Journalism in Iran

Human Rights

PEN-
Akbar Ganji is the longest-serving political prisoner in Iran’s journalistic community, jailed for expressing his opinion in defense of freedom and the professional rights of journalists. He was convicted by high-ranking judiciary officials in the Islamic Republic for criticizing government officials, and has so far spent more than sixty-one months in prison. Since his imprisonment, Ganji has published “The Republican Manifesto,” a work that outlines plans for achieving an open and democratic society, and has invited the people to engage in civil disobedience. These actions have brought him further wrath from the officials of the judiciary, who are abusing their legal powers to silence his voice, so much so that even his attorney, Dr. Nasser Zarafshan, has been sent to prison. At 7 PM on Thursday, May 19th 2005, Ganji went on an indefinite hunger strike to protest his unfair and illegal treatment, including the refusal to grant him medical leave. This is while he is severely ill and is in dire need of special medical attention. We Iranian journalists and bloggers are extremely concerned about Ganji’s health, and we call on human rights organizations to take immediate measures to pressure Iran’s judiciary to release and treat him. In the present circumstances, international human rights organizations and freedom-loving people all over the word are responsible for the protection of Akbar Ganji’s life.

Akbar ganji is in prison

akbar
Akbar GANJI

Profession: Journalist.
Date of arrest: 22 April 2000
Sentence: 6 years’ imprisonment.
Expires: 21 April 2006
Details of arrest: Arrested following his participation in an academic and cultural conference held in Berlin on 7-9 April 2000 entitled "Iran after the elections", at which political and social reform in Iran were publicly debated.
Details of trial: Trial started on 9 November 2000 at the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. On 13 January 2001 he was sentenced by Bench 3 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court to ten years’ imprisonment plus five years’ internal exile, four years for his attendance at the conference and six years for other charges, including "spreading propaganda against the Islamic regime", for a series of articles he had written implicating leading figures in the murders of several dissidents and intellectuals in the mid-late 90’s. On 15 May 2001 an appeal court reduced his 10-year sentence to six months and overturned his additional sentence of five years internal exile. However, although he had served the entire sentence, the Tehran judiciary challenged the appeal court decision and brought new charges against him in connection with newspaper articles he wrote prior to April 2000. Sentenced on 16 July 2001 to six years’ imprisonment on charges of collecting confidential information harmful to national security and spreading propaganda against the Islamic system. On 15 October 2003 he was reported to have appeared before an examining magistrate to answer questions about his book Prison-like Archipelago. There are said to be several cases pending against Ganji for articles he has written, including charges of 'propaganda against the regime' and publishing lies, insult and libel.
Professional details: Author of the best-selling book Dungeon of Ghosts, a collection of Ganji’s newspaper articles published in early 2000, in which he implicated the former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and other leading conservative figures in the "serial murders" of 1998. The book is said to have seriously damaged the reputation of Rafsanjani, and is thought to have been a major factor in the conservative defeat in the parliamentary elections of February 2000.
Place of detention: Evin Prison.
Treatment in prison: Reported in April 2003 to have spent 70 days in solitary confinement.
Health concerns: Reported in October 2004 to be seriously ill.
Other information: Recipient of the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) 2000 International Press Freedom Award.
Honorary member of: Canadian, American, Liechenstein and English PEN Centres



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Ganji

Universal Declaration of Human Rights from words to deeds

Universal Declaration of Human Rights from words to deeds by Rick Roark -
A look at the history, meaning and relevance of this historic document, now 50 years old, and its foundation - the principle of sharing.The year 1998 marks the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. The UN this year chose the theme ‘All Human Rights for All', highlighting the universality, indivisibility and interrelationship of all human rights civil, cultural, economic, political, religious, and social.The Declaration was one of the first major achievements of the UN, and after 50 years remains a powerful instrument that continues to exert an enormous effect on people's lives in all parts of the world. Its acceptance marked the first time in history that a document considered to have universal value was adopted by an international organization. It was also the first time that human rights and fundamental freedoms were set forth in such detail.Mahnaz Afkhami, president of the human rights group ‘Sisterhood is Global', traces humanity's efforts to express its basic rights back to Cyrus the Great 2,500 years ago in Persia, continuing with the Greeks and Romans, Magna Carta, the revolutions in France and the US, and the US Bill of Rights. But she says all of these efforts ~~~~ted the expression of rights to members of certain groups or nationalities. "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights," she says, "was the first document in the entire history of the human race which gave us rights as individuals regardless of any other category to which we may belong. In that sense it is the highest expression of our noblest aspirations as individuals."The adoption of the Declaration a Magna Carta for all humanity stemmed in large part from the strong desire for peace in the aftermath of the Second World War. Although the 58 member states which formed the UN at that time varied in their political systems, patterns of socio-economic development, and religious and cultural backgrounds, the Declaration represented a common statement of goals and aspirations a vision of the world as the international community wanted it to become.Since 1948, the Declaration has been translated into more than 200 languages and remains one of the best known and most often cited human rights documents in the world. Over the years, the Declaration has been used in the defense and advancement of people's rights and continues to inspire national legislation and the constitutions of newly independent states. Related articles:
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Human Rights Timeline
The First Declaration of Human Rights

