<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Iranians returning to pre-Islamic traditions
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March 20, 2006
Ayatollahs Aside, Iranians Jump for Joy at Spring
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
ISFAHAN, Iran, March 19 â All day and all night, the main street of this city was packed over the weekend with shoppers jockeying to buy last-minute gifts and sweets as they hurried to get ready for the celebration of the Iranian New Year, called Nowruz. Behind his cluttered desk inside an antique shop, Sayed Ali Zargabashi watched with great satisfaction as the crowds spilled off the sidewalks.
<b>"People are not listening to the regime," said Mr. Zargabashi, 63. "They are emphasizing and embracing the traditional celebrations. People want the best they can get. Their eyes are open now."</b>
After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the ruling mullahs sought to stamp out many traditions, like Nowruz, a celebration with some Zoroastrian links that stretches back thousands of years to the pre-Islamic era, to mark the arrival of spring. The celebration is considered by many here the most Iranian of holidays.
<b>The mullahs tried, and failed.</b>
Now, nearly three decades later, some people say the increasingly enthusiastic embrace of Nowruz and other ancient traditions represents a resistance against the country's more conservative religious rulers. A few days before Nowruz, for example, Iranians poured out of their homes to celebrate Chahar Shanbeh Suri, igniting fireworks and jumping over small fires set in the streets, a traditional practice intended to bring good health in the new year. Several years ago, the government decided it could not stop the practice, and set up special parks where the fires could be set.
This year's celebration â a time for family gatherings â has proved especially vexing for the religious leadership as it occurs on Monday, the same day the faithful are expected to mourn the death of Imam Hussein, a figure whose defeat in battle centuries ago became a defining moment in Shiism, the dominant Islamic sect in Iran. Some clerics said in interviews that it is acceptable to observe the new year, but because the celebration is occurring on the 40th day after the anniversary of Imam Hussein's death, people should not show joy â which in itself prompted giggles from some as they hurried to get ready.
<b>"I think these days, there is a silent resistance in Iran, especially among the middle class," said Hamidreza Jalaipour, a sociologist. "They are resisting not politically, but socially and culturally."</b>
Like most conflicts in a society as complex and layered as this one, the contemporary story of Nowruz is not one-sided or exclusively about resistance. It is also about accommodation. While Iran's religious leaders have followed a policy of confrontation with the West over their nation's nuclear program, they have, however grudgingly, ceded to the public's insistence on retaining, even bolstering, traditions not founded in Shiism.
While it was the reformist government of former President Muhammad Khatami that decided to establish parks to hold the fire-jumping festivities, for example, the practice was continued this year after the election of the ideologically conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
That Iran's religious leaders have accepted Nowruz, and other prerevolution traditions like Chahar Shanbeh Suri, also demonstrates a growing degree of stability, as the country's leadership has tried to reconcile the bookends of Iranian national identity â faith and culture, experts here said.
At last week's Friday Prayer service, held in the sprawling open-air arena at Tehran University and broadcast nationwide, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, among Iran's chief enforcers of strict Islamic doctrine as head of the Guardian Council, did not mention Chahar Shanbeh Suri. He also did not mention Nowruz, though he acknowledged that recreation was good, as long as people continued to observe the laws of the Islamic republic.
"In this new year," Ayatollah Jannati said from a podium high above the crowd, "God's kindness and affection should be on you. We should always observe piety and all laws decided by God. You can neither commit sin in happiness or sadness."
There still exists a battlefield between those on the extremes of the debate, the ultrareligious who would like to erase elements of Iranian identity not explicitly Islamic, and others, including many in the expatriate community, who try to undermine the credibility of the Islamic government by appealing to Iranian nationalism through such traditions as Char Shanbeh Suri.
"What is interesting is that it is not clear why the opposition is trying to benefit from setting fire to little thorn bushes and firecrackers, which has mistakenly turned into a tradition, and interpret it as opposition to the Islamic republic," Hussein Shariatmadari, editor in chief of the conservative daily newspaper Kayhan, wrote on Thursday.
