Worse than Islamic fundamentalism

Aryanism, a threat to Iran and the region


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Worse than Islamic fundamentalism
by Ben Madadi
17-Sep-2007
 

My often remarks and writings about Iranian-type Aryanism has been vigorously attacked by many Iranians. Although many Iranians would argue that Iranian Aryanism is inoffensive and is only needed for identifying what being an Iranian means, the sole purpose of using a race (as it is perceived) to identify a nation is ominous enough to be addressed as a serious issue.

The huge number of Iranians, especially those in the diaspora who have still kept their Iranian identity alive, who believe in an Aryan nation is a simple sign that the issue is not a marginal one. And this is the reason for my preoccupation (or obsession as some Iranians may say) with this subject as I have also had first-hand experience of the Aryanist ideology when I used to live in Iran.

Do the Western governments, in America or other places, and also Iranians in general, ever think which kind of a regime would replace Iran's Islamic government in case it fell? I say there is a serious case for seeing an Aryanist regime to replace the Islamist one. An Aryanist regime that may prove to take Iran to disintegration and Iranians to civil strife, doing no good for either Iran or the region. Iranians are not yet prepared for a full-fledged democracy in which human rights are respected and minorities protected.

Western governments, especially the US administration, must think many times before wishing for the annihilation of the Iranian Islamic government. Although the IRI is a relatively dangerous one it has not proved yet prepared to do anything serious other than annoying Israel. Such fundamentalist regimes are usually more in danger of implosion than being destroyed by an outside force, so time may just be enough to solve what is seen as an imminent threat.

The same also happened with Communism, which was far more dangerous than Iranian Islamism. Many Iranians, and Westerners alike, hating the Islamic regime of Iran, for simply being Islamic, do not contemplate about what is going to replace it. Well, I actually believe that Westerners think about this issue quite enough after having had the experience of Iraq.

Iranian Aryanists see all non-Aryans (as they perceive them to be non-Aryans), Turks, Arabs, Jews etc as threats to their existence and identity. Araynist blogs are full of texts describing not necessarily America, but more likely Israel, then Turkey and Azerbaijan, and let's not forget Arab states, as threats. Such an Aryanist regime may prove far worse than a Shia extremist regime, for both Iranians, and the region.

In my previous article (Azerbaijan in Iran) I had mentioned a few things that angered Iranian nationalists, believers in an Aryan Iran. I had mentioned about how human rights are not respected in Iran regarding the use of local or minority languages, Azerbaijani (or Turki as they call it in Iran) in this case, and anti-IRI Iranians attacked this as being untrue, because people are allowed to use Azerbaijani (and other languages such as Kurdish etc) among themselves.

Yes, maybe there is a country in the world where using your own mother tongue is also banned at home (I don't know any but there may be, who knows!), which is not the case in Iran! Using local languages where people (24% Azeri/Turki, 8% Gilaki and Mazandarani, 7% Kurdish, 3% Arabic etc according to the CIA) speak other languages than Farsi (modern Persian language) in any official (local schools, institutions etc) way is not allowed, though the Iranian constitution has expressly allowed it.

I must make this clear that the Islamic regime is not an Aryanist regime and the pursuit of discriminatory policies against minorities (ethnic or religious) are because of utter disrespect for human rights of individuals or groups in general and not due to an ideology based on race or nationality. Iranian ethnic minority groups' activists have been, and are, subject to being imprisoned or killed for demanding their rights, because they are seen as threats toward the ideology of Shia Islam and also possible threats toward the territorial integrity of Iran.

Let's go a bit deeper into the issue of Aryanism in Iran and see what it is about! I have been accused to giving the sense that Iranian-type (also used in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, India and some other countries) Aryanism is different than what Aryanism was known up to about 60 years ago in the Christian world. Locals may have come up with their own definitions of Aryanism (do Iranians know that Tajikistan has officially adopted the shape of the Swastika to identify with?) but looking into the modern history of the Middle East, and Europe, we can see that the use of the phrase 'Aryan race' first started to appear in the West, referring mainly to non-Jewish north American and northern Europeans.

The term was adopted by the Nazis for blaming non-Aryans (primarily Jews, but also Gypsies and some other perceived non-Aryans) for causing all the troubles of the world up to that point. Nazis, to justify their theory, accused Britain and America, as being nothing but Jewish puppet states where the Jews controlled everything and that was, according to the Nazis, the cause of those countries' official dissociation from the Nazi Aryanist ideology. This was in ignorance of the fact that it was mostly Britain that promoted the Aryan theory not only in the Christian world but also throughout the world (especially India and the Middle East) far before the Nazis took over Germany.

And this was the time (after the Christian world started and perfected the theory) when there are first cases of referring to Aryans and the Aryan race in Iran and other Middle-Eastern regions. There are ancient texts when pre-Islamic Persian rulers have used the word Arya to identify themselves, but we have little idea what exactly they referred to (it was not about race anyway), and beside all this, Iranians, the region, and the whole world has changed so much ever since, people have moved, have adopted different religions, languages and habits. And what is with this pause? Why there is no mention of the Aryans, the Aryan race or ideology, until Europeans bring it to the Middle East?

All we can see in Middle Eastern, Iranian and alike, writings are either related to Islam, or to various other social, political or scientific preoccupations of their relevant times. Therefore, although Iranian, Afghan, and other Aryanist nationalists may argue otherwise, it is clear that the adoption of the Aryanist ideology had, and still has, its inspirations and roots in the modern Christian world's Aryanist theory that was dropped when the second World War ended. Unfortunately the Middle East did not drop the theory, having been largely unaffected by the war.

