Kamangir (Archer)

“Al Maliki witnesses another shoe tossed for Bush”

Kamangir | December 26, 2008 | Category Picture of the Day

The picture in the above is taken in the “kick Bush with a shoe” competition held in Tehran.

From Fars News

New Digital Police to Establish in Iran

Kamangir | December 18, 2008 | Category Blogging, Human Rights, Iran, Islamic Republic, Picture of the Day

It was in the news that,

Coinciding with the appropriation of a 5 billion Toman ($5,000,000) budget for a new ministry of ?communications project to filter websites and blogs, Tehran’s deputy public prosecutor, ?Mahmoud Salarkia announced, “A special court to examine electronic and computer-?related crimes will be established.”

Vahid Nikgou, the ?Persian cartoonist, writes that he has read that they are to employ figurines like the Microsoft Office Assistant for stopping the Iranian users from getting involved in “improper” activities. This is his depiction of how the “digital police figurine” will work,

Video of the Day: Modesty is the Cover

Kamangir | December 18, 2008 | Category Human Rights, Iran, Islamic Republic, Video of the Day

(direct link to the video)

They keep a close eye on certain individuals and censor them out despite whatever technical measure they take in order to keep their blogs afloat. At the same time, if you are looking for porn, music, or movies, as long as you don’t make a fuss over it, you can definitely have it. This is my understanding of how things work in the Islamic Republic: modesty is the cover, supremacy is the aim.

From Antony

Letter in Defense of Hossein Derakhshan (Hoder)

Kamangir | December 18, 2008 | Category Human Rights, Iran

We, the undersigned, view the circumstances surrounding the Iranian authorities’ arrest of Hossein Derakhshan (hoder.com), one of the most prominent Iranian bloggers, as extremely worrying.  Derakhshan’s disappearance, detention at an unknown location, lack of access to his family and attorneys, and the authorities’ failure to provide clear information about his potential charges is a source of concern for us.

The Iranian blogging community is one of the largest and most vibrant in the world.  From ordinary citizens to the President, a diverse and large number of Iranians are engaged in blogging. These bloggers encompass a wide spectrum of views and perspectives, and they play a vital role in open discussions of social, cultural and political affairs.

Unfortunately, in recent years, numerous websites and blogs have been routinely blocked by the authorities, and some bloggers have been harassed or detained.  Derakhshan’s detention is but the latest episode in this ongoing saga and is being viewed as an attempt to silence and intimidate the blogging community as a whole.

Derakhshan’s own position regarding a number of prisoners of conscience in Iran has been a source of contention among the blogging community and has caused many to distance themselves from him.  This, however, doesn’t change the fact that the freedom of expression is sacred for all not just the ones with whom we agree.

We therefore categorically condemn the circumstances sourrounding Derakhshan’s arrest and detention and demand his immediate release.

