[ This is a series of 3 blogs that i wrote during the past week or so.. This part of the blog was written before seeing the full episode, reflecting on my initial reactions to it ]

Recently, MTV Arabia released a new part in it’s True Life series, discussing sensitive social issues of Saudi Arabia..

Honestly, am not very decided on how much i like (or hate) the show in general, or this segment in specific.. It took social networks by storm, and everyone posting the links with either their full support, disgust or neutrality.. It did stimulate the fuss intended, afterall, MTV is a profit earning company with a certain target, and that they achieved..

But, how much were they “Right on the money”?

At first glance, i really didn’t know how to react to the videos.. The main direction of the videos were not clear, since they were halfway in between targeting core social issues and being provocative to how we should approach them.. I loved it, at first, but then the general direction and premise of the video, however, annoyed me.. Some things were manipulated and given a form of it’s own..

Feeding off the people’s lack of understanding of some religious stand points on certain issues (some of which are the ones discussed above), and using that weakness to provoke the youth to rebel against it.. To Saudi Arabia, and many of it’s citizens, the line between what’s traditional law and what’s Sharia law is blurry.. Not one side seems to understand the separation between the two..

Are we supposed to rebel against man-made traditions? (the Abaya color and design, women rights in general)
..or Are we supposed to rebel against Sharia? (premarital intimate relationships)

The video does not indicate those lines, nor does it help provoke open discussion of those lines.. It’s just presenting the lives of four “courageous” people who chose to “Resist the Power”.. Either they’re confused on what’s religious and what’s not (Aziz), or they have a clear focus on what the problem is and how it should be addressed (the others, so far, since the show isn’t complete yet)

For example, I oppose the idea of the Abaya as an “Islamic dress code” because, it’s simply not.. Islam is pretty clear about the head vail, but what about the dress code?

Islam asks us to be modest in the way we dress (nothing tight or revealing), and we should avoid any dress that attracts sexual attraction or attention.. In Islam, it applies to both sexes, yet in Saudi Arabia, Women are the sex objects, and thus must be tamed by a dress, while Men must be shunned for having a penis..

Then again, i just want to clear that it’s not the message that i had a problem with, it’s the way it was presented.. The dialogue was nothing close to constructive, nor did it seem to aim for gradual reform.. This “In your Face” approach works to a certain extent, given that we should have enough brain power to push the agenda all the way to the end.. Something we seem to need more than to overwhelm ourselves with the number of problems, rather than addressing what made those problems surface..

In the end, i guess it’s just Mtv being Mtv, supporting any counter culture to their targeted demographic.. Mtv’s agenda is clear, and having an Arabia channel is not any different.. To me, Mtv is the counter culture mainstream rapists who seek nothing but money, by all means necessary (any publicity is good publicity).. Even if it means being popular amongst a completely confused demographic (quite a big number in this country)..

Because of our general negligence we have towards these issues, socially and/or governmentally, we’re reaping the results of having such youth.. Some of which i feel proud to be amongst (miracles), and some i feel like knocking some reality sense into..

I can speak for hours on this issue, so i’ll stop here..

What about you? Any Thoughts?

Yours,
Lou..

p.s. You can find the prologue video embedded in my blog (i didn’t know how to copy it here, not that familiar with WordPress)..

On the early morning of June 4, 1989, i remember i was at the grade two of primary school, getting ready for final exams. It was a cloudy morning in last days of spring, which appeared to be confusing.

Based on a usual morning habit, Mom switched the Radio.There was Quran recitation for an hour that i always enjoyed, but I didn’t understand why mom was being so nervous hearing that. In that particular usual morning, it was like all are ready to hear not very usual news.

While i was behind the door ready to go, they stopped the Quran recitation meanwhile and Mr Hayati who was a young news presenter at the time announced the news:”Today, ‘the spirit of God’* joint the supreme heavens.”
Mom started crying heavily, i sat right on the carpet in front of the door. Ayatullah Khomeini had passed away.

Khomeini’s Life

The world community was first introduced to Ayatullah Khomeini by the end of 1978 after he was exiled to France for his opposition to Iran’s Pahlavi monarchy.

It was from the suburb of Paris that he delivered his severe statements against American policy in the region and managed his final strikes against the Pahlavi dynasty.

He is known as one of the greatest pioneers of Islamic revival in the previous century, ever since his message has inspired many Islamic movements in the region and the world.

Though, they’ve been many leaders in the history of 20th century, for sure, that they would carry the revolutionary character. But none of them were particularly religious leader, who be able to succeed and establish a religious system of government. He also had great moves on Palestinian cause, Muslim Unity, Resistance movements and different fatwas on controversial issues.

After coming back to Iran, with a great and huge escort of people, He lived in a simple mosque up to his death and carried out a simple life as well , which i remarked in my old notes in my diary.

Khomeini’s Death

I have a very small notebook from when i was a kid. I’ve written some memories of those years with my childlike hand writing and that’s strange i still carry the notes every where with me.

Though, I have not much memories from the first years of post-revolution, Sometimes try to recall, and there’ve been some images and sounds of the street battles and rallies. I was so little to understand liberty of Khoramshahr, but i understood the last years of an imposed war against my country.

I remember Ayatullah Khomeini’s quotes before every Adhan on our black and white 15′ TV. I’ve also written the scenes of chaotic funeral in Tehran, when the mourners refused to leave Imam’s body.

From my old diary, i remember the night before burial, i accompanied my parents to visit Imam’s body in an air-conditioned glass case. The huge crowd of millions and grief of the mourners reminded me of the scenes i read before about Karbala and Ashura day.

The mourners were beating themselves, and it was like everyone is in their own state of stupefaction. Some month after ending an imposed war, everyone would ask: So what will happen now after Khomeini’s death? Would the revolution survive?

Khomeini’s Path

Since then, many events happened in my country. There were some politicians who misused the state of closeness to late leader and tried to take advantage of the position they’re in. They felt people owe them something higher that civil rights upon every Iranian, for they assumed themselves being part of the Imam’s revolutionary movement.

However, Iran, my country goes on its way. With all rise and fall, bearing difficulties of an independent state and enduring western racist sanctions, the revolution has been the biggest reason to the path of today’s development.

Some stated that Khomeini’s time and his universal message to oppose imperialism of the world was indeed over. They intendedly tried to remove memories of Ayatullah from the awake conscience of Iranians and little by little lost the goals and ideals. And at last, they pushed their western-backed agenda during the 2009 post-election events.

It was the time that many of us – the third generation – could get some more knowledge and provoke deeper understanding of Khomeini and his thoughts. Though the unknown Ayatullah, the poet as legislator who was famous for his receptive face and discerning look has still remained a mystery to me.

*Ruhullah (Khomeini’s first name) means Spirit of God.

P.S 1. This post is dedicated to a blog movement related to 21st death anniversary of Imam Khomeini (ra). Thanks to my dear fellow bloggers, Rahil and Maryam who invited me to the movement. Everyone regardless of the nationality can enter the movement.
P.S 2. There’s also this wonderful documentary about Ayatullah Khomeini for you to watch.

Originally posted on my blog.

The Lebanese municipal elections kicked-off on May 2nd of this month, and are still under way, covering a different region every week. Because of the high political tensions, which have been rising ever since the assassination of the late Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, opposing parties have launched extremely competitive campaigns against each other, with huge sums of money being injected in the process of “buying votes”. Even though elections in Lebanon are democratic, candidates have been known to pay for electors in return for their ballot. This year, the amounts of cash being paid, per vote, are ridiculously big. In some areas, where the competition is fierce, it has been reported that the sums paid reached $5,000 per cast. It saddens me to watch all that money being squandered when, instead, it could have been donated to charity!

While politicians are taken by this naive campaign, the people are looking forward to a totally different kick-off: The 2010 Fifa World-Cup. For them, local politics is a joke, and the situation hasn’t changed for decades. In Lebanon, the same figures have been running the country for as long as they can remember. The World-Cup, however, is a totally different story. Even though our national soccer-team has never been qualified to play in this tournament, this competition has always been the most anticipated of all events. 

Months before the opening ceremony, everyone decorates his or her car, home and shop, advertizing the team he or she supports. During this long awaited period, political and religious differences dissolve and are replaced by a friendly competitive spirit; you are no longer labeled as a Christian or a Muslim, but as a “Brazilian”, “German” or “Italian” (the three most popular teams in Lebanon).