The exact beginning of Nowruz â the name means "New Day" â is unclear, although its origin has been traced back thousands of years. In Iran, it is closely associated with the Zoroastrian faith, a monotheistic religion in which worshipers perform prayers and rituals in the presence of fire â a symbol of order, truth and righteousness. Zoroastrians are said to have made the Nowruz tradition formal.
Tooran Shahriari, a senior member of the Zoroastrian community in Tehran, said that the ancient calendar was divided in 12 months of 30 days each. At the end of the year, she said, the five days left over became "special days" and the basis for the celebration.
In practical terms, the holiday signifies the end of winter and the start of the new growing season, and resembles a blend of New Year's Eve and Thanksgiving. In advance of the holiday, Iranians conduct an intense spring cleaning.
The holiday begins at the exact moment of spring, and so on Monday Iranian families will gather in their homes at about 10 p.m. around tables set with seven symbolic dishes, each beginning with the letter S in Persian, including items like vinegar, dried fruit, garlic and sprouting seeds, which represent renewal. The holiday ends on the 13th day with an event called Sizdah Bedar, when everyone is supposed to go out into nature, hold picnics and enjoy the early spring.
In Isfahan, there was a rush to get ready for the holiday. One tradition is to buy new clothing, and tailors were busy trying to meet holiday orders. In one shop, a tailor named Akbar said that nearly half his annual business was conducted in the month before the holiday. He said he was certain Nowruz was so popular because people were rebelling against the government and its strict social codes of behavior.
"They really tried to take away Nowruz from people," Akbar said as he fitted a customer with a new suit.<b> "People are turning away from religion altogether. They are not listening to what the government is saying." </b>He is not being completely identified to protect him from possible reprisal over his comments about religion, which is often considered a red line in this country.
Not everyone shared the tailor's view. Instead, some people who identified themselves as religious said they saw no conflict with Iran's culture.
<b>"Iranians have both tradition and religion, and they both get respected in return," said Jaafar Hemmassian, 40, a baker in the center of the city as he sold piles of cream puffs and cases of confections. "All of the traditions of Nowruz are accepted by Islam."</b>
A few days earlier, as people gathered in a small park in Tehran to set fires and celebrate Chahar Shanbeh Suri, held on the last Wednesday of the year, many people said they were pleased that the government had finally relented â and even helped to organize the occasion.
<b>"This is an important night for us, especially because this regime has finally realized that it should respect peoples' demand and let them celebrate it," said Manijeh Emadi, 54, a high-school teacher. "They wanted to take away Nowruz and its traditions for 27 years. Finally they learned that this tradition has survived for hundreds of years, and it will survive them as well."</b>
<i>Nazila Fathi contributed reporting from Tehran for this article.</i> <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>TIME BOMB</b> - Pioneer.com
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->As such, the Security Council's message to Tehran is a landmark in the global system's attempt to structure an adequate response to this principal challenge of the post-9/11 world. The mix of rogue regimes and WMD is explosive. The impetuous attempt to cut the Gordian knot in Iraq in 2003 should not come in the way of recognising that concern. By working with the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency, by seeking accord in action with France and Russia, even China, the United States has indicated it has learnt its lessons in multilateralism. The Bush administration has come a long way from the acrid build-up to war three years ago. Iran's nukes are a planetary problem, not a partisan pinprick.
For the Manmohan Singh Government, the Security Council's unambiguous signal to Iran should be reassuring. It protects India's broader interest, validates its vote at the IAEA and yet - since this country is not currently a member of the Security Council and has not played a direct role in the admonition of Iran - does not run the danger of becoming an issue in the upcoming State election. Busy as the Government is with addressing possible roadblocks - in Washington, across the American political landscape and, beyond that, in the Nuclear Suppliers' Group - to the India-US nuclear deal, the last thing New Delhi needs is Communist-Muslim public meetings denouncing an alleged "betrayal" of Iran.
Indeed, for the CPI(M) and the CPI the Security Council's decision should have a salutary effect. Mr Prakash Karat's pursuit of an "independent" foreign policy - which in effect means letting Teheran build a nuclear arsenal - has been rejected by the highest UN body. <b>What will the Left do now? Threaten to expose the class character of the Security Council? </b>Â <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> India's Marxists have been offered an escape route. They must seize it, as should Iran's mullahs.