Arash Abadpour
http://kamangir.net/

Niki Akhavan
http://benevis-dige.blogspot.com/

Hossein Bagher Zadeh
http://www.iranian.com/bagherzadeh

Sanam Dolatshahi
http://www.khorshidkhanoom.com/

Mehdi Jami
http://sibestaan.malakut.org/

Jahanshah Javid
http://www.iranian.com/

Abdee Kalantari
http://www.nilgoon.org

Sheema Kalbasi
http://www.zaneirani.blogspot.com/

Nazli Kamvari
http://sibiltala.blogspot.com/

Nazy Kaviani
http://nazykaviani.blogspot.com/

Peyvand Khorsandi
http://soulbean.wordpress.com/

Nikahang Kowsar
http://nikahang.blogspot.com/

Omid Memarian
http://omidmemarian.blogspot.com/

Pedram Moallemian
http://www.eyeranian.net/

Ali Moayedian
http://payvand.com/

Ebrahim Nabavi
http://www.doomdam.com/

Masoome Naseri
http://www.mimnoon.com/

Khodadad Rezakhani
http://www.vishistorica.com/

Leva Zand
http://balootak.com/

The Shah is Gone, Why Hoder’s arrest doesn’t matter

Kamangir | December 12, 2008 | Category Blogging, Iran, Islamic Republic

Hossein Derakhshan, the used-to-be King of the Persian blogosphere, is gone and no one seems to care. I have been searching for his name using Google Blog Search since his arrest and the very few Persian blog posts I have been able to find refer to “impartial solidarity with the detainee” and “everyone has the right to speak” for their support of him. There is quite commonly a reference to his ill reputation of using his blog for attacking people in what I find as well. Has the Persian blogosphere abandoned the Shah? Is this another 1979-type revolution in which the nation kicked its father out?

Since his arrest on early November, there have been a few calls to action, also accompanied by outrage against the silent body of the blogosphere. Closer friends of Hoder, some of whom have denounced him earlier, seem to be surprised why the blogosphere is so “distracted” by its daily life and is not rising in support of the “fellow blogger”.

At the capacity of being the full-time king of the Persian blogosphere, Hoder was indeed a full-time blogger. He did mention studying in a few different universities as his occupation, but fellow journalists who have examined his track record have surprisingly found out that he used to take courses and leave programs, rather than actually being a student. He was the King. In this context, the kings attend conferences and enjoy trips all paid for by different organizations. I was not surprised to know that a person who had attended one of his presentations later found out that his slides were at least two years old. Apparently, like others of his excellence, the King of the Persian blogosphere did not have a lot of appreciation for what his people were in fact up to.

Generals and the heads of the army kissed the Shah’s boots minutes before he left Iran to not ever come back again. Hoder’s departure was sudden. There was no fancy goodbye party for the departing king. Nevertheless, the people are living their lives, indifferent of the emptied palace at hoder.com . The Shah died of cancer, Hoder’s death can come in form of cooperation with the regime for “exposing and dismantling the web of conspirators”.

The time of celebrities in the Persian blogosphere is over. Welcome to the Republic of Blogestan.

Photo from here

The Iranian Brand of Islam: Why they consider us Infidels

Kamangir | December 10, 2008 | Category Iran, Islam

It is a matter of fact that for a lot of hard-core Sunnis, Shias are weird, to put graciously, and downright infidel, to be frank. That might have something to do with some Shia practices which do resemble primitive theologies in which objects would bear sever religious significance. Aside from that, however, sometimes it seems to me, as an observer, that Iranians really don’t care about the skies all together.

Take the example of Fitna, Geerts Wilders’s video about Islam (see: Islam or Islamic Ideology, which one is the problem Mr. Wilders?). The Islamic world was up in arms while the Iranian fellows seemed to only have heard some vague notions about “another offensive thing”. Iranians are not a bunch of lazy people of course. Call the Persian Gulf any name-which-must-not-be-used and see the uproar.

Last night the same happened when I translated parts of an article from the latest issue of The Manitoban, the University of Manitoba students’ newspaper. The article, which is titled “Deconstructing divinity“, starts with the question “Did God create the brain, or did the brain create God?” Referring to temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) as a medical condition which can result in “visions” and “feelings of presence”, the author argues that some religious figures might in fact only have been patients of TLE who were taken too seriously by their people.

The article does name the prophet of Islam as one of those who seem to fit to this theory, something I obviously dropped from the translation in order to avoid an initial agitation of the readers.

The reaction so far is one of “well, interesting” and “this reminds me of The Tripods“. Of course when you write “we will discuss the issues, yelling is what our monkey grandfathers did” there is always the person who keeps asking “was your grandpa a chimp or a screaming ape?”

Better days are coming!

Kamangir | December 3, 2008 | Category Personal

Let’s be frank! Blogging in two languages at the same time does NOT work. It only could be done if you make yourself do it, and recently I haven’t. And that is a pity, given the fact that I started this blog for the sole purpose of being able to communicate to a different audience, than my own compatriots.