When you observe this completely different reality, overwhelming Lebanon for this short period of time, you realize that people, when left non agitated by our unethical politics, are able to overlook the differences among them, and it makes you wonder whether this could become a permanent reality simply by adopting political “Fair Play”.

Since the last time I wrote on Mideast Youth about the Tunisian campaign against censorship on the internet and « Ammar scissorhands », many things happened. The campaign is a success. Thousands of Tunisian internet citizens joined the campaign through related Facebook pages and events, filled the tweeple’s timelines with news about it, took pictures, made videos, shared them and talked about the campaign everywhere. Even some radio and TV shows slipped a word about it, which is a first: The silent crowd is not so silent anymore.

In news websites and blogs, many are talking about the « Sayyeb Salah » campaign and supporting it. And it has been decided that the campaign on the Internet was not enough, and that a « Real Protest for Virtual Freedom » should take place in Tunis and some other cities around the world on the same day, so Tunisians could gather peacefully and speak their mind, asking for the censorship on the Internet to stop completely.

Therefore a protest demonstration will take place on may 22nd in Tunis, Paris, Brussels, Bonn, New York and Montreal.

In Tunis, as it was necessary to make an official “declaration of gathering”, three volunteers have been trying for days to do things legally and follow the rules, and this is not easy.
Every day they went to a different administration, ask how and where to make this official declaration, visit police offices, try to talk to someone who could take the responsibility of receiving their statement about the protest demonstration, send certified mail. And every day, they came back with a new video where they tell exactly what they did and what happened, like a diary of their adventures in the Tunisian administration. These people may be taking some risks, exposing themselves to any kind of harassment, but they are going on and sharing with us the details of their experience.

In other cities around the world, the organization of a protest demonstration is easier, and even if there are rules and recommendations to follow, everything appears to be going well until now.

Apart from the official declarations and the terms of the protest, the participants will be wearing a specific outfit. In most places the basic outfit will be a white T-shirt, possibly customized with explicit slogans about the campaign, like « Sayyeb Salah », « », « 404 » (the error code received when you visit a censored website in Tunisia). In Tunis, people are asked to wear white and gather in the town center so they can be recognized as supporters of the protest even if they don’t want to be openly part of it. Customized T-shirts have been made in Tunis and some more pictures have also been shared about this.

Nobody knows for sure what will happen in less than 2 days, but we are anxious to see how many will dare to go march on the streets of Tunis and around the world to raise their voices and tell Ammar to stop the massacre on the Internet. Will the hundreds and thousands of supporters be there?

In the meantime, we are watching Ammar and his mad scissors taking away a little peace of freedom everyday, and hoping for everyone’s support, encouragement and involvement.

I am currently in Berlin for a conference. After I landed yesterday morning, I went with some friends to a protest against the recent executions of Kurdish and other political prisoners in Iran. It is always refreshing to see so many people united for the same cause.

Here are some photos and a video from the protest, which took place in front of the Iranian embassy in Berlin:

Video:

Today is the first anniversary of Iranian blogger Omid Reza’s death. For those of you who don’t know who Omid is, this is an excerpt from the entry we created on Wikipedia:

Omid Reza Mir Sayafi (also Omidreza Mirsayafi), a 29-year old Iranian blogger and journalist died in Evin Prison in Tehran on March 18, 2009. In December, he was sentenced to two and half years in prison for allegedly insulting religious leaders, and engaging in propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mir Sayafi was still awaiting an additional trial for insulting Islam. Some human rights groups that his death follows a pattern of Iranian authorities “denying urgent health care to prisoners of conscience, resulting in their death.”

Mir Sayafi’s blog is no longer accessible. But with some searching one can find an archive containing the blog posts that led to his imprisonment. Mir-Sayafi’s main area of expertise was traditional Persian music. He also wrote poetry and penned articles for Persian-language electronic art journals. He was apparently well known in Iranian intelligentsia circles.

Several citizen media groups have announced March 18 as “the day of solidarity with persecuted bloggers”. The March 18 Movement was created in his memory.

I was with them for almost 12 days. Regulated, disciplined, on time. In short, Japanese, very Japanese, conforming to all what I used to hear about and expect from them.

Nagoya Oceans Futsal Club represented Japan in AFC Futsal Club Championship 2010 which was held in Isfahan, Iran. And I was their liaison officer. Such an easy job, given their well-organized, reliable personal and team behavior.

Their tomorrow schedule was always ready the night before, detailed and practical. And when it came to act according to the schedule, they were on-time, or more exactly, caring about every simple minute. To them, 7:30 means just 7:30, neither 7:29 nor 7:31. And you know, to an average Iranian, 7:30 means a period as wide as 6:00 to 8:00. It took me almost a day to get accustomed to their systematic, timely behavior.

They were very conservative, and meanwhile very friendly. Only one of them, Murayama (supervisor), was a fluent speaker of English. Watanabe (club manager) and Miyazawa (interpreter of the Portuguese head coach) spoke decent English. And I made friends with all of the three English speaking ones, especially Miyazawa. And with the head coach, Jose Adil, who invited me to a delicious pizza on the last night I was with them. And with the photographer, who fixed my camera once I was absolutely frustrated. And with Muri, whose fantastic performance in the pitch and nice dance in the stadium won the hearts of spectators. And with everybody else, less or more.

I was excited when they won just to get sad when they lost. I was not only with them, but also somehow found myself a member of their delegation. Waking up everyday at the same time, exchanging ‘hello, good morning’ every day, walking together, and touring the city together. Even I practiced with them, though not physically. And when they failed to make it in the semi final against Al-Sad from Qatar, I was as sad as the Japanese. It was then that I told Miyazawa “when you are this sad and exhausted, I feel sad and exhausted as well.”

At the gate of Imam Khomeini International Airport where they were about to depart, when I said goodbye to each one, especially once someone took the last photo of me with Miyazawa, I was about to burst into tears.

Such a great experience. Such a near-Japanese experience. Such a great memory.

Murayama gave me a JFA T-Shirt and Miyazawa gave me his Nagoya Oceans sportswear. Such a nice, great, invaluable present and memory, to remain in my custody, in my heart, forever.

I miss you all, my friends.

Aujourd’hui, nous savons que la lutte pour l’égalité, la justice, la paix, la démocratie, le sécularisme et le développement de la société n’est pas séparée de la lutte contre l’islam politique qui est le berceau de la misogynie dans le monde d’aujourd’hui. La journée internationale des femmes est un symbole des femmes en tant qu’associées à aux hommes. C’est un démenti aux discriminations religieuses, sur tôt celles de l’islam, qui considèrent les femmes moins dignes que les hommes. Ce jour est enraciné dans la lutte historique contre les jours noires de l’église européenne, c’est une demande de « liberté, égalité, fraternité » comme durant la Révolution française.

La journée internationale des femmes a emmené une nouvelle dimension pour des femmes dans les pays développés et en voie de développement. Mais l’islam politique international, à l’ambition croissante, est une nouvelle barrière sérieuse à la liberté des femmes. Aujourd’hui, en dépit des efforts coordonnés dans le monde, la communauté internationale à travers l’ONU ignore le destin des centaines de millions de femmes qui sont les victimes consentantes de la misogynie islamique.

Alors que le 8 mars était un symbole de laïcité contre l’église catholique, il devient maintenant plutôt une lutte mondiale contre la misogynie des mosquées islamiques. Aujourd’hui, l’ombre affreuse de l’islam politique déploie ses ailes au-dessus d’une grande partie du monde musulman.

Pour les femmes iraniennes un changement du régime islamique est un préalable à leur liberté et l’égalité de droits sociaux. Si nous voulons repousser les principes religieux qui mettent les femmes dans une position inférieure dans toutes les sociétés islamiques, nous devons faire disparaître le régime islamique en Iran qui est aujourd’hui le berceau de l’islamisme international.

Selon l’organisation mondiale de la santé, 85 à 115 millions de filles et des femmes ont subi des mutilations génitales. Ces pratiques archaïques sont toujours en cours dans beaucoup de pays musulmans malgré le fait qu’elles soient critiquées par la communauté internationale.

Dans certains pays musulmans, des femmes qui ont été violées sont parfois tuées par leurs propres familles pour préserver l’honneur de la famille. Des massacres de telle « honneur », en tant qu’un legs des traditions islamiques, ont été rapportés en Jordanie, au Pakistan, au Liban, en Syrie, en Irak et d’autres pays du Golfe Persique.