The First Declaration of Human RightsSource

The First Declaration of Human RightsSource:
Zoroastrianism and Biblical Connections

Author: Dr. Darius Jahanian
One of the significant events in ancient history is the conquest of Babylon by the Persian king, Cyrus the Great.On October 4th, 539 BC, the Persian Army entered the city of Babylon, which was then the capital of the Babylonian state (in central Iraq). This was a bloodless campaign and no prisoners were taken. Later, on November 9th, King Cyrus of Persia visited the city. Babylonian history tells us that Cyrus was greeted by the people, who spread a pathway of green twigs before him as a sign of honor and peace (sulmu). Cyrus greeted all Babylonians in peace and brought peace to their city.On this great event, Cyrus issued a declaration, inscribed on a clay barrel known as Cyrus's inscription cylinder. It was discovered in 1879 by Hormoz Rassam in Babylon and today is kept in the British Museum. Many historians have reviewed it as the first declaration of human rights.The Babylonian annals, as well as the first section of the Cyrus' inscription, shed light on the religiopolitical plight that had angered the people of Babylon and why they invited Cyrus's military campaign. Evidently, the Babyloninan king, Nabonidus, e~~~~nated the festival of the new year and Nebo (one of the gods) was not brought into the city, and Bel (another god) was not taken in the procession of the festival. Also, the worship of Marduk, the king of the gods, was changed to an abomination and Nabonidus tormented the inhabitants with unbelievable oppression and forced labor. The sanctuaries of all their settlements were in ruins and the inhabitants of Sumer and Akkad had become like the living dead. Marduk, the king of the gods, scanned and searched for a righteous ruler, finally coming upon Cyrus's good deeds and his upright mind and ordered him to march against the City of Babylon. The angry inhabitants of Akkad had revolted but were massacred by Nabonidus, who, upon his return to Babylon, was arrested, but nevertheless was treated with respect. When Nabonidus died in the year following, Cyrus participated in the national mourning time that was proclaimed for him. The gods of Akkad were then returned to their sacred cities. All the inhabitants of Sumer and Akkad, including princes and governors, greeted Cyrus as a master who brought them back from a living death. All who had been spared damage and disaster revered his very name.Cyrus's Declaration:"I am Cyrus, the king of the world, great king, legitimate king (son of Cambyses) whose rule Bel and Nebo loved and whom they wanted as king to please their hearts."When I entered Babylon as a friend and established the seat of government in the place of the ruler under jubilation and rejoicing, Marduk, the great lord (induced) the magnanimous inhabitants of Babylon (Din Tir) (to love me) and I daily endeavored to praise him. My numerous troops walked around in Babylon in peace, I did not allow anybody to terrorize (any of the people) of the country of Sumer and Akkad. I strove for peace in Babylon (Ka Dingir ra) and in all his (other) sacred cities. As to the inhabitants of Babylon (who) against the will of the gods (had/were I abolished) the corvee (yoke) which was against their (social standing). I brought relief to their dilapidated housing, putting an end to their main complaints. Marduk, the great lord, was well pleased with my deeds and sent friendly blessing to myself, Cyrus, the King, who reveres him, to Cambyses, my son, as well as to all my troops, and we all (praised) his great (name) joyously, standing before him in peace I returned to (these) sacred cities on the other side of the Tigris, the sanctuaries of which have been ruins for a long time, the images which (used) to live therein and established for them permanent sanctuaries. I (also) gathered all their (former) inhabitants and returned (to them) their habitations. Furthermore, I resettled upon the command of Marduk, the great lord, all the gods of Sumer and Akkad who Nabonidus has brought to Babylon (su sa na) to the anger of the lord of the gods unharmed in their chapels, the places which make them happy.May all the gods whom I have resettled in their sacred cities ask Bel and Nebo daily for a long life (six lines destroyed) and always with good words remember my good deeds that Babylonians incessantly cherished me because I resettled them in comfortable habitations I endeavored to strengthen the fortification of Imgur-Enlil and the great fortification of the City of Babylon the side brick wall by the city's trench which the former king (had built and had not finished). This was