A DEATH GLORIFICATION CULTURE

There is a year and half old Newsweek article citing the former Aryamehr University as one of the best universities in the world. The article still being circulated in the internet by our Iranian friends who support the concept of “honar nazd e Irani-e-yan ast o bas.”

More power to them and let them keep digging every piece of news that will boost our constantly bruised Iranian ego.  However, I wanted to express my strong objection to the name Sharif and Iranians' martyr-worshipping culture. Former Aryamehr University should have been rightfully renamed Daneshgah-e- Dr. Mojtahedi (Dr. Mojtahedi University)after the man who established it from scratch and build it brick by brick with his talents as a giant educational administrator and by hiring Alborzi Alumni who had received their PhDs and other research, teaching, publishing and innovation credentials in the top US and/or European universities.     

A radical student name Sharif who accidentally got shot during a school riot by Mr. Aryamehr’s security forces does not deserve the right to replace the name of the deposed dictator who caused his demise. It takes a lot more than getting shot in the campus for someone to take over the name sake right of the university.   

A plaque in some corner of campus commemorating the unfortunate incident and sacrifice of that young man for giving his life in his perceived pursuit of freedom would have been more appropriate and effective memorial.

No where in the world except in sick victim exploiting/diseased martyr creating cultures like Iran, a place is named after an unfortunate victim.    Check out Some similar examples of that incident in the US:   In 1969, over the unrest following the people’s park incident in UC Berkeley, hundreds of national guard soldiers, CHP officers, and other Misc. law enforcement agencies had been deployed by the order of Gov. Reagan. One student was accidentally killed. Do you see his name included anywhere in UC Berkeley’s name ?   

In the spring of 1970, a similar riot broke out in Kent sate university in Ohio , supposedly in response to Richard Nixon’s carpet bombing of Cambodia which was not officially at war with the US. Again a handful of students were accidentally shot by the national guard troops. You may even remember that famous picture of the girl leaning over one of the victims' body while raising her arms above her head in rage. No mention of their names in Kent State University's name either.   

There are dozens of incidents in the universities around the world from Chile to India to china.  None has resulted in the same martyr-crazy outcome of Iran.   

 As long as we glorify death and honor the zombies in Iran, no matter how great our achievements can be either individually or collectively, we are not a nation but a rundown sad cemetery filled by mourners and we deserve a government headed by grim reaper and the whole slew of undertakers and grave-diggers who actively participate in whacking people and creating more customers to boost their own business as well as feeding the martyr crazy nation’s insatiable desire for more victims to mourn over. Be it an Arab imam and his family from 13 centuries ago or new fresh blood of innocent bystanders in the present day Iranian civil unrests.