There is also this confusion in the Middle East to what actually means Aryan. Although the original European theory refers to Aryan as a race, which is an extremely unscientific and flawed theory, some Iranians may often prefer referring to it as a group of people who speak Indo-Eruopean languages, while a race at other places and contexts. If I say that Aryanism, or saying that Iranians are Aryans, is racism, then Aryan nationalists will argue that being an Aryan is not about race, but about being part of the group of Aryan speakers. Then the problem, also argued by some Iranians in my previous article (Azerbaijan in Iran), comes up when they clearly use Aryan as a race by referring to Iranian Azerbaijanis as Turkified Aryans, and the Safavid dynasty also as Turkified Aryans!

According to them although the Safavid were Turkified, like most of the rest of Azerbaijan (an Iranian area), 500 years ago when Shah Ismail took control of Azerbaijan, later the whole Iranian plateau, they were Aryans because some 300-400 years before that (800-900 years ago) their forefather was 'clearly' a Kurd, hence an Aryan! They ignore that the Safavid considered themselves descendants of the prophet Mohammad, therefore in case we go back even further in time, they must have been Arabs. We may even go back in time and consider the Safavid monkeys because according to modern scientific theory we were all some kind of monkeys at some point.

There is this serious theoretical problem about Aryanism in Iran. Is it a race-based theory, or is it a language-based theory? Do we consider Uzbeks, who are Sunni Asiatic (of Asian race, i.e. looking somewhat like Chinese), Aryans? They speak a Turkic language but they celebrate Norouz and have a culture that is extremely similar to the Iranian culture. Do we consider Germans Aryans? Do we consider Kurds Aryans? Do we consider Azerbaijanis Aryans? What about Turks? Do we consider Turks in Turkey Aryans? They don't look like any other race than Iranians, do they? So, what is being an Aryan?

It means NOTHING. It is not a race. It fails to meat any criteria to be defined. It is nothing but a means of justifying failings and short-comings by blaming others (for instance Arabs, Turks or Jews), therefore running away from realities. Racially speaking you can be Caucasian, Asian, African, American, or mixed. There is no Aryan race out there. Is being an Aryan about being an Indo-European? That cannot be a definition of a country or a nation then. Why not drop the Aryan word then because it has been so much misused and abused by the Nazis? This was the reason the Christian world dropped the term.

If being an Aryan is being an Indo-European then Azerbaijanis are not Aryans. They belong to the Turkic-speaking group of peoples, just like the Uzbeks or the Turks of Turkey, though they may belong to different races (Uzbeks are Asians while Turks and Azerbaijanis are Caucasian). Azerbaijanis were (as many scientific studies show) some Iranic-speaking people, or peoples, at least partially, probably related to Persian, just like the Talysh or the Kurds, some 900 years ago or so.

However they were a different people than the Persians, again just like the Talysh, the Kurds or other Iranic peoples. Then they got Turkified, they adopted, developed and perfected a united Turkic language that is different from all other major Turkic languages. Now, if we consider Azerbaijanis as they used to be some 900 years ago (therefore "Aryan" as Iranian Aryanists claim) then we can, again, go even further in history and find out what the inhabitants of Azerbaijan were some 10,000 years ago, or maybe even before. We can do the same for the rest of Iran, and nobody will be either Persian or anything similar to it because as we know Aryan tribes (Indo-European speaking peoples) moved to the region from somewhere else (probably to the north), and there were some original inhabitants of the area before the Aryans moved into the Iranian plateau.

How can Iranians be Aryanists then when being an Aryan means pretty much nothing? And, what is wrong being an Iranian anyway? Fars (ethnic Persian) Iranians can be proud of their rich literary heritage (world-famous Persian poets like Khayyam, Saadi, Hafez, Ferdousi etc), which is one of a kind in the world, while other Iranians can also be proud of their own language, culture and history. Relating being an Iranian, or relating the Iranian identity to Aryans, is doing nothing but harm to Iran and its image not only among non-Persian Iranians but also to the wider world.

In case being an Iranian does need a definition then it can be this: most Iranians speak an Iranic language and they are Shia Muslims, or simply anyone holding an Iranian citizenship. Then, as many Aryanist Iranians see, there is a serious problem with having some one/quarter (24% or so) of the population (Azerbaijanis) being non-Iranians whose historical contributions to the modern Iran have been far greater than the Iranic-speakers!

And this is where we find the reason behind all this attempt to Aryanise Azerbaijanis. Taking into account the mass migration of Azerbaijanis (mostly due to lack of investment in the region) to Tehran and other Persian areas of Iran it is also very possible that the 24% is no more representative and Azerbaijanis, even taking into account those who consider themselves Azeris in Tehran and other non-Azerbaijani areas, may be somewhere below 20% of the total population.

Unless Azerbaijanis are Aryanised (as Iranian nationalists attempt to do) what can the identity of Iran do with positive, or negative, but extremely important Iranian names such as, Shah Ismail (the founder of the modern Iran), Shah Abbas (Iran's greatest post-Islamic ruler), the Safavid, the Qajar, Sattar Khan (the leader of Iran's freedom-seeker Constitutionalists)? What Iranian nationalists miss though is that the only thing that may increasingly cause a serious rift between Azerbaijanis and the rest of Iran is nothing but this Aryanising attempt itself.

And the problem with Azerbaijanis (which occurs when defining Iran as a country where most people speak an Iranic language) can be solved by accepting and acknowledging the realities and respecting non-Persians' own languages, traditions and customs by not only allowing them but also promoting them as Iranian riches. Few non-Persian Iranians genuinely desire separation and Azerbaijanis in particular have historically been attached to Iran, nowadays even more due to having so many relatives living outside Azerbaijan-proper.