finished around (the city), that none of the former kings, despite the labor of their yoked people, had not accomplished. I rebuilt and completed with tar and brick and installed large gates entrances were built by cedar wood covered with brass and copper pivot I strengthened all the gates I saw inscribed the name of my predecessor, King Ashurbanipal."On this historical turning point, by order of Cyrus, all the captive nationalities held as slaves for generations in Babylon were freed and the return to their homeland was financed. Among the liberated captives were 50,000 Jews held in Babylon for three generations whose return toward the rebuilding of their temple in Palestine, a policy that was followed by Darius and his successors. Some of the liberated Jews were invited to and did settle in Persia. Because of such a generous act, Cyrus has been anointed in the Bible. He is the only gentile in the Bible, who has been titled Messiah, an is mentioned explicitly as the Lord's shepherd and his anointed (Messiah). Other references to Cyrus are attested in Isaiah 45:4 where Cyrus is called by name and given a title of honor; he is also called to rebuild the God's city and free His people (Is. 45:13) and is chosen, called and brought successful by God (Is. 48:14-15).What took place after the victory in Babylon was contrary to the standard of the time. Based on the inscriptions of the neighboring countries (Assyrians, Babylonians), it was customary to destroy the vanquished cities, level houses and temples, massacre the people or enslave the population, replace them with snakes, wolves and even carry away the soil to make the land barren. But here, peace and liberty replaced the massacre and slavery, and construction substituted for destruction. After Cyrus, his son Cambyses ruled for eight years (530BC to 522 BC) and captured Egypt, and as a sign of respect toward their culture and religion, he prostrated himself before the goddess, Meith and paid homage to Apis, the Egyptian totem (Bull).After Cambyses, Darius took over the throne and ruled form 522BC to 486BC. From 518BC to 515BC he established peace and tranquility in Egypt and also paid homage to their totem, Apis. Darius, in his inscriptions, expresses faith in the commands of Ahuramazda. He declares "Whoever worships Ahuramazda, shall receive happiness in life and after death." He calls Elamites faithless, and because they did not worship Ahuramazda, yet he does not pressure them to change faith. Darius exhorts his successors "thou shalt be king thereafter, protect yourself from the lies and punish the liar and deceitful."He entreats God's grace for the protection of Persia against rancor, enemy, famine and the lie. At times he alludes to other gods that may either indicate the old Aryan gods who still had strong followings or the gods of other nations under his rule, for the display of reverence toward their religions.REFERENCES:A. Arfaee, The command of Cyrus the Great (in Persian), quoted the opinion of Sydney Smith.Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian chronicles, p110, dates the fall of Babylon on Oct. 12th and Cyrus's entry on Oct 29th.J. B. Pritchard, The ancient Near East, Vol. 1, 1958, p203.A fragment in the Yale's Babylon collection was identified in 1970 by P.R.Berger, the professor of Munster, Germany, as part of Cyrus's cylinder that was transferred to the British Museum and added to the cylinder, who wrote in the journal of Assyrology (Zeiserrift fir Assiriologie), July 25, Vol. 64. The remainder of the text is quoted from A.Arafaee, which was the missing portion kept in Yale University. Bible, 2 Chronicles 36:15-23Bible, Ezra 1:1-11, Ezra 2:12-70Bible, Ezra 7:8Bible, Ezra 6:3-4-5Bible, Ezra 7:15-25Bible, Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1Cyrus Cylinder

Cyrus Cylinder

Cyrus Cylinder

Khomeini`s childhood picture with his Dad for those who are still thinking that he was an IRANIAN!! no wonder why he said,he had no filling for IRAN!!

Khomeini and his Father (INDIAN ORIGIN) among his best followers including MONGOLIAN (rafsanjani) and ARAB seyyed ( khamnehee,khatami,shahroodi&......) and not seyyed Anti Iranian , who made him Emam just to ruin the country as they have done for 1400 years under Islamic Religion!!!!

His childhood picture was taken from the book "ö‘þî íóõ ˜¤ø" (Varese Molke Kian) by "ü¤þ¬÷ ù›ø¡ ¤—î¢" (Dr. Khajeh Naseeri).Picture was provided to the author by "ù¢þ¢÷¨• ü›‘Ÿ" (Hdji Passandeedeh), Khomeini's older brother.This explains why Khomeini did not have any feeling or respect for Iranian people and Iranian culture.Who knew this innocent looking child would become one of the biggest killers of this century!!?