Now, as my studies approach the end (I am actually daydreaming about leaving school after 23 years!), I am hoping for a less busy schedule which would allow me to post more regularly. One thing is for sure though, I am planning to publish one post every three days, at least, starting today.

So, keep up the support! And by the way, I am aware of the technical problems of kamangir.net. I will attend to them as soon as I can squeeze some time.

And, as a “souvenir from hell”, this is the maze I am caught in these days. The analysis of the problem and the subsequent coding is done, I am collecting the results. Soon it will be published on yet another piece of paper no one is ever going to read. A piece of “knowledge” which will be archived on a dusty server somewhere in a huge publication company.

Better days are coming!

On Hoder’s Arrest

Kamangir | November 20, 2008 | Category Blogging, Iran

Hossein Derakhshan (Hoder) is reportedly under arrest on accusations of espionage for Israel, among other charges.

The Persian blogosphere, however, seems to have not heard the news, for the most part. Hoder had in fact become an outsider in the blogosphere, not because of his ideas, but because of his repeated political swings and his untidy self-centric character. While still some people argue that this is another fake show like many others of his, my understanding is that the chain of events provides more evidence to back the idea that bloggers have to stay away from games of politics.

A blogger is and has to remain a “citizen observer”. Hoder’s long descent from carrying the title “the Godfather of the Persian blogosphere” to being interrogated by the regime while the Persian blogosphere seems to pay the least attention is a clear testimony to that.

The Iranian Obama, or Lost in Translation

Kamangir | November 12, 2008 | Category Iran, media

A great post from my very good friend Hadi cross posted here due to the importance of the issue.

Correction on Fox News

I noticed that Fox News made a big mistake in describing the reason for shut down of a weekly magazine in Iran, “after featuring President-elect Barack Obama on its front cover and asking the question, Why doesn’t Iran have an Obama?”

But the fact is that the weekly magazine, Shahrvand-e Emrooz, was not shut down for its speculations about the “Iranian Obama”, as Fox News suggests.

Indeed, The magazine had already been closed down by the authorities before Obama won the elections. The administration of Shahrvand-e Emrooz, however, enjoyed the Iranian slow bureaucracy which let them publish another issue before the verdict was submitted to their office.

The commentary, which is referred to by Fox News and other sources, was in fact written by the editor-in-chief of the weekly as a reaction to the shut-down of the magazine. The regarding sentence reads “Why don’t we have the Iranian Obama? Why does the Iranian government make the friends to be foes, instead of making the foes to be friends?!”

But, to mention the accurate justification for closing down the weekly, the Press Supervisory Board has announced the verdict to be based on what they mention as “the license mandated the weekly to address social and cultural issues whereas the publication in fact had contained political commentaries”.

In addition, the editor-in-chief of what many consider to be “Iran’s Time Magazine”, Mohammad Ghouchani, has opposed the verdict, which is still to be approved by higher courts. Ghouchani still hopes to negotiate with the officials for the reconsideration on the verdict.

There were lots of criticizes even by conservatives. Even the Parliament Spokesman, Ali Larijani, who is a close political figure to the Iranian Supreme Leader, has criticized the weekly’s shut-down.

Some other Iranian MPs have questioned and summoned the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran specifically for the event as well. In the Iranian constitution questioning a minister in the Parliament can potentially result in an impeachment.

Based on the political reactions to the shut-down of Shahrvand-e Emrooz, its staff are still very hopeful to be able to revive their weekly from the ban.

Didish: Statistics of the Persian Blogosphere, A Short Review

Kamangir | November 9, 2008 | Category Iran

I was recently asked for a short introduction to my work on the Persian blogosphere (Project Didish). I post the report here as well, in case anyone is interested.

 Didish: Statistics of the Persian Blogosphere: Download

Kordan Gate - The Persian Blogosphere and Ali Kordan’s Ph.D.