Azerbaijani Turk rulers of Iran knowing that they were the rulers of mainly Iranic-speaking country adopted Farsi (Persian) as the official language of Iran so there is no real problem of having a country where there is a large non-Iranic-peaking minority group, that may no more be that large afterall.


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Aryan, Arian or what ever you ...

by Filip (not verified) on

Call it, is a myth. Just like all myths there is some truth to it. The reason why Arian ideology became so strong amongst Iranians, is because they believed that Arians where blond, blue eyes and white skin, and by connection Iranian heritage to this mythical race, many believe they differ them self from Arabs, Indian, Greek and Turks.

The funny part is that most of the people that do consider them self Arian and Arian patriot clearly don’t look like their mythical ancestor.


Gomnam

To Kamangir

by Gomnam on

As for calling me a terrorist, I have explained in detail how I have no relation to any. I just ask for people to not deny my belonging to Iran. I speak Persian, read Persian, was raised in a Persian culture, brought up as a Persian, listen to Shajarian, read Khayyam, Baba Taher, Molana, and other Persian poets. I try to maintian my Persian heritage even after all these years out of Iran. I don't know much about the history of Saudi Arabia, or Iraq, or any Arab country. I agree that the Muslims destroyed so much great history and culture in Iran. Obviously the Persian culture is much more influential and persistent than you think, because it is still alive and well. The Arabic culture has been influenced by the Persian culture much more than you may think. So, why is it that you hate me so much?

My friend, if you want to keep writing in English, I suggest you take some more ESL courses before you reply.


Gomnam

Kamangir

by Gomnam on

Badbakhte bishoor, man be Jomhooriye Eslami che rabti daram. Hamin ke mano az Iran biroon kardan, va salha avreye panhande kardan, va to dar Iran zendegi mikoni, neshoon mide ke to ba jomhoorie Eslami bishtar joori.

Fekr mikoni man ba raveshaye gheyre ensaniyo vahshiyaneye Jomhoori-e Eslami movafegham? Man na jigoolam, na Molla. To mesle Sefidpoostayi ke ye siyah poosteh dozd mibinan, migan siyaha hame dozdan; Chandta Molla didi, hala migi harki ke Jaddesh Mohammade Terroriste, va ba in hokoomat joore.

I do understand why Iranians hate the current regime, why they don't like Islam (P.S. I am sure that your mother has a picture of Ali and a Koran). I also understand that Iranians hate Seyeds, but this last hatred is stemmed in ignorance. It is stemmed in the false belief that Seyyed is a word identifying those that are all working together against the people of Iran, and they are all a part of the current regime.

By the way, you keep calling me a jigool because I live in Canada, but you live in Canada too. Send me your phone number so we can mjeet face to face. You can then judge for yourself if I am a terorist or a Jigool. You can judge for yourself if you still think it is right to insult my mother and family. Don't you know what an insult it is to an Iranian for anyone to disrespect his mother. Martikeye bishoor, be madere adam fosh mide. Nagoftam adame bi kelas va bi-esalati hasti. This has nothing to do with you being a Bakhtiari. I have known quite a few respectable Bakhtiaris. But you are such a low-life that you think you can go around insulting a Persian man's mother.


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To seyyed jigoole gomnam

by Kamangir on

To gomnam: Regarding books and history texts, you ought to read something written by real reaserchers such as 'Az Fars ta Espanyaye Mosalman' or from 'Persia to the islamic Spain' written by Dr. Shojaeddin Shafa, if you know who he is. This book was written after many years of research in Spain where he had privileged access to many old texts usually not available to others. The book was not translated to Persian because both Dr. Shafa and the trasnlarors life was in serious danger and Dr.Shafa was recommended by French security agencies to be extremely careful as the mullah terrorists have set a price on his head for having written 'Tavalodi Digar' where he clearly proves who Muhamed and his people really were. I also recommend the books written by Ali Mirphetros about the causes of social backwardness in Iran. Bache gomnam boro inaro bekhoon ta shayad ta andazeye kami ham ke shode mozakhrafate beitol mali va seyyedit az saret biad biroon (although decades outside Iran haven't achieved this!!)

It's true,part of the Bakhtiari population still remains nomad, however, they played a very important role getting rid of Ahmadshah the last Ghajar king. Shapour Bakhtiar, Soraya Esfandyari, Rudi Bakhtiar, Sardar Assad are just some of the many prominant Iranian Bakhtiaris. I am proud of being bakhtiari as we have been 'one' the most loyal people to the integrity of Iran, just all other Iranians, unlike the descendants of Omar, ali and hussain who have a very deep link to their ancestors in arabia and other arab lands.