Khomeini`s picture for his followres who are still thinking that he was an IRANIAN! no wonder why he said he had no filling for IRAN (HICHI..........)

Picture was taken from the book "ö‘þî íóõ ˜¤ø" (Varese Molke Kian) by "ü¤þ¬÷ ù›ø¡ ¤—î¢" (Dr. Khajeh Naseeri).Picture was provided to the author by "ù¢þ¢÷¨• ü›‘Ÿ" (Hdji Passandeedeh), Khomeini's older brother.This explains why Khomeini did not have any feeling or respect for Iranian people and Iranian culture.Who knew this innocent looking child would become one of the biggest killers of this century!!?

“Please … Call Me an Iranian, Not a Moslem!”

Iran



"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."
-Dalai Lama

By Farhad Mafie
P.O. Box 51330, Irvine, CA 92619949-851-1714mailto:Mafie@worldnet.att.netNovember 16, 2003
Hold on to Your Hat!
Some days the Persian Gulf is referred to as the Arabian Gulf. Some days Rumi–the great Iranian poet and philosopher—is referred to as a poet from Afghanistan or a poet from Turkey. Some days Sina or Avicenna, Rāzi, Farabi, Birouni—the great Iranian scientists—are referred to as Arab scientists. Some days Iranian arts are referred to as Islamic arts in famous European galleries.
Why, then, should we be surprised to hear that European officials and the European media are referring to Ms. Ebadi, the Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner, not as an “Iranian” but as a “Moslem”? Has she lost her nationality? Consider this: If a German or a Canadian (or anyone else for that matter) wins the Prize, does the media refer to the winner as a “Lutheran” or as a “Methodist”? No! Why, then, are Europeans bestowing Iranians with the new title “Moslem”?
The title “Moslem” pleases only the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and others who are promoting the notion of Western Civilization vs. The Moslem World. Strategically, this renaming is a significant gift to the Islamic government of Iran because since the establishment of this antediluvian system in Iran its leaders have done their best to replace the notion of Iranian Identity and Nationality with Moslem Identity and Nationality both inside and outside Iran. Ayatollah Khomeini has emphasized this goal in several of his speeches, for example, on Dec 1980 (as published in Kayhan):
“Those who say that we want nationality, they are standing against Islam. . . . We have no use for the nationalists. Moslems are useful for us. Islam is against nationality. . . .”[1]
“These issues that exist among people that we are Iranian and what we need to do for Iran are not correct; these issues are not correct. This issue, which is perhaps being discussed everywhere, regarding paying attention to nation and nationality is nonsense in Islam and is against Islam. One of the things that the designers of Imperialism and their agents have promoted is the idea of nation and nationality.”
Maintaining an Iranian identity and nationality has been an on-going struggle for Iranians since the seventh century Islam-Arab attack on Iran. This struggle, as well as the new European strategies for collaboration with the Islamic government of Iran, requires much insight and understanding. And it should be taken very seriously by all Iranians and those who are interested in long-term world peace.
Cyrus the Great (580–529 BC), the first Achaemenian Emperor of Persia, issued a decree that was later hailed as the Charter of Human Rights for all nations. Inscribed on a clay cylinder, this first declaration of human rights is now kept at the British Museum. A replica is also on display at the United Nations in New York.

By the time of his death in Battle, Cyrus had conquered the whole of Asia Minor, Babylonia, Syria, and Palestine, and made Persia the world’s leading nation. Four years later his son Cambyses had conquered Egypt and ruled an empire bordered by India in the east and the Mediterranean Sea in the West.

“The post-exilic books of the Hebrew Bible often reflect this perception of the Persian conquests of the sixth century BCE as a fulfillment of God’s purpose. This comes out most strongly in Isaiah (44:28 and 45:1), when the Persian King Cyrus is spoken of as God’s shepherd and even as God’s anointed (Hebrew mashiab).”[2]

“Darius (522 BC) the king thus says: In the protection of Ahuramazda, I am of such a character: What is right I love and what is not right I hate. . . Of the man who speaks against the truth, never do I trust a word.”[3]

“To the end of his life Darius continued to express his pride in his Ordinance of Good Regulations. His reputation as a lawgiver survived him. To Plato, Darius was the lawgiver whose laws had preserved the Persian Empire to the Philosopher’s own day.” [4]

