Shadow

Between the idea
And the reality,
Between the motion
And the act,
Falls the Shadow.

__ T.S . Eliot


(posted by Iman)
Posted:Thursday, July 31, 2003 | 

Killing You is a Very Easy Thing For Us!!

For people who think the US brought security and freedom to Afghanis. Human Rights Watch reported

Afghan warlords and political strongmen supported by the United States and other nations are engendering a climate of fear in Afghanistan that is threatening efforts to adopt a new constitution and could derail national elections scheduled for mid-2004. The report warns that violence, political intimidation, and attacks on women and girls are discouraging political participation and endangering gains made on women's rights in Afghanistan over the last year.The 101-page report documents army and police troops kidnapping Afghans and holding them for ransom in unofficial prisons; breaking into households and robbing families; raping women, girls and boys; and extorting shopkeepers and bus, truck and taxi drivers. The report also describes political organizers, journalists and media editors being threatened
with death, arrested and harassed by army, police and intelligence agents.

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Thursday, July 31, 2003 | 

Something is going so wrong with my windows xp, its giving me error messages all the time and when I report it, it gives me windows explorer 6 to download, which I couldn’t download for a certain reason. Anyhow, now even I cannot see comments. Can anybody help?
Posted:Tuesday, July 29, 2003 | 

Immanuel Kant's notion of "True Liberty" in a Secular State (5)

Thus, the responsibility for acting morally becomes internalized. This transformation eliminates the need for a direct regulation, rather an insignificant but a constant indirect control of the state is sufficient to internalize the power. The liberal state allows the individual a degree of freedom; however, the individual would be trained and taught to internalize some of the basic necessities that would enable him to function within the defined boundaries of the public sphere.
The crucial point in this transformation, to reiterate, is that power does not disappear rather becomes internalized; and consequently the state seems less important. Foucault refers to this as "structural effect." He states that, "the modern state works internally through disciplinary power not by constraining individuals and their action but by producing them."
Peter van der Veer, therefore, puts forward a perspective within which religion is perceived central in forming and establishing the modern notion of secular government. He, by challenging the essential features of the secularization thesis, is able to criticize previous theories of Marxism, neo-Marxism and world system historians. In all these theories, capitalism and the evolution of labor and value remain central in the development of the modern nation. Van der Veer, however, argues that centrality of the economic history in the process of nation building in these approaches ignores the essential role that religion has historically played in the contemporary structure of modern state.
By using the example of India and the historical role played both by the Hindu revivalist movements in India and the Evangelical missionaries shaping the very identity of the new emerging governments he demonstrates the significance of religion played in the formation of both modern India and England. He, therefore, challenges the very assumptions of secularization theories including separation of religion from politics, economy and science, and the declining social significance of religious belief.

(written by Navid)
(posted by Farid)
Posted:Monday, July 28, 2003 | 

Me and Hooman: WHO is hoMAN




I have never thought weblog might have substantial effect on my life. At first look, it may seem as same as other entertainments in the internet like chartrooms, online games or gambling. But I think it has more effect on our life. In our real life, you see and listen to other thoughts but in cyberspace you face with intellectual part of people since we can only read their thoughts. We have time to think and discuss and this is a higher level of communication. It is easy to understand what a blogger believes, thinks.
Blogging, however, may addict you. I have seen the signs of addiction or withdrawal in bloggers. Their mind is occupied by blogging. Fortunately, it does not have physical addiction like opium or alcohol but like smoking it is difficult to quit!!
The most interesting part of this new fashion is seeing bloggers in the real life. I think it is a unique experience. I think our thought is the most important part of our personality because our relationship is based on this intellectual part.
Anyway, I went to Ottawa for some paperworks in Iranian embassy. I have to say that I was pleased with them. Maybe it is far from the standards, in compare to Canadian embassy in Tehran, they we were polite and helpful people though bureaucracy is the same in part of the world. I think that Canadian embassy should have at least the same facilities. When I was in Iran last year, a Canadian citizen came to Iran and for a particular reason he needed a letter confirming that his Canadian passport is original!. He could not believe that he was charged 50 dollars for a simple letter! I think the problem is that many people who face with such issues prefer to ignore it since they may think that their complaint has some consequences for the process of immigration and visa. So Canadian government does not receive any feedback and they continue …

Anyway, I can not remember when I started reading Hoomans’ weblog but it has been a daily stop in my blog surfing!! It is more that fun for me since I am too busy to have fun! It is some kind of refreshing. He points out some challenging points. He is one of those people who try to put forward some questions. I think that giving solutions is kind of brainwashing. If you read his posts, you will find moderation, rational and logic. The most important point is that he is an independent blogger in political thought and this gives him this chance to criticize ignorance, exclusivism, Extremism, …
We talked about different things; Weblogs, bloggers!, politics in Iran, Uncle Sam!, Medicine, Psychology, Canadian Medicare, Canadian people, universities in the North America, alcohol and many other things! Imagine how many subjects we can talk about! :)
An interesting subject we had disagreement was quality and quantity of life. I found him one of those people who like to use all parts of their body before dying, kidney, heart and also brain. This is different point view. I had a heavy smoker client (in the West patients are called clients! ) in Iran. When I asked him why he smoked, he answered “since I do not like that ants eat my lung after death”. so I usually do not try to recommend anything to people. I think the more you think, the less quality of life you have! Thinking is a personal trait in some people and they cannot stop thinking!


PS: Alcohol, smoking and many other risk factors may have hazardous effect even if you are not heavy smoker, alcoholic ,...

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Sunday, July 27, 2003 | 

Pluralism(15)

I have sent my next question to B, but he is very busy these days, so I will try to talk about pluralism every on and off to keep the continuity of my posts till I receive his new emails. I will start to talk about different attitudes existing on this issue from the next post, but now I want to write about an issue that I think is important to take care of and should be made clear in the start, since I feel that there are some mix-ups in this issue and especially I felt it in the first comment I got from Jazz when I asked B what was the immediate result of this-his pluralism- way of looking ? Jazz commented:

The immediate result is that we can respect all religions for trying to attain the goal of being 'good' person. For adhering to morality.