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Read some where that the Powerful Jewish lobby in USA has warned India that it will campaign against the nuke agreement on India's cooperation with Iran.......
..............couldn't find any link!!</b>
What GOI is doing ?? Jewish lobby is quite powerful and has history of blocking anti Israel deals!!
I hope Iran is bombed. They should never be allowed to build nuclear weapons. One crazy muslim country with nukes is already too much. India needs to keep it's mouth shut and not get involved, it's in India's interest to see that muslim countries don't get nukes anyway.
Jewish groups also need to be careful not too damage long term relations with India or Hindus, they don't have too many friends in the world as it is.
<!--QuoteBegin-Aryawan+Apr 3 2006, 04:20 PM-->QUOTE(Aryawan @ Apr 3 2006, 04:20 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>
Read some where that the Powerful Jewish lobby in USA has warned India that it will campaign against the nuke agreement on India's cooperation with Iran.......
..............couldn't find any link!!</b>
What GOI is doing ?? Jewish lobby is quite powerful and has history of blocking anti Israel deals!!
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->I hope Iran is bombed.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You mean their nuclear sites.
India is working according to new "World Order". One will see complete alignment later.
Right, their nuclear sites. India get's a freebie, with someone else taking care of the Nuclear problem.
Islamic countries should not have nuclear weapons. When those mad animals come storming out of a mosque on Friday after a sermon by a crazed mullah, they are like loose cannons.
<!--QuoteBegin-Mudy+Apr 4 2006, 08:44 AM-->QUOTE(Mudy @ Apr 4 2006, 08:44 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->I hope Iran is bombed.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You mean their nuclear sites.
India is working according to new "World Order". One will see complete alignment later.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->hinduunityThis Defiance by the Iranians is not the core issue.
The core issues are:
Why is Pakistan not being punished for the Nuclear proliferation? to Iran and to North Korea?
Iran has said that their nuclear program is modeled after the
Pakistani nuclear program. In other words Pakistan gave them all the technology.
Why is China still a most favored trade partner of the west?
With European Union planning to sell more weapons to
the Chinese. To be used against whom?
China proliferated to Pakistan and North Korea.
Pakistan proliferated to Iran.
Iran will proliferate to the the whole islamic world.
Recently China gave Iran a missile whivh can Nuke Europe.
China is proving to be the new superpower. A poor China
has already Defeated USA in 2 wars. Korea and Vietnam. A
rich China is untochable. China and Russia will make sure Iran is OK. Israel feels Iran is a security threat and UN should act,
other than rhetoric. Iran is almost unstoppable with Chinese \
and Russian support. ALL the Western worlds oil flows out
of the Persian gulf and now the Chinese will have a port in
Pakistan gwadwar?? which can also be a threat to the oil flow.
Where does India stand in all this? With the new Nuke deal US is proposing, may prove to be a hinderance to our own national security if the try and want to cap our military program. India needs to mass produce Nukes. If Israel is concerned about 1 distant neighbor being nuclear, then we should be very concerned with 3 immediate neighbor being nuclear on or near our borders with weapons aimed at us.
In summary this Iran scenerio is a test of Western power by
Russia and China, change always comes painfully and for the West this change is very painful especially knowing the fact they made a COMMUNIST country China one of the richest countries in the world only to be humbled and tested and defeated? by them.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
TEHERAN, Iran - Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Tuesday for a purge of liberal and secular teachers from the country's universities, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported in another step back to 1980s-style radicalism.
"Today, students should shout at the president and ask why liberal and secular university lecturers are present in the universities," the agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying during a meeting with a group of students.
Ahmadinejad complained that changes in the country's universities were difficult to accomplish and that the country's educational system had been affected by secularism for the last 150 years, but said"such a change has begun."
Earlier this year, Iran retired dozens of liberal university professors and teachers. And last November, Ahmadinejad's administration for the first time named a cleric to head the country's oldest university in Tehran amid protests by students over the appointment.