“Says Darius the King: This land Parsa, which Ahuramazda has granted me, which is beautiful, possessing good horses and good men, by the favor of Ahuramazda and of me, Darius the king, it has no fear of an enemy.
“Says Darius the King: May Ahuramazda bring me help with all other gods, and may Ahuramazda protect this land from a hostile horde, from the evildoer, and from the Lie.”[5]

“In an inscription of 260 CE proclaiming his victory over the Romans, the Persian ruler Shapur I described himself as follows: ‘I, Lord Shapur, worshipper of Mazda, King of Kings of Iran and of non-Iran, of the race of the Gods, son of the worshipper of Mazda the Lord Ardashir, King of Kings of Iran, of the race of the Gods, grandson of Papak . . . I am the ruler of the land of Iran.’ ”[6]
The First Islam-Arab Attack and the Iranian Struggle to Maintain Our Identity
The history of Iran shows that the Iranian ethnicity, nationality, and culture have proven over and over again that—despite lost wars at the hands of Islam-Arabs, Mongols, etc.—Iranians have been able to survive by assimilating the imposed new cultures into the Iranian culture and by overwhelming them with the rich Iranian ethnicity and nationality.
However, neutralizing and removing the influences of the seventh century Islam-Arab attack on Iran due to its strong entanglement with Islam have been an on-going struggle for Iranians throughout the centuries. This struggle started very early in every aspect of Iranian cultural, political, and religious lives.
For example, after the Islam-Arab invasion of the seventh century, Iran was the first and the only country that recovered its distinct Iranian identity from its victorious enemy. Iran alone retained its Persian language, which it still uses, while the rest of the countries that were conquered by the Arabs lost their original language, and today they speak Arabic. Although many Iranian scholars, poets, writers, and scientists contributed greatly to enriching the Arabic language and culture, they nevertheless maintained their own distinct Iranian identity. For example, one of the most important contributions of Iranian scholars to the Arabic language was the development of the Arabic grammar by the Iranian scholar Siboyeh.
Overall, Iranians retained a strong awareness of their homeland as something much more than just a physical place. The reason is very obvious. Iran was NOT just another place that Arabs subjugated. Iran was a political entity (the Persian Empire) centuries prior to the creation of Islam or the formation of the Arab countries. And memories of that independence and greatness were very much fresh in Iranian’s cultural memory. Sigmund Freud[7] refers to this memory as the collective or cultural memories of a nation or a group of people. This collective and cultural memory has helped Iranians to maintain their nationality and not adopt the Arab identity despite the fact that many of them were forced to adopt Islam.
Interestingly, even today, if someone mistakenly calls an Iranian an “Arab,” the speaker will be informed very politely and promptly that he or she is not an Arab but an Iranian (or a Persian).
Iranian Poets and Thinkers Leading the Struggle . . .
As part of restoring Iran’s identity and sense of nationality after the seventh century Islam-Arab attack, Iran’s greatest poet of all time, Ferdowsi[8], tells the courageous, noble, and heroic deeds of ancient Iran and Iranians in his masterpiece Shahnameh (Book of Kings). In this beautiful poem Ferdowsi uses poetic rhymes so simple that every Iranian, regardless of his or her literacy, can memorize these stories and be proud of his or her Iranian identity and past. Many of the Shahnameh stories have served to strengthen and to reinforce the sense of Iranian identity and Iranian nationality within the Islamic and Arab folds. Thus Shahnameh became Iran’s national epic and for many Iranians more important than their holy book.
Due to Ferdowsi’s great contribution to Iranian identity and ethnicity, the Islamic clergies of the time did not allow his body to be buried in a Moslem cemetery, forcing Iranians to bury their poet in his private garden. Finally, after many centuries, the great Reza Shah Pahlavi in the twentieth century built a beautiful, well-deserved tomb for this great patriotic poet of Iran.
Nader Naderpour (1929-2000) believed that the reason that Ferdowsi started Shahnameh with the story of creation (similar to the structure of many holy religious books) was to make Shahnameh as important as a holy book in the mind of Iranians. Naderpour believed that Ferdowsi was successful in achieving this noble and gallant objective. Incisive as always, Naderpour also felt that Book of Kings should be translated as The Best Book. His reasoning is well founded: In Farsi the prefix shah- means “best” (for example, shahroud means “the best river”), and nameh means “book” (it has other meanings too). Therefore, Shahnameh can also be translated as “The Best Book.”
In this endeavor, Ferdowsi was not alone. In different eras many others tried to recover the past glories and also restore Iranian national identity (to replace the religious identity), including great Iranians poets and thinkers such as Khayyām, Hāfez, Iraj, Dehkhoda, Hedayat, and Naderpour. Iranian Constitutional thinkers such as Âkhundzadeh[9], Talebof Tabrizi[10], Mirza Agha Khan Kermani[11], and Mirza Jahangir Khan Shirazi[12] supported this endeavor as well by contributing to Iranians’ progress toward modernity and secularism in Iran’s 1906 Constitutional Revolution.[13]
They all supported and advocated Iran’s greatness prior to the Islam-Arab attack of the seventh century and tried their best to inform and educate Iranians of their pre-Islamic past as a vehicle to create a patriotic sense in people as well as to limit and stop the power of the Islamic clergies over people’s lives, thus personalizing the notion of religion and separating it from the governing elements of Iran’s societies—for good.
“Islamic Republic of Iran” or “Second Islamic-Arab Attack on Iran”?
From the first days of the Islamic Revolution of 1979, one of the key objectives of the Mullahs (Moslem clergymen) and the ruling Islamic government of Iran has been the promotion of the idea of having one great Islamic Nation (called “omat-e Islam”) among Iranians and other Shiite-based countries in the region. Ayatollah Khomeini, in order to completely deny Iran and its past history, continuously discussed the idea of “omat-e Islam” and continuously emphasized that Iranians are part of the Islamic “omat-e” and that the Iranian nation and Iranian identity have no meaning. According to Khomeini, Westerners, in order to divide Moslems, created the idea of nation, nationality, and identity. To advance his ideology, even during the eight years the Iran-Iraq war, one of Khomeini’s ridiculous objectives was to advance his Shiite-centered Islamic Revolution all the way to the holy sites in the heart of Israel—thus destroying Israel!
To promote the Islamic identity, and at the same time disparage and destroy the Iranian identity, the Islamic government of Iran has been using every possible means, such as:

