Archive - Sep 4, 2007

Ey dad az eshgh

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A Letter to Ray Takyeh....

Takyeh, in Persian/Arabic may mean a mosque-like place where the mourners gather around to beat themselves during the Imam Hossain’s Aashura anniversary!? As you may know Imam Hossain activities is a very lucrative business in Iran these days. Do you own any of these takyeh places in Iran and if so do you receive proceeds based on what the mullahs make on these places? >>>

Blaming others

Honestly, I kind of agree with most but not all conspiracy theories. If we look at recent Persian history, there is now documented evidence that foreigners, especially the British, did in fact meddle badly in our affairs. They overthrew governments, toppled dynasties, and had prime ministers and other high officials assassinated or replaced. In fact, I wish George W. Bush, being a strong ally of British, would have learned a few things from them when it comes to dealing with the Middle East. Incidentally, did you notice that for the first 3 years of the war in Iraq, southern Iraq which, was under the control of British troops, was the quietest area? Accident? I think not.>>>

چهره جدیدی از ما

چند سالیست که در هر گوشه و کنار وقتی پای صحبت با ایرانیان را باز میکنم و در مورد مسایل مربوط به کشورم و یا بهتر بگم هموطنانم در داخل و جامعه ایرانی در خارج از کشور بحث و گفتگو اغاز میشه همیشه در یک نقطه ای از این گفتگوها همه چیز به نسل جدید یا جوان یا بهتر بگم نسل مدرن و پیشرفته ایرانی ختم میشه. در حقیقت همه کم و کاستی نسل قبل از نسل جدید یکدفعه سپرده میشه به نسل امروز ایران حتی در خیلی از موارد معرف ایران مدرن یا ایرانیان مدرن نیز به دوش این نسل قرار میگیرد و همچنین قرار این نسل آبروی از دست رفته ما ایرانیان را در همه عرصه ها به ما برگرداند. >>>

Blame yourself!

In nowhere-ness
I will find you

In resignation
I will tempt you

In nothingness
I will re-invent you

In emptiness
I will fill you >>>

A WMD Free Zone in the Middle East Won’t Help Iran

Making the Middle East a WMD Free Zone won't ease Iran's appetite for nuclear technology.  According to Joseph Cirincione, director for non-proliferation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, most weapons programs in the Middle East began in direct response to Israel’s decision to go nuclear in the 1950s and 1960s. Despite this analysis, I think the calls for a Free Zone in the Middle East as a way for curbing Iran’s appetite for nuclear technology is faulty. Iran is not responding to any Israeli threat, but to a US threat. Israel will never threaten Iran’s territory like it does to other bordering Arab states. >>>

A letter to BBC Persian

I have known BBC Persian program for more than 40 years, BBC was the only source of information that my father used to listen to since the days of the World War II. So I grew up listening to your radio program, with respect and reliance on impartiality and independence. >>>

Smart strategy

On a sunny day in Washington, DC, my imaginary American scholar, Hannah Esfandiari, was sittining in her Kalorama-located house, opening a letter she had just received from Tehran, Iran. It was a job offer from a prominent think-tank at the heart of the Islamic Republic's policy-making machine. Her main job was going to be establishing contacts with Americans dissidents, scholars and activists and inviting them to Tehran to speak for high-rank Iranian policy-makers, top officers of the Revolutionary Guards and the intelligence ministry. But she could not take the job offer. Not because she was afraid of being charged with assisting a 'state sponsor of terrorism' and perhaps being sent to Guantanamo Bay.>>>

First day of classes

Wouldn't it be good if everyone was an eager student? Eager to learn new things, explore new topics, always open to the idea that there is more to learn. Here's to a beautiful year ahead. >>>

A surrogate tear

A Mirror Garden is the memoir of an Iranian-American woman who has witnessed much of the events of the last century. Monir Shahroody, now a senior citizen living in New York, has seen it all and, with some help from her co-author Zara Houshmand, shares some of those memories with readers. As the world steps away from fantasy and dream, the fascination with true events has caused a profound shift to realism in literature, art, and entertainment. Gone are the days of classic literature where a writer had to fabricate a story. Today, fiction seems to have lost its appeal and the publishing market, responding to public demand, is leaning more toward memoirs and fact-based stories. >>>

College of cardinals

The Assembly of Experts (Majlese Khobregane Rahbari) is one of the more powerful political institutions in Iran. Its main job is to appoint Iran’s Supreme leader, supervise his performance, and if it deems suitable, to dismiss him. Some have compared its task to that of the College of Cardinals in the Vatican who has the responsibility of choosing the next pope. All of the assembly's 86 members are either Ayatollahs or Hojjatoleslam (one rank below). To be considered as a member, each cleric must show relative “ejtehad". This qualification permits an Islamic cleric with the religious authority to interpret Islamic law, a qualification which takes many years of study and experience.>>>