The developments followed a campaign promise by Ahmadinejad for a more Islamic-oriented country. He took office last August.
Since then, Ahmadinejad also has been replacing pragmatic veterans in the government with former military commanders and inexperienced religious hard-liners.
<b>Ahmadinejad's aim appears to be to install a new generation of rulers who will revive the fundamentalist goals pursued in the 1980s under the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, father of the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran</b>.
In the early 1980s, shortly after the revolution, Iran sacked hundreds of liberal and leftist university teachers and students .
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>Iran nixes candidacy of Ayatollah Khomeini's grandson</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->"It is a sign that the government, supported by lavish oil revenue, does not need anybody, except an obedient parliament," Laylaz said. "They not only barred Khomeini's close allies but also his grandson."
<b>Eshraghi, 39, said the hardline constitutional watchdog Guardian Council had even asked his neighbors whether he fasted and prayed.</b>
"I do not agree with activities of barring candidates, but neither do I protest it and I will not plead with them to change their decision," Eshraghi told The Associated Press.
<b>"They sent a message asking me to write a single sentence appealing the decision. I said if you think you are wrong, change your decision by yourselves."</b>
Khomeini's family has stayed out of politics since his death, and his grandson said he would not publicly protest in order to protect his family's name.
Eshraghi, who works for the Tehran municipality, describes himself as an independent.<b> He said the family felt his banning was an insult.</b>
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Next revolution is coming.
NEW RHETORIC from CBS telling and blinding the SHEEPLE for the reason why the USA is planning an EMINENT ATTACK ON IRAN why?? You didn't hear this story.. IRAN-PAKISTAN-INDA GAS PIPELINE IS ON as ASIAN Countries create interdependent energy economy with IRAN, DESPITE USA OPPOSITION
The US military is drawing up plans for a "surgical strike" against an insurgent training camp inside Iran if Republican Guards continue with attempts to destabilise Iraq, western intelligence sources said last week. One source said the Americans were growing increasingly angry at the involvement of the Guards' special-operations Quds force inside Iraq, training Shi'ite militias and smuggling weapons into the country.
Despite a belligerent stance by Vice-President Dick Cheney, the administration has put plans for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities on the back burner since Robert Gates replaced Donald Rumsfeld as defence secretary in 2006, the sources said.
However, US commanders are increasingly concerned by Iranian interference in Iraq and are determined that recent successes by joint Iraqi and US forces in the southern port city of Basra should not be reversed by the Quds Force.
"If the situation in Basra goes back to what it was like before, America is likely to blame Iran and carry out a surgical strike on a militant training camp across the border in Khuzestan," said one source, referring to a frontier province.
They acknowledged Iran was unlikely to cease involvement in Iraq and that, however limited a US attack might be, the fighting could escalate.
Although American defence chiefs are firmly opposed to any attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, they believe a raid on one of the camps training Shi'ite militiamen would deliver a powerful message to Tehran.
British officials believe the US military tends to overestimate the effect of the Iranian involvement in Iraq.
But they say there is little doubt that the Revolutionary Guard exercises significant influence over splinter groups of the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, who were the main targets of recent operations in Basra.
The CBS television network reported last week that plans were being drawn up for an attack on Iran, citing an officer who blamed the "increasingly hostile role" Iran was playing in Iraq.
The American news reports were unclear about the precise target of such an action and referred to Iran's nuclear facilities as the likely objective.
According to the intelligence sources there will not be an attack on Iran's nuclear capacity. "The Pentagon is not keen on that at all. If an attack happens it will be on a training camp to send a clear message to Iran not to interfere."
President George W Bush is known to be determined that he should not hand over what he sees as "the Iran problem" to his successor. A limited attack on a training camp may give an impression of tough action, while at the same time being something that both Gates and the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, could accept.
DUBAI: Indiaâs Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has discovered a new oil field in Iran, the website of Iran State television said.
âIndiaâs ONGC has discovered a new oil field in the Farsi oil block of the Persian Gulf,â Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh, the managing director of Iranâs State offshore oil company was quoted as saying.