Kamangir | November 7, 2008 | Category Didish, Iran, media

This is the English translation of a piece I wrote in August 2008 for Radio Zamaneh on how the Persian blogosphere responded to the controversy surrounding the Ph.D. Ali Kordan (the former Interior Minister) had claimed to have been granted by Oxford University (for more details refer to “Ali Kordan - Degree controversy” on Wikipedia).

This is an example of the work I have been doing recently, as a part of project Didish. I will be posting more information about my work in the coming months.

Kordan Gate - The Persian Blogosphere and Ali Kordan’s Fake Ph.D.

Arash Kamangir - arash@kamangir.net

Masoud Behnoud writes, the fact that Ali Kordan did not know that in today’s world you can not get away with telling big lies in the public is enough reason to make sure that that “piece of paper” could have not been issued by Oxford University (Ahmadinejad responded to inquiries regarding Kordan’s degree by saying that it is “only a piece of paper”). Many people have written about Ahmadinejad’s and Kordan’s reactions to the controversy and how it should be resolved. This short report looks at how the Persian blogosphere responded to the controversy.

This analysis contains items aggregated through 933 link-sharing feeds which are used by Persian bloggers. Some of these feeds are published in friendfeed.com and some others are included in the feeds of Persian blogs. Some others are presented to the visitors of the blogs maintained by the owners of the feeds. Therefore, it will not be an overestimation if we consider link-sharing feeds as one of the tools for communication and distribution of content in the Persian blogosphere.

Figure 1

Figure 1 shows the daily percentage of items shared from July 29th till August 20th of this year which contained one of the keywords “Degree”, “Oxford”, or “Kordan” in their title. In order to draw this figure, first, for each day in the period, the total number of items which had one of the keywords in their title has been calculated. These numbers are subsequently divided by the total number of items shared in the corresponding day. Figure 2 shows a similar curve for the percentage of items which had any of the keywords in their title.

Figure 2

All four curves, the ones shown in Figures 1 and 2, exhibit peaks on the 11th and the 16th of August.

The peak on the 11th coincides with the day after alef.com first published reports regarding mistakes in what was claimed to be a degree issued by Oxford University. On the same day, Alef also published a statement by Oxford University in which the degree was officially discredited. The Persian blogger Jomhour commented on the news by writing a post titled “Will the genius minister discredit the Oxford minister?” The next peak, namely on the 16th, corresponds to the date in which the Persian blogger “Big Sleep” wrote a post titled “I will file a complaint against Kordan“. Both these posts will be discussed shortly.

Figure 1 shows that compared to the peak on the 11th, the keyword “Kordan” has gained more importance on the 16th. On the same day there is less emphasis on “Degree”, maybe exhibiting more concentration on the consequences of the actions undertaken by the minister, and thus mentioning his name rather than the actual events. After the first peak, there is significant drop in the use of the keyword “Oxford”.

Figure 2 shows that the second wave is weaker in magnitude than the first one. This might indicate decreased interest on the topic in the Persian blogosphere.

Among all the items which have any of the keywords in their title, the post by Soroush Rouhbakhsh (whom blogs at “Big Sleep”) has been shared 44 times and is the most shared item in this analysis. Choosing the title “I will file a complaint against Kordan“, He writes,

I will file a complaint against Kordan for forgery of an academic degree, as indicated in article 527 of the Islamic Prosecution Law. What will you do?

The next most popular item is titled “How animals reacted to Kordan’s fake degree“. Having been shared 22 times, the blogger uses humorous pictures of animal figures to mock the issue in that post (one of the pictures is shown to the right).

Jomhour’s post, “Will the genius minister discredit the Oxford minister?“, is shared 18 times and is on the third place. The blogger examines the credibility of the Minister of Higher Education who was given the task of investigating the authenticity of Kordan’s degree. The minister already has a suspicious “Scientist of the Year” title in his resume.

