Features>>> Archive
PARSA Community Foundation announces 2007 Norooz grantees A core element of PARSA's mission is to strengthen entrepreneurial individuals and nonprofits that serve the Persian community. To that end, PARSA just completed the first round of its two semi-annual grant cycles with $114,000 going to six powerful ideas. Youth leadership, preservation of Persian history, promotion of cultural understanding and civic integration are common themes. The overwhelming response to our national call for grant applications provided further proof that the community needs enormous resources to fight defamation, prevent our history from being rewritten, and cultivate pride in our heritage. There are countless opportunities within our reach that require funds and volunteers to bear fruit >>>
It is inconceivable to think that Tony Blair and his advisors are not aware of his image in the Middle East As Tony Blair left Downing Street, leaving Britain's Prime Ministership to his long time rival and co-leader of the Labour Party, Gordon Brown, the protesters outside Blair's office were greeted with the news that Blair had just been appointed as the new "Middle East Envoy" for the Quartet. (US/EU/UN/Russia) Looking at the realities of the Middle East today and reviewing Blair's contribution to the current mayhem, one is left wondering whether this decision is born out of delusional thinking, sheer cynicism, or is there any possible constructive utility in this appointment? >>> TRAVELERS
Photo essay: Las Vegas
Dar aalame khelghat masalan keh yek shaahkaareem
Nothing is as refreshing
Come together
With the forced and enforced external religious appearance, religion itself may have had an unfortunate setback in the hearts and minds of Iranians I read Lawrence Reza Ershaghi’s article, Opportunists, not academics, with trepidation and reservation, interspersed with amusement. While Ershaghi appears passionate and marginally knowledgeable about his topic (of the “just enough to be dangerous” kind), his rationale and thinking structure is worrisome -- in fact I believe Ershaghi’s argument to be equally worrisome to his opponents and proponents. I do away with the names he calls Iranian scholars and activists abroad, and what many have been saying about Ershaghi. To rehash disrespectful and accusatory literature is neither constructive, nor helpful. I am glad Ershaghi has published his opinions in a forum where it can be approached and examined by all, and as an ordinary individual concerned about the future of Iran and interested in young Iranian minds anywhere, I feel invited to join the dialogue >>>
Democracy, elites and the ballot box
It wasn't the first time that I had to plunge to avoid death I could have been killed on that day if I hadn't dropped my book. I hadn't thought about the fact that it was an extraordinary moment until I glanced at my morning newspaper. There I saw a picture of an Iraqi home with a big hole in the middle of its living room wall; a sad man, avoiding the camera, stood to the right of that hole. He was hiding a photo against his chest. Until I saw that picture, it never occurred to me that a particular day in my life, so many years ago, wasn't just an ordinary event. My memory of the moment is blurry. I remember almost nothing from the moments before it happened and definitely nothing from that same day afterward. I do remember it was a cold winter day in 1980; I still lived in Iran >>>
Paintings
Today's young genertation knows nothing about revolution & war
Writers union in exile plagued by politics
Interview with Paul Ingram on the role of the intelligence services in the anti-Iran propaganda in the Western media In the months preceding the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the mainstream media in Britain played an instrumental role in softening the public opinion for war by disseminating the US Neo-Conservative propaganda against the Iraqi regime. The key allegations against Saddam Hussein’s regime of harbouring Al-Qaeda terrorists and possession of a clandestine nuclear weapons and other WMD programme were unfounded at the time and all proved to be false after the invasion. The incriminating stories of the infamous UK Iraq Dossier and the supply of uranium yellow cake from Niger to Iraq were shown to be total fabrication... The media is waging the same relentless propaganda bombardment to clear the path to yet another war, using the same tactics of anonymous sources, distortions and unsubstantiated claims to manufacture consent in a population that predominantly has no appetite for war >>>