If Iran was a normal democratic country, perhaps all this issue wouldn't be very relevant because live toghether in peace and harmony, however, this is not the case now, as the muslim extremists are not only destroying our resources and reputaion as nation, at the same time they are very severely imposing the lifestyle (if we can call it that) of their arab ancestors, damaging our language, history and getting our country very close to a military confrontation with the west, just for their own sake and survival as a rotten mafia. Thousands of innocent Iranians executed,killed and tortured, a massive exodus and brain drain, severe drog issues, prostitution and so on so forth...terrorizing Iranians by the most cruel and primitive methods and on a larger and regional scale, spending our nation's income in terrorism, killing american soldiers in Iraq and elsewhere, more than 100.000.000 $ a year only to hizbolah in Lebanon, not mentioning all other afilliations they have. They are doing this in 'our' country with 'our' money. All this is refered to as 'some flaws' by this 'gomnam'. Yes, there will day (soon) that we the true Iranians will take over and take charge or our beloved nation and will obviously have to take care of many things including making sure those who commited all these crimes are brough to justice. A very deep social purge will be carried out sistematically just to ensure that those criminal islamist thieves are forever expelled out of our country. They never belonged to Iran anyways. Our multicultural institutions will have a very active role ensure our everyone's right is respected under a secular democratic government (something cannot be achieved by having akhoond and seyyed and backward hezbolahis around)

Gomnam, you have to try to understand why Iranians are so against seyedds and akhoonds (even against seyyed jigoole canadayi ya oroopayi) don't take it personal. You have to blame the arabo-muslim mafia in iran for it. Our persian ancestors where banned from speaking persian in public, couldn't celebrate Norouz they were refered to as Majus, Gabr, najess they had work for free for the Arabs, they had a very hard time. They bent over backwards to keep our persian language and culture alive, they didn't do all this so the bacteria left by the arabs challenge us again 1400 years later. You are better off not revealing your nasty background (and how you people keep track of it..), at least, not anytime soon. Maybe you can tell people what your ancestors achievements were in Arabia, leave Iran for the iranians.


Gomnam

Irandohkht

by Gomnam on

Not all Seyeds are related. They don't all know each other. Seyed simply means that one is a descendent of Ali. Now regardlessof what you think of Mohammad and Ali you cannot possibly believe that all of their descendents, after 1400 years, are like them.

 

Dar nayabad hale pokhte hich kham

Pas sokhan kootah bayad, vassalam


Gomnam

Irandokht

by Gomnam on

You obviously have not read anything I have written. the minute you see the word Seyed your heart is filled with rage and hatred. I have never been to Ghom, I escaped Iran with my parents as political refugees in the 1980s. I don't know any Mollahs, never knew any Mollahs, and it just happens that my ancestors were Arabs. Why are you so racist, hate mongering, blood thirsty, and have murder on your mind? Would you enjoy seeing people die? I bet you are one of those people who would love to barry everyone that you could not identify with, alive. You claim to be a real Persian, but it is obvious that you have never read any great Persian philosophers who teach about love and understanding. I am not going to answer your comments any more, because it is obvious that you are nothing but a moron, a complete idiot.


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Enough for Seyeds and Mullah see Iranians as their slaves.

by Irandokht Ahanin (not verified) on

To Seyed Gomnam: Are you sitting behind a computer in Qom? Do not tie things to Pahlavi amd Mosadegh for escaping from Seyeds and Mullahs massacre of Iranians. This matter must come to debate openly and publicly. Can you Seyeds and Islamic thugs and militias provide this debate? Are you are afraid if you have facts? Can you sit and listen without lashing, jailing, and killing?

But I tell you. Islamists can not. They have no facts and they know they are the perpetrator. So, killing of Iranians continue. Our struggle to get Iran back continues too. Iran is for all races, religions, cultures. But Seyeds and Mullah see all Iranians as their slaves. Seyeds and mullahs can be forgiven but the butchery of our ancestors and killing brave Iranians (all Iranians, Kurds, Gilakies, ....) to today will not be forgotten.

How about recent Iranians massacres of 1979, 1981, and 1988 by Seyeds and Mullah. Enough for Seyeds and Mullah see Iranians as their slaves.
We will have commemoration “Bozordarsht” for them every year in free Iran. We will have an annual parade of Iranians with exquisiteness of all diverse cultures including Iranian-Arab Cultures.


Gomnam

One final note

by Gomnam on

I see people bash Arabs because they were nomadic, or semi-nomadic until about 1400-1500 yeras ago. Did you not know that the Turks were nomadic until about 800-900 yeras ago? There were not many cities in most of Europe untill after the Absolutist kingdoms, around the 14th century AD. Scandinavians were a bunch of free roaming looters until about 900years ago, or even more recently. there are still nomadic people in Iran, and they are not Arabs.

Do you consider almost all of Europeans, especially the Swedish, Danish, Finnish, and Norwegians, uncivilized and barbaric? Do you consider Turks barbaric and uncivilized?


Gomnam

@ Irandokht and Kamangir

by Gomnam on

You see, your problem is that you cling to an ancestry that you cannot verify, and you bash everyone who was born of Arab descent and bunch them together. For your information I had never considered myself an Arab, I don't speak a word of Arabic, and my father who is a medical doctor, got a masters degree is Adabiaat before going to med school. My mother's father, who was a mayor in the time of Shah also has a degree in Adabiyaat. Funny enough, my father loves Ferdowsi, and knows him much more than any of you who try to bash me by citing Ferdowsi.

I only started to realize that maybe I should think about where my roots are after I saw so many Iranians insult the people of Khoozestan and call us names. In case you did not know, the cities in Khoozestan are some of the earliest places in Civilization. Those cities have been existing before even the Persians moved to the territory of today's Iran. They were some of the most important places during the Elamite empire, and during the Persian empire. Just go look into some ancient maps and you will see how old cities like Shooshtar, Shoosh, and Dezfool are. Is it not enough that almost all the wealth in Iran comes from Khoozestan, is it not enough that we suffered more than anyone else and fought more than anyone else to defend Iran against Saddam's forces? Do we have to be rediculed and insulted by our fellow Iranians?

And Kamangir, for your information I am considered a Taghooti by the Islamic regime in Iran. They have taken everything from my family, and don't welcome my kind. No I would not help the current regime in Iran and don't have much respect for them. Now I have to be called names by some bi-esalats who just wants to feel like he's important by making monsters out of others. My relatives have also been killed by the government.