· Stoning people. Cutting off fingers, right hands, left legs (or vice versa). Gouging eyes. All are now commonly practiced in Islamic Iran.
· Deemphasizing the notion of Iranian nationality in every official government statement. In many government documents even the name “Iran” is omitted.
· Destroying thousands of Iranian historical places and important ancient artwork (or selling them for personal gain). At the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, the infamous Khalkhali (Khomeini’s right hand and the famous butcher of thousands of Iranians) tried to destroy Persepolis,[14] which is one of the most important historical places in the world. He was stopped by the local people who risked their lives in confronting this maniac.
· Renaming many Iranian streets from, for example, “Cyrus the Great” to “Dr. Shariati,” an Islamic-Marxist promoter.
· Commemorating the murder of Anvar Sadat by naming a street in Tehran after his murderer, Khaled Estanboli.
· Trying to replace the Iranian New Year Noerouz[15] (literally “new day”) with a Moslem New Year and preventing Iranians from celebrating all the festivities associated with New Year. They failed big time! Iranians have been celebrating Noerouz and its associated festivities more than ever before as an instrument to show their Iranian independence and identity. Significantly, even during the eight-year Iran-Iraq War, Iranians under Iraqi attack in the southwest provinces still celebrated Noerouz to show their resentment toward their external Arab oppressors and their internal Islamic-government tormenters. Proof indeed that Iranians were willing to fight the imposed ideologies and to protect their rich Iranian ethnicity and nationality.
· Incorporating many new Arabic words and phrases into the Persian language in a deliberate attempt to further damage and weaken the Persian language.
· Destroying many Iranian symbols and replacing them with Islamic signs.
· Deemphasizing the roles of great Iranian poets and thinkers who were free thinkers or were against Islamic rule in Iran.
· Removing the Lion and Sun symbol (which has nothing to do with the Pahlavi Dynasty) from the Iranian flag and, instead, adding the symbol of Hindu-Sikhs.
· Changing the symbol of the Iranian Red Cross to an Arabic version.
· Killing, torturing, or jailing anyone who is against the Islamic system.
· And much more.

