Iran In Perspective (eng)

Iran in Perspective An Orientation Guide

Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center Curriculum Development Division Instructional Design Department February 2006

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A Brief Profile of Iran Introduction When one considers the ancient civilizations, a number of empires come to mind: Egypt, Babylonia, Persia, Phoenecia, Greece, and Rome. While none of the remnants of these civilizations could still be considered an empire, Persia lives on, in the land now known as Iran. Some 2,500 years ago, the Persian Empire made the pages of world history. Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran frequently makes the pages of the world’s newspapers. As it turns out, the US has significant strategic interests in Iran, including, but not restricted to: • •

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Oil: “Iran is OPEC's second largest oil producer and holds 9% of the world's oil reserves. It also has the world's second largest natural gas reserves1.” Nuclear capability: Iran has two nuclear power plants, one in Arak and the other in Natanz. A recent inspection of the latter by the International Atomic Energy Agency revealed that Iranian engineers have developed the technology to enrich uranium, the essential constituent to build nuclear weapons2. Terrorism: Iran supports Hizbollah (Lebanon), along with Hamas and Islamic Jihad (Palestine), three groups which the US government has identified as terrorist organizations. Iraq: The most populous Shiite Muslim country in the world, Iran has its own interests in the make-up of the eventual government of Iraq, with its own majority Shiite population.

‘Iran in Perspective’ will explore these issues and provide some background about the Iranian people and their culture, social structure, history, geography, and economy. At the outset, however, it would be useful to clear up one common misconception: Iran is not an Arab country. The language of Iran, Persian or Farsi, uses the Arabic alphabet and has borrowed many words from Arabic. Nevertheless, Farsi is not related to Arabic. Farsi and Arabic are not members of the same language family: Arabic is Semitic while Farsi is Indo-European. Present-day Iranians trace their lineage to the Aryan tribes of Central Asia, while contemporary Arabs find their roots in the Semitic tribes of the Arabian Peninsula.

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From the website of the US Department of Energy, http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/iran.html From the website of CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/09/iran.nuclear/

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Iran in Facts and Figures3 Location Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan Area Total: 1.648 million sq km Land: 1.636 million sq km Water: 12,000 sq km Land Boundaries Total: 5,440 km Border countries: Afghanistan 936 km, Armenia 35 km, Azerbaijanproper 432 km, AzerbaijanNaxcivan exclave 179 km, Iraq 1,458 km, Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, Turkmenistan 992 km Climate Mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast Terrain Rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts Natural Resources Petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur Population 66,622,704 (July 2002 est.) Demographic Distribution 0-14 years: 31.6% (male 10,753,218; female 10,273,015) 15-64 years: 63.7% (male 21,383,542; female 21,096,307) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 1,633,016; female 1,483,606) (2002 est.) Ethnic Groups Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1% 3

From the website of the CIA World Factbook: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ir.html

4 Religions Shiite Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 10%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 1% Languages Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2% Capital: Tehran Administrative Divisions 28 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan); Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi, Azarbayjan-e Sharqi, Bushehr, Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan, Khuzestan, Kohkiluyeh va Buyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan Independence Day (National Holiday) 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed) Legal System The Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government. Executive Branch Chief of state: Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-Khamenei (since 4 June 1989) Election last held 8 June 2001 (next to be held 2005) Election results: (Ali) Mohammad Khatami-Ardakani reelected president; percent of vote - (Ali) Mohammad Khatami-Ardakani 77% Head of government: President Mohammad Khatami-Ardakani (since 3 August 1997); First Vice President Dr. Mohammad Reza Aref-Yazdi (since 26 August 2001)

5 Legislative Branch Unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami (290 seats, note - changed from 270 seats with the 18 February 2000 election; members elected by popular vote to serve fouryear terms) Elections: last held 18 February- April 2000 (next to be held 2004) Election results: seats by party - reformers 170, conservatives 45, and independents 10, 65 seats up for runoff; note - election on 5 May 2000 (reformers 52, conservatives 10, independents 3) Diplomatic Representation in the US None. Note - Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy; Address: Iranian Interests Section, Pakistani Embassy, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007; Telephone: (202) 965-4990 Budget Revenues: $24 billion Expenditures: $22 billion Industries Petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments Farm Products Wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool Exports Petroleum accounts for 85% of the exports; carpets, fruits and nuts, iron, steel and chemicals comprise the remaining 15%. Imports Industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies

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Geography Iran’s Neighborhood Iran lies in the middle of a rough neighborhood. At its eastern border are Afghanistan and Pakistan. Before US-led forces liberated Afghanistan from Taliban tyranny, hostile border incidents were not uncommon between Iran and Afghanistan. The Taliban presided over a fanatical Sunni Muslim regime and persecuted the Shiite minority. These aggressions provoked Iran, a majority Shiite Muslim country. With the allied defeat of the Taliban, Iran seeks to expand its sphere of influence within Afghanistan, and has extended aid and development assistance to the Afghanis. Iraq, with whom Iran fought a 8-year war (1980-1988), dominates the western frontier. These two neighbors share a complex history spanning no less than 2,500 years4. As Iraq is home to a majority Shiite population and the location of two holy Shiite cities (Karbala and An-Najaf), Iran supports the formation of a Shiite regime in Baghdad, and will do what it can to help make it happen. It remains to be seen how far Iran will go to accomplish that end. Turkey also lies to Iran’s west, but much farther north. While the Ottoman Empire and Persia were traditional enemies and vied for control of what is now Iraq, Turkey and Iran maintain a non-belligerent relationship, by and large. As to Iran and Pakistan, though never in a state of war, suspicion has kept their relationship less than genial. Once again, it comes down to the fundamental religious difference between Shiite Iran vs. Sunni Pakistan. During the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran supported opposite sides: Iran backed the Northern Alliance, Pakistan sided with the Taliban. Since the defeat of the Taliban, Pakistan and Iran have begun to warm up to one another, as each side is represented in the new Afghani regime5. Iran’s ties with Turkmenistan are friendly. Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami, recently proclaimed that the relationship between Tehran and Ashkhabad (capital of Turkmenistan) “can be considered as an appropriate model for other regional states6.” Armenia and Iran also have cordial relations. In fact, “for some Western observers, Iran's attitude toward

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Please refer to the History section and to http://www.lingnet.org/orientation/iraq/ir_020.html From “Kabul Deal Promotes Regional Stability,” by Ali Ashraf, on the website of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf 6 From the independent Iranian expatriate website, http://www.payvand.com/news/03/mar/1051.html 5

