Great Men Of The ME
Once upon time, Mostafa Chamran -Iranian scientist, holding Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Physics- was hired as the senior research staff scientist at Bell Laboratories and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
As the restless soul he was, he couldn’t stand a carefree life in the US and later became a leading of the Islamic revolutionary movements in the Middle East, organizing and training guerrillas and revolutionary forces in Algeria, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon.
After Islamic Revolution, he came back to Iran and was mysteriously killed in action, battling Iran-Iraq war on 1981.
Musa Sadr the Iranian-born Lebanese philosopher and prominent religious figure, was Chamran’s buddy in Lebanon. Chamran helped Musa Sadr and they together found the Amal Movement in southern Lebanon and fought alongside Amal guerrillas in the late 1970s.
Ṣadr was well known as a moderate, demanding that the Maronite Christians relinquish some of their power in favour of the Lebanese muslim community, but pursuing ecumenism and peaceful relations between the groups.
In August 1978, before Islamic Revolution in Iran, Musa Sadr and two other companions disappeared in an official trip to Libya.
They were never heard of again, though there’ve been hearsayes and unconvinsing reports suggesting he’s alive.
However, Chamran and Musa Sadr are not the only ones. Each time there’re similar examples in different countries of the Middle East. From Palestine to Lebanon, Iraq to Saudi Arabia, Egypt to Afghanistan, women or men, poets, writiers, politicians, artists and so on.
Whether directly by CIA, Mossad and whatever western secret service or indirectly via their puppets, everytime someone intelligent is working, writing or fighting for justice to heal the difficult life of people in the region, though moderate, something mysteriously happens. They’re ‘mysteriously’ assassinated, killed or kidnapped.
That’s where story of great men of the ME end up. Or maybe There’s not going to be an end for the story. Maybe “Great men never die” and “The End” is just to start from the beginning.
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One of the greatest philosophers I read, was, is actually the brilliant Ali Shariati. He’s such an open minded philosopher that formed a turning point in my way of thinking. We are blind if reading to the West philosopher without turning back to look at our societies and people…. He (professor Ali Shariati) was also assassinated in France in the early 70s.
My display picture is of the great Palestinian story teller, novel lest and writer who published more that 10 books and assassinated by the Mussad in Beirut while still so young of 36 years, on July 8th 1972…. the series is endless but our people is generative no word is said in vain.
They, the zionists and the West, dont want free-thinker at all, they only want yes-men and puppets who have nothing but hollow minds and big mouths to spread the Western poison !!!
Sami, the bedouin.
Shariati, his work and his so-called “philosophy” can be considered the biggest trick ever played on humankind specifically “philosophy of Islam.”
If you were to listen to all his lectures and read all his books, you couldn’t figure out heads or tails of any philosophy he supposedly advocates. If you look at it from a political system perspective, you can’t figure out who the leader is supposed to be, what the people should struggle for in their civil society, if they should struggle at all, when they should make peace or war…. At one point he says that the ummah/ummat must fight to better the society and bring the right situation for the coming of the 12th imam, two lectures later, he is advocating that it is none of our business as simple believers to assist in bringing about any society and that God knows when it is ready for imam Mehdi to arrive …. His civil society ideas are severely flawed. At times he claims to model after Weber but he misses extremely important factors in Weberian theories…
If you look at his work from a religious perspective you can’t figure out how he would fault the “velayat-eh faghih” if he were alive, nor could you figure what alternative he proposes for religious guidance …
His is a huge amalgamation of strong rhetoric and words that coerce young minds to jump and rebel. It is nothing more, nor anything less than that. To his credit, the man was a charismatic speaker and deceivingly hollow. He was neither a sociologist, nor a political scientist. Shari’ati was a crucial showman in the 79 Islamic Revolution. His words appealed to the nouveau-intellectual revolutionaries. His rhetoric was perfectly timed to either send people to the streets against the Shah, or calm them down strategically. To top the cake, he added his icing of supposed academic jargon.
Mostafa Chamran is my grandfather, and I am trying to learn more about him. Because he died in 1981, I never met him, and my mother (his daughter) never really talked about him, and my grandmother (his wife at the time) died in January, so I cannot ask her questions pertaining to his political work.
From your point of view, was he a good man? Is he respected now, liked? What do people in Iran think of him now? I am confused by this, although it seems more and more simple…yet I feel there is something about him I am not catching on to, and I do not know why. He is a part of me, and I do not know how to process his history.
Sorry, very confusing. I hope anyone can help.
Thank you for your time.
S.G;
my dad was a close friend of Shaheed Chamran’s, and is still in touch with their old friends, including his brothers. He has told me some great stories about him. He was surely an exceptional man. I am sure Sahrzad can give you lots of information about him, but let me know if you needed my help too.
S.G., Hi and welcome here.. i shared you comment with Iranian community in Friendfeed.com and many of Iranian members there want to help you to know more about your grandfather.