Le viol en tant que moyen d’humiliation, de pression, et de torture a été employé contre des femmes dans les prisons politiques iraniennes. Le viol des femmes « non musulmanes » avant leur exécution est systématique par les autorités islamiques.

Depuis 1979, une majorité toujours croissante de femmes iraniennes identifiées comme « mal voilées », souffrent quotidiennement de l’obligation du port du voile islamique. Depuis l’existence du régime islamique, pas un jour ne s’est écoulé sans attaque, agression physique, arrestation, jet d’acide, harcèlement et pression psychologiques sur les femmes.

La république islamique d’Iran a clairement indiqué que pour les femmes aucune autre sorte de vêtement n’est acceptable sauf le voile islamique– un vêtement long et sombre qui voile entièrement le corps.

La croissance écoeurante de la violence contre des femmes en Iran a rigoureusement limité les conditions d’accès au travail, à l’éducation, aux arts, au sport, au divertissement et à la liberté générale dans les toutes les branches de la vie sociale.

La raison pour laquelle l’islam insiste sur le port du hijab est pour éviter les contacts « inutiles » entre les femmes musulmane et les « non mahrams » (hommes hors du cercle de famille). Cette raison a formé un dogme qui consiste des « mahram »(membre masculins de famille) et « non mahram ». Ce dogme est à la base de ségrégation sexuelle ou bien l’apartheid de sexe. Sa « croix gammée » est le hijab islamique qui symbolise cet apartheid de ségrégation sexuelle–voire mes articles (Hijab Islamique) ainsi qu’en anglais, (Non-Mahram) et (Gendre Division).

Bien que certains musulmans « modérés » proclament que les femmes et les hommes ont l’égalité des droits, les faits quotidiens sont contraires. Les problèmes des influences religieuses, particulièrement dans les sociétés islamiques, n’ont pas été résolus depuis long temps.

Au fil des années, des conférences, des manifestations et des commémorations de toutes sortes se sont tenues pour réfléchir sur les progrès accomplis. Il est maintenant temps de réclamer ce qui n’a pas été fait. La journée internationale des femmes devrait être l’occasion de rassembler des efforts efficaces et communs contre la misogynie islamique qui demeure le principal obstacle à la réalisation des droits des femmes dans les pays musulmans.

Bien que la charte des Nations Unies propose l’égalité des sexes comme un des droits fondamentaux de l’homme, elle ne peut pas fixer des normes, des programmes, et des buts pour avancer le statut des femmes dans le monde musulman. Par exemple, l’ONU évite de condamner le voile obligatoire qui est le joug le plus symbolique de la misogynie par les régimes islamiques dans leurs pays.

LONU, signée en 1945, était le premier accord affirmant le principe d’égalité entre hommes et femmes. Cependant, la charte a été préparée avant l’arrivée de l’islam politique international. Aujourd’hui, la communauté internationale doit exiger l’ONU d’adopter de nouvelles résolutions défendant le statut des femmes dans les sociétés islamiques. Les femmes, souvent inconscientes, prises par les traditions de misogynie islamique ont besoin d’appui international. L’ONU doit maintenant réagir en vue des rapports sur la misogynie permanente contre les femmes nées accidentellement dans les pays, dits musulmans.

L’ONU qui a été capable de condamner l’Apartheid doit maintenant condamner l’apartheid sexuel des états islamiques en y imposant des sanctions adéquates. La violation des droits fondamentaux des femmes dans le monde islamique est un fait qui a été trop longtemps ignoré. La sauvegarde des droits des femmes est maintenant essentielle pour redonner un sens à cette journée commémorative.

Beaucoup d’exemples quotidiens de misogynie en Iran prouvent que la république islamique bafoue le statut des femmes en réduisant leur statut à un simple moyen de reproduction et l’objet de sexe. Ainsi avec de telles interprétations islamiques, la république islamique de façon démagogique et publicitaire a fait émerger des organisations féminines proches au régime misogyne. Ces organisations n’ont d’autre but que d’officialiser les comportements les plus abjects et les plus misogynes sous couvert du respect de l’islam.

La communauté internationale doit prendre des actions adéquates pour l’égalité des genres en condamnant tous les régimes et institutions islamiques qui sont responsables actifs et officiels de la misogynie. Au vingt et unième siècle, le monde ne peut pas accepter que les droits des femmes soient conditionnés par une doctrine misogyne. Il est temps de cesser d’ignorer une telle doctrine qui considère les femmes comme des « demi hommes » avec des « demi droits » sociaux !

La promotion de l’égalité des sexes est non seulement de la responsabilité des femmes, mais une responsabilité sociale de toutes les personnes démocrates et laïques. Les droits égaux de femmes dans une société moderne non seulement sont un indicateur de croissance nationale dans la vie sociale et économique, mais aussi un facteur du développement normal pour tous les individus de cette société.

Socio psychologiquement, la séparation des sexes crée des perversités et de l’agressivité. Elles sont le résultat de frustration sexuelle. Politiquement, une telle séparation est favorable pour les régimes totalitaires parc que selon W. Reich les effets secondaires démontrent sous l’aspect de l’obéissance aveugle qui historiquement caractérise toutes les sociétés opprimées.

Dédiions-nous cette journée international des femmes aux centaines de millions de femmes qui sont des victimes conscientes ou inconscientes de la misogynie islamique. Il y aura beaucoup à accomplir pour jeter les bases légales pour inviter la communauté internationale à se rappeler qu’il est de notre responsabilité de défendre les droits de l’homme dans l’égalité, la dignité, et la liberté pour les deux sexes.

As a proposal of the Socialist International, Women’s Day (IWD) was celebrated for the first time in many industrial nations in 1910, 03,08. March 8th was the day women demanded the right to vote and hold public offices, their right to work, vocational training, and an end to discrimination in jobs.

Since then, the International Women’s Day is commemorated on March 8 and is a national holiday in several countries around the world. It symbolises a long-standing struggle of women of all continents and ethnic, religious, cultural and social backgrounds.

IWD is a symbol of women as an integral part in the making of history. It symbolises a denial of all forms of religion- and culture-based gender-discriminations, which consider women less worthy than men. The day is rooted in the historical struggles against the Dark Ages of European Church and in the demand for “liberty, equality, fraternity” during the French Revolution.

IWD has today assumed a new global dimension for the establishment of women’s rights in developed and developing countries alike. Nevertheless, the growing international political Islam, strengthened by the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a serious barrier in the way of achieving this goal. Despite many coordinated efforts globally, the international community, including the United Nations, practically ignore the fate of hundreds of millions of Muslim women, who are conscious or unconscious victims of Islamic states or dominant Islamic traditions of misogyny.

According to the World Health Organisation, 85 to 115 million girls and women have undergone some form of female genital mutilation in many Islamic countries, including 28 African nations, despite the fact that it has been outlawed and condemned by the international community. More than 90% of women in Egypt are the victims of this barbaric genital mutilation.

While March 8th was historically a secular symbol against the dominance of Catholic Church in the West, it should now become a worldwide struggle against the misogyny of Islamic sates, traditions, and the influence of Islamic mosque all over the world. Today, the horrendous shadow of Islamic misogyny has spread its wings over a great sphere of the globe, where hundred of millions of women have fallen into its clutches. The house of this bird of prey is the occupied territory of Iran ocuupied by an anti Iranian clique of criminal Islamists whose bloody clutches are today a new sword of Islam to rape, torture, kill the “infidel” Iranian men and women.

In many Islamic countries, women, fallen victim to rapes, are often killed by their families to preserve family honour. Honour killings as a legacy of Islamic traditions have been reported in Jordan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Turkey and other Persian Gulf countries. Rape as a means of humiliation, confession, and torture has been used against women in Iranian political prisons. Rape of girls before execution is systematically committed, interpreted as an Islamic principle that “it is a sin to kill a virgin”.

Since the installation of the Islamic regime in Iran (IRI) in 1979, a fast-growing majority of the Iranian women, identified as “bad-hijab” (mal-veiled), have been suffering from the atrocity of the IRI fanatics in their day-to-day life, and under President Ahmadinejad, from nationwide cruelly organised Islamic “Morality Police”.