7 Armenia, its sole Christian neighbor, [proves that] Tehran's foreign policy is more pragmatic than ideological. Iran's relationship with Armenia is far warmer than it is with Azerbaijan, where – as in Iran – Shiite Islam is the dominant religion7.” Major Cities Tehran Tehran is located in north-central Iran, less than 100 miles south of the Caspian Sea. The political, administrative, and economic capital, with a population of close to 7 million8, Tehran is second in size only to Cairo in the Middle East. When the greater metropolitan area is included, the population of Iran’s capital exceeds 11 million9. Unlike Cairo or other Middle Eastern capitals, however, Tehran is relatively young. A minor town on the outskirts of the ancient city of Rey, the Qajars chose it as their capital just over two centuries ago. Tehran grew rapidly during the Pahlavi dynasty (1925-1979), and has continued to swell since the fall of the Shah. Mashhad Mashhad is the seat of government for the Khorasan province, located 850 kilometers north-east of Tehran, near the border of Turkmenistan. The name of this city, an Arabic word meaning ‘place of martyrdom,’ was not chosen arbitrarily: in the 9th century, Reza, the 8th Imam of Shiite Islam, was murdered there. Since then, Mashhad has been considered a holy pilgrimage site for Shiite Muslims in Iran and outside of its borders. Recent statistics indicate a population of over 2 million. Tabriz Far in the north-west corner of Iran, near the borders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, lies the city of Tabriz, at a distance of 750 kilometers from Tehran. Famed for its traditional carpet craft and magnificent mosques (the Jum’a Mosque, the 14th-century Ali Shah Mosque, and the 13th-century Blue Mosque), Tabriz is home to Iran’s largest minority, the Azeris. The population of Tabriz is at least 1.5 million and was the scene of a short-lived leftist uprising in 1946. Bandar Abbas Prior to the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), Iran’s major port had been Khorramshahr, situated at the northern end of the Persian Gulf. During the war, however, the Iraqis 7

From “Caucasus: Iran, Armenia Seeking Closer Relations” appearing on the website of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2001/01/25012001111522.asp 8 From the website of the Information Please Almanac, http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0762524.html 9 Ibid.

8 occupied Khorramshahr. As a result, Bandar Abbas, a port in southern Iran at the Strait of Hormuz, took its place as the number one Iranian harbor. International cargo ships as well as local fishing boats dock in Bandar Abbas, the Iranian Navy operates a base there, ships are built and repaired, and rail, air, and land routes connect this city with Tehran and the rest of the country. The population exceeded 360,00010 as of 2001. Esfahan11 Located halfway between Tehran and Shiraz, Esfahan was the capital of the Safavid Empire in the 17th century. It is still the seat of government for the administrative district which bears the same name. Known for two of the most magnificent mosques in the Muslim world – the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque and the Emam Mosque – Esfahan is also famous for its beautiful bridges which span the Zayandeh Rud River. “The Bridge of Khaju or Pole-i-Khaju, the most famous of Esfahan bridges, has roused the admiration of travelers since the 17th century12.” In addition to classic architecture, Esfahan is also a base for some of Iran’s major industries, including the manufacture of steel, armaments, medicine, and textiles. Shiraz Known as Iran’s “city of roses and poets13,” Shiraz welcomes air travelers with an 8kilometer long rose garden at the side of the highway which connects the airport with the city center. The seat of government for the Fars administrative district, Shiraz is 935 kilometers south of Tehran. “Parks with magnificent trees are one of the town's attractions. Long wide shady avenues lead from one side [of the city] to the other. They are an incitement to leisurely wanderings during siesta time. Exemplary modern achievements, including remarkable hotels and very striking university buildings, are conducive to a pleasant stay. Because of the city's altitude (1,600 meters), the climate is extremely pleasant. It is very mild in winter and not too hot in summer14.” Qom Founded in the 9th century C.E. and located about 100 kilometers south of Tehran, Qom is considered a holy city by Shiite Muslims. “The town of Qom is best known for its religious university, Howzeh-ye Elmieh. It attracts a lot of students from all over Iran and the rest of the world who want to become a mullah. Imam Khomeini is probably the most famous among those who studied the Koran here15.” 10

Iran Chamber, http://www.iranchamber.com/cities/bandar_abbas/bandar_abbas.php Also spelled Isfahan. 12 From the website of the Iran Tourism and Touring Organization http://www.itto.org 13 University’s Iranian Cultural & Information Center, http://tehran.stanford.edu/imagemap/shiraz.html 14 Ibid. 15 From the website http://www.bamjam.net/Iran/Qom.html 11

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History Pre-Iranians: Akkadians and Elamites Archaeological evidence indicates that the earliest human habitation in the land once known as Persia and now known as Iran dates back to 30,000 BCE. These would have been hunter-gatherers dwelling south of the Caspian Sea and along the northern Persian Gulf. Civilization gained a foothold in the western area some time between 8000 and 6000 BCE, as excavations reveal signs of domestic animals and painted pottery from that time period16. The first pre-Aryan civilization in Iran was that of the Akkadians, 4200 BCE. The Elamites arrived in 3500 BCE and became the dominant civilization in the early second millennium BCE. Elam borrowed many cultural achievements – including the cuneiform writing system – from their Sumerian neighbors to the west and later transmitted much of this knowledge to the Median and Achaemenid empires. Between 2000 and 1800 BCE, proto-Iranian tribes began to migrate from Central Asia into Iran, completely supplanting the Elamite civilization. By 1200 BCE, these tribes, principally the Medes, the Parthians, and the Persians, dominated the land. Zarathustra Controversy surrounds the chronological provenance of the founder of the Zoroastrian religion, Zarathustra. Faithful followers claim that he spread his message in 1737 BCE17, while linguistic evidence points to a more recent date, 1300 BCE18. In either case, Zarathustra’s message took hold in ancient Iran and became the state religion of the early Persian Empire. The holy scriptures of the Zoroastrian religion, the Avesta, contains the Gathas, a set of 16 moral and spiritual guidelines, set in verse. Adherents to this religion point with pride to its monotheistic character: at a time when surrounding civilizations – Babylonian, Egyptian, and Assyrian, to name a few – worshipped pantheons of gods and goddesses, Zarathustra preached the oneness of God. Medes, Persians, and Cyrus the Great Among the three Iranian tribal groupings, the Medes were the first to establish a kingdom. The leader, Daia-Oku, united the Median tribes and reigned from the city of Ecbatana in 701 BCE. In 615 BCE, the Medes, allied with the Scythians and Babylonians, smashed the Assyrian Empire. Shortly thereafter (559 BCE), the Persians defeated the Medians and Cyrus the Great rode at the head of the greatest empire the 16

Rezakhani, Khodadad, “Iran before the Iranians,” from his History of Iran website, http://www.iranologie.com/history/history1.html 17 From the website of the Zarathushtrian Assembly, http://www.zoroastrian.org/english/other/faq.htm 18 History of Iran, http://www.iranologie.com/history/history2.html

10 world had seen up to that point, the Achaemenian Persian Empire. Of all the Pre-Islamic empires of the Middle East, the Persian Empire may have been the most humane and liberal: When Cyrus invaded Babylonia, he treated the locals honorably and, in contrast to the common practice, did not order any massacres. He set free the Jewish captives that had been moved to Babylon since the time of Nebuchadnezzar, and gave back the stolen ornaments of the Temple of Jerusalem and money to rebuild that Temple. This made him into a much praised personality in the Old Testament. Also in Babylon, Cyrus issued a decree that guaranteed social and religious freedoms of the Babylonians and is much praised as being the first ever declaration of human rights. A copy of this decree, known as the Cyrus Cylinder and carved in Neo-Babylonian, is kept in the British Museum19. Cyrus – and then his son, Darius – led the Achaemenians across the Middle East and Asia Minor. By the time of the death of Darius in 486 BCE, the Persians had conquered all the land from Egypt, what is now known as Turkey, and parts of Greece in the west to the Hindu Kush in the east, north to the edges of Europe, and south to the Arabian Sea. Alexander the Great, Selucids, and Parthians After Darius, the Persian Empire fell victim to corruption. 150 years after the death of Darius I, Darius III assumed the reins of authority in 336 BCE but reigned only six years: He was defeated by Alexander the Great – who went on to conquer the entire Persian Empire – and Darius III was murdered by one of his own subjects20. Thus ended the Persian Empire, but Alexander did not have a chance to enjoy his conquest. He himself died in 323 BCE and left the rule of Persia to the Selucids, the descendents of Alexander’s general, Selucus Nicator. Within a century of Alexander’s death, the Selucids were losing control. The Parthians wrested a huge chunk of the former Persian Empire away from the Selucids. This land included present day northeastern Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and western Afghanistan. The Parthians held sway until the Romans came along. They fought against the Romans all the way into the 3rd century CE, but neither side ever emerged triumphant.