What has been taken for granted here is that not acknowledging other religions or ways or claims or laws as equally worthy of following, necessarily brings with it a certain type of undesirable behavior towards the adherent of them. This notion being taken as granted, is not only wrong, but also in my view dangerous. It is dangerous because of two direct outcomes. First, it reduces us to a passive position of relativistic claim; accepting everything without trying to analyze its importance, value, practicality, usefulness and possible flaws as true for its adherents. In this way it deprives us from the power of criticizing and reasoning. Second, very insidiously it justifies in our mind those who disagree with others, to engage in every kind of unhealthy way of confronting them. Moral issue of treating others shoudn’t be mixed up with the scientific work of evaluating different religious ways. The question of diversity of religions is not how an advocate of one religion should approach an advocate of another religion, but rather how that advocate should approach to what the other person advocates. The first one is merely a matter of morality, but the second one requires that we consider the claims and laws of different religions and try to understand their significance for the people of our time and other things about them. This passive position, renounces any possibility that there may be some religious truths that may be true for everybody, or can be evaluated by everybody for some unanimous results. If people hold wrong beliefs in our view, it doesn’t let us to mistreat them, in the same way that agreeing with other’s beliefs doesn’t justify any favoritism.

(posted by Farid)
Posted:Sunday, July 27, 2003 | 

Immanuel Kant's notion of "True Liberty" in a Secular State (4)

The second problematic issue with the Kantian notion of "true liberty" is the function of the state in this newly created power vacuum. In the secularism discourse, as mentioned before, the state is vested with an invisible power in order to bind all together. The mechanism through which the state accomplishes such a task is a subtle process through which the individual gradually and unconsciously internalizes the invisible power of the state. This, however, is contradictory to the original secularism promise of true freedom.
In this system, the state provides the necessary regulation for all the primary institutions in the society; therefore, the essential but secondary entity of the state emerges as a regulatory instrument to guarantee the smooth functioning of the society. The state is responsible to do so within the realm of law, which is supposedly detached from peculiarities of any groups and is rooted in the concept of universal moral law. As I discussed earlier, assuming such a role for the state was made and legitimized upon Kantian assumption of "pure law," which he introduces "as the supreme ground of all our maxims."
Kant argues that in order to recover and restore its purity "the law itself is to be incorporated into the power of choice, not merely bound to other incentives, nor indeed subordinated to them as conditions, but rather in its full purity, as the self-sufficient incentive of that power." He refers to the concept of habituation as a strategy to accomplish this task and states that virtue is "acquired little by little." Thus, power relation between the individual and the state becomes internalized. This transformation of the direct involvement of the state, as the sole instrument of practicing authority and power, to a system within which authority becomes internalized by way of institutions, including the educational system and factories, coincides with the transformation of religion from a prevalent power to an internalized spirituality.

(written by Navid)
(posted by farid)
Posted:Sunday, July 27, 2003 | 

Immanuel Kant's notion of "True Liberty" in a Secular State (3)


The public sphere, probably the most important product of the Enlightenment, was supposed to be separated from religion and religious values. It is essential, however, to discern the origin of, and the historical events leading to, creation of this central concept of secular discourse. In the eighteenth century England, as Peter van der Veer shows, creation of the public sphere galvanized voluntary groups of Evangelical Christians, who believed deeply in the concept of Natural Religion, which as Talal Asad argues, is rooted in the Christian values.
Asad’s analysis shows that in the seventeenth century a systematic attempt was made to produce a universal definition of religion. He states that, "the fragmentation of the unity and authority of the Roman church and the consequent wars of religion, which tore European principalities apart" constituted the social context within which such an attempt was made possible. This attempt resulted in creation of Natural Religion. This response which was particularly developed to address problems of Christian theology resulted in emergence of the universal phenomenon called Natural Religion. Asad emphasizes that this, "was a crucial step in formation of the modern concept of religious belief, experience, and practice."
In this process, Christianity becomes redefined in terms of Natural Religion and its values in terms of universal values. Therefore, although in a different framework, religion becomes a central part of the public sphere. Thus, as van der Veer states, " Enlightenment did not do away with religion in Europe…there continued to be a direct connection between natural science and natural religion, as well as between political debate and religion." This so-called liberal public sphere, therefore, not only did not provide a value free sphere encompassing all the citizens, but also historically excluded certain groups of people.

(posted by Farid)
Posted:Friday, July 25, 2003 | 

Nikahang Kowsar in Montreal



Nikahang Kowsar, an Iranian cartoonist, will have an exhibition of his works on Sunday July 27 at Concordia University. He is in Canada by invitation of the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists (ACEC) for their annual meeting. His speech is about "Iranian Editorial Cartoonists vs. Political Power; In Iran and Abroad" I do not know why the majoirty of his works are about George W Bush.

( posted by Iman)

Posted:Friday, July 25, 2003 | 

Immanuel Kant's notion of "True Liberty" in a Secular State (2)

A gradual transformation, Kant argues, would be achieved through "the will of the world ruler." He states that, "this ruler invisibly binds all together, under a common government, in a state inadequately represented and prepared for in the past through the visible church." Under this condition of "true freedom," he believes that, equality springs up and the degrading distinction between laity and clergy ceases.
To recapitulate, Kant believes that the embedded power of "reason" in individuals within a condition of "true freedom" would make salvation accessible to all. Also, that there should not be any visible church vested with the power over individuals since it violates the requirement of salvation as an inner journey. Accordingly, the state must become merely that invisible power which binds all together to provide the necessary sphere within which individuals would have a chance to flourish: the condition of true freedom.
Kant's assumptions, concerning the existence of a "pure religion" and "moral law," also the ability of individuals to access and discover them through the power of "reason," qualifies him to define an abstract sphere detached from the society within an imaginary vacuum and utopian condition of "true liberty." It is not my goal, however, to challenge these assumptions, but rather to engage the concept of "true liberty" and demonstrate the merits of this secularism's promise.
This condition of true liberty, that is to be established through an invisible force of government, accordingly has to have two main characteristics. First, it needs to be devoid of any predetermined values, including religious ones. Second, no external forces within this sphere should interfere with the inner journey of individuals. Here, I will challenge these two promises of secularism. First, I will historicize the processes through which the concept of public sphere, a sphere in which individual has to be able to experience the condition of "true liberty," has been produced. Second, I will demonstrate the mechanism with which the external power of the secular state interferes with the inner journey of individuals.

(written by Navid)
(posted by Farid)
Posted:Thursday, July 24, 2003 | 

Iranian students in McGill


Last week I came across McGill Iranian students’ website. They had an outdoor picnic. I thought it might be a good opportunity to know more people in Montreal. The location was Parc Jean Drapeau formerly known as the Parc-des-Iles, a beautiful park in an island in the south shore of Montreal. The most wonderful part of park is Biosphere .