My reckoning is that this whole anti-Zionist/anti-Israeli rhetoric we are seeing is a new form of anti-Semitism and nothing more There is so much talk about Zionists and Zionism in the Iranian blog-sphere nowadays. Even doing a Google search on Iranian.com itself (the website, not the whole Internet) gives 265 results for "Zionist" and just 280 results for Islamist (Iranians write about Zionists almost equal to what they write about Islamists). What??? Why are Iranians so much concerned about Zionism and the Zionists? I am no supporter of Zionism but from what I have seen those Iranians who shout so much against the Zionists are not people who are appalled by the activities of the Israeli government against the Palestinians, but somehow paranoid that Israelis (Zionists, Jews, whatever) are plotting against Iran! >>> CINEMA
Press review: Satrapi's "Persepolis" in French newspapers and magazines
Let us sue the Islamic Republic and make it accountable Yesterday the government announced that it will ration gasoline line usage among the people. Every household e is only allowed 21 gallon per month. Is that not ridiculous? I fill up my car here very week and is more than 21 gallon. In Tehran with a poor transportation system imagine how people are going to survive. The government is squeezing as much as they can from the people. An ordinary Iranian has three jobs how are they going to live in a city where renting a 1 bedroom apartment is so high that it takes two teachers salary to pay for the rent. That is a shame an oil rich country like Iran which is the third in the world has gasoline line shortage problem >>>
Mr. Ershaghi's has written an elegant and lawyerly defense of the Islamic Republic and has reminded us of the accomplishments and insights of one of the most gifted scholars in Iranian Studies: Hamid Algar. I would point out that it is not necessary to belittle the efforts of other Iranian, Iranian-American or American Iran specialists to achieve these ends. Indeed, it seems to be a particularly provocative stance when four of us are being detained in Iran without any evidence of wrongdoing -- even by the standards of the Islamic Republic. Furthermore, as talented as Hamid Algar is, he defended not only the goals and ideals of the Islamic Revolution, but also its ruthless suppression of opposition in the 1980's >>>
The revolutionary Shakespeare In San Francisco, where I live, the 40th anniversary of the “Summer of Love” is fondly remembered -- not just by the local newspaper that has written copiously about it, but also especially by those of us old enough to have been present. Thus it was that recently on the number 45 bus to downtown, my neighbor and I talked not about work but about her college classmate at Michigan, Libby Appel. My neighbor noted that Libby, in her valedictory season as the Artistic Director at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, was promising “another Summer of Love.” >>>
The recent arrests of Ali Shakeri, Kian Tajbakhsh, Haleh Esfandiari, the barring of Parnaz Azima to leave Iran have been present in articles and discussions within the Iranian community. But the average American still has a limited understanding of the relationship between Iran and the United States -- these arrests, though unfortunate, may just be the tool with which Americans can finally bridge this gap. Tension between Iran and the United States is nothing new; here are some brief highlights... >>>
The Town Hall Meeting Hey! It's not as difficult as it looks! So far so good. My head is still attached to my neck! I expected nothing short of a public hanging, after the last article on naked micro-emperors. Some even sent me emails congratulating me on my candor. Almost all of you however, chimed in and it was, as the famous poet Berra said, "'like déjà vu all over again..." Here's a few of the responses: -- "Sadly, what you say is true. I hope Iranians [will] become' a real community similar to the Irish, Italians and Chinese. There will always be politics but having work[ed] in the nonprofit world for the past 15 years, I have never experienced such cut-throat actions in the name of 'community'." >>> TRAVELERS
Photo essay: Iran snapshots TONS OF LETTERS On Mohammad Reza Alidoosti's "Mahaal ast": "Johood" is a racial / religious slur, equivalent to Yid in English. The proper word for a Jew in Farsi (Persian) is Kaleemi or at least Yahoodi, even though according to some even Yahoodi (people of Yahveh) is improper. It is ironic to say the least that a patriotic call to all to defend the mother land addresses one group by such an ugly name. Freudian slip or an indication of the majority's insensitivity to and lack of knowledge of the minorities? >>> More letters