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Ibid., http://www.iranologie.com/history/history4.html HistoryNet website: http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/persianempir1/a/persiaintro_4.htm

11 The Sassanid Era It was Ardashir who founded the Sassanid Empire, defeating the Parthians in 224 CE, and ruling until 241. His son Shapur took over and expanded the empire to cover all of present-day Iran, Iraq, and the Gulf Coast of the Arabian Peninsula, as well as western Pakistan and Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia. Zoroastrianism was the state religion, but it had long ago ceased to serve the needs of common people. Instead, it favored the priestly elite. This is an important point, because when Islam arrived in the 7th century, the Persians welcomed a new religion that promised equality and justice and offered relief from the corruption that characterized the end of that era. Under the Sassanians, the Persian Empire enjoyed a renaissance. Persian cities became centers of science, scholarship, art, and commerce. The period starting with the ascent of Shapur II as Emperor in 325, and ending with the death of Emperor Anushervan in 579 is considered the Golden Age of the Sasanid dynasty. Particularly during Anushervan’s reign, Many scientists and scholars were given a chance to conduct researches and write books. The first university in Iran was built at this time in the town of Gondishapour. Bridges and roads were made, palaces like the great palace of Ctesiphon were erected. Books such as Kelile va Demaneh or Madhikan-e Hizar Daastan were translated or written. Scholars like Bozorgmehr and Borzooye saw the opportunity for their rise. Simply put, Anusheravan’s reign can be considered as the ancient Iranian renaissance21. The Muslim Conquest In 642 CE, the Muslim Arab armies entered Persia. By the mid 650s, the Arabs defeated the Sassanians, who were weakened by internal corruption and exhausted after centuries of wars with the Roman and Byzantine Empires. Islam would alter the course of Persian history fundamentally, to this very day. However, “ironically, while Iran was taken over for the moment by a movement of the Arabs and, while the new faith had an immediate simplicity and appeal, it would not be long before the village lords were again to exert a very strong Persianizing influence upon Islam in that area22.” In other words, though the majority of Persians converted to Islam, Persia did not become Arabized. If anything, the opposite is true: it was the invading Arabs who borrowed much from Persian culture.

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History of Iran, http://www.iranologie.com/history/history5.html From the website of the Silkroad Foundation, http://www.silk-road.com/artl/sasanian.shtml

12 Islam: the Early Centuries The Islamic Empire went through two significant dynasties. Not long after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the Umayyad dynasty was founded, with its center in Damascus. An important event took place during the reign of the first Umayyad caliph, which would profoundly affect the subsequent unfolding of history in Persia/Iran. A dispute arose between the caliph, Muawiya, and a rival to the position, Ali. The latter’s followers claimed that he was the rightful heir to the position, as he was the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law. Ali was killed in 661, in the city of Kufa (present-day Iraq). Muawiya died almost 20 years later, leaving the caliphate to his son, Yazid. Ali’s son Husayn, along with his followers, challenged Yazid’s authority. Yazid and his armies were stronger, however, and they crushed Husayn and his ‘Shiite’ followers. The word ‘Shiite’ comes from the Arabic expression, ‘shiat Ali’ which means ‘the party of Ali.’ The Shiites “were all killed at Karbala on 20 Muarram (10 October) in the year 680. This day became sacred to the Shiites, who to this day observe it with passion dramas and cutting themselves to display their own blood23.” The Mongols Smash the Abbasid Dynasty The Umayyads gave way to the Abbasids in 750, who moved the capital of the caliphate to Baghdad. The Abbasids reigned for 500 years, during which time Persia became solidly Muslim and increasingly Shiite. In 945, the Shiites took Baghdad. 110 years later, Baghdad fell to the Seljuk Turks, who were Sunni Muslims, a defeat for the Shiites, and in 1255, Baghdad was burned to the ground by Genghis Khan’s Mongols, and the lands now known as Iran and Iraq were overrun. The Mongol armies returned to Muslim lands, including Iran, a century later, this time under the command of Tamerlane (or Timur Lang, in Persian), a warlord from the land now known as Uzbekistan. By now, however, the Mongols were at least marginally Muslim. Muslim or no, Tamerlane and his warriors left death and destruction as their calling card. The question of Timur's religion beliefs has been a matter of controversy ever since he began his great conquests. His veneration of the house of the Prophet, the spurious genealogy on his tombstone taking his descent back to Ali, and the presence of Shiites in his army led some observers and scholars to call him a Shiite… In religion as in other aspects of his life Timur was above all an opportunist; his religion served frequently to further his aims, but almost never to circumscribe his actions. It was in the justification of his rule and his conquests that Timur found Islam most useful24.

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For more on early Islamic history, see Professor Joseph Kenny’s site, http://nig.op.org/kenny/earlyislam Silkroad, http://www.silk-road.com/artl/timur.shtml

13 The First Shiite Regime In 1502 the Shiite/Sufi leader Ismail I captured Tabriz and became Shah of Azerbaijan. The following year, he became Shah of all Iran, establishing the first Shiite Islamic state; later he would take the Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Mosul, but would not hold on to them very long. This era was called the Safavid dynasty because Ismail I was a descendant of Sheykh Safi ad Din (1253 - 1334) of Ardabil. Esfahan became the administrative center of the Safavid dynasty. It was Shah Abbas I who restored Persia to the status of a great power by defeating the Turks in 1603, retaking Baghdad, expelling the Portuguese from the Persian Gulf area, setting an efficient administration, and patronizing the sciences and arts. The Safavid dynasty came to an end in 1722, when Esfahan was captured by Mahmoud Khan, an Afghan warlord25. Qajars: Conquest and Defeat During the remainder of the 18th century, Iran endured internal strife and wars with neighbors. Finally in 1795, Agha Muhammed Khan led the Qajars to victory over the Zand faction. He became the new shah in 1796 and moved the capital to Tehran. During his short reign, he halted anarchy and conquered new territories, including Azerbaijan. The 19th century saw Iran caught in the middle of a conflict of interests between Russia and Britain. Russia sought a “warm water port” on the Persian Gulf, while Britain sought to protect its trade routes. Under the rule of FathAli Shah (1798-1834), Iran lost ground to both sides. Azerbaijan was ceded to the Russians. This humiliation by foreigners and general perception of corruption provoked insurrections by secret organizations and religious associations26. When Fath-Ali Shah died in 1834, many Iranians bade him good riddance: His legacy was the tale of his unbelievable mating [he is reported to have had over 500 wives], loss of a large part of [the] country’s territory, start of an anarchy, and most importantly, opening the [country to] foreign imperialist powers… He will always be remembered as the worst, the most hated, and the weakest king of Iran27. Naser o-Din Shah assumed the reins of authority in 1848. He implemented several measures aimed at modernizing the state, including the establishment of Iran’s first modern university, Dar ol-Fonoon. Russia and Britain would not go away, however, and Iran lost more territory in the second half of the century. Russia forced Iran to give up all claims to Central Asia, while Britain took 25