Anyway, I took metro to get there. I found them easily; by Iranian pop music! I thought many people would come. Though the meeting was scheduled at 11, most of them (about 15) showed up in the afternoon! I found them nice and friendly people. We talked about different issues like the Iranian community in Montreal, their interest, political affiliation and also McGill Iranian students and their activities. They said that there are about 100 Iranian students in McGill. Most of them study in undergraduate faculties. It seems that this association is not active. As far as I know McGill is a conservative university and people usually enjoy their life!! (I do not know why universities that I have studied till now, all have been conservative. I think I am not a conservative person!). We talked about medical education since some of them want to enter to medical school in future. Apart from this fact that Medicine in Canada is competitive, they believed that after September 11 the situation has become worse!. They thought it is easier for a Jewish applicant to get position in medical school.
The organizers provided a nice fast food and we played a friendly football game ( I was goalkeeper!)
I hope that I have time to participate in their activities. I suggested them to develop their website. In compare to other Iranians student association in Canada like Concordia University , University of Alberta, University of Toronto it is very simple without any update information. Of course, you can find some links to Iranian/Persian delicious recipes!!

(posted by Iman)
Posted:Wednesday, July 23, 2003 | 

This is written by Navid ; my brother.

Immanuel Kant's notion of "True Liberty" in a Secular State(1)

Abstract

Immanuel Kant, in his Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason, argues for separation of religion and state, an ideology known as secularism. He claims that the human being needs a condition of "true liberty" in which the universal faculty of "reason" would be rendered capable of discovering "moral law" and "pure religion." This claim enabled him to argue for secularism. He asserts that only in a condition of "true liberty" individuals can access their inner true potential; consequently, he claims that no outer force is capable of providing such a possibility. Therefore, he believes that excluding religion, as an established controlling power, from the political sphere is imperative in order to achieve the state of "true liberty." This argument constitutes the underpinning of the secular thesis, the foundation of the contemporary political discourse.
In this paper, I will argue that secularization thesis not only suffers ideologically, but itself becomes an oppressive framework and therefore unable to deliver its promise of "true liberty." Also, I will demonstrate that this foundation has some serious consequences in our contemporary political discourse.

First, however, I would like to elaborate on Kant's argument and his rationale.

Kant believes that it is the individual's responsibility to work his way towards "pure religion." He accordingly argues that in order to accomplish such a task a type of inner feelings of duty within the individual needs to be created. He believes that this inner quality is the only route to salvation. Consequently, any other force, which would impose certain qualities on the human being, has no merit since it would not change the inner. He states, "[T]here is absolutely no salvation for human beings except in the innermost adoption of genuine moral principles in their disposition." He refers to any other attempts to achieve this state as a "perversity," and goes on to say that, "to interfere with this adoption is surely not the so often blamed sensibility but a certain self-incurred perversity." He believes that this "innermost adoption of genuine moral principles" is a gradual reform.

(posted by Farid)
Posted:Wednesday, July 23, 2003 | 

This is a wonderful cartoon. It has been published in the Gozresh, an Iranian periodical magazine. Alas! its editor is in jail now! and its reason is obvious!!

(posted by Iman)


Posted:Wednesday, July 23, 2003 | 

Pluralism(14)

A:You also confirmed my guess in not believing in Muhammad as a prophet, so you see my surprise that how can it be possible that somebody believes in prophethood of someone, but still think that he is not his teacher.
This is that version of pluralism that I don’t understand, and in fact this is the gist of what I was going to write now, but since this email already is too big, I’ll send it separately soon.

B: IF I were born into the Muslim religion it is almost certain that I would accept Mohamed as my prophet. But that was not my experience. Nor when I read about it is there any inclination on my part to study Islam. I don't find fault with it. I just say it is not my path this lifetime. There are many Christian teachers. I ignore some of them because their path does not fit mine. But I acknowledge that they have helped other people. I don't go to AA because it is not my path. I don't have a problem with alcohol. I applaud those who do go and practice the concepts. I would say that pluralism implies that there are many ways to reach God. I know there are Buddhist, Baptist, Hindu and Muslim saints. Each has followed the course that they felt drawn to. I don't have a problem with someone following a different course than mine though that does make me a sort of odd ball in Christianity. I do have a problem with a Buddhist, Baptist, Hindu, Muslim etc who uses his religion to attack others and does harm to others. I do not believe that he/she is really relating to God but merely following the teaching of some fanatic teacher.

(posted by Farid)
Posted:Tuesday, July 22, 2003 | 

Freedom and red lines!

Sometimes we try to find some scientific documents to show moral or rational base for a social issue. I think it is not always reliable. It is really challenging and in many cases, it is confusing especially in the western world that freedom is an important issue. Homosexuality is one of those issues that people have tried to solve it by considering human rights. However, all debates are not like this. A recent heated argument in Canada is the decriminalization of Marijuana.


They say that it is necessary for some patients and it should be available. They have some reasons to prove their claim. However, the medicinal use of Marijuana is controversial. Regarding the therapeutic effect of Marijuana, in Harrison textbook of Medicine it is written

Marijuana administered as cigarettes or as a synthetic oral cannabinoid (dronabinol), has been proposed to have a number of properties that may be clinically useful in some situations. These include antiemetic effects in chemotherapy recipients, appetite-promoting effects in AIDS, reduction of intraocular pressure in glaucoma, and reduction of spasticity in multiple sclerosis and other neurologic disorders. With the possible exception of AIDS-related cachexia, none of these attributes of marijuana compounds is clearly superior to other readily available therapies. Furthermore, any therapeutic benefit of marijuana must be balanced against the many unhealthy psychoactive effects associated with its use.

There are many other similar examples like swinging, sex in teenagersHow can we define the red lines in a society? Is it possible that we have a free society without any restriction? I do not know what we would say if some people try to decriminalize opium!

(posted by Iman)




Posted:Monday, July 21, 2003 | 

Ma liberté de penser


by Florent Pagny via Nabavionline


Mes chers amis appréciez-le!!