âThe Indian company will undertake the development of the newly discovered field upon determining that its development is economically feasible,â he observed. Based on the ONGCâs technical studies, the capacity of the new oil field would also be announced, the official said.
Mr. Zirakchianzadeh pointed out that the new field could be developed concurrently with the Farzad B gas field, which is also located in the Farsi block. This gas field has estimated reserves of 12 trillion cubic feet.
The ONGC and the Indian Oil Corporation each have a 40 per cent participating interest in the Farsi block, while the Oil India Ltd. has a 20 per cent stake. The ONGCâs overseas arm, the ONGC-Videsh Ltd. (OVL) is involved in executing projects abroad. The ONGC had earlier announced plans to invest $3 billion with its partners to develop gas fields in the Farsi block. The consortium has reportedly already invested $ 90 million in the block.
<b>
Prepare for possible strike on Iran, Bush tells Israel</b>
London (PTI): US President George W Bush has given Israel a go-ahead to begin preparations for a military attack on Iran, in case talks over the country's controversial nuclear programme fail to yield results, a media report has said.
The Bush administration is said to have informed Jerusalemthat he would back an Israeli plan to strike Iran's main nuclear sites with long-range aerial weapons if diplomatic talks over Tehran's nuclear programme broke down, the Sunday Times said quoting a Pentagon official.
The American President has given Israel an "amber light" to start preparing for a possible offensive, the official told the Sunday Times.
"Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by for immediate attack and tell us when you're ready," the official as quoted as saying toThe Times.
The US President'svoice of support comes despitehis military officials' opposition to an attack on Iran, given the risks of an aerial strike.
However, theUS would not deploy American forces for such a strike nor would Israel be able to depend onits military bases in Iraq for logistical support, the official said.
Washington would also not give a "green light" to the attack without unquestionable proof thatthe Islamic Republic is involved in military preparations of its own, the report said.
Iran last week test launched a series of medium-range ballistic missiles it claimed were capable of striking Israel.
The tests prompted a threatening message from Israel defence minister Ehud Barak, who said that the Jewish state will not hesitate from taking military action against Tehran.
<!--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".
<b>Iranâs Khamenei Rejects Ahmadinejad Move to Merge State Bodies </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->May 4 (Bloomberg) -- Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei overturned a decision by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to merge two state organizations, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Khamenei, the highest power in the Islamic republic, objected to a plan that would combine Iranâs Hajj and pilgrimage organization with the entity responsible for cultural heritage and tourism, IRNA said.
<b>âThe president is alerted that the annexation of this organization with the tourism committee is not suitable,â Khamenei said in a statement addressed yesterday to his representative for Hajj affairs, Mohammad Mohammadi Reyshahri</b>.
The leaderâs statement, which comes in advance of June 12 presidential elections, is a public setback for Ahmadinejad, who is facing a struggle in the ballot, said Farideh Farhi, who studies Iran at the University of Hawaii.
<b>Khamenei âis keeping above the frayâ and isnât explicitly endorsing Ahmadinejad in the vote</b>, she said by phone from Honolulu.
Khamenei asked for the âprevious course of actionâ to continue, IRNA reported.
In other news today, Ahmadinejad canceled a trip to Latin America which was scheduled for later this week, the presidential office said, without giving an explanation for the change of plan.
<b>Ahmadinejadâs proposed visit to Venezuela, Ecuador and Brazil has been postponed for now</b>, according to a report on the presidentâs official Web site.
<b>Iran sends warships to Gulf of Aden - navy</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has sent six warships to international waters, including the Gulf of Aden, to show its ability to confront any foreign threats, its naval commander said on Monday.
Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, quoted by the ISNA news agency, made the announcement five days after Iran said it test-fired a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 2,000 km (1,200 miles), putting Israel and U.S. bases in the area within reach.
Iran said on May 14 it had sent two warships to the Gulf of Aden to protect oil tankers from the world's fifth-largest crude exporter against attacks by pirates but ISNA did not make clear whether they were among the six Sayyari talked about
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--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> India's Marxists have been offered an escape route. They must seize it, as should Iran's mullahs.
