Windows on Iran 52

A painting by world-famous Iranian painter Iman Maleki, depicting a group of Iranian men relaxing and enjoying some traditional Persian music being played on the setar, tar, oud, and ney. Please see the link at the end of this 'Window' for more of his works.

Dear All,

Greetings. I hope you are continuing to enjoy the summer. My summer has turned out to be as lively as the academic year usually is. Let me briefly report.

* Last week I got together with my undergraduate classmates in a Shiraz University reunion held in San Diego! San Diego and Shiraz are both beautiful cities, in different ways. We had a panel organized on Rumi’s poetry. Besides that, I read poetry to music.

* Another exciting piece of news is that I have accepted to be the honorary Co-Chair of a vibrant emerging organization called “Iranians For Peace” (IFP). Our Board consist of five very able and dedicated women of Iranian heritage (more to be added). The main goal of this non-partisan group is to prevent war through promoting peaceful cultural education on Iran. On some level, this is what I have been engaged in for a sometime. These windows are an example of that. I hope you get a chance to visit our website, stay abreast of the activities, and provide us with your support: http://www.iraniansforpeace.net.

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* On the subject of my summer activities, let me give the links to two articles which I have recently published. On July 16, I had an editorial in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, the link is: “A 21st-century warning from a 13th-century poet.”

* And on August 2nd, I had a piece published in the online newsletter Counterpunch: http://www.counterpunch.org/keshavarz08022008.html.  I hope you find them useful!

Who Are Iranian Americans?

* Enough of my activities. Many Americans are working hard to bring about an understanding of the diversity of Iranians in Iran and in the US. Watch this fascinating clip which was sent to me by my friend, and a board member of the IFP, Leila Zand: http://www.searchles.com/channels/show/4563 (or view below!).
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Arsalan Kazemi (above) is the first Iranian to receive a NCAA basketball scholarship (image courtesy of http://www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com)

What do Do Iran and America Exchange?

* Sometimes it appears that Iran and the U.S. only trade harsh political attacks. The truth is more interesting exchanges take place as well, but somehow do not qualify as news. Once I reported in these windows that the American women softball team was in Iran for a match with their Iranian counterparts. A lot of you were surprised. Well, here is another fun headline which does not make it to your evening news: An Isfahani young man, Arsalan Kazemi, the first Iranian to get an NCAA scholarship to play basketball in the US. Take a look at him in action. Thanks to my friend Omid Safi who has shared this interesting piece of news: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/luke_winn/07/15/kazemi/index.html

* Before I put the finishing touches to this window, I recieved a great clip from another friend Ladan Foroughi-Hedayati related to the subject of Iranian basketball. It is an MSNBC report on the recent visit of the Iranian Basketball team to the U.S. The report is great in showing a side of Iran that we rarely see in our media here. However, sadly, the report follows the general tradition of connecting all Iran related news to the American hostages. We even listen to President Bush declaring Iran to be a member of the axis of evil before we see a few minutes of the game. The formula prevents one from seeing the humanity or normality of Iran because we are first told about all the possible differences, disagreements, and political conflicts. Still, I hope you enjoy the basketball part: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25796284#25796284.

Current Issues

* Speaking of political conflict, despite the apparent calm, the predictions concerning the Iran/US relations are not hopeful. What you hear in the mainstream media is that Iran is about to turn down the EU package of incentives and there should be more UN sanctions. However, the view from the other side is different. Take a look at this article discussing the views of Francis Boyle, the influential intentional lawyer, to get a different perspective on the situation: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/29/10672/.

* There is an interesting clip, that my friend Bahar Bastani sent this week. It highlights a part of the famous interview that Mr. Mike Wallace conducted with President Ahmadinejad which has not been included in the official broadcast of the interview. Since Mr. Ahmadinejad ‘s words are often used as justification for sanctions or possible attacks on Iran, it is important to know exactly what he has said regardless of our personal interpretations of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onNzrNEFs1E (or view it below!).

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* And there is yet more grim news from Mr. Seymour Hersh. This is his latest reference to a strong tendency among certain members of the current U.S. administration to create a clash that would lead to a war with Iran. Matt Miller has kindly shared this piece with me. Thanks Matt! http://www.truthout.org/article/hersh-cheney-plan-creating-false-flag-attack
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A painting by Iman Maleki of two young Iranian women reading on the roof of a city building. Please see the link to the left for much more of his art work.

