Archive - Feb 5, 2010 - Article

What are you fighting for?

Phrases like, “No (violent) revolution in history has brought democracy to a country”, “Revolution is not the answer”, “The Iranian regime is a totalitarian/authoritarian regime because it was established by a violent revolution”, “Reform is the only way forward” and so on, are talking points repeated by some so-called “reformist intellectuals” nowadays. But do they have any validity? And are they based on historical facts? To answer these questions let’s first focus on the term “violent revolution”, recently used by these “reformist intellectuals”, to refer to the Iranian revolution of 1979>>>

Please Release Our Children

One evening last week at the Free Library of Philadelphia, I met Alex Fattal. I saw pain on his face, as he came up to me. A nice, kind young man, he told me who he was. I learned that he is the brother of Josh Fattal who, along with two of his friends, was on a hiking vacation in Iraqi Kurdistan before they were arrested by the Iranian authorities. This was in July, now it is February, and they are still in prison. Evin: Where else? The mothers and the families of Shane, Josh and Sarah have had no direct contact with their loved ones. No phone calls, nothing>>>

Shir Zanan

Nestled deep in the snowcapped Alburz Mountains of Northern Iran, amongst a heavily forested region, the Council of Shir Zanan met under the cover of a pitch black, moonless night. Seven women were seated around an altar, facing each other and holding the eternal fire of Ahura Mazda in the palms of their hands. The sacred fire illuminated their faces and drew eerie shadows on the wall. Their murmur could be heard in the silence of the frosty night as they chanted under their breath: “Fear not our wrath; Fear not our revenge; Fear only our reverence.” >>>

You are an inspiration

As an American who is living openly in freedom, I feel utterly unqualified to address the Iranian people. After all, I don’t have to fear that the Basij will arrest me and torture me and rape me in Evin Prison. I don’t have to fear that I will be beaten or murdered for attending or organizing a demonstration on February 11, 2010, the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Iran, or any other day. I don’t have to fear that my phone is being tapped, my email is being watched>>>

Quran Misconstrued

No book has been dragged more frequently into the forum of public opinion by the media and more intensely scrutinized, sometimes unscrupulously, by Western scholars than the holy Quran. Westerners began to be more inquisitive about this book after 1979 and the inauguration of an Islamic government in Iran (IRI) and particularly throughout post 9/11 years. Many contemporary Western religious scholars seem to believe that Islamic radicalism is rooted in the teachings of Quran and the distorted interpretations of some of its verses>>>