The Beggar

He was Iranian and I knew about being Iranian in America but I did not know about being an Iranian beggar in America. I didn't know if we could speak about something shared or not. It was lousy not to know for sure if we could. The whole business of loneliness seemed to be moving towards the moment of meeting someone who knew about loneliness, but he seemed to have a vast loneliness in him, as big as the distance between the two countries and as locked away as the night>>>

اروتیک 3

حجاریهای عشق
روی دیوارهای معبد
قرنهاست مشغولند
جاودانگی یك دم >>>

مسلمان‌ستیزی و مسلمان‌نوازی

"مسلمان ستیزی (مسلمان هراسی)" و "فرهنگِ مسلمانان نوازی" هر دو جریان‌های هویت سازند. جریان اول سعی دارد افرادی را که در کشورهای خاصی می‌زیند یا اقوامشان در این کشورها می‌زیسته‌اند مسلمان جا بزند و همه‌ی مسلمانان را افراطی (بنیاد گرای) مذهبی و یا تروریست بنمایاند. جریان دوم همان آدمها را مسلمان خوانده و سعی دارد بنمایاند که فرهنگ جوامع اینها را می‌شود به فرهنگهای مسلمانان کاهش داد و چنین فرهنگهایی همیشه منزه و والا بوده و جای تجلیل و تکریم دارند>>>

آیا حجاب باید ممنوع شود؟

بنظر من دفاع مطلق از پوشش حجاب، یعنی در هر شکل و فرم آن و در هر شرایطی، بعنوان دفاع از آزادیهای فردی یا آزادی پوشش کاملا اشتباه و گمراه کننده است. چنین استدلالی حقوق دیگر برسمیت شناخته شده در جامعه، حقوقی اگر نه مهم تر به همان اندازه مهم را تحت الشعاع قرار می دهد. دفاع بی قید و شرط و مطلق از پوشش حجاب با حقوق دیگر در تناقض قرار می گیرد؛ بطور نمونه، حقوق کودک، حقوق زنان، حق جامعه و اصل سکولاریسم>>>

Pork Eaters (2)

On the drive to my school it was a surprise to see that the car had its steering wheel on the wrong side. We were driving on the opposite side of the road! But since all the other cars did it wrong too, thankfully everything worked out. Still, the direction of traffic felt odd, reminding me of what various uncles and cousins had said many times: the English are a crafty lot. There is always method to their madness and madness to their methods and they never let you know which is which>>>

A Prophet Passed by Our House

A prophet passed by our house. Suddenly, a thousand love birds grew out from the small tree in the garden and sang us a thousand songs they had hidden in their small throats. Then we remembered that we are actually related to the tree and the birds. A prophet passed by our house. We had a thousand locked doors and a thousand keyless locks. He brought us a key. But just as we called his name, all the locks opened without the key>>>

رسوا

خاک سر کویت را مستانه بسر ریزم
رازی که خدا داند از بنده چه پرهیزم؟

از پرده برون افتد این راز نهان آخر
از سایه خود تا کی وحشت زده بگریزم؟ >>>

Porcelain

On my way back home,
ignoring the palmate pink
underneath the green,
I carelessly stepped
on the most intricate leaf
I had ever seen
>>>

Can't Wear That

A small minority of Muslim women in certain parts of the world wear what is known as the abaya (black cloak) and the niqab (face veil). It is known as a burqa in South and Central Asia and seen most often as the blue full-body veil worn by Afghan women. This form of covering is the manifestation of the strictest interpretation of modesty in Islam. Women who choose this practice consider themselves seriously observant Muslims and believe this form of dress allows them to move about the outside world while protecting their dignity>>>

Time to Leave

In a film posted on You Tube, I watched the images of more than 30 victims of the April 8, 2011, attack by the Iraqi government. The faces of the dead, the moment just before death swept in, took them by surprise, were forever captured in a frozen gaze and recorded for the world to see, The bodies of the victims were lined up on the ground. Each seemed to be placed on a stretcher of some sort, covered in white sheets, red flowers placed across their bodies. In truth, I must admit that the faces of the dead were beautiful and tragic all at once>>>

نامه باز کن آقای لوتوس

این طور که شنیده ام، ماجرا از آن جایی شروع شد که روزی آقای لوتوس متوجه شد هر پاکتی را که با آن نامه باز کن کذا و کذا باز می کند حاوی خبری خوش است. و وقتی بیشتر دقت کرد دید بله درست است، پاکت های باز شده با آن نامه باز کن به طرز چشم گیری مسرت بخش هستند. وقتی این مطلب را به دوستش گفت، او را به شدت ترغیب کرد که دلش بخواهد نامه اش را با نامه بازکن آقای لوتوس باز کند>>>