Since 1979, physical assaults, arbitrary arrests, acid-throwing, harassment and psychological pressure have become the part and parcel of women’s life in Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran has clearly specified that, for women, no other sort of dress is acceptable except the Islamic hijab. Hijab, as an Islamic code of female dress, was officially imposed under Mr. Mousavi’s era as prime minister short after the revolution.

The first public demonstration of Iranian women after the Iranian revolution was short-lived. On 7 March 1979, on the eve of the IWD, Khomeini decreed that all women employed by the government must wear the “chador” (an all-enveloping black veil), an extension of the four walls of home. Thousands of women filled the streets in protest. For three days, they marched and rallied; on the third day, they staged a sit-in protest at the Palace of Justice, demanding a legal guarantee for their right to choose what to wear and where to work, at home and in society at large.

Khomeini’s supporters, armed with knives, attacked the women; they cursed them, yelling “Wear your head or get your head rapped.” They stood at windows along the parade-route and exposed their genitals, saying, “This is what you want, you whores!”

These examples of women’s rights violations in Iran make it clear that the International Women’s Day is not tolerated by the misogynistic IRI. Quite contrary to the demagogical claim of some “reformists” of the regime that men and women enjoy equal rights, opportunities, and responsibilities in all aspects of life in Iran, a growing gap in the women’s rights from that of men always remains a cruel reality.

Over the years, conferences, demonstrations and commemorations have been held globally to reflect on the progress made in women’s right. It is now time to call for what has not been made. International Women’s Day should now be made a rallying point against Islamic misogyny, poised to damage the achievements gained in the history of women’s rights. Although the Charter of the United Nations proposes gender equality as a fundamental human right, the organisation is reluctant to create standards, programmes and goals for advancing the status of women equally worldwide. For example, the UN avoids condemning the enforcement of hijab on women in Iran.

Of course the UN Charter, signed in 1945, was the first agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men. However, the Charter was prepared before the advent of the international political Islam. Today, the global community is affected by political Islam. Consequently, the UN needs to adopt new resolutions to defend the rights of women in Islamic societies. Women in Islamic societies need international support. In the light of many conclusive reports of misogyny in Islamic countries, the UN must react effectively without delay.

The UN, which condemned the Apartheid regime fairly in the past, is now expected to condemn the gender apartheid of Islamic regimes in support of women’s full and equal right. It is time for the international community to challenge the misogynistic Islamists across the globe. Confrontation of the widespread violation of basic rights of women in the Islamic world has been long overdue but ignored. Safeguarding the women’s rights is now essential to regaining the sense of International Women’s Day.

Many daily examples of misogyny in Iran show that the IRI by imposing different status for men and women has reduced the women’s role to a means of procreation. Today, the struggle for equality, justice, peace, democracy, secularism, and development is not separated from the struggle against misogyny.

Concerned of backlash from women against ongoing misogyny and outside scrutiny, the Islamic regime responded by forming its own women’s group. This group produced a newspaper, “The Moslem Women” , the main task of which was to inculcate misogynistic norms and pseudo scientific arguments into mind of women. Through the twisted sense of women’s freedom and origin of women’s rights, its real role is to promote the regime’s misogynistic policy, especially for imposition of hijab on women. In this light, Mr. Abolhassan Banisadr, the first Iranian President, who had lived in France for 15 years, was asked by a television interviewer if it was true that women’s hair emits sexually enticing rays and if this is why Islam requires the veil. “Yes, it is true” was his reply.

The international community must reject and denounce these kinds of state-run women’s organisations in Iran. These “yellow” organisations are a greater threat than the governing male fanatics to the liberation of women. The real activists, working to defend women’s rights and to bring about real change in Iran, risk their safety: IRI authorities have been harassing, detaining and intimidating them in the last three decades.

In the 21st century, the international community should not accept that women’s rights be crippled by Islamic laws “Shari’a”, a 14-century-old legal code. It is time to outlaw Shari’a internationally, because it reduces women to second-class citizens in a male-dominated society. It is time for the global community to condemn any archaic belief system that is based on gender apartheid by officially reducing women to a subhuman entity.

Promotion of gender equality is not only a responsibility of women, but of all humanity. Not only is it an important factor for women’s participation in social and economic development, but also a necessity for a healthy development of the society as a whole. Gender discrimination creates frustrations, perversities and aggressiveness with blind obedience, all of which are typical traits of oppressed societies.

On this International Women’s Day, let us re-dedicate ourselves to the hundreds of millions of women who are conscious or unconscious victims of Islamic misogyny. Much should be accomplished to put into place legal foundations to urge the international community to remember that it is the responsibility of all of us to defend the democratic and secular right to live in dignity, freedom and gender equality.

As a multi-million dollar industry, It’s getting just an “opportunity” for companies to take more financial benefits. The advertisements capture your mind, forcing you to do what they want you to do With an overwhelming number of cards and presents being sold over the world; To ‘celebrate’ it.

Not too bad to have fun, though. But as for most people usually confuse the “Love” and “Lust” and spend money for a feeling that lasts for a short while, V-Day has become as commercial as the rest of corporate holidays.

Nowadays in the Middle East, if you’ve not heard the name of Valentine’s day or are not interested in celebrating a feast that has no trace in your own culture, you will be looked upon as a backward or not definitely ‘modern’. Doesnt matter if V-day’s driven by ‘Modern’ materialism.

Nowadays, Valentine’s day has lost its real meaning and getting to be an empty cube with no spirit. The day once used to be celebrated in the Rome, later in the France, Germany and UK. Finally in the big enforcer of culture, US of A.

The American culture tried to feed whole the world, is transfered via TV channels and Internet to all other countries. I remember before having an internet connection, i’d not even heard about the Valentine’s day. Now this epidemic in the Middle East is getting an important part of culture for some.

Strange that we didnt know this event before internet! Even before Islamic Revolution in Iran that blindly copying the western culture was very common and encouraged, there was no such an event to be practised widely in the society.
Is that considered as a form of globalisation? Or Just enforcing the materialism of the west into Muslim world? Why we simply don’t try to love a person for a lifetime and show our love to the beloves all the year and not just during a day?

The youth in Muslim countries are going to be blindly taken their culture off their mind. Sometimes they’re much more ignorant about their own culture than culture of western nations.
On the other hand, americans are less aware of other nation’s culture and traditions. Americans barely distinguish diversity of lifestyle and culture around the world. While their governments try to enforce the materialistic culture to other countries.

Just need to turn on TV and see how many satellite channels -even the European ones- are filled with American movies.

There’s a difference between “A good understanding of different cultures” and “obsession with foreign culture”. Culture is the most important factor in a society. It can be cause of both development and failure. It might be motivator or a disaster.

If there’s a way to destroy a nation, that’s changing their valuable parts of religious and cultural identity. It makes them feel a vaccuum inside. Makes them slave of other cultures which like a ready sandwich of thoughts goes into their mind.

Today is different from the past. Nowadays, power of a nation is not based on number of population. The powerful nations are those that introduce their identity in an influential way to the world. In fact, a more powerful nation is the one that has the most cultural influence on the others’.

Reuse is an annual contemporary art exhibition organised by en.v Earth in Kuwait.  It’s putting a zesty twist to the issue of Kuwait’s environment, and rather than preaching, it’s showing the real life effects through art. The exhibition featured many high level attendees, including MP Dr. Rola Dashti, and MP Dr Aseel Al-Awadhi. the pieces displayed at the exhibition are made from over 85% reused material; from the canvas to the paints, to the nail hanging the pieces – the artists made every effort to reduce their carbon footprint.

The exhibition featured the works of many young artists in Kuwait who decided to show their passion for art and longing for change through a camera lens, old doors, yarn, scrap metal, and various other forms. One piece that definitely stood out was It’s about time by Farah Al-Haidar, a young Kuwaiti artist who specialises in photography, mixed media art, and oil painting. It’s about time was a photography piece mounted onto a reused canvas. The actually photographs and pieces were “ironed n old shirts, and hand sown to create a meaningful collage”. Farah described the title to be “appropriate for the situations that we are facing locally in how we tend to waste such valuable materials , it’s about time to stop wasting and start acting”

The photographs themselves were taken at various junkyards around Kuwait. Farah commented that “junkyards are a waste of our land, our money, and they pollute our air. We don’t have infinite resources, so why do we act like we do? Art is life, and anything can be turned into art, why do we decide to throw it away?”