The new reality of life in Iran is finding it in you to be part of the High-Rise culture. Everywhere you look you’ll find buildings. The beautiful districts of Darband and Koohestan which were once places of retreat and summer gardens are now literally transformed into what seems like a landscape fit for a downtown metropolis. Tehran is transforming daily and rising from the ashes are concrete and stones. The half-finished buildings are the new wonders of this city. This is the booming business of Tehran. There is big money to be made in construction and everyone and their dog wants a piece of the pie! >>>
Short story Aghdass dragged her husband’s dead body out of the house, down the wet steps and into the snow-covered back courtyard. It was wrapped in blankets, stuffed in an army sleeping bag and bound around and around with ropes. The Tehran winter night was as cold as ice and Aghdass’s stomach was churning like a stormy sea. With her gloved hands tightly gripped to the end of the rope, she hauled the wrapped body of Mammad over the snow-packed ground, leaving a trail of drag marks. This was the body of a man who was once her beloved, a man who had gone to the war with Iraq and come back shell-shocked, a man with crazy eyes and uncontrollable urges >>>
There was a picture and some comments on the "Iranian of the Day" section about losing people you love and not having the chance to tell them how much you loved them. At one time or another in our lives we have all been estranged from our parents, siblings, friends, and other relatives. But it is never too late to call them and make up with them and tell them how much you love them. Life is too short and we should do this before they die because then it will be too late. Mowlana Jalal-al din Rumi talks about this subject so beautifully in a poem. We Iranians love our poets and maybe we will listen to him. I am attaching the peom in Persian >>> TRAVELERS
Photo essay: Tehran, Darakeh, and Shomal KIAROSTAMI
Short film
"Down Upon You" and more GRASSROOT
The "clash of civilizations" is not inevitable, and we don't want it
After I (and hopefully others) sent the New York Times a letter to complain, the editors published the following correction After the debacle with Judith Miller, it seems as if the New York Times is a little bit more careful about publishing articles by journalists who have little informed knowledge about the foreign culture they are reporting about. Because journalist Neil MacFarquhar does not read Farsi, for his front-page article published on Sunday, June 24 in the New York Times, he dependent on an interview with an unnamed source with an open political agenda for details about events in Iran. The photograph used in the story, "Iran Cracks Down on Dissent," was misleading. While disturbing on its own right, the picture had nothing to do with current crack down on dissent >>>
Digital reflections of Kabul
The choice is as clear as water I don't like bottled water! I have always thought drinking water should not be more expensive than drinking gasoline. Do you know that Rocky Mountain snowmelt is bottled and shipped to France, and French Alps water is shipped to USA? Do you know Rocky Mountain water is cheaper than Alps water? That makes me think, maybe the French buy cheap Rocky Mountain water and pour it into their more expensive water bottles? I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I have heard that once Shah complained to General De Gaulle about water being more expensive than petroleum, and De Gaulle supposedly responded by saying Shah did not know economy. Well decades and many economic books later I still don’t know why >>>
The simple point I am making is, that Rushdie is actually being rewarded for causing controversy in the Muslim world The British government, of all governments, should know that these types of awards (knighthoods) have real consequence and implications... It’s one thing to protect free speech and protect Rushdie from death threats. That is absolutely correct. Any sort of religious intimidation and censorship are absolutely wrong and unwarranted. It’s totally another thing to reward someone for causing controversy in the Muslim world by deriding a religious text that Muslims believe is sacred. If the shoe was on the other foot (i.e. someone caused controversy about the bible), I do not think they would be awarded a Knighthood. It’s simple hypocrisy. Democratic and secular Governments and all self-respecting leaders have a responsibility to promote tolerance and respect for other faiths and beliefs >>>