From the website http://persepolis.free.fr/iran/history/safavid.html From the cultural/historical website of IranSaga, http://www.art-arena.com/qajar.html 27 Iranologie: http://www.iranologie.com/history/history14.html 26

14 Herat and forced Iran to relinquish its hold on Afghanistan. Naser o-Din, under British pressure, opened the country to foreign trade and investment, and incurred the wrath of conservatives. Internal corruption and oppression increased, and finally, in 1896, Naser o-Din was assassinated28. Constitution On December 30, 1906, Mohammad Ali Shah signed Iran’s first constitution, which had been drawn up by an elected parliament. A later supplement provided for many of the freedoms guaranteed by the US Bill of Rights: press, speech, and association. The constitution, however, never lived up to its promise: Mohammad Ali Shah crushed it. In 1907, Britain and Russia signed the Anglo-Russian Agreement of 1907, which divided Iran into two spheres of influence: the north for Russia, and the south and east for Britain. The shah was deposed in 1909 by pro-constitutional forces who opposed foreign meddling in their country. During the First World War, Iran stayed neutral, but Russia, Britain, and the Turks pursued their military goals at the edges and within the borders of Iran. The Pahlavi Dynasty In 1923, the Qajar dynasty crumbled, but a new dynasty would soon begin – that of the Pahlavi family. Reza Pahlavi, a military officer, was crowned Shah in 1925. He started a broad program of modernization, economic development, and centralization of authority. He opened up secular primary and secondary schools around the country and a modern university in Tehran. Under this Shah’s regime, girls and women were encouraged to pursue education and professions. He promoted the expansion of roads and railroads, established industries, and did his best to break the religious monopoly over the justice system and the civil code. As he enacted all these progressive measures and brooked no opposition, he made many enemies. He jailed or killed those who disagreed with him. In 1941, the Soviet Union invaded from the north while the British invaded from the south and the west. Reza Shah Pahlavi abdicated and went into exile.

The Last Shah29 Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the son of Reza Shah Pahlavi, assumed the throne from his father. The 1940s were a time of upheaval: though the shah stayed in power, the ban on political parties was lifted, and various political, ethnic, and regional forces pressed

28

From the website of the Iranian Cultural Organization at the University of California (ICOUC), San Francisco, http://itsa.ucsf.edu/~ico/history/1historicalsetting.html 29 Most of the information for this section comes from the ICOUC website.

15 their interests. Among these interests was that of nationalism. Nationalists resented the fact that Britain was deriving more wealth from the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company than was Iran, and they agitated for nationalizing the petroleum industry. In 1951, the shah named Mohammad Mossadeq, a leading nationalist, as prime minister. At first Mossadeq was extremely popular and gained more and more power. Under Mossadeq, the Iranian parliament, the “Majlis,” nationalized the oil, which antagonized the British, who froze Iranian assets and led a world-wide boycott of Iranian oil. The Iranian economy suffered. Meanwhile, the administration of President Harry Truman considered Mohammad Mossadeq a communist; this being the early part of the Cold War, the US viewed the containment of communism as a vital interest. With CIA assistance, Mossadeq was defeated, and the shah exercised hegemony over the government, appointing rubber-stamp prime ministers. Once again, the Pahlavi family was firmly in control, and once again economic and social reforms were instituted: land reform, more schools, infrastructure development, enhanced rights for women, further secularization. And once again, those who opposed the shah found themselves in jail, in exile, or in the grave. In 1963, a name appeared in the newspapers which would come back to haunt the shah, Iran, the US, and the rest of the world: Khomeini. Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, a religious leader from Qom, was arrested for speaking out vociferously against the shah. Khomeini was released in 1964, but arrested again for his anti-shah sermons, and this time he was sent into exile in Iraq. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Khomeini lashed out against the shah from his exile in Iraq and later from France. Audio cassettes of his sermons were distributed throughout Iran, and Khomeini became a well known name while his following within Iran grew. By the mid-1970s, opposition to the shah took two forms: the middle class intellectuals, who sought greater constitutional democracy, and the religious, who sought an Islamic republic with Khomeini at the head. In 1978, Iraq expelled Khomeini, who moved to France. This actually redounded to Khomeini’s advantage, as communication and interactions were easier there. And it was all downhill for the shah. Strikes, demonstrations, and violent protests, largely inspired by the sermons of Ayatollah Khomeini, broke out regularly in Iran’s major cities. On 16 January 1979, the shah left the country, ostensibly for a short vacation. He would never return. Islamic Revolution Shapour Bakhtiar, head of the Iranian National Front, a reformer but not an Islamist, became prime minister after the shah’s departure, but Khomeini replaced him with Mehdi Bazargan shortly after he (Khomeini) returned from exile in France to Iran in February 1979. Khomeini wanted Islamic revolution and that is what he would get. For the rest of 1979, Iran endured chaos:

16 Bazargan… headed a government that controlled neither the country nor even its own bureaucratic apparatus. Central authority had broken down. Hundreds of semi-independent revolutionary committees, not answerable to central authority, were performing a variety of functions in major cities and towns across the country. Factory workers, civil servants, whitecollar employees, and students were often in control, demanding a say in running their organizations and choosing their chiefs. Governors, military commanders, and other officials appointed by the prime minister were frequently rejected by the lower ranks or local inhabitants. A range of political groups, from the far left to the far right, from secular to ultra-Islamic, were vying for political power, pushing rival agendas, and demanding immediate action from the prime minister30. Bazargan soon discovered his powerlessness: he was eclipsed by the authority of Khomeini and the Revolutionary Council, a group of Islamic clergy who were close followers of Khomeini. The Council established “Revolutionary Courts” and executed political enemies in droves. In January 1980, Abolhassan Bani Sadr was elected president and the office of prime minister was abolished. Bani Sadr lasted a bit longer than Bazargan; he left office in June 1981. These personnel changes, however, pale in comparison with the explosion of a crisis that no Americans or Iranians living at that time will ever forget.

The Hostage Crisis In the age-old tradition of despots and demagogues, Khomeini pointed to the United States as the scapegoat for all of Iran’s problems – economic, social, political, and otherwise. “Ayatollah Khomeini… whipped popular discontent into rabid antiAmericanism31.” By late 1979, the shah’s health was failing. He traveled to the US for cancer treatment, but his move was interpreted by Khomeini and the radical Islamic militants as an attempt to enlist American support to invade Iran and return the shah to power. On 1 November 1979, hundreds of thousands protested in Tehran, demanding the extradition of the shah to face ‘justice’ in a revolutionary court. With Khomeini’s support and encouragement, the radicals stormed the US Embassy on 4 November, and thus began the hostage crisis. 70 US citizens were taken hostage; 52 were kept imprisoned for 444 days. President Jimmy Carter tried to resolve the crisis in three ways: diplomatic, economic, and military. In the first arena, Carter made 30 31

Ibid. Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.org/documents/hostages.phtml