The exhibition also featured many young artists with a longing for change. MP Dr.Rola Dashti recognised their efforts and stated that “it’s inspiring to see so many young people and young minds that care”.

Farah urges everyone out there to not “waste their time on useless things; try to sign up in activities, volunteer or get a part time job, and always try and make a change. The main reason that the leaders aren’t taking action towards combating climate change is because they won’t live long enough to feel the devastating effects – stop spreading negative idea’s and start spreading love and peace and creating a better generation and a better future. Once they see a youth movement towards a better future, they’ll recognise they need action”

This is what the United 4 Iran movement has in storage for tomorrow: “a day devoted to worldwide displays of musical, visual, and performing arts highlighting the issues of human rights in Iran.”

We are proud to be collaborating with United 4 Iran on this project alongside Shahrzad Dance Company, Kala Art Institute, Design Action Collective, Ballet Afsaneh amongst several others. United 4 Iran spent tireless weeks putting this together, and you can be sure that their efforts will pay off, if you take a look at the extensive list of key participants who are getting involved.

12/12 Arts United for Iran Worldwide Event Poster

The goals for this event are quite ambitious:

12/12 Goals

To continue standing in solidarity with all Iranian artists, activists, students, and concerned citizens fighting for their human and civil rights.

To increase public awareness regarding the continuing civil rights movement in Iran and the continuous human and civil rights violations in Iran.

To let the government of Iran know that we are still watching and will not tolerate the abuses.

To engage new partners and artists in support of civil and human rights in Iran.

To connect communities around the world working to support our brothers and sisters in Iran.

To build capacity in putting on events and building alliances.

Where is this all happening? Take a look at the locations here:

View 12-12 Events & Supporters in a larger map

This is the largest day of its kind for Iran and we sure do hope that you’ll be getting involved!

Kurdish Festival is a celebration of Kurdish Heritage in the United States. The festival will stretch a span of three days. During which, Kurds and non-Kurds, from a variety of backgrounds and across the U.S. will gather in Atlanta, Georgia. The festival will take place during the weekend of Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on January 15, 16, and 17, 2010.

Kurdish Festival will be a gathering to celebrate a heritage that has taken over 8000 years in making. During which many aspects of Kurdish life will be brought to light; from Kurdish film, literature, music, history, dance, and current events. The Festival will also include self-building workshops in leadership, fundraising and conflict management.

For the first time, Kurdish Festival will bring together education and entertainment and set a new standard. The festival will entertain with three evenings of music, dance and party; featuring popular Kurdish singers and musicians. In addition, it will conduct two full days of workshops and trainings.

In a segment titled Kurds Got Talent, Kurdish Festival will host the largest talent show across U.S. In which a variety of talents will compete. The competition is open to all. Many Kurdish singers will be invited to perform live and compete for the title of first Kurdish Singer of 2010 in US. Kurds Got Talent will be a display of many different aspects of Kurdish culture from its beautiful traditional clothes to variety of poetry and modern songs, acting, and comedy. The top three talents will be awarded accordingly. Please help us identify potential talents in your community by contacting us at kurdish.youth.club@gmail.com.

The educational component of the festival will include key figures in modern Kurdish politics, music, history and literature. Attendees will be able to hear from those that have influenced lives of Kurds either directly or indirectly. A different aspect of the festival will expand to include small sized workshops that will help the youth and attendees to better function, organize and plan back in their own local organizations. Self-building workshops will be about fundraising, conflict management and leadership. They will be followed by discussion groups on many aspect of Kurdish life such as history, current events, and literature.

During the three days of nonstop learning and fun, Kurdish Festival will start a tradition of celebration of Kurdish Heritage in the United States. We invite you’re your friends, and family to join us on this important event. We will be honored with your support and presence.

Kurdish festival is being organized by the members and friends of Kurdish Youth Club (KYC). A 501(c)3 non-profit and independent Kurdish youth organization dedicated to promoting Kurdish Culture and advocating for the youth. For more information please visit www.kurdishyouthclub.com

United4Iran is a nonprofit startup whose mission is to “promote fundamental human and civil rights in Iran.” In this podcast, I speak with the organization’s founder, Firuzeh Mahmoudi, and 2 of the organization’s volunteers, Tori Egherman and Kamran Ashtary. We first talk generally about United4Iran as an initiative, and then move on to how they’re using social media to mobilize millions of people on the web, and whether rallies around the world and media coverage can actually change anything (hint: it may not seem obvious, but yes it can.)

Most of us at Mideast Youth wholeheartedly support this project and can’t wait to start collaborating with them in the near future.

In the meantime, here is the podcast.

In the June Presidential elections in Iran we saw ex-president Rafsanjani maneuver the political scene carefully. At first there were rumors of him deciding to run against Ahmadinejad for the second time. Rafsanjani is not traditionally a Reformist. Nor are Pragmatist policies close to the Reformist Camp-especially pre June 2009. However, we saw Rafsanjani indirectly endorsing the reformist camp. Any support he may have had for Mousavi or Karrubi was vague prior to election day, however with the outbreak of protest after the “Velvet Coup,” a series of events merit our attention.

The arrest of Rafsanjani family members in the post-election turmoil was an extremely unpredictable surprise. To put it in perspective for those who may not know the history of Rafsanjani and Iran, arresting his daughter or any restriction on the clan had this going through people’s heads, “Why would the Islamic Republic’s regime punish one of the wealthiest and most heavily vested members of it’s own system? How is it even possible that Rafsanjani, who was a close ally of Khomeini, the leader of the Revolution, be inconvenienced in any way by this regime itself?”

Rafsanjani who is one of the most prominent State politicians in Iran, made an extremely critical speech on July 17th at the Tehran Friday prayers, shortly after the elections. This Friday prayer saw a mass of protesters like other post-election Friday prayers. Some Green Wave protesters were not allowed to enter the area and pray.

Rafsanjani was the residing cleric at this prayer. Regardless of the content of his speech–which did include sensitive attacks and criticism of the Supreme Leadership & Ahmadinejad, the following simple point speak to the leverage Rafsanjani has:

-) For what was perhaps the first time in the history of Islamic Republic, the sermon was not broadcast live on national television.

-)Why was it not broadcaster live? Is it not that the Firday prayers have historically been THE public forum, and THE podium for any socio-political movement, mobilization and activism? The only rationalization for why these prayers were not aired live, is that there were doubts within the government agencies and IRIB as to the content of Rafsanjani’s speech and his allegiance to the ideals of the revolution. This is extremely ironic given that Rafsanjani has historically been one of the IR’s founding fathers.
That Friday’s sermon was broadcast–audio only–later in the evening.

This is one of the most compelling cases in support of Rafsanjani’s leverage against the Supreme Leadership and the government. Be it rooted in age-old rivalry against Khameneie, or in financial corruption, we must recognize this new direction as an influential cause for some effects. Rafsanjani has come out in recent months to publicly attack his fellow teammates and the highest official of a regime he helped found and benefits from. In analyzing the 2009 June Elections as well as the Islamic Republic state infrastructure–or its possible implosion, we must keep deviations by founding fathers like Rafsanjani at the forefront of our analyses and speculation.

As a matter of fact even Egypt says that nuclear armed Israel is more dangerous than Iran, because Israel is the only country having nuclear weapons in Mid east. Although Iran is not after nuclear weapon at all but from strictly realistic point of view we may need bi polar system to secure peace in the region, just like what we faced in cold war era,
I don’t advocate starting a nuclear race in the region but as long as Israel is refusing to join NPT and using nuclear weapon as means of deterrent punishment for whoever Israel considers as potential enemy, to create bi-polar middle east may be inevitable.

More over we should bear in mind that Israel is acting more preemptively than any other country in the region, we have seen Israelis always strike first against whoever they don’t like, Israel uses gun in bare handed fights, and they are holding their guns to the head of every country in the Middle East.

If Israel can follow ” if you try to throw us stone, we will kill millions of your people” why then not other countries can have such policy? If it is means of self defense why then not let Iran have such means of self defense?