You can be in touch with many of his supporters there from different groups and it means Mustafa Chamran has his especial place in the hearts of most Iranians.
For further information, you can directly contact me on my email page.
You can also contact Ali Sanei the previous commentator.
Best Regards and cant wait to hear from you more…
and i think can help you
aboozar [at] gmail [dot] com
Dear Shahrzad;
I had an important question and that is whether Dr Chamran’s american wife had HIJAB or not? This is really important to me and i’ll be thankful if I can know the answer.
Dear Shahrzad;
I had an important question and that is whether Dr Chamran’s american wife had HIJAB or not? This is really important to me and i’ll be thankful if I can know the answer.
Dear S.G.
Hi!
I’m one of his beloved unseen students. I myself believe that he is the best man who has been buried in Iran, better than anyone else. One who knew carefully when to do what! He studied best in the best place. When it was necessary to go and help his brothers and sisters in Lebanon, he went to Egypt and learned how to fight and then went to Lebanon. When Islamic revolution was succeeded, he came to Iran and helped people. When there was a need in Kurdistan and then in Iran-Iraq war, he went there. One of his characters was that before speech, he thought and then talked, very carefully. There are his interviews and lectures in Iran’s TV and Radio archives.
You know whenever we are so sad or whenever want to talk with an exceptional man, I go to the Behest-e-Zahra, on his tomb, kiss his tomb, watch at him and his picture and talk with him, and respect him very much. But, every time there are other ladies and gentleman near his tomb and I can not stay for long time and think and talk and cry, but now, I’m crying and drops of tear fell on my papers. I’m so sorry for death of your grandmother. I see a great defect in the history of Mustafa Chamran and I really liked to see her and talk with her for hours and ask her how Mustafa preferred kids of Lebanon to his kids? How he was separated from her beloved wife (Parvaneh, if I’m correct). This separation is very painful for any father and good husband. I really know that an exceptional prophet (Abraham=Ibrahim) was ready to kill his son for God’s sake. You know Mustafa is alive as the holy book (Quran) learned us and you can talk with him and …. I’m not a psychotic or Schizophrenia, but a professor of University. There are several books from Mustafa or about him, but the great defect is his first wife idea. I understand her and her decision to go back to a life out of danger in US. I understand her so much and respect her decision, and I think that Mustafa respected her decision and it is not important for me whether she has had a scarf (Hijab) or not. I had decided to talk with Parvaneh and then write a complete book about Mustafa, but I missed her, may be more than what you missed. Please write me your complete name, your mother’s name and your uncles plus aunt? I believe that you have a great opportunity to talk with Mustafa’s three or four kids completely for hours and write other face of this coin. I eagerly wait to talk and have a relation with those four kids and you, too. I will be glad to have your photo and the photos of Parvaneh and her kids, too.
E-mail: v_rahimi@yahoo.com
Best regards,
V.R.M.
Mustafa chamran was a great warrior, a faithful muwali to hzrat ali bin abi talib and a man like him lives on in our hearts forever…..A Brave and a full army in one man’s soul…..
Death was his lowest enemy, therefore his mawla al abbas bin ali bin abi talib, If you all go through his story you will know why he deserves such a gift.
A brave and Great Warrior like Sayed Mustafa chamran is the pride of the islamic revolutionary…
salam alaik ya mustafa chamran, fore if i was in his time, id sacrifice my soul to him. may pbuh and may he rests in peace with mohd and alul bayyt pbut
Just to let you all know her name was Tam and she died 4 months ago Her oldes Son Darius his son is my Step dad and he has million in his name but will not leave teh USA for it my email is jaredanbro_88@yahoo.com if u have any questions
Hi! my dear,
Let me ask you to clarify more. First of all, as I understood, the name of Mustafa Chamran’s first wife was not Parvaneh, and it was Tam! Is it correct?
Tam and Mustafa’s oldest kid is a boy was named Darius. Is it correct?
Darius is your step dad. It means that your mother’s second husband is probably Darius who is a very rich man and he never came back Iran to see for example Mustafa’s tomb! Correct? How does Darius think about Mustafa? Does he like him? When they leave together in Lebanon, how old had Darius? What stories did he remember from Mustafa? May I have his e-mail?
What about brothers and sisters of Darius? Do you have any email from them? Do they like to have a contact or email from me?
And would you email me your name. Is S.G. someone else? Is your name is Jared and your family name is Anbro?
My name is Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar and I’m an associate professor of Neurosurgery in Tehran University of Medical Sciences. I was in Pittsburgh, PA and UCI, Irvine in 2001-2002. If you search my family name: Rahimi-Movaghar V in PUBMED, or ISI, you can find my papers and my interest in trauma, especially neurotrauma, and specifically spinal cord injury research.
I’m so glad from your e-mail and wait for your response.
Best regards,
Vafa
Hi,
I am the direct granddaughter of Chamran. My name is Sarah Giusti. My mother’s name is Roshan. Darius and Raheem are her brothers; they had a third brother, but he died when he was only about three or so. Still a child.
