Letters

Write for The Iranian Editorial policy

Friday
November 9, 2001

Arabo-Persian Gulf!

Dear Mr. Begli Beigie, ["Cultural continuity"]

I couldn't agree more with you that Iran and Persia are synonymous and is being acknowledged by Europeans slowly but still with alot of mis-conceptions and mis-interpretations. Tonight their is a documentary on French television on the Hormuz straight and in the preview to the program they refered to the Arabo-Persian Gulf.

Western Litterature is highly influenced by the Myth of Persia. One unfortunately can fall into generalizations very quickly. Iran "The Land of the Aryans" was united not by racial considerations for their is nothing as a pure Iranian or Aryan Race but by a linguistic unity of Iranophone languages. Hitler and the Nazi's was wrong in wanting to attribute the notion of an Aryan race to the Germans or other racial entities. Paradoxically the "Swastica" or "Broken Cross" is an Indian sign found also on some Persian potteries and architectural Items however the Symbol is reversed as to the German Nazi sign and does not have at all the same significance. It is still a mystery to me by what narrow considerations Hitler got to the stupid conclusions of Race associated with the "The Blond German with blue eyes" all the more that he himself was not blond.

Both Wagner and Nietzche also accused of Anti-semitism, were fascinated by the Aryan Myth. Aryans have been associated to a type of "Viking super-hero" which they never were. German archeologists participated actively to excavations in Iran from an early start even before Germany was overtook by Nazi thugs.

This is all the more surprising that the Father of Human Rights "Cyrus The Great" established the famous "Cylinder" today in the British Museum to celebrate the Liberation of the Jews from Babylon among other ethnic groups. It was also the Persian scribe Esdras who under the Reign of Artaxerxes II reassembled all the sacred writings of the Jews into what was to become the "Torah". As for Iranian Jews they are the oldest jewish community in the World and have been more attached to their Iran than to Israel.

I have realized that some writers at this tribune also use the word fascism arbitrarily. The fascist movement was born in Italy, and believe it or not was far from being a racist movement before being recuperated by the German Nazi's. Mussolini's Italy participated to the Holocaust, only after the Duce was put back to power by Hitler in 1943. As for Fascist Spain it never participated in the Holocaust and stayed neutral throughout the second World War. Many jews escaped France through Spain when the French "Zone Libre" ( Free Zone) was occupied by German Forces.

The fascist movement was nevertheless from the very begining a totalitarian movement both in Spain and Italy. Since racism and Nazism and or fascism are closely associated, should it be remembered to the readers and writers of this tribune that both Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy helped promote "Nationalism" and "Nationalistic movements notably in the Middle-East. An argumentation that was mainly used by the Nazi Germany against the British presence in most middle-eastern countries. That explains in particular why most Egyptian and Iranian Nationalists were pro-German during the WW II even and it is important to note that they did not necessarily spouse the Nazi ideology.

As for the more "Romantic" Persia it has nurished western philosophers from Montesquieu and his "Persian Letters" or "Les Lettres Persanes" to Voltaire with "Zadig" or "Sadeg" as you will. The Persian characters are used as candid witnesses in French History. By transposing the political problems of the "Ancien Regime" so to speak these philosophers made political statements on their own compatriots. The same can be sain of Handels "Seres" or "Xerxes" played in European courts. The British Museum, The Louvre in France as well as the Hermitage Museum of Saint Petersburg contain many historical Items from Ancient Persia mainly From the Aechemenid Dynasty.

The most influential or lets say popular excursion in Western culture of Persia was without doubt due to the translation of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiiats by Fitzgerald not to be confounded with the author of "The Great Gatsby". As depicted in Libanese author Amin Maaloufs best selling novel "Samarcand", Omars works became so popular among the Western intelegensia that many adobted "Omar" as a nickname, thus General "Omar" Bradley for example one of America's most famous World War II Generals. Sa'adis Golestans were also translated in Western languages and Sa'adi's name was adopted by two prominent French people of the same family: Sadi Carnot father of Thermodynamics and Sadi Carnot the President.