Terrorists are not radicals from their interpretation of their doctrine--they are only doing exactly what Muhammad demanded of them In the interest of impartiality, the authors of the constitution did not define what constitutes a religion. Presently, a plethora of sects, cults, orders -- all claiming to be religion -- cover the length and the breadth of the land. So long as these “religions” minister to the legitimate spiritual needs of their congregation without threatening the rights of others, there is no reason for concern. However, when one or more of these claimants strive to undermine the very Constitution that protects them in order to impose their belief and way of life, serious problems arise. One such religion is Islam in all its forms >>>
Democracy, elites and the ballot box
Zibakalam's comments on the Persian Gulf
If you're name is not Mohammed or Ali, you're not going to be front-page news Without a shadow of doubt, one has to be a Muslim/Middle Easterner to be called a “terrorist.” Otherwise, it really doesn’t matter what you have in your possession. Take the recent case of Ronald Swerlein, a retired electrical engineer from Colorado... What would you think happened to him? He was released on a $50,000.00 bail and ultimately charged only with possession of explosives, and one count of drug possession. Oh, did I mention that the police were sensible enough to release him after safely detonating his stock pile of nitroglycerin!? And of course, Mr. Swerlein’s cache of PETN and Thermite (explosives used in demolition jobs) were not returned to him! >>> LETTERS On Bita Ria's "Returning to Kesheh": I was overjoyed with much exhilaration to have looked at the pictures you shared on Kesheh. My parents, like yours, had left Natanz for Tehran when they were young to finally settle in Shemiran via SaboonPaz khooneh in south Tehran. I was born in Dezashib and grw up in Evian, outside the notorious wall along the Parkway. In fact, my last name Rahni, corresponds to Rahan, a small village south of Natanz proper, which is now in effect annexed to Natanz >>> More HERO
Firmly re-introduced as a comic book hero, Rostam makes a spectacular comeback in a second adventure
Last October Mohammed Khatami – a man who has yet to be investigated in connection with human rights abuses and murders that occurred under his watch both as president of Iran and during his tenure as head of the country’s ministry of culture and Islamic guidance – travelled to the University of St Andrews in Scotland to accept an honorary degree for his efforts in promoting “dialogue between faiths”. (Surely an insult to the women stoned by his government and the writers and political dissidents it has killed.) >>>
Heech kaaram shabihe aadam neest
Shorts
Poetry collage
Emrooz rafighe man ast ART
Paintings
Excerpt from Mahmoud Dowlatabadi’s novel, MISSING SOLUCH Mergan raised her head from the pillow. Soluch was gone. Her children were still asleep -- Abbas, Abrau, and Hajer. Mergan tied the loose curls around her face into a scarf, rose, and stepped through the doorway into the small yard. She walked straight to the bread oven. Soluch was not there. Lately, at night, Soluch had been sleeping outside next to the oven. Mergan didn’t know why. She would just see him sleeping out beside the oven. He had been coming back home late at night, very late. He would go straight to the awning over the oven and curl up beneath it. He had a tiny body. He would fold himself, pull his knees to his belly, and fit his hands between his thighs, which were hardly more than two bones >>>
The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy is hard at work drumming up another fake crisis in spite of the "don't worry, be happy" sentiment of some... Of course there is no use reminding the dyslexic "American people" that there is no such thing as Iran's nuclear weapons program (the premise of the said lunatic poll), a claim that even the Bush Administration has not made, and that Iranians are years away from producing weapons grade uranium and that Iran has no incentive to initiate a nuclear attack on anyone, an attack that would surely spell the annihilation of the entire country subjected to a counter-attack >>>
Rolling back Iran’s influence in time for a showdown Iran’s Islamic government has nurtured the Shia Islamic parties that now wield enormous power both in Iraq’s government and on its streets in the form of militias. Iran has also forged a defense pact with Syria, its main ally in the region. The militant group Hezbollah, which forms one of the Lebanon’s major power centers, was a creation of Iran’s foreign policy in cooperation with Syria. To the east, Iran continues to exert significant political and cultural influence in post-Taliban Afghanistan, particularly in bordering provinces. For these reasons, Iran can be marked as a rising regional force. Iran’s newfound strength, however, is not unchallenged and therefore may not last >>>