We live in an era where individuals with agendas can say and do much without being challenged on the facts. An era where lies and distortions sell for facts. But I wonder if this is not the same whether it is today or 70 years ago or 700 years ago. It was on Sept 1, 1939 that World War II started (a war that was directly linked to the 1917 Balfour and Jules Declarations of British and French support for the Zionist project). It was in this black month of September that the British forces occupied Palestine in 1917 to try and change a multiethnic, multicultural, multireligious Palestine into a “Jewish state” (abandoning the promises they made to the Arabs for political expediency). It was on September 8, 1947 that for the first time in its 2 year history, a United Nations official committee recommends partition of a country despite the wishes of its natives (and the UN charter itself). It was on 9 September 1993 that Arafat signed on behalf of the PLO recognizing Israel (but no Israeli recognition of Palestine or Palestinian rights was demanded in return); the process of Oslo led to normalization for Israel with so many countries and a green light to double settlements while creating an authority that would control people’s frustrations. It was on September 16, 1948 that the UN appointed mediator (a Swedish diplomat who saved countless Jews) made his report official, a balanced report based on basic human rights and international law. He was assassinated the next day by Jewish terrorists who later became high officials of the nascent Israeli state. It was also in this black month of September that Jordanian forces killed hundreds (maybe thousands) of Palestinians in the process of removing the PLO from Jordan in 1970 (the mistakes/responsibility of Palestinian leadership positions at the time has never been acknowledged). It was of course also in this month on September 11 that
- In 1922 the British mandate officially kicked into gear destroying Palestine
- In 1973 the US engineered a coup against an elected government of Salvador Allende installing a dictatorship that killed thousands in Chile
- In 2001, the attacks in New York and Washington that killed so many innocent civilians (attacks that to this day have not been independently investigated nor lessons learned)

But of course in history there are also so many good things. I could list hundreds that happened in September including thousands of acts of civil resistance in Palestine over the past 130 years. Just for one, John Lennon’s album “Imagine” about peace was released 9 September 1971 and so I choose to imagine and hope for better Septembers. “You say I am a dreamer… but I am not the only one”

Why not sanctions for Israel?
In Israel, a country stolen from the Palestinians, fanatics control the government. One of the fanatics is the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Last week Netanyahu called for “crippling sanctions” against Iran. Why does Israel want to initiate a war between the United States and Iran?

Shafiq Alhoot interview in Arabic before he died with the Institute for Palestine Studies. Very insightful on the Palestinian cause and how it was hijacked to serve very narrow interests (and especially the role of Yasser Arafat)

(highly recommended film) Amreeka in US Theaters now
Watch the trailer here.

Israeli firm Elbit kicked out of Norwegian government pension fund:

CALL FOR THE SEVENTH WEEK AGAINST THE APARTHEID WALL, NOVEMBER 9 – 16 2009.

The Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, its popular committees and member organizations call on activists to launch a week of global mobilization against the walls of apartheid in the West Bank and Gaza from November 9 to 16 2009

We call on all organizations, networks, institutions, unions and concerned media to mobilize during the 7th Week against the Apartheid Wall and to:

• Protest the overarching Israeli policy of ghettoization behind a system of walls that targets the Palestinian people, whether in Gaza or the West Bank, isolating them from each other and the Palestinians inside the Green Line.

• Protest the criminal repression of the people resisting these walls.
- Protest the inhumane siege on Gaza imposed to force its people to surrender their dignity and struggle.
- Protest the repression of the communities struggling against the Wall in the West Bank. The current wave of violence has reached alarming highs, and education and awareness rising around this issue is critical. Stop the Wall and Addameer have published Repression allowed, resistance denied, an extensive report on the repression of the grassroots movement against the Wall.

• Continue BDS efforts. Launch campaigns against companies building the Wall and complicit in the siege of Gaza. BDS campaigns have already made important inroads, especially against transportation giant Veolia’s project in Jerusalem and settlement builder Lev Leviev. Campaigns are being built up against those involved in the construction of the Wall, such as CRH which is involved in supplying concrete and Elbit Systems, which equips the Wall with sensors and other hi-tech equipment while at the same time producing the drones that kill Palestinians in Gaza.

• Put the Wall back on the agenda. Pressure your government representatives to follow their obligation to ensure the walls in Palestine are torn down and the siege on Gaza is ended. Governments have to respect the ICJ decision and not to aid the construction and maintenance of the Wall. They have to stop their complicity through silence in the siege on Gaza.

On November 9 1989 – exactly 20 years ago – the Berlin Wall fell. The event was celebrated as a victory of the ‘Free World’. Today, however, the same powers back the construction of walls which are destroying Palestine.

Five years ago – the International Court of Justice ruled that the Wall is illegal and has required that it be torn down and all laws and orders related to it be reversed. The Court has reminded the international community of its obligation not to render any aid or assistance to the Wall and to ensure the implementation of international law. To date, the international community has not promoted any tangible move towards the ruling’s implementation.

The hypocrisy must end – justice has to prevail.

Gaza has been imprisoned by walls and razor wire for 15 years. The wall and its no-go zone confiscate almost 25% of the prime agricultural land of the starving Strip. About 15% of Gaza’s farmers are barred from working their farmlands, while tens of water wells and about 50% of livestock shelters and other related industry in the east part of the Gaza strip have been destroyed. Many farmers have been killed while tending to their land or have been displaced and forced into overcrowded urban centers.

In the West Bank, the Apartheid Wall carves out today’s Bantustans. It curves around settlements, which continue to grow despite disingenuous talks of a “settlement freeze.” So far its path has isolated 78 Palestinian villages, trapping them between walls, settlements and/or the Green Line while stealing land, water and other resources from hundreds more. Jerusalem remains isolated by the Wall and settlements, and an increasing number of Palestinians have found their homes demolished or taken over by settlers.

In response, the international community has put a veil of silence over these crimes – yet another Nakba for the Palestinian people.

In spite of this, Palestine resistance to the Wall has grown. Protests have been a weekly undertaking in a number of West Bank villages. In an attempt to uproot what they have termed “a dangerous phenomenon”, Occupation forces have employed increasing violent means against protesting communities, in particular youth. In barely more than a year, 6 have been shot and killed by soldiers, hundreds have been injured and dozens arrested in the villages struggling against the Wall.

Gaza has seen much worse. In response to their resilience under siege, the people of Gaza have faced an overwhelming military onslaught. More then 1,500 were killed as a result and thousands more injured this past winter when Occupation forces laid waste to the small costal territory.

In their struggle, the Palestinian people shall not stand alone.

Unite against apartheid!

Thank you for you continued support,

Iyad Burnat- Head of Popular Committee in Bilin
co-founder of Friends of Freedom and Justice – Bilin

Email- bel3in@yahoo.com
Mobile- (00972) (0) 547847942
Office- (00972) (2) 2489129
Mobile- (00972) (0) 598403676
http://www.bilin-ffj.org/

Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
A Bedouin in Cyberspace, a villager at home
http://qumsiyeh.org/

The infrastructure in place, in the IR system, for selecting the Supreme Leader was only fully ‎implemented after the death of Khomeini with the purpose to safely sustain the regime during ‎Supreme Leader transitions. Two councils which have the duty to “approve” and “counsel” the ‎Supreme leader were only established after Khamenei. These councils technically have the power to ‎impeach the Supreme Leader, however this is impossible for all practical purposes. ‎
‎1) Those who have made it to the top of this pyramid and have a position on these ‎councils, have been filtered enough to never pose such a threat. ‎
‎2) Should they somehow get that far in the system and change their mind, their life ‎is literally in danger.‎
‎3) The SL, himself, has the power to appoint members to these councils. Clearly, it ‎is not in his interest to appoint members who will oppose him.‎

Who dare speak against the king?

The closest semblance of a threat to the Supreme Leadership’s (Khameneie’s) power in the recent ‎decade, came during the last presidential elections (2005) between Ayatollah Rafsanjani and ‎Ahamadinejad. ‎In the fiasco those elections were, Ayatollah Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani pioneered public dissent , of sorts but it was dissent anyhow, against the Supreme Leadership by a high-cleric who was himself born and fed by the Regime (!).

(1989-1997)
As a short introduction, Rafsanjani served as president of the Islamic Republic from 1989-1997. He was ‎president during the hardest times Iranians experienced after the revolution. Rebuilding the nation ‎after it went through a revolution and a war was a daunting task. Rafsanjani’s economic policies and ‎proposals are actually noteworthy. At the time, he may have been the only and the best candidate the ‎regime would approve to do the job. (Economists, such as Isfahani, as well as news media acknowledge ‎this.)