Quitte à tout prendre prenez mes gosses et la télé,
Ma brosse à dent mon revolver la voiture ça c'est déjà fait,
Avec les interdits bancaires prenez ma femme, le canapé,
Le micro onde, le frigidaire,
Et même jusqu'à ma vie privée
De toute façon à découvert,
Je peux bien vendre mon âme au Diable,
Avec lui on peut s'arranger,
Puisque ici tout est négociable, mais vous n'aurez pas,
Ma liberté de penser.


Prenez mon lit, les disques d'or, ma bonne humeur,
Les petites cuillères, tout ce qu'à vos yeux a de la valeur,
Et dont je n'ai plus rien à faire, quitte à tout prendre n'oubliez pas,
Le shit planqué sous l'étagère,
Tout ce qui est beau et compte pour moi,
J' préfère que ça parte à l'Abbé Pierre,
J' peux donner mon corps à la science,
S' il y'a quelque chose à prélever,
Et que ça vous donne bonne conscience, mais vous n'aurez pas,
Ma liberté de penser.

Ma liberté de penser.


J' peux vider mes poches sur la table,
Ca fait longtemps qu'elles sont trouées,
Baisser mon froc j'en suis capable, mais vous n'aurez pas,
Ma liberté de penser.


Quitte à tout prendre et tout solder,
Pour que vos petites affaires s'arrangent,
J' prends juste mon pyjama rayé,
Et je vous fais cadeaux des oranges,
Vous pouvez même bien tout garder,
J'emporterai rien en enfer,
Quitte à tout prendre j' préfère y' aller,
Si le paradis vous est offert,
Je peux bien vendre mon âme au diable,
Avec lui on peut s'arranger,
Puisque ici tout est négociable, mais vous n'aurez pas,
Non vous n'aurez pas,
Ma liberté de penser.
Ma liberté de penser.


(posted by Iman)


Posted:Sunday, July 20, 2003 | 

Pluralism(13)

A:(cont. from last part)… now when Job asked about the reason of this, God answered that you are not always aware of the reason behind things; so what we have here is that we have the fact but we don't understand the reason behind it, but implicit in God's answer is that what God does is the best for his people, though they don't understand the reason immediately, now in our situation, we can ask God , "why didn't you send all prophets at the same time, since it would be better”, and his answer that "you don't understand the reason fully " again has implicit in it that this is the best for people; and this is what I was trying to say, that even people may have different tendencies towards different ways, it isn't the best thing that they obey the one they choose, but its the best that they choose the one that is sent for their time, since this is what God is doing.This is the way God is sending his prophets, so even we like it or not, this is the best for us.

B: I AGREE with that.

(posted by Farid)


Posted:Sunday, July 20, 2003 | 

Freedom of hatred



For me, Nelson Mandela is the symbol of freedom. Freedom of hatred! This is the first step toward a free society. I think it is impossible to have a free society based on hatred and revenge. I usually look at what people who talk about free society in Iran. It is not difficult to find hatred in many of them!
(posted by Iman)

Posted:Saturday, July 19, 2003 | 

Pluralism(12)

A:I have studied Job and I liked it so much; your referring to this story means that you don't have the answer to my question but consider it a working of God that we may not necessarily understand. Let’s look at it more closely:
We know for sure that God deliberately put Job in trouble (though by Satan's being the one who made God do that by his doubting righteousness of job), so this is what we are sure about,…(cont. in the next post)

B: "We know for sure . . ." (THOSE ARE DANGEROUS WORDS I don't think we know that for sure. I think that Job is a symbolic or metaphysical parable. You can read it many ways. What I believe is true is that God allows Satan to tempt us. Does God allow Satan to torture us? I don't believe that though I can see how one could get that from reading Job. Job indicated that HE BROUGHT IT ALL ON HIMSELF. I believe that. He said, "That which I greatly feared has come upon me." I think we attract situations to ourselves by our beliefs. That does not explain everything but it explains some things. Reincarnation also explains a lot things. Again, that's a theory, but I believe it.

(posted by Farid)


Posted:Friday, July 18, 2003 | 

Insecurity Driving Iraqi Women Indoors!

Human Rights Watch said in a report

The insecurity plaguing Baghdad and other Iraqi cities has a distinct and debilitating impact on the daily lives of women and girls, preventing them from participating in public life at a crucial time in their country's history.

The report also found that U.S. military police were not filling the gap when Iraqi police were unwilling or unable to conduct serious investigations of sexual violence and abduction. Human Rights Watch said this inadequate attention to the needs of women and girls has led to an inability, and in some cases an unwillingness, by police to conduct serious investigations. In some cases, reports of sexual violence and abduction to police were lost.

Probably Americans would say this is the price of freedom!

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Friday, July 18, 2003 | 

Pluralism(11)


B: To me, all this discussion about theology and beliefs is simply an intellectual exercise. There is nothing wrong with that, but it does not make one any more or less spiritual. Mother Teresa chided a group of experts who were discussing hunger. She said, You sit and talk about it. When I see a hungry person, I feed them. The difference, to me, between religion and spirituality is that religion is an intellectual activity. There are rules and reasons and explanations. It is concerned with the letter of the law. Spirituality is concerned with the spirit of the law. It is concerned with doing godly things in order to serve God whom one loves deeply. Jesus condemned the religious leaders of his day. Why? Because they were into who is right, wrong, etc. and didn't serve the needy, etc. If God is love, then the test of loving God is showing love to others. I have little respect for titles, for people who have degrees or positions in a church. My respect goes to the people who are living a godly life. What prayers for you and your family.

(posted by Farid)
Posted:Thursday, July 17, 2003 | 

AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis: Funding shortfall

Couple of years ago, somebody told me if you want to study and research in Medicine, it would be better to choose the diseases in wealthy people like heart diseases, Cancer, Obesity and the like and you cannot find anything in research fields like Tuberculosis, Malaria and recently AIDS. Now I see what he said!

(posted by Iman)


Posted:Thursday, July 17, 2003 | 

Freedom

Pooya an Iranian blogger in London has posted a thoughtful note about Freedom and his childhood experince.

It's a beautiful thing to be free and much more appreciated when you've arrived and had to earn your freedom rather than having it handed to you at birth..
I was quite young when I left Iran and there are few memories I have of the time before. Most of them are pleasant images of my family and my childhood but some are grim reminders of what life is like for many people across the world.
The freedom I cherished more as I grew was the freedom from the education that they wished to teach me. The freedom to live free of religious brainwashing was a gift from my father, who despite being a very religious person, understood implicitly that faith is not something that is delivered at the barrel of the gun and morality is something you learn by the examples of your parents and family.. His gift has enriched my life as much as his self-sacrifice in bringing me into an opportunity filled world.