17 diplomatic initiatives, seeking the intervention of foreign governments, particularly Muslim governments. They all failed. To press Iran economically, Carter froze several billion dollars in Iranian assets and halted oil sales from Iran. This endeavor also proved useless. In April 1980, Carter gave the green light to attempt a military rescue mission. This ended in a fiasco, with eight US servicemen killed. The hostage crisis in general and the failed mission in particular contributed to Ronald Reagan’s victory over Jimmy Carter in the presidential elections of November 1980. Meanwhile, Iran was now involved in a war with Iraq, and more eager to negotiate an end to the crisis. Through the mediation of Algerian diplomats, the hostages were freed and sent home on 20 January 1981, just as Reagan was being inagurated as president32. All that remained of the crisis was a profound anti-Iranian bitterness on the part of many Americans. The Iran-Iraq War In April 1980, the Iranian-supported Iraqi Shiite group ‘Ad Dawah’ attempted to assassinate Iraq’s foreign minister, Tariq Aziz. That, along with other provocations and rapidly rising border tension, helped to ignite the war. On 22 September 1980, Iraq launched the war against Iran. To this day, Iranians consider it an unprovoked war imposed upon them by the then Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein. For the first two years, Iraq seemed to be winning, but by 1983, Iran recovered much of its lost territory and the conflict became an eight-year war of attrition, with a great cost in lives to both sides: Casualty figures are highly uncertain, though estimates suggest more than one and a half million war and war-related casualties -- perhaps as many as a million people died, many more were wounded, and millions were made refugees. Iraq's victory was not without cost. The Iraqis suffered an estimated 375,000 casualties, the equivalent of 5.6 million for a population the size of the United States. Another 60,000 were taken prisoner by the Iranians. Iran's losses may have included more than 1 million people killed or maimed. The war claimed at least 300,000 Iranian lives and injured more than 500,000, out of a total population which by the war's end was nearly 60 million33.

32

Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001, featured on: http://www.bartleby.com/65/ir/Iranhost.html From the website of the Federation of American Scientists: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/war/iran-iraq.htm

33

18 Sponsor of Terrorism? During Lebanon’s civil war (1975-1990), one of the most powerful groups to emerge was Hizbollah, a radical Shiite terrorist organization, which favored turning Lebanon into an Islamic republic. Closely allied politically and spiritually with Iran, Hizbollah received and continues to be the beneficiary of funding from the Mullahs in Tehran, as well as to a lesser extent from the regime in Damascus. Hizbollah is known or suspected to have been involved in numerous anti-US terrorist attacks, including the suicide truck bombing of the US Embassy and US Marine barracks in Beirut in October 1983 and the US Embassy annex in Beirut in September 1984. Elements of the group were responsible for the kidnapping and detention of US and other Western hostages in Lebanon. The group also attacked the Israeli Embassy in Argentina in 1992 and is a suspect in the 1994 bombing of the Israeli cultural center in Buenos Aires34. Iran denies that it supports terrorism, and hastened to condemn the attack against the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001. Nevertheless, Iranian president Mohammad Khatami was quoted in the Islamic Republic News Agency, an official agency of the government of Iran, praising Hizbollah as “an ideological and humanitarian movement that seeks liberation and independence35.” Hizbollah remains on Iran’s payroll and during 2001; Hizbollah provided training to HAMAS and the Palestine Islamic Jihad at training facilities in the Beak’s Valley. In addition, Hizbollah reportedly increased the export of weaponry into the West Bank and Gaza Strip for use by these groups against Israeli targets36.

34

From the website of American Terrorism Victims, http://www.terrorismvictims.org/terrorists/hizballah.html 35 The Associated Press, 15 May 1999, “Khatami praises Hezbollah fight against Israel in Lebanon” 36 From “Patterns of Global Terrorism 2001” by the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, 21 May 2002, US Department of State website, http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/pgtrpt/2001/html/10247.htm

19

Economy Oil In September 1960, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded in Baghdad, Iraq. Iran signed the charter as a founding member. Since then, Iran, OPEC’s second largest oil exporter37, has favored strict adherence to production quotas. An Internet search for “OPEC and Iran and production” reveals 8 articles about Iran either opposing production increases or supporting production cuts, between 1998 and the present38. The state-owned petroleum industry overwhelmingly constitutes the base of Iran’s economy. Such an ample and valuable resource represents a blessing and a curse: the former because its sale generates plenty of hard currency and fuels development; the latter because the national economy has grown dependent on oil to the detriment of other economic sectors, not to mention the environmental contamination resulting from the combustion of petroleum39. Oil sales in Iran represent 80 percent of export revenue40. Another danger of oil revenue dependence is that the exporter remains forever at the mercy of the market. When prices rise, cash comes pouring in and budgets swell. When prices fall, economic activity slows down and citizens lose their jobs. These oil-glut recessions have hit Iran in 1985, 199141, and 199842. Be that as it may, Iran, along with the rest of the world’s oil producing countries, will continue to pump out the petroleum and sell it until the wells run dry or the demand disappears, neither of which scenario is likely for at least another generation: Iran’s proven oil reserves as of late 2002 stand at 90 billion barrels43. The main oil field sites are Ahwaz-Bangestan, Marun, Gachsaran, Agha Jari, Bibi Hakimeh, Azadegan, and Darkhovin.

37

Before Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait and the subsequent sanctions, Iraq exported slightly more petroleum than Iran. According to WTRG Economics (http://www.wtrg.com/opecshare.html), Iraq’s export as of January 1990 accounted for 12.79% of OPEC’s market share, while Iran’s accounted for 11.72%. 38 An example is a CNN article, “OPEC agrees to increase production; Iran, Iraq dissent,” http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/meast/03/29/opec.world/ 39 See “Petroleum, the Black Curse,” by Vahid Isabeiqi at the website http://www.iranchamber.com/podium/miscellaneous/030422_petroleum_black_curse.php 40 From the website of the US Department of Energy: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/iran.html 41 From the website of the US Department of State: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5314.htm#econ 42 US DOE, ibid. 43 Ibid.

20 Industry Petroleum, discovered in 1908, and natural gas, both found in abundance, represent the mainstay of Iranian industry and fuel the national economy. Eighty percent of Iran’s export revenues derive from the sale of oil44. Nevertheless, Iran has taken tentative steps toward economic diversification. The petrochemical industry is picking up steam. Other industries include “textiles, cement and building materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), and metal fabricating (steel and copper)45.” The traditional craft of carpet making is still alive and well in Iran. Although the US has imposed an economic embargo on Iran, an exception exists for Persian carpets: US citizens do have permission to buy and import carpets from Iran, up to a certain cash value.

Agriculture After nearly achieving agricultural self-sufficiency in the 1960s, Iran reached the point in 1979 where 65 percent of its food had to be imported. Declining productivity was blamed on the use of modern fertilizers, which had inadvertently scorched the thin Iranian soil. Unresolved land reform issues, a lack of economic incentives to raise surplus crops, and low profit ratios combined to drive increasingly large segments of the farm population into urban areas. The 1979 Revolution sought self-sufficiency in foodstuffs as part of its overall goal of decreased economic dependence on the West. Higher government subsidies for grain and other staples and expanded short-term credit and tax exemptions for farmers complying with government quotas were intended by the new regime to promote self-sufficiency. But by early 1987, Iran was actually more dependent on agricultural imports than in the 1970s46. Iran’s principal food products today include nuts, fruits, rice, wheat, other grains, dairy products, sugar beets, and caviar; cotton is also grown and sheep are raised for wool and meat.