That is why Nader Naderpour, in his famous article “In Hope of a Third Movement,”[16] describes the Islamic Revolution of 1979 as the second Islamic invasion on Iran. In Naderpour’s opinion, since the seventh century Arab attack, Iranian thinkers tried twice—unsuccessfully—to rid themselves of Islamic governmental rule. In his article he describes how the Constitutionalists (in Iran’s Constitutional Revolution of 1906) tried to separate religion and state, and to replace “religious identity” with “national identity” in Iran for good.
One More Time . . . The Challenge Is On!
Unfortunately, these days the Islamic government of Iran is getting direct and unprecedented support from its European friends to reach its past-due objectives. Direct support from European countries is a win-win model for both Europe and the Islamic government of Iran—but of course the unfortunate losers would be Iran and the Iranian people … but only if Iranians allow it.
The latest European-promoted and -supported strategy of bestowing Iranians with the new title “Moslem” is part of a much bigger vision, part of a planned strategy that has became apparent since Khatami started his dog-and-pony reformist show more than six years ago.
These days, the European cheerleaders are labeling the collaborators and associates of the Islamic government of Iran with ridiculous slogans such as “Modern Islam,” “Modern Islamic Women,” “Modern Islamic World,” “Modern Islamic Civilizations,” and “Gentler Islam,” all in an effort to extend the life of the Islamic government of Iran for a couple of more decades with a different image. A softer and a gentler radicalism! A true oxymoron …
They are doing their best to destroy the notion of Iranian identity and to promote Islamic fundamentalism as the cultural identity for Iranians—of course, a softer version of Islamic fundamentalism—to further distance Iranians’ struggle toward modernity and Western Civilization.
The objective of European countries, G8, China, etc., is very clear: They all know very well that a religious government in Iran is the best instrument to distance Iran and Iranians from Western Civilization and from individualism, social freedom, democracy, and secularism. These countries know that only a chaotic and oppressive system in Iran continues to bring them financial benefits such as:
· Low-cost oil and gas prices (actually below actual production cost)
· Weapon sales (the result of local conflicts and wars)
· Increased business resulting from war-damaged infrastructures
· And much more
We Have a Choice: We Can Fight Back and Stop This Nonsense!
We Iranians who live either forced or self-imposed lives in exile need to use the freedom that we have along with every possible legal and democratic means available to us to FIGHT BACK and not allow this anti-Iranian movement to become Iran’s next default alternative and Iran’s political scenario for the next few decades.
Every newspaper, every TV and radio station, every government official that substitutes “Moslem” for “Iranian” should be bombarded with phone calls, faxes, emails, and letters against this “Islamic identity.”
The same way that the collaborators and associates of the Islamic government of Iran, the leftover Iranian leftists, and their European cheerleaders are using the media to label us “Moslems,” we must to the same extent show our disapproval by voicing our opinions and expressing our strongest resentment. How else can we end this dark anti-Iranian campaign?

With Pride and Honor, We Have One Simple Message for the Whole World: “Call Me an Iranian, Not a Moslem”

This is the time to resign once and for all from the “silent majority” and join all those Iranians who care for Iran in this praiseworthy and commendable endeavor. Just say NO to this pro-Islamic and anti-Iranian campaign.
Let us be the last generation of Iranians who experience either a self-imposed or a forced life in exile. Iran deserves much more! So do you! And so do all of us!