The name Darius is common among many jews. Darius Millaud French jewish musician for example. Nevertheless Persia is also often associated with Arabia. One often confounds the "Persian Nights" and "Arabian Nights" , the Legends of Sinbad, Alladin or Sherezad are often situated in a Geographically mysterious Land sometimes refered to as Persia at others as Arabia. This is notably due to Irans Islamic Heritage.

While acknowledging Persia's non-Islamic Heritage one must not forget that the Islamic and Arabian influence and contribution to Iranian culture. It was common among Iranian intelectuals even during the Shahs reign to take pride in the Speaking Pure Arabic,the late prime minister Amir Abbas Hoveyda born in Lebanon was known to be extremly fluent in Arabic. As much as French was the Diplomatic language in the 18th and 19th century, replaced by English in the 21st century.(French was spoken in the English court at the time and shortly after the reign of William the Conqueror).

Arabic was the diplomatic language throughout the Islamic World even if Iran was among the rare Islamic countries with Afganistan to keep its linguistic and cultural identity.

As for the debate over the Persian Gulf, Gulf or Persian Arab Gulf it is recent. The oldest maps refer to this peninsula as the Persian Gulf. The Shah of Iran was known as the "Gendarme of the Gulf" in most issues in of Time Magazine or other American newspapers throughout the Seventies, and no ambiguity was seen between Gulf and Persian Gulf. From a European point of view the term Gulf resonates with more ambiguity.

It is often used as a terminology to "Summerize" the whole region in conflict. Why? Is it due to an usurpation of the term Persian Gulf by Western Diplomats notably Europeans with historical and political ties with the Arab World? I believe so. The old colonial Powers especially France had strong ties with the Magreb(North Africa) and Middle Eastern countries since Napoleons "Egyptian Campaign". The same can be said of the British who initiated Arab nationalism through their most renown Spy hero, "Lawrence of Arabia".

Another Ancient civilization Egypt considers itself as belonging to the Arab World and that is because of having adopted the Arab Language. No one can imagine today speaking in Hiroglyphics. Similarily Iranians and /or Persians do not speak or write in cueniform language known as "Khateh-Mikhi" deciphered by British Archeologist and Diplomat Sir Henry Creswick Rawlinson. The Persian language I believe is justly refered to as Farsi, and not Parsi. Why? Because of the undeniable contribution of Arabic to the Persian language. The majority of the Persian alphabets are Arabic as you know. Kasravi I believe tried with success to write and speak in pure Persian that is by using only Persian words. However unless Persian Scholars can confirm this he was unable to write in with a different alphabet. Both Persian litterature and Mythology is influenced by Arabic and one has to acknowledge that the Arabian World (which goes beyond the Arabic peninsula) was influenced by the cultures of the invaded countries.

One of the most famous Persian scholars Ibn'Sina invariably known as Avicenne (whose name is adopted for many medical schools and hospitals in the World) who was the first to discover alcohol and apply it for medical applications. He is often cited in French or English encyclopedia's as Arab and not Persian. The same for Zacharia Razi whose works are virtually unknown in the West. Most Persian scholars read and wrote in Arabic, it is well known that the school of Neishapur attracted scholars from all the Islamic World. Their works were in turn partly influenced by that of the Greek scientists and philosophers.

Kemal Attaturks in an effort to modernize Turkey and In an effort to distinguish itself from its Ottoman and Islamic Heritage decided to Europeanize the turkish language by adopting the latin Alphabet. Never that radical Reza Shah who saw Kemal Attaturk as a model did however install the name Iran as the official Diplomatic name instead of "Persia" by 1926 which as you mentioned are synonymous in Farsi.and introduced the Short lived "Kolah Pahlavi" as well as banned the Tchador as a sign of modernization. As you know both initiatives proved Short lived for his son Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi loosened the vestimentary laws and both Men and Women were free to dress as they wanted.

It is to the credit of Iran to have had this rare capacity of absorbing foreign cultures and integrating them while preserving its own identity. To conclude I think culture is something universal and abstract at the same time for when one takes a closer look you realize that it is only through exchanges that a culture enhances and thrives. Most importanly their is no culture if their is a negation of what I would call the "human factor" which was the case of the Nazi's and fascists or other totalitarian systems.

Regards,

Darius Kadivar