07-26-2008, 10:39 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->(7) "Iran's mullahs have not escaped the Cyrus cult. In mid-June, the British Museum in London announced that it planned to lend the valuable original cylinder to Tehran. It has become an object of Persian national pride."
This particular statement is both simplistic if not outright false. It is highly indicative that Mr. Schulz has either distorted information or is simply unaware of the very complex "facts on the ground" in Iran today. First, many (but certainly not all) "Mullahs" are against the legacy of Cyrus the Great and have attempted to write out the history of pre-Islamic Iran (including Cyrus the Great) from the educational curricula of Iran since 1979. The main focus of these particular Mullahs is the pan-Islamic discourse which is in fact against the heritage of ancient (pre-Islamic) Iran as well as India.
This select group of Mullahs, are inspired by tenets of the original Muslim Brotherhood (the Ikhwan al-Muslemeen). While a thorough scientific analysis is impractical here, we can trace some of this thinking to those in Iran today who are imbued with the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. The quotes below by Dreyfus and LeMarc are revealing:
The son of Shah Wallullah, Shah Abdel-Aziz, [one of great grandfathers of Muslim Fundamentalism] gathered around him a network of disciples ... who visited India in 1809. Radiating from Indian centers where the British Colonial Office ruled ... Islamic "purity" ... considered all outside influences as suspect and evil-demanded that <b>all Muslims safeguard themselves from the penetration of Persian traditions and Indian habits</b> (Dreyfuss & LeMarc, 1980, p.119)
Mr. Schulzâs error of superimposing ancient Iran on the current Mullahs is a common error amongst western analysts and writers at present. This is mainly the result of the tendency by these writers to view Iran in simplistic terms.
The history of ancient pre-Islamic Iran is viewed with considerable disfavor by the followers of the pan-Islamists, including those inside Iran. The pan-Islamic ideologues have been vigorously funding, supporting and perpetuating the publications of Nasser Pourpirar, a man who believes that the entire history of ancient Iran, including Cyrus the Great to be a "hoax" that has been "... invented by Zionists, Americans at the University of Chicago".
Dr Kaveh Farrokh
http://www.cais-soas.com/News/2008/July2008/25-07.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This particular statement is both simplistic if not outright false. It is highly indicative that Mr. Schulz has either distorted information or is simply unaware of the very complex "facts on the ground" in Iran today. First, many (but certainly not all) "Mullahs" are against the legacy of Cyrus the Great and have attempted to write out the history of pre-Islamic Iran (including Cyrus the Great) from the educational curricula of Iran since 1979. The main focus of these particular Mullahs is the pan-Islamic discourse which is in fact against the heritage of ancient (pre-Islamic) Iran as well as India.
This select group of Mullahs, are inspired by tenets of the original Muslim Brotherhood (the Ikhwan al-Muslemeen). While a thorough scientific analysis is impractical here, we can trace some of this thinking to those in Iran today who are imbued with the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. The quotes below by Dreyfus and LeMarc are revealing:
The son of Shah Wallullah, Shah Abdel-Aziz, [one of great grandfathers of Muslim Fundamentalism] gathered around him a network of disciples ... who visited India in 1809. Radiating from Indian centers where the British Colonial Office ruled ... Islamic "purity" ... considered all outside influences as suspect and evil-demanded that <b>all Muslims safeguard themselves from the penetration of Persian traditions and Indian habits</b> (Dreyfuss & LeMarc, 1980, p.119)
Mr. Schulzâs error of superimposing ancient Iran on the current Mullahs is a common error amongst western analysts and writers at present. This is mainly the result of the tendency by these writers to view Iran in simplistic terms.
The history of ancient pre-Islamic Iran is viewed with considerable disfavor by the followers of the pan-Islamists, including those inside Iran. The pan-Islamic ideologues have been vigorously funding, supporting and perpetuating the publications of Nasser Pourpirar, a man who believes that the entire history of ancient Iran, including Cyrus the Great to be a "hoax" that has been "... invented by Zionists, Americans at the University of Chicago".
Dr Kaveh Farrokh
http://www.cais-soas.com/News/2008/July2008/25-07.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->