44

http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/section/Iran_Economy.asp State Dept. website, op. cit. 46 US Library of Congress Country Study on Iran website, http://countrystudies.us/iran/73.htm 45

21 Banking In the early days of Persia, temples and princes handled money exchanges. The Persians minted their first gold coin, the Derick, more than 2500 years ago. With the coming of Islam, which forbids interest-based transactions, the use of bank notes and coins in trade stagnated for centuries47. Iran has gone through many stages in its financial development, from the early days of money changers through the presence of the Britishowned Bank Shahanshahi (Imperial Bank), founded in the 1880s, to the establishment of the Central Bank of Iran in 1928 representing the first national independent financial institution. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, all banks were nationalized. In the 1980s Iranian banking has come full circle; Islamic banking was introduced, and the banks have been moving in that direction ever since. Islamic banking is based on the following premises48: • Legal concepts derive from the first century of Islam. • Risk sharing is favored, as opposed to interest, dividends, or any fixed return on investment. • Religious principles play a significant role in bank management decisions. • The board of directors must be pious Muslims who are dedicated to keeping the bank’s policies on the sirat al-mustaqim (the straight path) of Shari`a (Islamic law). Transportation A network of roads, railways, and air routes connect the cities and towns of Iran. The railroad first came to Iran in the late 19th century. One by one the major cities, starting with Tehran, were linked with shining steel rails. In 1939 the Trans-Iranian Railway was inaugurated, linking the Persian Gulf city of Bandar-E-Emam Khomeini (formerly Bandar-E-Shahpur) with the Caspian Sea town of Bandar-E-Torkaman (formerly BandarE-Shah), with Tehran as an intermediate stop. The two newest additions to the rail links of Iran are the Bafq-Bandar Abbas (1993) and the Mashhad-Sarakhs (1996) branches49. A total of 6130 kilometers of railroad tracks criss-cross Iran50. The country also has a total of 140,200 kilometers of highways, including 49,440 kilometers of paved roads and 90,760 kilometers of unpaved roads. 122 paved airports dot the map of Iran, including 39 full-service airports each with runways exceeding 3000 meters51. Tourism

47

http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/banking_history.php For a penetrating treatment, see “Islamic Banking” by Diederik van Schaik, at the website of the Arab Bank Review, Vol 3, No. 1, April 2001: http://www.arabbank.com/review/islamic_banking.pdf 49 For comprehensive information about Iranian Railways, see http://www.msedv.at/rai/index_e.html 50 CIA, op. cit. 51 Ibid. 48

22 “Iran has been a magnet for tourists since the days of Marco Polo52.” Today, some seven centuries later, the US Government bans most trade with the Islamic Republic of Iran and no direct air links exist; nevertheless, US citizens are permitted to visit Iran and more are traveling there each year. Like America, Iran is a huge land mass spanning a wide variety of geographic features and climatic zones. In the north lies the Caspian Sea with beautiful beaches, forest parks, and wildlife reserves. Beaches abound also on the Persian Gulf Coast, where weather conditions allow swimming year round. Because of the longevity of the Persian Empire, it is no wonder that ancient monuments can be found in all corners of Iran; magnificent mosques from the early centuries of Islam in Persia are considered ‘recent’ in comparison. “Esfahan is the country's architectural showpiece… and Shiraz is famous for its poetic atmosphere… and the glories of nearby Persepolis, Naqsh-e Rostam, and Pasargadae. But almost in every place in Iran there is something beautiful or exciting to see, and much to do53.”

Society, Culture, and Social Customs Primary and Secondary Education The Islamic Republican government has continued the Pahlavi dynasty’s commitment to free, public education for both boys and girls. “The commitment to educate girls is a major force animating the country's highly organized women's political movement, which is the heart of the President Mohamed Khatami's political base and the principal force for democratic reform in Iran54.” Nevertheless, in primary and secondary schools, statistics indicate that the population of girls continues to trail behind that of boys55. Education starts at the age of six years. Elementary education covers the first five years of school, followed by three years of the ‘guidance’ cycle (what we might consider middle school or junior high school) and four years of secondary studies. Prior to university studies, males and females are segregated into separate schools, in keeping with conservative Islamic traditions. All females are required to wear the chador or veil. This deference to religious values reassures conservative families and encourages them to send their daughters to school.

52

From the pro-Pahlavi website, http://www.sedona.net/pahlavi/tourism.html Ibid. 54 Chickering, A. Lawrence, “Transforming the Muslim World One Girl at a Time,” from the National Review Online, http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-chickering010703.asp 55 Fatemi, Parvaneh, “Eradication of Discrimination in Education,” http://www.netiran.com/Htdocs/Clippings/Social/980300XXSO04.html 53

23 University Statistics available from the Internet on the number of universities in Iran are inconsistent. One source, “Salam Iran,” reports “forty-four universities of various types56.” The “Iran Chamber”, on the other hand, claims that at last count, the number of state universities in Iran came to 98, with another 33 institutes of higher education in the private sector, an extraordinarily high number by the standards of developing countries57. The same source indicates that in 1998, close to a quarter million students graduated from universities58. One thing is not in dispute: Iranian families highly value education for their sons and daughters. Because the state-run universities offer virtually free tuition, successful secondary school graduates are increasingly choosing to continue their education. Male-Female Relationships University classes are co-educational, and it is on campus that some young people meet their future spouse. The following narrative on this subject is from a young engineer in Iran who has asked that her name not be mentioned: Actually the life style of the new generation in Iran is basically different from the classical pattern. You know, youngsters are becoming more and more independent from their families, especially about the main decision making like marriage. Of course this pattern is more obvious in big cities like Tehran. I think one big obstacle for their becoming totally independent are economical limitations because of unemployment and uncertainty about the future. …It is usually considered weird to marry someone without knowing him/her for a long time as a friend. This friendship usually begins in universities. I think the current young people in Iran could manage to make a nice balance between their being independent and at the same time being a part of the family, but I'm not sure if current teenagers are going to follow the same way. As one could expect, many teenagers are to some degree antisocial and I think are breaking the limitations more than enough. It's better to re-emphasize that all the above-mentioned points are about the big cities, but as far as I know in small cities and villages the classical style still prevails and some important decisions are still being made by parents and families. 56

http://www.salamiran.org/IranInfo/State/Government/Education/ Iran Chamber, op. cit. 58 Ibid. 57

24 Another Iranian scholar, also wishing to remain anonymous, corroborates the view that there exists a wide spectrum of approaches to the issues of engagement, courtship, and marriage, from the very traditional to less traditional. All agree that dating in the western sense does not take place in Iran’s Muslim society. In the past, young men and women could not meet freely. The young man’s parents would go to the parents of the young woman to ask for her hand in marriage. More recently, young people of the opposite sex are allowed to meet under parental supervision. Also, in earlier times, it was not uncommon to marry one’s cousin, as is still prevalent in Arab society. This is becoming less the practice in Iran as modern technology and social trends expand one’s circle of acquaintances, colleagues, and friends. As marriage is so fundamental in a traditional society, older members of the family are constantly on the lookout for suitable marriage candidates for their nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and younger cousins. Another custom that continues is that it is the parents of the groom, not those of the bride (as in the west), who take charge of and pay for the wedding. After the wedding, the groom’s family members arrange parties and invite the bride’s family for an exchange of gifts. Women “Don’t laugh too much, people might think you’re easy...59” Before the Revolution in 1978, Iranian women had won the right to vote as well as the right to an equal voice in court and before the law. A family protection act had been put in place in 1963, giving women significant rights in the area of divorce law and setting the marriage age for young girls at 18 years. Attempts of using laws to bar women from wearing veils in public places, spearheaded especially by Shah Reza Pahlavi in the 1930s, were successful for only short periods of time due to religious concerns. After the revolution, much of the freedom women had enjoyed was lost to fundamentalist Islamic fervor. Female singers were silenced, as a “woman’s voice, like her unveiled body, can arouse men and therefore cannot be heard by the male ear60.” Western dress and the women wearing it were declared corrupt and the hejab (veil) was deemed desirable. Girls now are seen as fit to be married as soon as they reach puberty, which can be as early as nine years of age. The divorce laws are geared toward keeping women subservient: one unfortunate woman, who continuously reported being tortured by her husband, had to wait 14 years for the courts to approve her divorce61. The practice of 59