As far as civil rights and political repression is concerned, Rafsanjani upheld the ideals of the ‎Revolution quite well—unfortunately. He and his family also made corrupt economic transactions and ‎investments. The Rafsanjani family today is one of the wealthiest families in Iran. It is worth ‎mentioning that, of all the thieving characters this regime has seen, credit should be given to the Rafsanjanis ‎because they seem to be one of the few who do actually invest in Iran. Their investments do maintain ‎and better the lives of citizens and do complement to urbanization projects throughout Iran.

Again, I ‎am not advocating Rafsanjani’s sainthood, nor am I turning a blind eye to his faults/disservice … ‎However, the case still stands that Rafsanjani seems to be the most influential regime authority with ‎the greatest leverage who has, and most certainly, can rise in some sort of dissent while keeping his ‎life safe.‎

(2005 Elections)

Rafsanjani had an obvious lead in the first round of elections. At this time, he repeatedly emphasized, ‎via his press conferences, the close relationship he had with Khomeini in the 70s. He would use this as ‎a justification for his new policy proposals–some of which seemed to question Revolutionary Ideals ‎greatly. Rafsanjani who, in my opinion, is quite the deft politician wanted to completely steer the IR ‎ship towards another direction; this was something that would call for stepping far and beyond the ‎duties (and limits) of a President in this regime. This is also what makes Rafsanjani a pragmatist. He is more pragmatic than he is ideological.

The unexpected nullification of Rafsanjani’s win and ‎call for a re-vote by the Supreme Leadership (SL) in 2005 is justified by some as a defensive move on ‎the Leadership’s behalf. They felt threatened by Rafsanjani. Rafsanjani’s response to SL was instant. ‎His response was a first of its kind in the history of the Islamic Revolution. He publicly questioned not ‎only the SL’s, Khamenei’s, actions re: the election, but he also [dared] question Khamenei’s ‎appointment and legitimacy for the position he holds. This was groundbreaking as far as public ‎discourse of IR officials is concerned.

Rafsanjani repeatedly mentioned that he was in fact more ‎intimate with the deceased Leader Khomeini, than Khamenie was–which is a fact. Relative to ‎Rafsanjani, Khamenei not only lacked in political activism history, he was also not as well read as ‎ayatollah’s usually are. His appointment was made in haste. In the end of the 2005 fiasco, Rafsanjani ‎was appointed a chair position in the Assembly of Experts. This appointment looks more like an ‎attempt to appease, if not set a gag-order, on the rising rebel cleric! ‎

Come back for Part 2 Rafsanjani in the 2009 Presidential Elections

So, thanks to further disbursement of Twitter magic, I learnt that they are on tour, and playing in the Bay Area. Deciding to go to the concert on August 1 in Oakland was a no brainer – I knew I was in for something special because the punk subculture and Islam are close to my heart. How does this fit together? Perfectly! (At least in my mind).

Photo: Basim Usmani, Arjun Ray, Nyle Usmani

Punk is music of revolt. It’s a revolt of youth against the establishment, against its materialism, apathy, and hypocrisy. Punk emerged in the 70’s in the UK and US; in UK as a response to the bleak era of Thatcherism. Its music is fast, raw, energetic, and spontaneous, but punk is not just about music. It’s a movement; it’s a community of friends who stick together, and try to define their life without the barrage of the consumerist attitudes plaguing the establishment.

The Kominas with their humor take on the society’s hypocrisy very well. Songs like Walqaeda Superstore that talks about Saudi oil industry and American consumerism, or Sharia Law in the USA that deal with the fear of Muslims are great examples. It’s no wonder: if anyone saw a fair share of hypocrisy, it would be the American Muslims when our homegrown Ahmadinejad, George W. Bush entered stage and introduced his very own brand of bleakness.

Photo: Shahjehan Malik Khan, Arjun Ray

Growing up in this land that claims freedom and human rights for all on one hand, and which feeds and perpetuates prejudice against the Muslims and Islam on daily basis must have been a challenging experience. The band members spent their youth in the post 9/11 dark ages, an era which has done so much to perpetuate labeling of Muslims as terrorists, fanatics, and weirdos. This kind of climate must have presented some odd experiences for Muslim teenagers, who would already be likely struggling with the issues of identity and stereotypes: mix of cultures of their parents, and the society in which they are growing up, question of race (“brown” people in a society that is so hyper-focused on “black” and “white”), as artists who tend to be traditionally expected by their community to go to MIT and take up a Masters in Engineering or some such. That’s why the song Sharia Law in the USA has such a touch of genius: by morphing one of the greatest tag lines of punk from the godfathers of the movement, the Sex Pistols: “I am the anti-christ, I am an anarchist,” into “I am an Islamist, I am The Antichrist,” The Kominas are heaping the well deserved mockery onto the prejudiced masses, and make one big shout to express their revolt. Other Kominas songs are more contemplative, with poetry of belonging, and loss. Their latest song, Dog Called Akhira (lyrics), recorded in collaboration with Prop Anon only a week ago, is dealing with mourning and grief. You can check the song here, with The Kominas permission:

To me, somehow all The Kominas songs convey struggle to establish one’s own identity in an environment ignorant at best, and hostile at worst (or vice versa?).

Photo: Prop Anon, Basim Usmani

Basim Usmani, the band’s singer and author of the songs’ lyrics, mentioned in a great interview for Sepia Mutiny that when he was in 4th grade, a child would bring The Bible to school every day, and tell him that he would be going to hell. Basim’s attempts to explain that he also has a spiritual tradition were completely in vain. I do remember that post 9/11, people were so crazed that there were that even a Sikh man (!) was beaten somewhere at a gas station in New Jersey up because the thugs who got him thought he was a terrorist. Obviously they didn’t do their research first. This kind of ignorance feeds the prejudice, and it is something that many of us are fed up with.

In this climate, a book called Taqwacores by Michael Muhammad Knight was published that helped define the Taqwacore movement. This book connected several US bands into an underground movement, and currently, a movie is being made based on it.

Due to some lucky constellation in the stars over the Bay Area, it so happened, that the author of the book, the director of the movie, as well a bunch of friends were present at the Oakland show. Consequently, I found myself at a show that was more like a party. At one point, the Kominas took off their shoes and threw them into the audience. When I asked them later if this is a tradition, they said that yes, since G.W. Bush trip to Iraq. At some point, they jumped off the stage and played among the crowd, and later, all piled up on the floor (I wish I could have captured that scene, but the floor was very dark!).

Photo: Imran Malik

Other than Kominas, the bands that were performing were Micropixie, Prop Anon, Sarmust, and Mujahideeen Bernstein Affair. All of them joined at the end for one splendid jam session, with energy that feeds me till this day. I could feel their love, I could feel their anger (more love than anger, really), but most of all, I heard their demand to STOP THE HATE.

Photo: Nyle Usmani, Arjun Ray

The general ignorance about Islam and Muslims, and prejudice angers me, and so I want to do my bit to promote the Kominas and spread their word. As much as I loved their music and their performance, what touched me most was the friendship that I saw they shared, and the struggle that they so poignantly express.

You can follow the Kominas and the Taqwacore movement in the Taqwacore Webzine. Big kudos to Kaitlin Foley for her valuable suggestions for this post. A full set of photos from the concert can be seen on Flickr.

In Iran’s colorful political arena, The green color got more attention from the western Media, maybe because they liked the candidate behind it more than the others and they assumed he’ll realize wishes of their governments for the better.

OR from a more optimistic point of view, during pre and post election events, Media was so attracted to Green color of Mousavi campaign, since in Tehran the capital it was more visible into eyes than a common Iran’s flag as a sign of Ahmadinejad’s campaign.

While multicultural Iran is not just Tehran, nor those active in the streets were all the population.

Iranian society with its complicated structure, can not be shown as a black and white documentary.
As Mohammad Salemy -an artist and curator of the former DADABASE Gallery- has points it out very well, quoting Ervand Abrahamian, a scholar of Iran’s contemporary history, based on George Rud’s observation that perhaps no historical phenomenon has been so thoroughly neglected by historians as the crowd:

“Unlike the reformist crowd that has quickly emerged through the recent presidential campaign of Mir Hossein Moussavi, the pro Ahmadinejad crowd has a long thirty years history in the making. A once official crowd in service of the
state. Ahmadinejad crowd has been made mostly of those who returned to the street, and the ballot box, after a decade, to launch their own reform against corruption and to renew their support for the regional resistance against the USA and Israel. This invisible crowd, particularly those not working for the security services and government agencies, was asked by the state to stay home throughout the riots to prevent the situation from turning into a civil war.”

