Why Do Some Iranians Hate “Soraya”?

Controversy over “The Stoning of Soraya M.”

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Why Do Some Iranians Hate “Soraya”?
by S. Mostofi
06-Apr-2010
 

When a Middle Eastern cultural center announced a special cast-and-crew screening of a film about stoning in Iran, coming up on April 15, 2010, local members in Los Angeles began a Facebook firestorm. “Crap propaganda!” screamed one irate Iranian FBer. “The film has zero artistic value!” wrote another.

Some Iranians love to hate anything that can be reasonably criticized, and “The Stoning of Soraya M.” has plenty to hate. It’s anti-Iran propaganda, some say; others insist the stoning never happened—journalist Freidoune Sahehjam made it up, which is why he wouldn’t name names in his book of the same title. Still others say, “It's not propaganda if you’re the one getting stoned.”

Levantine Cultural Center (levantinecenter.org/) is screening Cyrus Nowrasteh’s movie precisely to have a conversation about it—because it’s altogether evident that the Iranian diaspora is conflicted by it and some even go as far as reacting with a vehement denial to it.

But isn’t it a gruesome true story? Haven’t women been stoned to death in Iran?

Yes and yes, which is why this story is so important. Under Iran’s Islamic law, adultery is punishable by stoning, which means hurling stones in public at a partially buried victim, usually a woman.

A film like “The Stoning of Soraya M.” may give one aspect of Iran a bad name—and of course it's not a great way to portray the country—which has such a vast and rich cultural heritage. But the filmmakers insist it’s based on a true story.

Another reason the movie is disliked is because the folks who produced it come from the conservative right (one of the producers produced "The Passion of the Christ").

Most of the film is suspenseful as the husband plots against the wife, charging her with adultery. Yet the stoning part is more allegorical than bloody (it's not “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” gory). Some like the film because they enjoy watching the actors in it, many of whom live in Los Angeles (Mozhan Marnó, Parviz Sayaad, Navid Neghaban and Shohreh Aghdashloo among them). Certainly it is interesting to watch American actor Jim Caviezel speaking Farsi.

See “The Stoning of Soraya M.” for yourself and decide. If you live in Los Angeles, California you can watch the movie on April 15 with Cyrus Nowrasteh and the actors playing Soraya and her husband (Mozhan Marnó and Navid Neghaban) present to answer questions from the audience.

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Free

This was a horrific, but great movie!

by Free on Wed Apr 07, 2010 11:57 PM PDT

And I suppose many of those who would doubt the veracity of this film are the type that would refute the truth about the IRI desiring nuclear weapons. Point is, there are some ignorant people out there who would doubt this fact, and some with a secret agenda.

Bottom line, this sort of twisted justice has occured in Iran many times in the last 30 years, so who cares if this one specific instance was true or not. Not that the stoning of Soraya isn't a true story, but this is akin to the police chief in Casablanca denying the existence of gambling at Rick's. It's obvious that such horrors have happend in Iran -- it's been documented -- so why are some of these indignant deniers so adamant about the particular case of Soraya?

 

QOM IS THE REMNANT AND REFUGE OF OUR ARAB INVADERS 


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cyclicforward

The two gentleman below said it

by cyclicforward on Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:24 PM PDT

This is the truth and it has to be faced by all Iranians. Look at the Germans. I bet they had a hard time to come to term with holocaust but at the end, they did and they are better for it and have the respect of others as well.


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Fatollah

Haghighat talkh-e

by Fatollah on Tue Apr 06, 2010 03:30 PM PDT

F. Sahebjam was Soraya's voice. We should all be thankful to Mr. Sahebjam. 

Thanks for the post. 


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Darius Kadivar

Confronting The Truth Always Hurts ...

by Darius Kadivar on Tue Apr 06, 2010 08:37 AM PDT

I'm Not a Big Fan of Sensationalism but the Story is True and I would suggest people to either first Read Sahebjam's book  then watch the movie or vice versa  in order to draw their own conclusions ! (see References Below)

Sahabjam was Also the First War Correspondent to write about Child Soldiers used by the IRI during the Iran Iraq War which I read in the late 1980's and proved to be Entirely TRUE but often ignored in the Western Press at the time not to say some fellow compatriots to whom I showed the book at the time and who prefered dismissing it all together when I compared the Hitler's Youth enrollment to the IRI methods of brainwashing the youth. (see References Below)

"Je N'ai Plus de Larmes pour pleurer" aka " I have no more tears to cry" published in the early 1980's was to reveal and denounce the use of children as soldiers by the Iranian regime in its War against Iraq and their brainwashing process.

"The Stoning of Soraya M." the true story of an innocent 35-year-old woman who had been stoned to death for supposed infidelity in a remote Iranian village in 1986. The horrific account was to draw the attention of Human Rights organizations on the plight of Iranian Woman and the dark reality of Iran's judiciary.  

Recommended Readings:

 

BELLS TOLL FOR SAHEBJAM... by Darius KADIVAR

A DIRECTOR'S CUT: Hollywood Director Cyrus Nowrasteh Brings Fereidoune Sahabjam's Best Selling Novel To The Screen By Darius KADIVAR

Nailing the Script: Hollywood Screenwriter Cyrus Nowrasteh's new challenges By Darius KADIVAR


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