Farhad MafieIrvine, CA

Copyright © 2003 by Farhad Mafie. All rights reserved. Any reprint of this article must bear this notice. For information, contact Farhad Mafie at Mafie@att.net or at (949) 851-1714.
[1] This quote is also listed in Mehregan Magazine, Volume 12, Numbers 1 & 2, Spring & Summer 2003, p 16.
[2] Lewis, Bernard, The Multiple Identities of the Middle East. New York: Schocken Books, p. 87.
[3] Olmstead, A.T., History of The Persian Empire. Chicago: The University of the Chicago Press, p. 125.
[4] Olmstead, A.T., History of The Persian Empire. Chicago: The University of the Chicago Press, p. 130.
[5] Olmstead, A.T., History of The Persian Empire. Chicago: The University of the Chicago Press, p. 175.
[6] Lewis, Bernard, The Middle East. New York: Scribner, p. 135.
[7] Freud tried to demonstrate how nothing that has been formed in mental life can perish—despite the depredations of memory. He believed that everything is somehow preserved and can, in suitable circumstances, once more be brought back to light.
[8] Ferdowsi, Hakim Abuol Ghasm (940–1020; dates approximate), He undertook his epic Book of Kings (More than 60,000 verses long), a history of Persia that begins with the arrival of the Persians and ends with the arrival of the Arabs, in an effort to glorify Persia’s past. Variant spellings: Firdausi, FirdawsI, Ferdusi, and Firdousi.
[9] Âkhundzadeh, Mirza Fath-Ali (1812–1878), He edited and wrote many books, including The Story of the Deceived Stars (Dastan-e Setaregan-e Farib Khordeh), The Story of Pushkin’s Death (Dastan-e Marke Pushkin), and The Russian Poet (She‘r-e Rousi).
[10] Talebof Tabrizi, Abdol-Rahim (1834–1911), He is one of the first Persian writers who encouraged Iranians to write science fiction and plays and to translate books, and he stressed writing in simple language. He wrote and edited many books, including Ahmad’s Book (Ketab-e Ahmad), Physics, and A Brief History of Islam (Tarikh-e Mokhtasar-e Islam).
[11] Mirza Agha Khan Kermani (1853–1896; dates approximate), Born in Kerman (in southeastern Iran), Kermani studied mathematics, natural sciences, and English and French. He was a writer of the Iranian enlightenment and sought to associate the Iranian people with the "advanced, Aryan" Europeans.
[12] Mirza Jahangir Khan Shirazi (1875–1908), Publisher of the newspaper Soresrafil during the Constitutional movement. His name became synonymous with his famous newspaper. Because of his newspaper editorials, he was hanged by Mohammad Ali Shah Ghajar.
[13] Brown, Edward G. The Persian Revolution 1905–1909, Mage Publisher, 1995.
[14] The magnificent ruins of Persepolis are located about 400 miles south of Teheran. The exact date of the founding of Persepolis is not known. It is assumed that Darius I began work on the magnificent platform and its structures between 518 and 516 BC, visualizing Persepolis as a showplace and the seat of his vast Achaemenian Empire.
[15] Jamshid, one of the most important and most famous kings in Iranian mythology, started Noerouz (literally “new day”), the Iranian New Year celebration at the beginning of Spring.
[16] An English translation of this article is available in: Mafie, Farhad, Nader Naderpour (1929-2000): Iranian Poet, Thinker, and Patriot. New York: Mellen Press, 2002. The original Persian version of this article is available on: http://www.naderpour.org/.

In his article “In Hope of a Third Movement,” Naderpour explains why two historical Iranian “thinker movements,” as he calls them, failed, and he describes how a third movement is needed to help Iran and Iranians rid themselves, once and for all, from the tyranny of Islamic domination. Understanding Erfan, the first “movement” that Naderpour addresses in his article, is key to appreciating Naderpour’s position. Erfan is often incorrectly associated simply with Sufism. Naderpour makes clear that Erfan was a product of Iranian thinkers and that it was a philosophical ideology, not a religion or a branch of Islam. The second “movement,” according to Naderpour, was the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, when Iranian thinkers tried to separate church and state, that is, to end Islamic rule over Iran.

GANJI

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Case Sheet: Akbar Ganji - Iran
Akbar Ganji is an investigative journalist who was arrested on April 21, 2000, upon his return to Iran after attending an academic and cultural conference on Iran in Berlin. He was charged with “insulting religious edicts and figures, threatening national security and dissemination of propaganda against the Islamic system.” He was brought to the Revolutionary Court on November 9, where he told the judge he had been hung upside down in his cell while being kicked in the head and stomach by four prison guards. He started a hunger strike to protest his treatment, including 80 days in solitary confinement and no access to his family or lawyer. Ganji was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment and five years’ internal exile.
Ganji is most famous for his articles on a series of murders of Iranian writers, which went as far as to implicate former president Rafsanjani and other high-ranking officials. Of his ten-year prison sentence, six years were for “spreading propaganda against the Islamic regime” for these articles. On May 15, 2001, the appellate court reduced his sentence to six months; however, this was immediately appealed to the Supreme Court, which overruled the appellate court’s decision and referred the case to a different appeals court. On July 16, 2001, Ganji was sentenced to six years in jail on charges of collecting confidential information that harms national security and spreading propaganda against the Islamic system. This ruling was reportedly “definitive,” meaning that it cannot be appealed.
On October 15, 2003, Ganji was reported to have appeared before an examining magistrate to answer questions about his book, Prison-like Archipelago. There are said to be several cases pending against Ganji for articles he has written, including charges of “propaganda against the regime” and publishing lies, insult and libel. In September 2004, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi decided to take up Ganji’s case and joined with two other lawyers in defending the journalist.
Ganji is serving his sentence in Evin prison in Tehran. He reportedly suffers from chronic asthma. He is said to have had only 48 days of leave from jail in 53 months of imprisonment.
PEN Canada believes the detention of Akbar Ganji is in violation of his right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. PEN Canada calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Akbar Ganji and for all charges against him to be dropped. In the meantime, we call on the Iranian authorities to treat him humanely.
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