Archive - Oct 2008 - Article

Unity through Film

In a small theater in Rotterdam, there is Iranian music humming in the hall, people are either anxiously waiting in line to pick up their tickets or chatting in groups, while drinking a cup of tea around small round tables. The volunteers walk around the hall upbeat and excited, wearing their white t-shirts with a beautiful print of a phantasy bird on the front. It is the opening evening of the Iranian Film Festival, at last. I’m one of the last people who gets into the movie theatre before the lights are dimmed. Looking around I notice that every single seat is filled. Parwin Mirrahimy takes the microphone and welcomes the audience. Then Farah Karimi holds a speech expressing the one thought that was just running through my mind: This festival is one of the very few occasions that brings us individualistic Iranians together in The Netherlands! >>>

تیر و کما ن

هنگام رفتن است
گفت و انگشت سرد مرطوبش
بر مهره پشتم لغزید
نه، نه ،اشتباه آمده ا ی
من هنوز جوانم و هزاران آرزو
”مقاومت بی اثر است“
می بایست این آتش را بر فراز کوهستانها روشن کنم >>>

Silence coming to an end soon

In anticipation of President Ahmadinejad’s annual trip to the UN General Assembly, the Iranian Mission to UN has asked Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) to invite representatives of the peace movement in the US to meet with him in NYC. Fellowship of Reconciliation is a faith based peace and justice organization, which for several years has been active in the movement against a war on Iran. They have organized many citizen delegation tours to Iran in recent years. President Ahmadinejad has traditionally met with interfaith groups every year in NY and it appeared more natural for them to ask FOR to facilitate the meeting with representatives of the peace movement as oppose to more secular groups. Subsequently, FOR prepared an invitation and sent it to all the peace organizations and individuals that they had identified as being interested in such meeting with the Iranian President>>>

The Newlyweds (7)

Salam Dadash jan, Chetori? I just received your email with all the photographs from Kian’s birthday. You guys all look so happy. Maman especially shone in her new dress. Did my favourite four year old enjoy his gift from Canada? I miss you all so much. I am waiting impatiently for the day when you will write me with the happy words “We are coming for a visit…” Here, on the Northern front, things have been getting a bit frosty and I am not just talking about the weather. Nassim and I had our first fight. Yes, it took almost five months for the blissful, newly-wedded merry-go-round to hit a little snag. It happened last week, when my dearest parents-in-law threw yet another mehmani at their home. You know how those evenings go. This time, though, a couple of things were different right from the start. >>>

چهار نگاه به عشق

هنگامی که به سازمان خانواده و زناشویی از زاویه های سنتی، برخورد می شود هیچ گاه این پرسش به میان نمی آید که آیا دو همسر به یکدیگر عشق می ورزند یا نه؟ برعکس پرسش هایی از این دست طرح می شود: آیا عقد آنها مشروع است؟ آیا مرد صاحب درآمد است؟ آیا زن زایا است؟ تنها در جامعه ی جدید است که به بنیان عاطفی ـ جنسی پیوند دو همسر توجه شده و عشق جنسی به عنوان یک ارزش معنوی ستایش می شود. فردریش انگلس (95-1820) در اثر مهم خود "منشاء خانواده، مالکیت خصوصی و دولت" که به سال 1884 منتشر کرده، در فصل دوم "خانواده"، بخش چهارم "خانواده ی تک همسره" در این باره می نویسد:" تا پیش از سده های میانه، ما نمی توانیم از عشق جنسی فردی سخن بگوییم: آن زیبایی شخصی، انس زیاد، شباهت سلیقه و مانند آن که در افراد دو جنس مختلف میل آمیزش جنسی را بیدار می کند به طوری که مرد و زن نسبت به انتخاب همسری که می خواهند با او وارد این نزدیک ترین رابطه بشوند، خنثی باقی نمانند.">>>

For the Love of Faloodeh

“Did you bring me Faloodeh?” I demand, skipping all the common pleasantries and zealous Iranian courtesies. Enjoyably exasperated, she plays along and hands me a bag of Ajil to shut me up. And while I am stuffing my face, with me in tow, she concentrates on maneuvering through the crowd to reach the baggage claim and fetch her luggage. As long as my mouth is full, she sets a new record every year! The long ride home takes us through America’s fertile plateau and farm land. Once the Ajil is finished, she offers me a bag of dried Tut and Nochod, and then comes out a piece of Lavashak, followed by Tokhmeh, and finally a hardened Gaz. Meanwhile, she keeps talking, bringing me up-to-date with new births and recent deaths: >>>

The Duty of the Iranian Artist

In the past few years, the emergence of "The Free Iranian Artist" and Free Iranian art has become more and more popular as the discourse on Iran, the relation to Islam, freedom, and politics, has shifted out of first into second, possibly third gear. If you are an Iranian artist, in my opinion, your first duty is to yourself, and second, to me (as one of your fans), to be FREE. Free to express your art in any way that you want. To do this, you must obviously, simply, survive. You cannot stifle. You cannot suffocate. You cannot go to jail. You cannot die. That will silence you forever, or worse, taint your art with the polluted scent and everlasting stain of oppression>>>

Beginning of the end?