The more you hurl such insults, the more you estrange your fellow Iranians. Have you not read the comments that Tork, and Gilaki friends have been writing? Do you really want to divide Iran, and kick everyone out, except for the few provinces in the middle who can actually claim to be completely Persian? You know, you would be kicked out too. I know that the Bakhtiaris are some of the only people in Iran who can claim to be descended from the ancient Persians, but most people don't know that. I don't subscribe to this kind of racist talk, but in case you didn't know, most Iranians consider Bakhtiari's "Koli", dahati, and dirty.

So, go learn a few things before you open your mouth and try to create devestation and division for the nation of Iran. We are all Iranians and love Iran.

By the way, why do you not have anything to say about my comments about how the Ghajars were the ones who caused most of Iran's current mishaps? Have you never read anything about Iran's history? Don't you know that Iran had great kingdom's after Isklam as well? Please note that I have been an Agnostic for many years and, I am not here to defend Islam. Bache joon, boro chandta ketab bekhoon, boro yek kam dombale haghighathaye ensani begard. Fekr mikoni dari be ki lotf mikoni vaghti tu sare Iranihaye dige mizani?

Also, if you, Mehrdokht and Kamangir, are so educated and know about Iranian history and society so much, answer this: What happened to the Elamites? Would you not consider them the original inhabitants of Iran? Were they massacred by the Persians, and wiped off the face of history? I am asking these things because I am curious to find answers to these questions as well.


jamshid

Well said Kamangir...

by jamshid on

It was not just the Arab invasion that destroyed Iran 1400 years ago. It was the help of traitors such as Salman (may his soul burn in hell) and later the "arab khod bakhteh" gang. They did everything in their power to distance Iranians from their culture, language and history.

 

Their illigitimate children of those sellout Iranians are at work today in Iran doing everything in their power to distance Iran from their past.

 

Islam is a barbaric religion that encourages killing, making lies, hating, dismembering body parts, enslaving women as "war prizes", stealing and many other behavior that is not acceptable in a civil society.

 

Islam's prophet had killed so many with his own hands, he proudly couldn't remember that number himself. He was legendary for looting neighboring tribes. He had raped many enslaved "war prize" women, some of their names prouldy "enshrined" in Moslem books. He had sex with a nine years old Ayesheh.

 

This man was no prophet of god. Iranians deserve better than this, human being deserve better than this.

 

The mullahs and their lackeys cannot stop the anti-Islam wave that had begun in the early 20th century. It may take another century for Islam to be completely uprooted from Iran but that is ok. Lucky for our decendants.


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I am with you ben.

by Manucher (not verified) on

I am a nonPersian Iranian, a Guilak, otherwise known as Rashti. The butt of every joke written and ciculated in Iran(I have to grudgingly admit some of them are very funny!). Remember me? The very same guys, whom in the eyes of the proud and spoilled Tehraanis are mostly impotent, while their women are constantly in heat! Remember me? The same people, whom since the advent of Pahlavi dynasty---The first non-Turkic rulers of the entire Iran after one whole mellennium--became, along with the turks and other nonPersian fellow citizens, the object of the worst ridicules and derisions in the hands of Persian Iranians, well repesented and headed by Tehraanis.
I despise and loathe and pity those ignorant Iranians who beat their chest for the glory and superiority of the Aryans and have been---for the past 80 plus years---trying hard to persianize, or as Ben says, Aryanize the rest of the country. Iran has been, and hopefully will remain for ever, a multi national Empire,or rather a state. Our current problem is not our multiethnicity, but, as most of the reponders have already mentionned, the problem is Islam itself, which was devised by a very clever genious Bedouin Arab, for his own tribe in that particular area of the world and for THAT PARTICULAR PERIOD IN TIME. It had and still has no use for people outside the Penninsula. Its shelf life has expired close to 14 centuries ago, even for the Bedouin nomads. Even at that time it was meant specifically, and excusively for those marauding, plundering, savage people of the desert, who were not yet urbanized, let alone civilized. People, who were nomadic tent-dwellers, and without any skill to build structures, or any art to create. That is why in His devised rules and ordnances there was no room for, or mention of imprisonment, but instead all kinds of rules to gouge, cut, sever, and chop different organs, including the neck! Why? Because they did not know how to build prison, and above all, were to uninstall their tents, any time, gather the loot, mount their camels and go to the next tribe to rob, kill, burn, destroy, plunder, rape and you name it.
By the same reason that the rules and the way of life of Native Americans were of no use for the Spanish settlers around 5 centuries ago, the rules and teachings of Islam did not have and still don't have any utility for the civilizes world.
Let's hope for an Iran which is again a nonsectarian, secular state, where every one is equal and happy, after regaining one's lost honor and dignity as free human being. "Keep the hope alive."


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Shajarenameye Aftabe be dastan

by Kamangir on

Dear friend

You 'personally' were not the target of my comments I cannot understand why you took it so personally, although I feel that you have been taking a lot of crap from other Iranians regarding your 'seyedhood' Regarding my ancestors, I do not have any 'shajarenameh' prooving I'm son of Cyrus himself. However I am very glad that I don't have anything proving I am a relative of the sun of a bitch called Mohammed, a proven child molester, thieve and criminal. It's because of  you and other 'aftabe be daste' seyeds that Iran has become what it's today. Your savage relatives were not invited to our dear homeland, you horney looters came because you where hungry. Just as you were in 1979, khomeini was a seyed and so is khamenei and many other mullahs, so you know who your relatives are (and their ass will be kicked very badly soon)

So why don't you grab your aftabeh and shajarenameh along with your seyed father and mother and relatives and go back to where your shajarenameh takes you, which is the deserts of Arabia.