Nearly two months has passed since the arrest of our friend and colleague, Ali Shakeri (M, 59). Ali went to Iran to visit his ailing mother who passed away days after seeing him. Ali was using his basic right as stated in the 13th Article of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states:” Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. We who know him are still bewildered as to why he was arrested? He is a man of peace. How could that be a crime? He is a man against hatred. How could that be a crime? He is a man for dialogue. How could that be a crime? We still don’t know. But what we know is that his wife and children are anxious to see him back in their arm safe >>> VIDEOBLOG
Kourosh and Siavash play Spiderman with mom TRAVELERS
Photo essay: My trip to north & south Iran
These are new arrivals, young people needing scholarships, victims of domestic abuse, families who have lost a loved ones While there are those who believe that the Bush administration is "high on hate", some of the facts surrounding possible military action against Iran are being obscured just for the sake of inciting intense and primitive emotional reactions, which will serve to cloud the truth behind the issue even further. It is without a shred of doubt that the current administration has enthusiastically engaged in games of Russian roulette when it comes to bending and breaking the rules both domestically and globally. However, engaging in military action against Iran using the same deeply flawed Iraq strategy would amount to certain political suicide, thus, the likelihood of a first strike against Iran is extremely low >>>
These are new arrivals, young people needing scholarships, victims of domestic abuse, families who have lost a loved ones Neda (not her real name), a single mother and a victim of domestic violence, is attending law school in LA. She has exhausted her resources and needs a loan to finish her degree. Ali is a designer whose green card was revoked due to a scam by his lawyer (who is currently in jail). Ali needs to find a job and legal help to handle his case. Pari has moved to Southern California from Chicago, doesn’t know anyone, and needs a job. What do these three people have in common? They are all Iranians living in America, needing help, and have approached me. I am sure you might have similar stories. Who is helping them? >>>
Short story
"Mosalmaan, Masihi, Bahai, Johood... Hameh yeksedaa bar zabaan een sorood"
Iranian Solidarity Assembly in Paris draws democratic blueprint Ever since the Islamic revolution in 1979 Iranian opposition groups, from both inside and outside of Iran, have searched for ways to oppose the Islamic Republic of Iran. The challenges they encountered disallowed them to perform adequately and gain the trust and acknowledgement of the Iranian people. Therefore their efforts to reach a political cooperation between the different opposition initiatives remained fruitless. Until today >>>
It is ignorance and a great waste of time to blame Arabs for the problems of Iranians Persian history and culture is a very rich one, worth being proud of. That doesn't mean various pre-Islamic Persian dynasties or empires are also worth being proud of. Post-Islamic Iranian plateau has actually missed Persian leadership and it has been ruled by mostly Turkic tribes or dynasties for about a millennium. Persian literature, culture and scientific contributions to the world are indeed worth being proud of, and interestingly many Iranian Turks, or other non-Persians, have had extensive contributions to the Persian literature, culture etc. There is also some history that is not worth much talk, and that is the Persian pre-Islamic imperial past and what the Persian rulers have done. Maybe not all they have done are bad but their actions are simply out of context for the present-day world in which there are different values and ideals >>>
Today I saw this video and I am beyond mad... I can't work. I can't think... I have lost a part of my humanity. This is "Romeo and Juliet" story of 21st century. Who is going to act like our era's Shakespeare to tell their tragedy? What should be the question this time? "To be or not to be?" I am not sure. What if we choose "to be", but refuse to see the simple reality of the world? It is almost like not being, not being human >>> SHOMAL
Photo essay: Developing Caspian region
ElBaradei’s unheard assessments The Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) urges recognition of the dangerous path of the new phase of U.S.-Iran confrontation by all those who oppose the insane and criminal foreign policy of the Bush administration, for the sequences currently unfolding bear an unsettling resemblance to the events leading up to the American-led coalition’s illegal and criminal invasion of Iraq. As the voices of ElBaradei and the United Nations are once again muted, the drum beating of warmongers in Washington, London, and Tel Aviv becomes louder and louder >>>