The news of a directive to all Iranian judiciary officials to commute the death sentences of juvenile offenders to life imprisonment, and then in a second stage to 15 years was happily but cautiously welcomed by Stop Child Executions and the human rights activists and organizations worldwide. The announcement by Iran’s Attorney General for Judicial Affairs was made on the eve of the UN General Assembly‘s annual debate on the Rights of the Child. The General Assembly was asked by Stop Child Executions and more than 300 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from 82 countries to fully implement the absolute ban on the juvenile death penalty, as required by customary law, the Convention on the Rights of the child, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights>>>

The Little Sparrow

There was a little sparrow that was stuck on their porch somehow, having fallen or gotten lost or something, and the boy of nine, whose name was Babak Ghanbari, walked up to it. Something was wrong when a bird did not fly away when he walked up to it, and he called to his father, who was inside reading the newspaper. When his father came outside, the bird flew up to the corner of the glass porch roof. It flew belaboredly, like it took all it had to get up there. The father saw that it was in bad shape. "There is nothing that we can do for it," he said, and he turned and went inside.>>>

وسوسهء غرب و نوانديشان دينی

من يکی اکنون، در پی تجربه ای بيست و اندی ساله، به اين نتيجه رسيده ام که اين متحول شدگان ـ که خود را با کارت ويزيت «توانديش دينی» معرفی می کنند ـ در مورد کاری که می کنند دچار سوء تفاهم و وهم اند و خيال می کنند که برای همگان حرفی تازه و آموختنی و ديدگاهی نوين آورده اند. و همين توهم هم هست که منجر به نوعی ـ بقول آخوند ها ـ تذبذب مفرط در آنها شده و آنان را بدانجا می کشاند که چنان بنويسند و بگويند که تو گوئی آنها گنگ «خوابديده» بوده اند و عالم تمام کر، و حالا ـ به مدد انفاس قدسيهء الهی ـ طوطی شکر شکن شده اند و با صور بلند و اسرافيلی خود در گوش های پينه و پنبه بستهء ما می دمند تا بيدار شويم و بمدد دم مسيحائی اينان راهمان را از چاه باز شناسيم. من معتقدم که لااقل در مورد نوانديشی پس از انقلاب چنين تصوری اصلاً واقعيت ندارد و نوانديشان مذهبی ما دهشی در نوسازی مذهب نداشته و فقط از کسانی الهام گرفته اند که با مذهب سر و کاری ندارند و در حرف و سخن و احتجاجات آنان نيز نکتهء تازه ای نمی يابند>>>

ريدن از شما ، بقيه اش با ما

با سلام خدمت آقاي احمدي نژاد. من صنعت كاري هستم كه سالهاست در خدمت اين مرز و بوم مشغول به كارم وبا ساخت انواع آفتابه به چرخش چرخ صنعت اين كشور كمك ميكنم. آقاي احمدي نژاد از شما به عنوان يك رييس جمهور(كه حتما تا به حال مشتري يكي از آفتابه هاي من بوده ايد) تقاضا ميكنم كه به صنعت آفتابه سازي اين كشور كمك كنيد چون آفتابه سازان هم اكنون نيازمند ياري سبز شما هستند. از همه مهمتر اينكه با توجه به شعار دولت مبني بر نوآوري و شكوفايي ملي، شركت ياران آفتابه ما هم براي ايجاد نوآوري، به دست نيروهاي بومي اقدام به ساخت آفتابه هايي به رنگ سبز فسفري كرده>>>

The Story of Mohammad

Mohammad worked for nearly a decade in the Roman trade route and became very familiar with both the Christian and the Jewish traditions of the Near East. As an intelligent young man, although illiterate, he absorbed most of the biblical stories, which put his life in a much more appealing prospective. He found solace in the hardship stories of Job and Moses, but perhaps was most influenced by Abraham, a Semitic prophet who recanted his own town and traditions, to build a new Utopia and create a new way of life. At the age of 40, after marrying a wealthy business woman, Mohammad found some spare time to contemplate his past and future, his beliefs and doubts.>>>

What Role Religion Can Play

America is a nation of highly religious citizens and Americans seems to have retained their spiritual life “Full 92 percent of Americans say they believe in God, 85 percent in heaven and 82 percent in miracles, according to the latest FOX News poll. Though belief in God has remained at about the same level, belief in the devil has increased slightly over the last few years — from 63 percent in 1997 to 71 percent today” (2004). Such information, however, should not be viewed as an indication of the status of religion in public life. When it comes to public life, this nation pretends that religion does not really matter. We are not supposed to let our religious believes interfere with our public life>>>

The Newlyweds (6)

Salam Khaleh Joon, I hope this letter finds you and yours well. I wish I could say Shahab and I are doing fine here but this would be far from the truth. We recently got into a major fight and it was much, much worse than the last time, when he punched the wall. But before you get worried, I am okay. I mean, I am not hurt or anything. Not physically at least. As for my emotional state, that is another story. It all started when we were invited to Maryam’s house for a party. Remember the last time, I told you about bumping into Maryam, my old friend from Iran>>>

از تخریب گنجی بترسیم

وقتی نوشته نوری‌علا را خواندم بی‌اختیار اشک در چشمانم حلقه زد. نمی‌توانستم باور کنم که به‌نام مدرن‌خواهی و دمکراسی‌طلبی هم می‌توان این‌گونه به‌ تخریب یکی از نمادها و قهرمانان جنبش دمکراسی‌خواهی ایران پرداخت. نمی‌توانستم باور کنم که اکبر گنجی که کیهان و اوین و اعتصاب غذا نتوانستنند او را بشکنند را عده‌ای قصد دارند بشکنند. برایم سخت بود ببینم عده‌ای این همه دلاوری گنجی را در چند جمله ساده خلاصه می‌کنند و به‌فرودگاه رفتنشان و ترجمه مقالات گنجی را تا آن حد بزرگ می‌کنند که بخواهند بر سر شخصیت ملی بزرگی چون منت او بگذارند و او را نمک‌گیر خود بدانند. مدام از خودم می‌پرسیدم: «آیا این گروه یادشان رفته که گنجی برای یک نسل از جوانان ایرانی که در میان خرابه‌های جنگ زاده و بزرگ شدند یک قهرمان است؟>>>