The Amazing Paintings of Iman Maleki

* If you are familiar with Persian culture, or have been following these windows regularly, you know that painting is among the most popular art forms in Iran. I have usually been sending you paintings of Iranian women, in part because it counters the myth that they are subjugated, inactive, or unable to express their creative talents. In this window, however, I want to introduce the works of young man, an amazing master painter whose works have been getting him international fame in the recent years, Iman Maleki (1976-). Maleki has experimented with a variety of styles but he is mostly a realist whose works have a strong cultural flavor. Click here to see a slide show of some of his tremendous work: Iman Maleki Paintings. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoy this window.

Until the next one,
I Wish you all the Best,
Fatemeh
===================================
Fatemeh Keshavarz, Professor and Chair
Dept. of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures
Washington University in St. Louis
Honorary Co-Chair, Iranians For Peace
Tel: (314) 935-5156
Fax: (314) 935-4399
==================================

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Windows on Iran 25

A beautiful painting by the young Iranian artist Krista Nassi (see the link at the end of this post for more of her work).

Dear Friends,

I hope you are all enjoying the arrival of spring. These are happy and festive times for Iranian Americans. Some visit the country. Others just send gifts and make phone calls. I wish I could send you many more visual represenations of Nowruz. I hear, however, that some modems (particularly with home computers) have had a hard time importing the visual data that I send with each slide show. I’ll try
to keep them shorter and not go beyond 20 or 25 slides.

Visual Delight

* Last week Iranian Americans took their colorful Nowruz to the streets of New York. The parade has now become an annual event. Color has always been important to Nowruz celeberation. This year, to counter the dark images of Iran put forth by the popular media — and the movie 300 — the decorations were made even more cheerful and imbued with color. To watch scenes from the parade click here: Nowrouz Parade in New York City.

Nowrouz Parade in New York City (click on the link above to see more photos from the event).

* Speaking of the movie 300, which Iranians find a direct assult on
their culture, I have a review (thanks to Dr. Bahar Bastani) by a
rather unusual reviewer: Dr. Kaveh Farrokh, a student of ancient
Greece and a child born to Iranian parents in Greece.  Dr. Farrokh’s
review is extensive and contains many interesting observations such
as:  “In the course of their historical intercourse, Greece and Persia
have created breathtaking works in domains such as the arts,
architecture, sciences, music and of course, democracy and human
rights. It is interesting that many modern Greeks acknowledge and
appreciate ancient Iran as a civilization as worthy as their own, yet
the same is not necessarily true in northwest Europe and North
America. ”  Here is the link to the full reiew if you like to read it:
http://www.ghandchi.com/iranscope/Anthology/KavehFarrokh/300/index.htm.

Current Issues

Two British soldiers being interviewed on Iranian television.

* There is a whole lot of action going on outside the silver screen as well. The latest: 14 British Service men and one woman arrested by Iranian border patrols about a week ago (picture on right). An important piece of information either not mentioned or not emphasized in the U.S. media is that the British quote the global position of their helicopter which appears to have been not in Iranian air space while Iranian authorities quote the global position of the boat which according to them has been in Iranian waters. Whatever the initial positions, it now seems that both sides would like to put the crisis behind them. Initially, Iran had suggested that it would put the British soldiers on trial. The most recent headlines in Iran quote Ali Larijani, the cheif Iranian negotiator, suggesting that there is no need for a trial. Another important development is the arrival in Tehran of a British negotiator to end the crisis.

* While this crisis has been given a most serious dimension – comparing the British soldiers to American hostages – the British daily Guardian has published a piece that blasts the bashing of Iranians who according to the writer don’t look bad compared to the West’s own Guantanamo and Abu Ghuraib records. The piece written by the film director and Monty Paython member Terry Jones was sent to me by my dear friend Richard King, himself British. The article is a plea for the media to maintain independence and refrain from demonizing the enemy. It is refreshing that while the Britons are in custody in Iran, a British paper and its readership are able to rise above the crisis and publish such a humorous and critical piece: http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,2047108,00.html . Finally, it is months now that the five Iranian diplomats arrested in Iraq are in American custody.

Final Visual Delight

Iranian Painting Krista Nassi

Having promised not to cause indigestion to modems in home computers, I can’t now add a whole new painting show, can I? All right, I compromise. Here is a really short slide show of the paintings of  the young artist Krista Nassi, born in 1970. The main theme of this show is scenes from under the sea. Click here: Krista Nassi Paintings.

Have a great week.

Fatemeh
===================================
Fatemeh Keshavarz, Professor and Chair
Dept. of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures
Washington University in St. Louis
Tel: (314) 935-5156
Fax: (314) 935-4399
==================================

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