The king Shapour made a mistake by only piercing your relatives shouldres and send them back to where thieve mohammed came from, he should have exterminated you all, so today we and the world wouldn't have to deal with you fucking seyed terrorists. By the way, I am bakhtiari, my father along with many of his friends and our neighbours were executed during the weeks following 'nojeh' uprising, he was in the Air Force. Guess who killed those brave men and women, Seyyeds like you. Khomeini called them 'mofsede felarz' (you seyed may undertand better the meaning of this word)

Just out of curiosity, are going to help your fellow seyeds (including khamenei and his obash, when they finally fall into the hand of my fellow Iranians?


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To: Gomnam - Seyeds are theives of Arabia

by Irandokht Ahanin (not verified) on

Seyeds were occupiers of Iran from day one by force of sword. They were thieves of Arabia. They considered Iranians fire worshipers and worth killing.

Seyeds captured lands by force and killing our Iranian farmers and became warlords and despotic feudal with thugs which you correctly referred to. They brought misery and savagery to Iranian culture. Today, you see the same Seyeds with thugs and militias in power in Iran doing exactly the same to Iranians what their and your ancestors did.

It runs through blood. Today’s seyeds are the same barbaric tazi thieves of Arabia after being so many years in our soil.

Iranians have this saying, “Born as a wolf becomes wolf eventually”.


Gomnam

@ Kamangir

by Gomnam on

Sorry, but do you know who your great-grand parents are? Yes the way Islam has been implemented has been very wrong. Yes the current government has too many flaws. I won't deny that, and they have done wrongs to many, my grand father was a mayor during the time of Shah. But who are you to call anyone Taze be donya resideh? You mention the Arabs who came to Iran 1400 years ago. But how long ago did your family move to the Iranian plateau? As I said, I am confident that you don't know who your family was and where they came from beyond your grand-parents. I am a Seyed and my ancestors came to Iran about 500-600 years ago. I can trace my roots because Seyed's keep good track of their family line. They were all land holders, lords, and the like; they were called something or other "dole" and had land, power, wealth, control, and education. They established some of the very first public, non-religious schools in the province of Khoozestan -- girls and boy's schools.

Now I hear some ignorant fool like you call me taze be dore resideh, simply because I am of Arab descent. I bet you can't trace your family roots. I bet you don't even know who your ancestors were and where they came from. They may have come from some part of Russia, Afghanistan, or Pakistan less than a 100 Years ago. You don't even know if they were drug dealers, thieves, poor village peasants, nomads or anything. And you, my bi-esalat friend, my ignorant, uneducated friend, dare to call me taze be donya resideh. You can only sell this kind of talk to your uneducated, bazari, bi-savad family. You, and people like you are the real reason why Iran, which has time and again proven to be one of the greatest cultures and civilizations in the world, even after Isam, does not get over its problems and grow into a free, developed, democratic and advanced nation. (Do I need to remind you of Omar Khayyam, Zakaria Razi, Mowlana, Hafez, Saadi, and many other great thinkers which came after the time of Islam; or do you not know about the Saffavids, and Seljuks and many other kingdoms who ruled Iran after Islam, and made Iran into one of the most respected and powerfull nations at the time?)

The fact remains that the current economic strife in Iran is due mainly to the Ghajars and their legacy. Did you know that the GDP-per-capita in Iran was only $100 during the reign of the last Ghajar king? While still quite low compared to the developed countries of the world, it is well over $6,000. Did you know that they were the ones who signed the rights to Iran's oil to the British? The same oil which Dr. Mosaddegh fought for so many years. The same oil for which the British and Americans plotted the coup-de-etat against Dr. Mossadegh. I don't think that you can understand any of this, as I am sure you're just some kid who listened to his ignorant, kargar va amale uncles and father tell him all these stupid things, when you were younger. And since you probably have never read a complete book, you haven't been able to learn anything beyond that.


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Tazian and their rotten code

by Kamangir on

Just as our friend jashmgin has pointed out I personally have nothing against our dear arabic speaking Iranian citizens. I have friends from many different arabic countries, and they are very honest and reliable people (unlike many hamvatane taze be doran resideye irani) We have a serious problem with 'persians' that are not real persians (descendants of those who colonized iran 1400 years ago)  they have nothing to do with today's arabs, they are neither arab nor persian. Ferdowsi makes clear references to this group of people. Choping hands off, stoning, flogging, raping virgins before killing them, discrimination of women in social life, mandatory hijab, and many other 'laws' are still being practiced and every single of them is to be found in Coran. The islamic  'republic' or mafia in Iran is about to expire, the real enemy has always been there and that enemy is Islam (not the intrepretation of Islam)

Regards


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Ben M = Ahmadinejad

by Ahmadinej (not verified) on

Ben kocholo, you and ahmadinejad have mane commons. one of them is to make attention! Just dont beleive that youre article is good. Search on youtube.com and ahmadinejad then you undrestand what i mean.


khashmgin1

To Gomnam

by khashmgin1 on

Those who bash Arabs are NOT refering to Iranians Arabs or Arabs from other countries TODAY. They are bashing the Arab invaders of 1400 years ago and the crimes that they committed against Iranians.

 

I am one of them and I will keep bashing those Arabs. But at the same time, I ABSOLUTELY have nothing against today's Arabs. Nothing at all. If the IRI or any future goverment discriminates against Iranian-Arabs, I would be the first to oppose it. I don't consider myself more Iranian than an Arab-Iranian.


