BBC
Persian Service
For the latest news,
interviews and features on Iranian current affairs ... LISTEN HERE
$ Rate
Updated September 6
Buying: 880-893 tomans per dollar
Selling: 900 tomans per dollar
Source: Sehaty Exchange (U.S.) Tel: 480-595-0777
Mention this code for a better rate:
FA 37 B
Business
news
The Web
Iran
Iran Sports
Press
The evolution of web sites dedicated to Iranian sports has
been much more rapid than others. This site looks good AND offers regularly
updated news.
Beyond Iran
Tale
of Three Cities
National Geographic: Explore Alexandria, Egypt, in A.D.
1; Cordoba, Spain, in A.D. 1000; and New York City in the present. It's
a fascinating snapshot of the last 2,000 years.
More
web sites
Quote Unquote
Freak of sorts
The world of a migrant is a mosaic of lost past, untold stories, untransplantable
rituals and untranslatable jokes juxtaposed against the haphazard denigration
in a land where he is a freak of sorts, defined by cultural jetlag and language
barrier.
-- Massud Alemi
"I
was once an Iranian"
The Iranian
September 6, 1999
Photo of the Day
Kiarostami
in Venice
Music
Musician of the Week
Haideh
& Khodi
* Roya
* Khalvat
* Bad qoli
* Yeh shab-e mahtaabi
Music
artists index |