That said, freedom is a scary thing and what is worse is that sometimes those who take their own freedoms for granted can so easily steal that which you cherish and suffered to have.
Today as I watch my countrymen in Iran struggle to find their voice and their own freedom, it would be ungrateful of me to complain about the weaknesses of the world I inhabit but it would be a disservice to all those who have suffered in the name of freedom if we were to lose the vigilance that guarantees our continued prosperity.

Those who expect to reap the blessing of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it - Thomas Paine

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Wednesday, July 16, 2003 | 

Pluralism(10)

A: in a [] view, all the prophets are one, their truth and source is one, so if you find Jesus the right teacher, you also should find Muhammad the right teacher, the only difference is that prophets come according to the different needs of the people of that time, so the last prophet is the right one for everyone in my view.
B: I agree that different prophets fit different teachers. I don't see that the last one is right for everyone. Muslims in 2003 are still into Mohamed. Christians are into Jesus. Buddhings into the Buddha.
A: Apart from all these, I want to ask you something else, you said that you think Jesus is the right prophet for you, and it makes you serve people and helps you become more Godly. Since becoming Godly is a progressive thing and doesn't stop at some point, how can you be sure that Jesus was and is and will be the best prophet for you.
B: Based on my life experience I can conceive that I might change my mind. But based on my inner convictions, I don't think I will.

(posted by Farid)


Posted:Wednesday, July 16, 2003 | 

The Gorilla in Dallas Zoo

I spent three hours in the Dallas Zoo today. The most interesting for me was a big gorilla, about three times as big as an ordinary man, acting very solemnly, turning his eyes quite deliberately with an obvious intention to look and find out about something followed by an occasional gaze that I have never seen in any other animal. He had a big stick at his hand, standing there with a human pose watched by all the people around him.He seemed in full control of his head and eye movements, conscious about the presence of people there. It reminded me of the documentary I saw on TV a while ago about a famous gorilla who could communicate with some bodily signs with his trainer.

(posted by Farid)
Posted:Tuesday, July 15, 2003 | 

Political Islam

The recent report of the International Crisis Group (ICG) is interesting. This report is about the political Islam in central Asia.

To avoid future instability, Central Asian states need to re-examine their policies towards Islam and step back from reliance on repression. Seventy years of Soviet rule in Central Asia did not crush Islam but it had a profound effect in secularising society and political elites. Nevertheless, after independence there was a surge of interest in Islam, including the emergence of political Islamist groups seeking to challenge the secular nature of these new states. The heavy-handed repression of early manifestations of political Islam led to confrontation, violence, and the appearance of extremist and terrorist groups.

For a secular state, people should reach to this point that Islamic democracy is not possible( this is a paradoxical combination). In fact, they are one step behaind!.Many Islamic nations think that an Islamic government is better than any kind of democracy. So is it possible to force people who fundamentally believe a religious system to accept a secular state? Democracy comes next! Turkey is a good example. Though it has a secular government, the society is religious and you can find the radical and extremist people everywhere.

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Tuesday, July 15, 2003 | 

Pluralism(9)
A: if different people are different in their tendencies to follow different religious paths, the God should have sent all the prophets with all the different ways at the same time, at the start of human's life, so all the people would have equal opportunity to follow their right prophet, how would a just God fail to do that? If one prophet is right for someone, but not for another, it wouldn't be justice to send all these different ways to approach God at different times, since lots of people are being deprived of their best teacher in this way.

B:In the above paragraph you are telling God what He or She should have done. If you read the story of Job you get some insight into that. After all of Job's questioning of God, God shows up and starts asking Job some questions. One of the first one is how can you use your limited understanding to question my actions? "Job 38:2 "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Job 38:3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shallanswer me.Job 38:4 "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Then Job said, Wow, I've been speaking about things that I know nothing about.

(posted by Farid)
Posted:Monday, July 14, 2003 | 

pluralism(8)

A(quoting B’s words at the beginning): "I do not believe Mohammed is my teacher so I do not follow him" : but my feeling is that you don't believe that he is also a prophet of God. that's why I asked what should a person who believes in prophethood of someone do? is he still wise not to follow him?

B:I don't know what to believe about Mohamed. I guess, if pushed to come up with an opinion, I would say that he had a faulty contact with the Divine but still a contact. By that I mean that he was in touch with his higher sefl but had to filter it through a lot of junk and so what came out was not all good. The Jews had an interesting standard for a prophet. 100% accuracy or death. I don't have any idea why various things happen. Sure, I can come up with opinions but why God permits this or that will always be a mystery. But I cling to one rock, that God is love.

(Posted by Farid)


Posted:Sunday, July 13, 2003 | 

Clerics and popularity:Generalization !

I think after 25 years many Iranians have learned that they should not trust or hate anybody only because of her or his profession. It is mentioned every where that Iranians like to change their political system and prefer more secular state. Generally speaking, Iranians are religious and still respect religious people!. Ayatollah Montazeri, Mohsen Kadivar, Abdolah Noori (former interior minister), Hasan Yusefi Eshkavari and some other clergymen are popular. If president Khatami resigns, he will again become one of the most popular people in Iran. Today Mullah, an insulting expression for a clergyman, is used for official one!!. Generalization is an illness that comes from weak minds!! You can not hate or trust all members of a social class!
(posted by Iman)

Posted:Sunday, July 13, 2003 | 

Death sentence to 4 Years!!

Hashem Aghajari was the history professor at Tarbiat Moddarres University in Tehran. Now he is sentenced to four years in jail and also he is barred from running for office or occupying a government post for five years. Last November, he was condemned to death, banned from teaching for 10 years, exiled for eight years to three remote cities and sentenced to receive 74 lashes.
I always think about this issue whether human beings are created to be scarified for Religions or Religions are sent for human beings evolution! How can we kill people (or any other punishments) for religion? Why some people think that God does not have power to keep his religions?