Yes, the name of Chamran’s first wife was Tamsen, or Tam for short. She died last January.
I want to know more about my grandfather. I want to go to Tehran, but I have American citizenship, and thus have a very, very slim chance of entering Iran’s border. Does anyone know of any way I could go to Tehran?
I live in California. My life has been a life very far from Mustafa Chamran’s…but my Middle Eastern blood is in me, and I feel connected to it. I wish Tam were alive so I can ask her specific questions, or that Chamran was alive as well.
If anyone can help me, please, please do. I will ask more questions later.
Thank you so much.
S.G or Sarah: There’s an easy way for you to go to tehran, since your great uncle, Mahdi Chamran is a high profile politician in Iran. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehdi_Chamran
I’ve heard that since after Mustafa’s death, Chamran family searched alot to find Mustafa’s children in the US.
You can simply give me your email or further address and i can easily share it with Mustafa’s brother in Tehran/Iran through my friends, so you’ll be able to directly contact Chamran’s as well and Mahdi can make things easy for you to get visa and so on.
My email is: queen.shahrazad@gmail.com
Hi dear Sara,
I believe your visit to Iran have to be easier than you thought. Every one love Mustafa. If you ask for visa, they will accept it hopefully. Please email me if there is any problem or whenever you arrived Iran.
My e-mail is v_rahimi@yahoo.com
To know the great Chamran better, try to know about his leader the great IMAM MUSA SADR!!!
Sam, Imam Musa Sadr was Chamran’s friend, not his leader. Chamran’s leader was Imam Khumeini
Dear Shahrazad and all,
We need to review the great Mustafa’s notes and letters proudly addressing the leadership and brotherhood of Imam Sadr. Some of these letters and notes were revealed by his brother, Mahdi, during a lecture in 2002 while visiting Lebanon. Imam Sadr, besides being a knoledgable theologian, human visionary, philosopher, thinker, scholar, …, economist, and politician, he was the strategist and charismatic team leader of great revolutionists whom he gathered in Lebanon . He himself asked the great Chamran to come from NASA to Lebanon to become the General Executive Commander of Amal movement found and lead by Imam Sadr. Chamran lived so long in this community where he is still remembered and loved. Indeed, he was high spirited, humble, respectful and innovative.
It might not be known by many that Imam Sadr’s father (Grand Ayatollah Sadreddin Sadr – the dean and highest authority in sacred Qom) started and supported the islamic revolution in the 40s following the great action by Imam Sadr’s grandfathers especially Grand Ayatollah Tabatabei in his revolution to resist the Shah’s decision of baning hijab in Iran in the 30s. Imam Musa sadr was the coordinator of this revolution along with other leaders and parties (especially after Ayatollah Sadr death in 1954), under the patronage of Ayatollah Borojerdi and support of Sayyid Motahhari and many other great Ayatollahs in Hawza (accompanied by his beloved Shahid Baheshti…), political society and iranian community. All these efforts, with the contribution of the beloved Imam Khumeini starting from the 60s and many many others and sufferings in the background, added up to the victory of the revolution!!! The questionable abduction and disappearance of Imam Sadr just few months before seeing the fruits of his predetermined endeavour over 30 years that was culminated by the planned victory and many of his companions’ post revolution leadership like Chamran whose martyrdom is still mysterious and questionable like imam Sadr… for the sake of the Allah.(to be uncovered)
Dear Sarah
Hello
Your grand father before he a Soldier of God or a Scientist he was a great Human Being love to serve people especially orphans in Lebanon he was so polite and super extra humble man also he was the 2nd man in command in Amal Movement not even once his photo was publish in any news paper the only time Lebanese saw his Photo is when he left to Iran
Although He was director of poly- technical school he used to stand in line like all orphans to have lunch at the School’s cafeteria other teachers didn’t understand his behavior
When Imam Sadr order his colleagues to go to the Front in the South he was the only one who stayed 24/7 for weeks,at front he used to inspire anyone and lecture them especially secular Palestinians
Beside his courage he had devoted Muslim he Had Irfaan philosophy& Worship he used to do Muslim meditating Some students used to catch him weeping after prayer he was so sad he could put his knowledge to help people in lebanon
I cannot talk enough about him its very painful to talk about my teacher and Mentor
May Allah bless his soul
I do live in Southern California let me know if you need more info
Dear Sarah,
Just to give you the best ever source and trustful link regarding your grandfather, who is my hero, i suggest you to go directly to Dr. Sadegh Tabatabai on facebook or anywhere else you can find him. He is the best and the most trustful guy you can count on him to get whatever you want
Sarah, One of Chamran’s close friend and colleagues in Iran – Mr. Bazargan – lives in Orange County. I read a booklet of his memories from Chamran. If you are interested, send me an email majidsaeedi@yahoo.com and I will connect you to him.