Woman’s life in Tehran, as experienced in 2001 by an Iranian-American in her early twenties. Narrative in full to be found at http://www.badjens.com/newissue/a1.htm 60 Shadi Vatanparast. A Look at Women, Music, and the Fourth Annual Yaas Music Festival. http://www.badjens.com/newissue/a4.htm 61 Gender and Islamic Fundamentalism, http://www.iran-bulletin.org

25 stoning supposed adulterous women to death was common just until January 2003, when the Iranian judiciary instructed judges to stop implementing this sentence. Large numbers of Iranian women, however, seem satisfied with their way of life. They are freely admitted to universities, where females make up roughly half of the student body. When joining the work force, they are content to wear the hejab, as it keeps unwanted sexual advances at bay and permits them to concentrate solely on their work. They occupy positions in almost all walks of life, working, for example, in the medical profession and in other scientific fields, even though they are “discouraged or prevented from studying or working in fields and activities considered ‘masculine’, such as engineering [and] mining62.” As such, the present position of women is nevertheless more progressive in Iran than in other Islamic fundamentalist nations. Additionally, married women, who hitherto were mostly required to stay at home if not in the company of their male guardian, are finding more freedom within the current economic disarray of the country: There have been some interesting shifts in terms of public and private space. Due to inflation, the men now work from early morning until midnight. They're never home. Those husbands who once claimed that a woman's place is in the home, and that they had no business going to the shops, the bank, the government office, now have to eat their words. All the work that, in the best of cases, used to be shared between a couple is now performed by the woman. She's the one who takes the kids to school, and drives them to all those extra classes they need to go to, she takes the car to the garage, she deals with the civil servants, she does the shopping, the banking, etc. Middle-class housewives are outside all day. Not to mention the working women63. Hospitality and Other Social Customs While certain Iranian traditions, such as arranged marriages, are fading, and other new practices, e.g., meeting your spouse at the university, are coming into vogue, certain customs never die. One such custom is opulent hospitality. As one Iranian humorist expressed it: Beware! Forget about all the xenophobic, anti-Iranian propaganda dominating the media… If anything, all that Iranians can be accused of is excessive hospitality… As you walk the streets, do not talk to or make eye contact with anyone. If you do, they'll say hello to you and invite you to their homes… Half an hour after your arrival you're

62 63

Ibid. Masserat A. Ebrahimi, Iranian urban sociologist & geographer Feb. 2001 interview, www.badjens.com

26 presented with a Herculean volume of incredible food… As your plate empties, your host will keep serving food onto your dish, sometimes without asking you, sometimes despite your objections64. Interpersonal space and other aspects of daily social communication and behavior also differ in Iran. What we in the West might consider a taboo topic for discussion, e.g., how much one earns for one’s annual salary, could easily pop up in conversation. And people of the same sex stand closer to one another in social situations, inches away rather than feet. Holding hands, kissing on the cheek, and hugging are commonly accepted gestures of friendship between people of the same sex. Males and females do not engage in such exchanges unless they are husband and wife, parent and child, or perhaps brother and sister. Even then, these signs of affection are not acted out in public, except between a parent and a small child. The Arts The land now known as Iran was subject to migration of tribes, invasions, and occupation throughout its 7000year history. As a result, the region’s art and architectural styles constitute a blend of a myriad of different cultural influences. While these varying influences make it hard to pinpoint distinct characteristics of Persian art, it is safe to say that it is “generally characterized by its firm lines, extensive detail, and bold use of color65.” Persian art has gained special recognition in several key areas. The exceptional quality of handmade Persian carpets is well known throughout, and the innovative style of mosque design and tile decoration, developed around the 7th century CE, proved very influential on the Muslim World. The greatest achievement of Persian art, however, seems to lie in the exquisitely ornate miniature paintings that adorned books from the Safavid period (also 7th century CE) onward. Miniature painting not only served to portray historical and religious events and legends, but often also doubled as a form of “visual poetry66,” in which shapes and words were blended into an almost animated form of prose. Literature In the genre of prose, one of the oldest collections of stories, The 1001 Nights, most likely originated in Persia and India with traces back to the year 950 CE.67 In The 1001 Nights, Sheherezade is the wife of the vengeful Sultan Shahriyar. Prior to marrying 64

For a funny look at Iranian hospitality, see “Iranian Hospitality Attack” by Hamid Taghvi in The Iranian, 20 March 1998: http://www.digitalroom.net/index2.html 65 http://www.persianpaintings.com/history.html 66 For examples, see: http://www.enel.ucalgary.ca/People/far/hobbies/iran/miniature/miniature.html 67 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/features/18_06_03_b.asp

Deleted: Deleted:

27 Sheherezade, the Sultan killed all his wives the morning after the wedding night in revenge for the unfaithfulness of one of his wives. Now Sheherezade fears the same fate for herself, and therefore tells him one unfinished story each night, thus keeping the Sultan in suspense to hear the ending and keeping herself alive. Finally, enthralled with Sheherezade’s story telling, the Sultan changes his mind, and during the years, she bears him three sons, proving her love. One of the most beloved story collections in Persian, Kalile-o-Dimne has its roots in ancient India. Bidpai, a Hindu sage, is credited with authorship, but the book acquired masterpiece status only after the scholar Burzuwayh translated it into Persian around the 5th century CE. The Sassanid King Khosro Anoushrawan had sent Burzuwayh to India to collect and translate Bidpai’s fables into Persian. In the process, Burzuwayh also added stories to the collection by authors other than Bidpai. Poetry is even more important than prose in Persian culture. Iranians proudly claim that they “have the highest per-capita number of poets68” in the world. Indeed, the first forms of poetry surfaced here around the 13th century BCE with the Avesta, the Zoroastrian holy text. Persian poetry as it exists today emerged in the ninth century CE, maintaining the Persian identity in the form of free verse during the centuries of invasion. Present-day Iranian poets have found unique ways of upholding the poetic traditions of free use of imagery, literary and Koranic allusions, and reliance upon the beauty of the language itself for effect69 (the latter makes interpretation of the poetry in the West quite difficult). Of the classical poets, the following are commonly considered the masters: Ferdowsi, Khayyam, Anvari, Saadi, Hafez, and Rumi. Of these, Omar Khayyam is world-famous for his book of poems, the Rubaiyat. The word ‘Rubaiyat’ derives from Arabic, meaning quatrains70. Fitzgerald’s translation is widely acclaimed in the English-speaking world and represents the highest poetic value. Khayyam was a renowned mathematician, philosopher, and man of science in addition to being a poet. Early 20th century and modern Iranian poetry, marked by influences from the West, includes captivating verses by poets who championed women’s emancipation and other pressing issues. Worth mentioning here are Iraj Mirza (1874-1926) and Forugh Farrokhzad (19351967), one of Iran’s few internationally celebrated female poets. Persian Carpets The art of carpet making in Persia dates back at least 2500 years, when rugs were used by nomads to cover 68