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Sunday, July 13, 2003 | 

pluralism(7)

A: you added this : as long as it produces godly fruit: many fundamentalist and terrorist groups strongly believe that what they are doing is the right thing and that brings Godly fruit, and they think that this is the best way they are serving people, they think by killing Americans they are serving them, since they are stopping them form doing more sins, and they also are dictating their heart, so it turn out to be a very dangerous guideline if we leave it to everyone's notion of the right thing and the right service to humans.
B:Yes, they think it is fruit but it is not. This is what I meant by the heart is deceitful. However, if I met a deeply spiritual (not religious) Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, etc. I believe that their lives would show fruit. I can't conceive of a Mother Teresa,Gandhi, Dali Lama, etc, people whom I consider to be on a path to God, deciding to bomb and kill innocent people. I can conceive of people being convinced that this is good, but that does not make it good and spiritual people know that in their heart.

(posted by Farid)

Posted:Saturday, July 12, 2003 | 

Iran like volcano



I think Iran has the most unpredictable society in the world. It is really complicated and has a unique situation in the region. They are like Volcano. Like Damavand the highest mountain in Iran. Now it is inactive. There is a lot of snow on the top of it in all of the year. Damavand has been a tower of stability and constancy. We have not yet forgotten Shah’s regime and revolution 1979 and presidential election in 1997. Iranians have been dangerous for dictators!!

(posted by Iman)





Posted:Saturday, July 12, 2003 | 

pluralism(6)

A: I think what our heart tells us is the product of how we strive for perfection, avoiding prejudices, seeking for truth, asking God earnestly for guidance,... the more we move towards this direction, the dictates of our heart will become more advanced and correct, it seems to me that simply saying that everyone should follow his dictate of his heart doesn't solve anything.
B:No, it does not solve everything. A lot of hearts, like computer files, have been corrupted. This is why we have laws, etc. In my ideal society we would have spiritual elders who would counsel the wayward. If that failed to persuade them we would have to take other measures. The heart can be evil as well as good. I am assuming that when I say "follow your heart" one already has commitment to God. If not, then the heart can be quite deceitful. To recap,” The follow your heart, your inner guidance," advice applies only to those who take the spiritual path seriously.

(Posted by Farid)

Posted:Friday, July 11, 2003 | 

Shahram , Helen , And The New Baby Girl

We were neighbors about three months of my four months stay in Vienna .We had great time together, going everywhere in the mystic city of Vienna. It was a four-month that I was in heaven. Can any place be more beautiful for me than Vienna? I don’t think so. Just the memory of it takes me to heaven. My cousin and me are driving to Houston tomorrow morning for our third visit to them; but this time they have an angel with them; a new baby girl. It’s four hours driving from Dallas, so taking off at 8 A.M, we will be there around noon. They are a wonderful couple; very dear friends of mine and my cousin’s.

(Posted by Farid)
Posted:Friday, July 11, 2003 | 

pluralism(5)

Since B has quoted the question he is addressing first and then has given his answer, I don’t have any other way but to post it in this form , or it will be hard to know what question he is addressing. These are the questions I posted in the previous post. I break up his email to short pieces to make it easier to follow the issue.
A:me
B: his answer

Dear Farid,You bring up some excellent points. Here is my $.02.
A:it seems atheists also follow the same thing, would you say that this is the best for them?
B:No, I think atheist are missing the boat. I think they are making a bad mistake but I leave it with God who sees the heart to judge them. I believe we all have an internal compass, a God compass which is responsible for our conscience though we can easily manipulate that to justify anything.

(posted by Farid)
Posted:Friday, July 11, 2003 | 

This has always been such a unique and extremely pleasant tune
to me ; strange that I have never heard it on radio in America.

Emotion In Motion

I would do anything
To hold on to you
Just about anything
Until you pull through
I'd hold on to you
'til the stars no longer wink
I'd hold on to you
'til you figure out
Just what to think

You're emotion in motion
My magical potion
You're emotion in motion to me

I would go anywhere
To meet up with you
Just about anywhere
For one rendezvous
I'd hold on to you
'til the mountains crumble flat
I'd hold on to you
'til you figure out
Just where you're at

You're emotion in motion
My magical potion
You're emotion in motion to me

I would do anything
To hold on to you
Just about anything
That you want me to
I'd hold on to you
'til you take it all in stride
I'd hold on to you
If you want to stay here
By my side

You're emotion in motion
My magical potion
You're emotion in motion to me

You're emotion in motion
My magical potion
You're emotion in motion to me

You're emotion in motion
[emotion in motion]
My magical potion
You're emotion in motion to me

fade out with chorus:
You're emotion in motion
My magical potion
You're emotion in motion to me

(by Ric Ocasek )
(posted by Farid)



Posted:Thursday, July 10, 2003 | 

My experience in Canada (3): Canadian embassy in Tehran

I would like to start with my first experience with Canada. Canadian embassy in Tehran!. I think that it is the smallest embassy in Iran. There is not any waiting room for people who go there for asking some questions. You have to go there early in the morning and many things are done through a window with big, thick and dark glasses. You can imagine how it is in summer and winter. I do not know what Canadians think if they would be in a similar situation. One day I was waiting outside of the embassy and it was snowing. When you get the visa application forms, the lengthy process starts. You have to complete different forms and write all details about yourself and your family where they live what they do. The funny part was that you have to mention the exact dates of birthdays. You have to calculate (from Persian to roman calendar) all dates or ask your family.

You need to undergo a medical examination like blood test, chest X ray. Unfortunately, there are only four specialists that Canada has designated them and are authorized to perform the immigration medical exams and they are free to do whatever they like. In Iran, the specialist’s visit charge is around 5-7 CND$. They charge you 25 CND$. However, their assistants exam you (I did not see my doctor). For a chest X ray and other test, you have to pay 2-3 times more since you cannot go everywhere to do these tests. For sending your documents to a center in France, they charge you about 50 CND$ but its real cost is around 30!. Therefore, for an student visa you may charged about 400 CND$. In compare to other countries, it is unbelievable. For example for Norway is it about 40 CND$!!
The most stressful part is the interview day. Your future is in a Canadian officer’ hands!

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Thursday, July 10, 2003 | 

Fiddler On The Roof


“Criticized at first for its "limited appeal", Fiddler on the Roof struck such a universal chord in
audiences that it became, for a time, the longest running production in the history of Broadway.”

Especially it was pleasing to me because of issues I am interested in like the fight of tradition and
modernity, superstitious religion and reason, music and ….It’s one of those films that would never
be old and should be seen every several years once. Problems depicted in this film can be found
as fresh and serious as they were thirty two years ago at many places in the world today. Behind
its comic and simple façade, it portrays very deep issues that everyone should spend time to think
and read about them, and discuss them with others. I encourage those who still haven't got the
chance to see it to visit their local libraries to hopefully find a copy of it.