The matter is you look at the story from different sides, not just how other people look at it. Now after the election has taken over, Mohammad Javad Jahangir, a Tehran based Iranian artist with background in Islamic studies from the seminary who has worked with Iranian artists Abbas Kiarostami on several projects and with featured works By BBC, Reuters and other international news organizations, decided to share photos of the other side of Iranian society, the invisible part.

The Invisible Crowd photo exhibition is about those who were present during election campaigns and at the ballot boxes, participating some certain demonstrations and the famous Friday prayer, but they’ve not got enough attention from the western media. His “virtual” photo exhibition on Dadabase.ca site borrows its name from a sign that has inspired the work:

“During one of the early pro Ahmadinejad rallies before the vote, Mohammad Javad Jahangir, who was present at the scene, noticed a sign in the crowd that poked fun at the lack of the global media coverage of large pro Ahmadinejad demonstrations. The sign depicted a television containing a still-frame of an empty city street with the CNN logo at the bottom. Underneath the television set read the words ‘We are the invisible crowd for the western media.’” Salemy says.

Canada: Toronto, Montreal
France, Paris: video 1, video 2
USA: New York, Washington, DC, Boston, Austin
United Kingdom, London: video 1, video 2
South Korea, Seoul
Sweden, Stockholm: video 1, video 2
Italy, Rome
Germany: Frankfurt, Cologne
Netherlands, Amsterdam: video 1, video 2
UAE, Dubai (facebook)
At the same time, hundreds of protesters were dispersed in central Tehran. For videos of that go here.

As a Baha’i, I am grateful for the friends from the MideastYouth.com and Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights for coming up with the idea and organizing the Baha’i Rights day, which was also made possible with the enormous help of our friends at Iran Press Watch. The idea was simple: get the #BahaiRights hashtag* (see note below) trending on Twitter, meaning, make the the Baha’i Rights one of the top 10 most frequent topics on Twitter, so that people’s attention is drawn to the issue of Baha’i persecutions in Iran and Egypt. Later, this idea expanded to Facebook and blogs to spread the awareness across the entire web. I got the insider view of the campaign as I was helping a little, and so I wanted to write a couple of insights about it.

It seems that universe made a small conspiracy against this effort: the date that was originally chosen, July 9, which is a Baha’i holy day commemorating the Martyrdom of the Bab, also coincided with the 10th anniversary of the student uprising in Iran, 18 Tir. The decision was made to move the date of the campaign to July 11, and so we had to spread the word, and make sure that the Twitterverse, the Blogality, and The Facebookers all know when to raise their voices (or for some who have been talking about this for a while, raise the volume). July 11 was also the date when the seven Baha’i leaders held in the Evin prison were scheduled to go on trial. If I remember correctly, there were only about couple weeks of planning with folks extremely busy: traveling and taking exams, so there was no time to produce a new video clip. However, a simple, but effective web page was built for the occasion, featuring the earlier video, Safeguard the Innocent.

On the actual 11th July, Twitter failed us because a couple of crucial contributor’s hashtags were not working. However, a big discussion of #BahaiRights was generated on Twitter, with various religions and nationalities participating. According to Esra’a Al Shafei, the director of MideastYouth.com, we had at least 4 religions represented. People generated approximately 1.400 tweets in at least 7 languages, and over 4.700 people joined a Facebook group dedicated to the cause. It was very heartening to see all the diverse friends tweeting in support of Baha’i Rights. Possibly because of this buzz, Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish at The Atlantic Monthly featured the Safeguard the Innocent video clip. I learned about through a friend who sent me a message via Twitter, saying, you surely saw this. I didn’t. It was the most amazing surprise and a reward.

Things that worked great:

• Having a central webpage for the campaign where we could point people to
• Having a powerful video clip as a symbol of the campaign
• Choice of a meaningful date (the date of the trial)
• Cooperation between diverse friends over several continents and very short time

Now, couple notes for future about running an online campaign:

• Test Twitter hashtags for key accounts several days before the event (it can take Twitter support several days or up to a week to fix the issue)
• Pre-prepare high quality tweets that include facts, quotes, links, and stories
• Be clear on what action can other people take to help
• Include tips on tweeting, retweeting, and hashtags for those new to Twitter
• Establish additional goals of the campaign (i.e. find 1,000 people to sign Amnesty’s petition, etc.)
• Make a list of human rights activists to contact, and notify them about the event beforehand, so they can give their support

The Baha’i Rights day was not limited to only Baha’is, or only Muslims, but participants were from all over the world representing diverse religions and personal beliefs. We envision a similar day for the Sunnis in Iran, and for the Kurds who continue to struggle for their rights throughout the Middle East.

*For people not familiar with Twitter, hashtags are a way of marking up keywords on Twitter that enable others to easily find tweets with topics of interest.

What is freedom? Not an easy question to answer considering all the hype that goes into that one simple word. Freedom means different things to different people, and its meaning changes as circumstances dictate. One approach is to say that freedom is our say in how our lives are playing themselves out. We want to believe that our small voice is being heard even in the midst of the noisy confusion that fills our daily lives; that we matter in the overall scheme of things. And the belief that everyone should count, may explain some of what is going on in Iran.

Freedom means that if we’re already being given the right to vote, that our vote should count, and not be swept under the rug of authoritative ambition. People want a say in who governs them, in who holds the reigns of power, and in what policies he or she decides to pursue. It is not simply my right to vote that is important, but the knowledge that my voice, as contained in my vote, will be heard, even if only as a whisper.

Freedom touches on the personal as well. Women, for example, may choose to dress traditionally, but they want to make that choice, not have it thrust upon them by angry men wielding big sticks. My right to choose is at the heart of what it means to be free.

And people want a say as to which direction their country is heading. Dictators no doubt have their ideological agendas. But what is deemed necessary by the dictators is not necessarily in the best interest of the people. The man on the street often knows best what is in his best interest better than anyone else. People have a right, for example, to demand that their government’s economic policies will create good paying jobs, and not sky-high unemployment. People want to be proud of their nation, and not have to justify why certain ill-conceived policies are further isolating them from the world community. People want to believe that their personal security is being regarded as sacred, and not undermined by the looming threat of war.

The yearning for freedom is a hard thing to quash. There are people in Iran putting everything on the line; even their own lives. The fight for freedom often brings out the best in us, by which we are willing to sacrifice our own safety for the sake of something we believe in, something greater than ourselves. The willingness to rise to the occasion, and to put a noble cause, like freedom, above everything else, is unique to us as human beings, and is what allows us to aspire to our greatest potential.

I don’t envy the leadership in Iran. They must be frustrated beyond belief. They have convinced themselves that they know what’s best for their people, and somehow, the people just don’t get it. How dare they rise up in this fashion?

I don’t know what will happen in Iran. But I do know that something has happened there already. Their votes were silenced, so the people rose up and made sure that their voices wouldn’t be. Would this make a difference in the long run? No one knows for sure, but one thing is certain; Iran will never quite be the same. The people have spoken, and their voices will reverberate in our collective consciousness forever, along with all those countless others who cast their lots in the search for freedom and justice. Those voices can never be silenced. They will continue to make themselves heard until the day comes when the dream of freedom will be made real, and when true justice will be meted out to all.

This song made me curious to discover where and how Moldova is. I reached Moldova by Wikipedia out. The thing was amazing was Moldovan protests against parliamentary election result like Iran two months ago! Also situation was like Iran but in lesser extent.

Wikipedia:

The 2009 civil unrest in Moldova began on April 7, 2009, in major cities of Moldova after the results of the 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election were announced. The demonstrators claimed that the elections, which saw the governing Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) win a majority of seats, were fraudulent, and variably demanded a recount, a new election, or resignation of the government.
The protesters organized themselves using an online social network service, Twitter, hence its moniker used by the media, the Twitter Revolution or Grape revolution.

In this week I was really engaged with political events in Iran and followed it precisely. Many things have changed in Iran which is not comparable with last week. In government it seems to be a crack or a gap between politicians. This gap has always been existed but in this week it showed itself and made all the people aware of it, which was unprecedented.

Now everyone in Iran knows what is happening between politicians and after thirty years in Islamic Republic (and somehow in Iran’s history), it’s the first time this obscurity in politics is fading away! I regard this and believe Iran won’t be the same; it’s a great jump. I respect this.