Thanks to Bita Ria [see: "Swearing rappers"] for taking the time to reflect on that "Rooze Hafom" program. I was going to write you an email next week anyway telling you how much I was impressed with your performance in that discussion and with how you managed to set the agenda and raise awareness on the patriarchal aspects of rap lyrics for all those who were listening. Bita, it is not in my place to lecture you on the ethics of debating. Just because someone doesnt agree with your analysis, it does not mean that you must question their expertise. You have your view on Persian rap, which I happen to share, but so do others >>>
Short story The woman in red saw the man in the woods. A deliberate accident. He was running and bouncing like an errant ghost, his head, that of a beast. "It is him," she cried to herself. The chilling afternoon breeze swept through the autumn leaves. Standing in the heart of the woods, her throat tightened with the desire to unravel her braids, to drop her dark sunglasses to the ground and crush them with her frantic feet. She did so. From behind the trees, the man glared at her and growled, "She must be another whore!" Twitching her lips, she placed her backpack on the ground, took out her set of colour tubes and brushes, unfolded her easel and set it up towards the east >>>
Recent attacks against Bahais in Iran
June 18th marked the anniversary of the hanging of the 10 Bahai women in Shiraz (June 18, 1983). I wanted to remember and honor each of these individuals, one of whom, Mona Mahmudinizhad was only 17 years old. I know that there are many Iranians -- from a diverse array of religious and philosophical belief systems -- that have been inspired by the remarkable qualities of these Iranian women >>> PEOPLE
Photo essay: Latin American arnival in New York IDENTITY
Photography
An evening with the Kite Runner's Khaled Hosseini A couple of year have gone by since the The Kite Runner was published, but the book remains a best seller. Those of us who enjoyed Hosseini’s first novel have been eager to read his next book, while, film buffs look forward to the upcoming movie based on his first. As soon as A Thousand Splendid Suns hit the shelves at our local bookstore, I bought my copy, but this time I also paid the extra $ 5 for a ticket to his book signing event due the next month. The Kite Runner told a touching story about two boys in Afghanistan and their peculiar friendship. I remembered meeting the author at Warwick’s book store, where eight of us, along with a few members of Dr. Hosseini’s family attended a small gathering >>>
Emails from women married to or dating Iranian men Throughout years of writing for iranian.com and other publications, I have received enormous amount of emails from women married or dating Iranian men with a wide range of questions about their husbands and boyfriends. Here is another selection and my responses: >>>
For services to the British crown & country The objective is not to defend the 'organized religion' and sometimes the best is to let it be just like we do not mess around with 'organized crime'. But the intention of this discussion is to show how religion is being used to suppress millions of people. If it wasn't for petroleum and greed of oil; Islam in the eyes of the westerners most likely would have been as dear as Buddhism or any other organized religion. Salman Rushdie most likely would be nobody if it wasn't for Ruhollah Khomeini. Considering Rushdie's cheap novel Satanic Verses, it would have been ignored even by the most zealot Muslims, but following the British line, it was Khomeini that made a name for this "Indian" author and eventually helped him to get a title of "Sir" and knighthood from Khomeini's bosses >>>
A human catastrophe of the most devastating dimensions is taking place in Sistan and Baluchestan provinces of Iran. Earlier this month, Gono, a tropical storm hit Oman and swept through Sistan & Baluchestan, creating floods and havoc, destroying roads, restricting transportation into and out of the area, disrupting daily life, leaving the area vulnerable to diseases. In the wake of Gono, 350,000 people are now threatened with Malaria and Cholera, as well as other diseases and disasters. Drinking water is at best available for only 30% of the population. Management of emergency assistance has always been a problem in Iran, judging from the horrific conditions of earthquake victims of recent time >>>
Digital paintings: Pixels of Nostalgia
Let’s make a quiet that tells a story
We thought you were wrong
The sky is red |
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