(Posted by Farid)



Posted:Wednesday, July 09, 2003 | 

9th July

By Amir Nooriala via Mojtaba

Today He lived today he died


Today He lived today he died,
The day he died, no one cried,
Long forgotten the pain he paid,
All they have is from his grave.

A young man walks headband blood soaked
He fought for dreams for Victory he hoped
His time was now He fought for change
Change follows him now, but it is not the same

Student friends hide revolutionary smiles
In parks old men's ties offer silent denials
Short-sleeved clergy lend prayers to the needy
Only once a week my friend don't be greedy

History's cyclical times and past cyclical mistakes
Rushing for change, Bureaucracy forcing the brakes
Fighters have drive, but lost leadership and dreams
Their protests and pain need a leader driven scheme

A father's smile while no music is played
Her mothers hum while no dancing displayed
His sister is in white sitting quietly proud
White dress covering the floor silently loud

No free artistry any more
Activities dictated by law
Show your joy respectfully,
Iran has changed regretfully.

Long forgotten sorrows
Of yesterdays tomorrows
Lead me to believe his dreams and hopes have failed

(poted by Iman)
Posted:Wednesday, July 09, 2003 | 

Laleh and Ladan: for their bravery

I think that they were brave to risk their lives. Nobody could say the exact risk of that operation. Subjectively, it can be said that it was a high-risk operation and for example 90 % (in fact, they guessed since they could not calculate this probability)! Suppose they thought there was 10 % chance. In this 10 %, they tried their chance. Unfortunately, they failed! However, how many people may try their chance? We are mostly conservative in our life!

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Wednesday, July 09, 2003 | 

Pluralism(4)

A(me): 1-[on everyone following the dictate of his heart]It seems atheists also follow the same thing, would you say that this is the best for them? I think what our heart tells us is the product of how we strive for perfection, avoiding prejudices, seeking for truth, asking God earnestly for guidance... , the more we move towards this direction, the dictates of our heart will become more advanced and correct; it seems to me that simply saying that everyone should follow his dictate of his heart doesn't solve anything
2- you added this : as long as it produces godly fruit: many fundamentalist and terrorist groups strongly believe that what they are doing is the right thing and that brings Godly fruit, and they think that this is the best way they are serving people, they think by killing Americans they are serving them, since they are stopping them form doing more sins, and they also are dictating their heart, so it turn out to be a very dangerous guideline if we leave it to everyone's notion of the right thing and the right service to humans.
3- "I do not believe Mohammed is my teacher so I do not follow him" : but my feeling is that you don't believe that he is also a prophet of God. that's why I asked what should a person who believes in prophethood of someone do? is he still wise not to follow him? but if you believe that he is a prophet, but still not the right prophet for you, then it rises the question that I also asked in the previous email: why did God send him to suffer so much, lots of his followers being killed, change many laws of Christianity, bring so many different laws and ... . why didn't he himself mention this that its equal to follow me or any other religion? if different people are different in their tendencies to follow different religious paths, the God should have sent all the prophets with all the different ways at the same time , at the start of human's life, so all the people would have equal opportunity to follow their right prophet, how would a just God fail to do that? if one prophet is right for someone, but not for another, it wouldn't be justice to send all these different ways to approach God at different times, since lots of people are being deprived of their best teacher in this way. In a [] view, all the prophets are one, their truth and source is one, so if you find Jesus the right teacher, you also should find Muhammad the right teacher, the only difference is that prophets come according to the different needs of the people of that time, so the last prophet is the right one for everyone.Apart from all these, I want to ask you something else; you said that you think Jesus is the right prophet for you, and it makes you serve people and helps you become more Godly. Since becoming Godly is a progressive thing and doesn't stop at some point, how can you be sure that Jesus was and is and will be the best prophet for you.

(posted by Farid)
Posted:Tuesday, July 08, 2003 | 

Unfortunately Iranian twins passed away in surgery

We never forget their courage.
(posted by Iman)


Posted:Tuesday, July 08, 2003 | 

Winona Ryder or Elizabeth Taylor ?

How do you compare their beauties? I like to
know how different tastes of beauty do this.

(posted by Farid)
Posted:Monday, July 07, 2003 | 

The US and dictators

I think the United States usually has particular policy in the Middle East. Supporting the dictators as long as they are harmless! 1953, the year that elected prime minister, Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh was overthrown by a coup supported by CIA and shah was returned to power. He could continue 26 years dictatorship in Iran. However, since then Mohammad Mossadegh has been the most popular politician in Iran.
Now it is easy to find a ridiculous paradox. In contemporary history of Iran in recent 50 years, States supported the coup and Shah’s regime and then they helped Saddam in Iran- Iraq war. 24 years after revolution, again they are going to support another member of Shah’s family. I do not know who ask States and this person to help Iranian people.
Who did ask him to do this mission?

his "only mission" was to lead Iran towards a democratic choice of government. "On that day I've said my mission in life would be accomplished

Even in Afghanistan that majority of people are uneducated, they did not accept Monarchy system!
(posted by Iman)

Posted:Monday, July 07, 2003 | 

Lale and Ladan( the twins)

I think I saw them once in Tehran several years ago when they got on the same
bus I was in.I remember not seeing a similar thing before, I felt so bad. Maybe there
were another twin though, but they were quite similar to them.I hope
eveything goes fine.