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21 st century

by Tork (not verified) on

Dear friends
i want to remind for some of you that now we live in 21 century.To claim that there is no problem (ethnic) in Iran is not a solution .We should openly discuss our problems.but i see there some people who still have "old Minds".
Lets dont mix topics,"genocide"of armenians,greeks it is another case.If we are able to talk about "genocide"of armenians and greeks in Turkey it shows level of democracy in Turkey.Can any scholars in Iran write about massacres after Pishavari uprising?or Mahabad?or kurdish revolts?
Sen bizimsen,bizimsen durduqca bedende can
Yasha,yasha cox yasha ey Sanli Azerbaycan!!!


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Torks

by Tork (not verified) on

Dear Ben
I read your articles attentivly,i should say that i like it.Go ahead.
Azerbaijanis are the citizines of iran.personally i dont see any prospects of discrimination policies toward torks,kurds,arabs and etc.Iranian regime must understand finally that they live in 21 century.And stop discrimination and assimilation of ethnic minorties.


Gomnam

It is absolutely true that

by Gomnam on

It is absolutely true that regardless of whether you are Tork, Kord, Lor, or even Arab, we are all Iranian. The problem is that many would disagree with that. I am sure that many people would be angryu to hear me mention the word Arab. We Iranians need to stop this non-sense. Do you know how many times I have been insulted and had me and my family called names simply because I am a Seyed, and I was born in Khorramshahr? How could so many of my fellow Iranians insult me, a proud Iranian? I love Iran and its people just like everyone else, and have never considered myself an Arab. But why is it such a horrible thing to be an Arab? I live in North America and know very well that many Westerners view us all as a bunch of Sand Niggers. Why do we help this type of horrible discrimination to go on?

The fact is that the Persian culture is great, it is a rich culture; and one of its main strengths is its tollerance and acceptance of other views and cultures. We should work on strengthening these good qualities, not destroy them with petty name callings and bashing others. The fact is that Arab culture and language has had a great influence on the Persian culture, and vice versa. But it is not all bad. Read some Rumi and you will see how beatiful his poetry is. The Mathnavi is filled with arabic verses, and references to the Koran. We have been greatly influenced by other cultures too. Why do we not hate them, but only Arabs? Zarosht was born a Buddhist, why not hate the Chinese or Indians, since Budha was Indian? The reason we hate Arabs is because our political circumstances have set our governments against those of our arab neighbours for many decades. So this hatred has been fed to us and Arabs for generations. The real reason Iran is messed up is the Ghajar Dynasty, and their legacy. Reza Shah did alot to fix that, but he had too many obstacles to overcome. The fact is that we Iranians should be proud of how far we have come since the reign of the Ghajars, despite all the disturbances from the British and americans.


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Be on in Iranian side, we will live together with joy.

by Hope6 (not verified) on

Ben. In free and democratic Iran, I love to participate in your cultural festivities. I will take pleasure in your unique cultural expression. Be on in Iranian side, we will live together with joy. We all live free. See the big picture.


gol-dust

Poor Ben needs help!

by gol-dust on

Ben, please get a life! Stop all these non- sense! azari, tork, pars, etc we are all iranians and love our country! Now go ahead write against israeli and american intentions against iran! Down with Israel! Long live Iran!


khashmgin1

anonymous10000

by khashmgin1 on

I agree with you we Iranians are not a democratic people. We are dictatorial down to our bones. But the reason is one word: Islam. No moslem country can ever be democratic unless they break Allah's laws. Allah has commanded moslems not only to be dictatorial but also to be discriminating and vicious.

Islam opposes democracy.


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Ethnic Fantasy

by Vahraz (not verified) on

Mr. Madadi,

The superiority is not in our race, but rather in our culture which, much to your probable dismay, includes the Azeri culture. The Persian culture has demonstrated its superiority in its tolerance, inclusiveness and humanity. Iranians have never excluded anyone from their society. In fact, every invader of Persia has been welcomed and has been absorbed into the Iranian society, i.e., Alexander's army, Muslim Arabs, Mongols, etc. If you want to see racism, cultural exceptionalism and exclusive societies all you have to do is to live in an Arab country along the Persian Gulf Coast. Compared to many cultures in the neighborhood, Iran is a very tolerant and inclusive society. Additionally, despite a very small vocal minority, most people in Iran do not care about a person's race or background even when it comes to such intimate things as marriage. As you are surely aware, inter-marriage within various ethnicities is quite common in Iran.

The problem is not with Iranians who want to be exclusive, but it is rather with ethnicities and individuals (yes, such as you) who want to make themselves exclusive. While its is undeniable that ethnic tension is present in Iran, the tension is no more severe than any other country with multiple cultures, languages and ethnic groups living side by side. The tensions only rise when those ethnic groups want to declare themselves as exceptional, and not a part of the bigger culture within which they live. For instance, if an Azeri like yourself is really a part of the larger Iranian culture which includes Persians, Arabs, Kurds, Beluchis and others, why do you see the need for constantly reminding the rest of us of your background? Why do you see the need to declare yourself exceptional to the apparent detriment of the rest of the society? Instead of fanning the fuel of hatred and ethnic exclusiveness, all ethnic groups in Iran should celebrate their collective identity.