Iranian Literature page: http://www.iranologie.com/literature/litr.html Iran Online, http://www.iranonline.com/literature/Articles/Persian-literature/ 70 A unit or group of four lines of verse (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary); http://m-w.com 69

28 the floors and entrances of their tents. As weaving techniques evolved and gained finesse, Persian kings began to place the most exquisite examples in their palaces. The illustrious reputation of the Persian carpet, which lives on to this day, was born. Not all Persian carpets are alike, however. Different regions in Iran produce carpets containing patterns and colors that vary distinctly. What follows is a short overview of the diverse world of the Persian carpet. These carpets usually contain a single center medallion and/or corner medallions on ivory background, surrounded by blue, rose, or indigo vines and palmetto motifs.

Made for primarily for export, Kerman carpet patterns include paisley, French-style red roses, or adaptations of Western paintings, as well as the traditional Persian arabesque medallions.

Traditionally, the predominant colors used are deep, varied blues and powerful reds, with ivory being used as a contrast color.

A Nain carpet’s distinctive pattern consists of a single medallion displayed on a background of stylized interlaced branches and flowers. Plants and animals are also featured.

Kashan carpets display a warmer palette than rugs made in other urban centers. These carpets are often more densely patterned and knotted than other Persian carpets

Shiraz patterns are influenced by the nomadic tribes that live in the region, with a common motif being a diamond shape that may be repeated several times along the carpet’s center.

29

Looking Forward: the Author’s Opinion Mere mention of the country named ‘Iran’ may dredge up memories of the 400-day hostage crisis of 1979-1981. Many Iranian citizens hope that the otherwise magnificent history of their nation will eventually eclipse this incident which they themselves regret. Since the middle of the 20th century and up to the present day, the governments of the United States and Iran have had a complicated affiliation: often cordial, occasionally hostile, and recently rather chilly. The embassy hostage crisis represents the lowest point in this relationship. Have tensions dissolved since then? Can things only go up from there and get better? If the ice is ever to melt, it behooves the citizens of both countries to strive to understand each other’s culture, history, geography, and way of life. Such knowledge may help to pave the way towards mutual appreciation and amity. In which direction will relations between Iran and the US move? This remains to be seen. A lot depends on Iran’s internal politics. Iran now finds itself in a state of dynamic tension or stalemate. The moderate president Mohammad Khatami has tried to push through a number of democratic reforms, only to be stymied by the conservative establishment, headed by supreme Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali Khomeini. Much also depends on the unfolding of events in Iraq. If Iran plays the role of the ‘spoiler’ and supports radical Iraqi Shiite resistance to the US-led coalition’s reconstruction and democratization of Iraq, this will not bode well for US-Iran relations. After more than twenty years of adversarial relations, the United States and Iran have both begun to demonstrate an interest in breaking out of this long stalemate. Broadly conceived, the benefits for both countries of an improved relationship would be significant. Time has soothed some past wounds and the rhetoric of hatred has subsided to a degree. However, serious differences remain71.

71

“Thinking beyond the stalemate in US-Iranian Relations,” Atlantic Council of the United States, July 2001. Page 7. http://www.acus.org/publications/occasionalpapers/internationalsecurity/Iran2.pdf

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Timeline 30,000 BCE 4,200 BCE 3,500 BCE 2,000 - 1,800 BCE ca. 1,300 BCE 701 BCE 615 BCE 559 BCE 486 BCE 330 BCE 325-579 CE 642-650 CE 1220 1502 1722 1795 1848 1906 1907 1909 1925 August 1941

Earliest known hunter-gatherer habitation in the land now known as Iran, south of the Caspian Sea and along the northern Persian Gulf. Akkadians, the first pre-Aryan civilization, make their appearance. The Elamites arrive and become the dominant civilization in the early 2nd millennium BCE. Proto-Iranian tribes, the Persians and the Medes, begin their migrations from Central Asia into Iran, supplanting the Elamites. Zarathustra, founder of Zoroastrianism, begins to spread his message. Daia-Oku unites the Median tribes and reigns from the City of Ecbatana. The Medians, in alliance with the Scythians and Babylonians, smash the Assyrian Empire. Persians defeat the Medians. Cyrus the Great heads the great Achaemenian Persian Empire. Darius, son of Cyrus, dies, having conquered all the land from Egypt, Turkey, parts of Greece, north to Europe, and south to Arabian Sea. Alexander the Great conquers the entire Persian Empire. The Golden Age of the Sassanid Empire begins, bringing about a renaissance in science, scholarship, art, and commerce. Muslim armies enter Persia and defeat the Sassanids. Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes attack Persia and raze almost every major city. Shah Ismail I unites Persia and establishes Shi’ism as the state of religion in the Safavid Dynasty. The Safavid Dynasty comes to an end with the conquest of Esfahan by Mahmoud Khan, an Afghan warlord. The Qajars are led to victory by Agha Muhammad Khan who becomes the new shah and moves the capital to Tehran. Naser o-Din Shah assumes power and takes measures intended to modernize the state. Iran’s first constitution, drawn up by an elected parliament, is signed by Muhammad Ali Shah. Britain and Russia sign the Anglo-Russian Agreement, which divides Persia between the two. The Shah is deposed by pro-constitutional forces who oppose foreign meddling in their country. Reza Pahlavi, a military officer, is crowned Shah. Iran is invaded from the north by the Soviet Union and from the south and west by Britain.

31 September 1941 1953 January 1979 February 1979 April 1979

Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi, son of Reza Shah, assumes the throne after his father abdicates. Prime minister Mohammed Mossadegh is overthrown with CIA assistance, and the Shah is back in power. Amid strikes, demonstrations, and violent protests, the Shah is forced to leave Iran, never to return. Ayatollah Khomeini returns from exile. The Islamic Republic is proclaimed.

November 1979 Islamic radicals storm the U.S. Embassy and take 70 Americans hostage. September Iraq launches the war against Iran following border skirmishes 1980 and a dispute over the Shatt Al-Arab waterway. January 1981 American hostages are released after 444 days in captivity. 1988 1995

Cease fire in the Iran-Iraq War.

The U.S. imposes oil and trade sanctions on Iran for sponsoring terror. 1997 Mohammed Khatami is elected president of Iran with 69% of the vote. April 2001 Iran and Saudi Arabia sign a major security accord to combat terrorism. June 2001 Mohammed Khatami is reelected president of Iran by just under 77% of the vote. 2002 Head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization announces Iran’s plans to build nuclear power plants. September 2003 UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, gives Tehran weeks to prove it is not pursuing an atomic weapons program. November 2003 Iran suspends its uranium enrichment program and says it will allow tougher UN inspections. 2004 Conservatives gain control in parliament as thousands of reformist candidates are disqualified by the hard line Council of Guardians. June 2005 Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, ultra-conservative mayor of Tehran, is elected president in run-off elections. August 2005 Tehran resumes uranium conversion and insists that its atomic program is for peaceful purposes. February 2006 The UN’s IAEA votes to report Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear activities.