(posted by Farid)

Posted:Monday, July 07, 2003 | 

Education

Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel. -Socrates
(posted by Iman)

Posted:Sunday, July 06, 2003 | 

Star Spangled Fourth

Last night I saw Diamond Rio and tonight it was Rick Springfield that "fried our brain" as he put it himself.
It was a great program with lots of pep and hustle. See some of the comments here

(posted by Farid)
Posted:Sunday, July 06, 2003 | 

My experience in Canada (2)

I am glad that some of you find it interesting subject. I would like to write about my observations, feeling and interpretations. You know that we do not have any pure observation and always see things through our point of view which is affected by our background and prejudgment. If you add our ignorance, you will find that many opinions and thoughts should be criticized. So I am always uncertain about what other people say. I think this is very difficult way of living and all the time my mind is occupied by many questions and I have to think about what I am doing or saying. I usually compare what I have thought before with what I see in the reality. I like to think about the concept of normality, an issue that usually people do not think about. I am curious to know whether a law or commonsense in a society is rational or not. It is not easy for me to accept any idea. I have to think about it. I cannot change my personality and cannot stop thinking! Maybe this is because of my profession which is finding a disease. I am happy when people are healthy. Please let me know if you find any illusion, delusion or misunderstanding in my posts.
(posted by Iman)

Posted:Saturday, July 05, 2003 | 

My experience in Canada (1)


About 10 weeks ago I arrived in Montréal. Though it is not my first experience in the west, this is the first exposure to the North America. All the time I have been busy. You know that finding, say waiting to find a space in the university!, defining the scope of my project takes time. Indeed, I have started a part time job and learning French. All these are time consuming. However, because of my curiosity, I have been trying to know more about Canadian people, their culture, life style, thoughts, wishes and of course their medical system. Anyway, I think it would be interesting to know what an Iranian thinks about the North America. My questions, concerns and interpretation. I write these things to compare with what I may think in future. I hope you can give me your idea about what I write in this regard.

(posted by Iman)


Posted:Friday, July 04, 2003 | 

Human rights

Mr kadivar has a new talk on human rights which is good to listen to.

(posted by Farid)


PS from Iman:

For readers who do not know Persian and Mr. Mohsen Kadivar

Mohsen Kadivar is an Iranian scholar, theologian and dissident. Mr. Kadivar is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Tarbiat Modares University in Iran. He was visiting scholar in Islamic Legal Studies, Harvard Law School. He was the Director of the Department of Islamic Thought, Center for Strategic Research from 1991 until 1999. His first book, Theories of State in Shiite Fiqh, came out in 1998. Altogether, he has published 12 books. Kadivar was arrested for the first time in May 1978 - the last year of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi Shah's reign in Iran - in Shiraz during the Islamic uprising which later led to the overthrow of the monarchy. 20 years later, the unconstitutional Cleric Court of Iran found him guilty of campaigning against the Islamic Republic because of the statements he had made in an interview with the banned Khordad Daily in which he reviewed the achievements of the Islamic Republic (1979-99) and a speech in Isfahan where he argued that acts of terrorism are condemned in the eyes of the Shiite faith; he was sentenced to spend 18 months in Evin Prison, Tehran, and was released on July 17, 2000.
He is an open minded cleric and I respect him regardless his religion and profession.
I recommend reading the following articles in the English part of his website:
The freedom of thought and religion in Islam
Political rights of people in Islam
Posted:Thursday, July 03, 2003 | 

Pluralism(3)

All of this part is B’s email in answer to my questions in the last part, except the part indicated by letter A, which is my question that he has rewritten before giving his own answer .

B-It is difficult to answer your question because belief is such a personal things. I used to believe that Jesus was the only one you could follow and get to Heaven.But then I started reading and learning about people of other faiths. I saw that Ramakrisna, Yogananda, Gandhi, and other great ones loved God with such a passion that I can only hope to emulate.To me, there are Buddhist saints, holy people committed to God. Baptist ones, Muslim.I am not saying that all paths are equal because I do not know that for certain. I do know that all paths produce saints. Some of my friends go to very conservative, black or white thinking churches. They are too rigid and judgmnental for me. However, it that church brings them closer to God then how can I criticize their choice?
A- 1-does it mean that if a new prophet comes and even I believe in him/her, I don't need to follow him/her, and that I can achieve the same goal through another religion?
B- You need to follow the dictates of your heart. If you see someone as theprophet of God and are drawn to that person, then follow that person as long as doing so brings you closer to God. That is, it makes you more of a servant of the servants of God. But if I choose a different path because my heart says to follow it, then that is what is best for me as long as it produces Godly fruit. Belief is an individual thing. I do not believe Mohammed is my teacher so I do not follow him. But I have no problem with a Muslim who practices the teachings of his religion with all of his heart. I am certain God is using that religion to draw that person to Him. God has sent many prophets, holy people to lead others out of darkness. Mother Teresa did not found a new religion but showed people what God's love in action really means. So did Gandhi. He imitated Jesus better than I have. He loved God with his whole heart, mind, and soul and his neighbor as himself. If he isn't in Heaven, then I don't want to God. Others would say he can't be there because he didn't say these magic words or believe this doctrine, etc. I don't subscribe to that. "By their fruits you will know them." We are all different. We like different music, foods, activities. So it only makes sense that different approaches are necessary to draw everyone to God. Those who claim they have the only way, and there are many, think God is exclusively theirs. I do not believe that.I am glad you are considering these things. All I have is my opinion which has changed over the years. Will it be the same 10 years from now? Probably not. Will I still believe most of the things I now believe? Yes. Why? Because I have tested them and found that they work. Truth is an individual thing. I don't think any religion has all of it. They each have a piece of God but not all of God. I hope this helps you in some way, Blessings to you

(posted by Farid)
Posted:Thursday, July 03, 2003 | 

Dictators in the West vs. the East

I think that the political philosophy is very important issue in the Middle East countries. I think talking about politicians is wasting time. These people only think about power and depends on the context, they behave the same. For example, I think the people who run the government in the sates are potential dictators. I can imagine what would happen, if they were in the Middle East as in the international relations they behave like dictators! Look at the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and their reaction to international criminal court. For what they do, they have the same reasons: We do this because we think this right and do not care what other nations think! All the rest is a game! However, because of their political system , they cannot do whatever they like. The painful part of story, however, is that ignorant people in the world still die for their culprit leaders as some members of an Iranian opposition set themselves afire! In the states, they send their soldiers for war. When they are killed, it is said that they have died for their country, their nation …
(posted by Iman)

Posted:Thursday, July 03, 2003 | 

Our cultural background and life

I have heard this sentence several times Keep you culture and never forget your roots.
The question is that why our background is important. Why we should keep them and be proud of them? I think that every body can choose whatever she or he likes. But the problem is that some people who try to forget their origin have problem with their identity. Though they ignore their past, they usually suffer from this matter.

Every culture has own defects and problems and we cannot admire everything. I think the best way is looking at everything through a critical point of view, choose the rational and leave the rest. No matter what is its origin. Not everything in western culture is good and what in eastern one is bad! Human beings are human beings and all the same but have different problems! We have to enjoy beauty in the world regardless its origin!

(posted by Iman)


Posted:Tuesday, July 01, 2003 |