As far as your argument about languages is concerned, that is another example of an attempt to set yourself a part to the detriment. Today's world is becoming smaller and smaller. For the country to move forward, it requires a unified education system that will allow the country to communicate within itself, and to also allow it to communicate with the outside world in a united, common language. having multiple educational jurisdictions in various languages will be devastating and impractical, and will set the country back for decades. Plus, why do we need to have school systems in different languages? Isn't that racism and cultural exceptionalism? if the argument is for the preservation of ethnic tongues, they have been and are being preserved. Now is not the time to return to the fiefdoms of 3000 years ago when every tribe had its own language. Lastly, by virtue of the inclusive nature of the Iranian society and its willingness to adapt, today's modern Farsi is a compilation of almost all languages that are spoken in Iran, including Turkic languages, Arabic, Armenian, etc....So, your suggestions that somehow a pure Persian language is being imposed upon minorities is flawed at its root. If anything, Iranian ethnicities, throughout centuries of interaction with each other, have unintenionally come up with modern Farsi, which is a mixture of all of their languages. Therefore, no one is imposing anything on anyone else. We all speak the generic default language that has evolved through our interactions.

Unfortunately, the only racist Iranians in this picture are you, and people like you, who see themselves as superior to others because of their ethnicity. In other words, you belive that because you are an ethnic Azeri, you are entitled to sepcial treatment that the rest of us are not entitled to. You think that you should be allowed special rights when other Iranians are not entitled to those rights (such as special education in your ethnic tongue). It is time for you to leave your ethnic bubble and face the true Iranian experience: many people who have come together to create a multi-cultural country where they can all coexist in peace.


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This guy is living in a

by Farhad2008 (not verified) on

This guy is living in a fantasyworld. just read his earlier comments about perisan history. he denieds all glories in the pre islamic period he actually needs a barbi to play not internet.
Aryan in iran means to be free. In the pre islamic iran, Aryans respected other cultures and religions. Untill in europe german scholar and the stupid hitler used the aryan race against juwish ppl. This tragedy doesnt have anything iran to do. Dariuse the great defined his nation as Aryan and he supported juwish ( which was not aryan ) to build the temple. However some juwish still doesnt enjoy the term of aryan because they dont belong to this race.
Aryan in europe and in Iran, has different meaning. Never in Iran regims used this against other races. The glory of juwish history after babylon is when the king ( who represented themselv as aryan ) supported juwish to live in peace.
In his earlier comments he has talked about Aryan against juwish, then arabs.. and now Turks!
I invite you all to read his earlier comments its all about anti-iran anti-persian and he believs that iranian are against him of som reason. This paranoid person needs help, why do you talk about something when you dont have wrong info, and whats your point of being againts a rich history which the world has a big respect for. ( sorry for my eng. )


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Islamic way of thinking must be crushed not Arabs.

by Hope6 (not verified) on

Islamic way of thinking must be crushed not Arabs. They are victims of Mohammadism too. Iran can free the entire region from savagery, backwardness, and undemocratic Islamism with its superior cultural heritage.

In our history, we all know that Cyrus the Great issued human rights for entire region. Iran can do it again. But, there is a but here.

In 21st century, we need to be liberal democratics. Liberal Democrats can only offer freedom to all. The rest become dictators again and again and dictators must work hand to hand with thugs and clans for staying in power. Dictators will again work with Bazaars, land Warlords, and fascist heads of Haj caravans and ghasabs for Mecca pilgrimages.

Liberal democracy can allow Iran hertiage freely flourish and spread all over this region.

For crushing and eliminating the backwardness of Islam, All (Iranians and Arabs) must secure freedom for all. Secure Freedom, Islam disappears. A good conversation here:

//iranian.com/main/node/5542

Can our Iran ever become a happy and a peaceful global actor?


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liAqate hukumati bartar az in nadArin

by Anonymousy7868 (not verified) on

vAlA...age enghadr aghab oftAde'in keh beh hamvatan'hAye khodetAn tohin mikonin beh khAtere nazarashAn yA qomiateshAn.

Ben is right that these Iranians would kill you for stating an opinion unlike their own.

Also, I am sick of all this "Aryan" race bs...my name is Aryan and I hate it.

I am not "Aryan"...I am irAni and NO, they don't mean the same thing.


manesh

@ Anonymous Arab

by manesh on

I, for one, apologize for the harsh, savage anti-arab language used here.  It's always "we have to wipe" some people or other off the map to make Iran better.  It's disgusting.  But, rest assured, this all talk.  People who talk like this are unlikely to wipe anything.  Just talk.

What is not talk is the racism and intolerance you point out to.  It is real and goes on all over Iran against all minorities.  Mind you, I am against Islam and its influence in Iran and I'm not too happy with Arab cultural influences and our Arab neighbors either.  But, I don't find any solution in racism and violence.

P.S. Are you really Arab or do you just speak Arabic? 

 


Ben Madadi

Pan-Turkism...

by Ben Madadi on

They say I am a pan-Turkist and I thought what pan-Turkism means. It means, most probably, believing in the idea of creating a great Turkistan, having all Turkic speaking nations in it. Where have I said anything like that? I have always stressed upon the necessity of protecting Iran's territorial integrity. But the reason they say I am a pan-Turkist is because I say they are Aryans. So, probably fair enough.


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Sir, you comments on history

by Ali (not verified) on

Sir, you comments on history or politics. You are just a designer. Leave this kind of talk to educated historians, philosophers, political theorists. Why would an ignorant designer feel like he has anything worth saying. Go back to thinking about what colour shirt looks good with what jeans, and what hair style looks good with what shade of mascara. At least read a few books before you open your mouth and start bashing people. What do those violent Islamic Republic of Iran have to do with Arabs? Aren't those officers Iranians, and by your definition Aryan? Go read a book first and then talk.