Shared 16 times, the official statement by Oxford University if the fourth on the list and a post titled “Dr. Kordan’s Ph.D.” by Persian blogger “The Wise Boy” is the fifth. In that post, the blogger looks at the research done by Prof. Edmund Rolls, whose signature is seen at the bottom of the claimed-to-be Ph.D. degree. The post, which is archived in the category “deep thoughts” by the blogger, sarcastically argues that “Dr. Kordan” had indeed deserved the diploma.

Figure 3

This analysis includes 166 unique items, shared for a total of 459 times. Figure 3 shows the share of blogs and other sources in the number of items and the number of times an item is shared. As seen here, 45% of the unique items regarding Ali Kordan’s degree controversy have been produced in the Persian blogosphere. In terms of the number of times any item is shared, items from the Persian blogosphere have had a 49% share.

Audio brought to you by Odiogo.

 

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Radio Zamaneh: Serious Worries

Kamangir | November 7, 2008 | Category Iran

Mehdi Jami, director of the very successful Radio Zamaneh, was suspended and is apparently to be fired. The new non-Iranian interim director of the “Voice of the Persian Blogosphere”, Zoran Djukanovic, had this for the staff,

As the RZ lawyer said, people in Zamaneh who disagree with this decision, or if they feel stronger personal affiliation with Mr. Jami than devotion to Radio Zamaneh continuation and developing further, are free to start a new media outlet for their own.

One people who are fantastically well capable of turning a success story into a tragedy? That would be us, the Iranians.

“You will be judged by the history Mr. President!” A Persian Letter to President Obama

Kamangir | November 6, 2008 | Category Blogging, US

English translation of an open letter to Barack Obama, from Somayeh Tohidlou, a former aide in the reformist campaigns and a graduate student of sociology at University of Tehran.

You will be judged by the history Mr. President!

Mr. Obama!

You are to be the president. Great turnout! I know you have had a great night. And nice speech! Although, I am not quite on the same page with you on that “we can”. I wish you really could. I read everywhere that you are the personification of Martin Luther King’s dream. Good for you and good for whoever had been waiting for this day to happen. We are happy as well. Any change in these turbulent times, any step toward’s peace, is invaluable. Just if that could be possible.

Mr. President!

Now you are going to be the president of the United States of America. The country which is to rule the world. It is none of my business what you are going to do during your presidency. I am not anti-American either. This is all none of my business. The point is, one country has the power so becomes the super power, one country does not and so becomes the weak. This is not a moral issue. This is the world of profits and I do understand that. Not that it is not a bitter fact, however. So, I do not expect you to do much in this aspect. And I do not understand why people around me are so excited (the Persian blogosphere is partying for your victory!) I know that you are becoming the president in a structured system and so there is no chance for you to assert a lot of change in the system in order to bring about a massive change [not exact translation]. I know that some of your decisions come from the party and the party is well established so change will be limited…. Let’s be realistic.

Mr. Obama!

You said that the families of the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are waiting for their sons and daughters and look for the end of this crisis. You do know that many mothers and fathers have lost their kids in the war. It is a war at the end, isn’t it? When it inflicts the civilians, however, it becomes a catastrophe. You have to realize that the history and the next generations will look at this very thoroughly. Facts will not just vanish. I wouldn’t have written this letter if it was not four the 23 kids who lost their lives on the very same day that you got elected. They became victims of violence committed by soldiers from your country. I wouldn’t have written this letter if all the kids in the world had a prosperous future in front of them, as your Malia and Sasha do. I wouldn’t have written this letter if the bloodshed in Iraq did not exist. Your country is now involved in every single bloody conflict in the world. Become an advocate for peace if you seek the name of your country to be praised.

Mr. Barack Hussein Obama (and you have no idea how much your middle name is loved by [the state-run] news agencies of my country)

I watched the wedding party in Afghanistan which turned into a bloodbath and I watched President Karzai’s first request from you as a president [to reduce the air strikes]. I believed that people like you and our Khatami, who tried to be an advocate for dialogue amongst civilizations, are the minority in the world. We have to yet wait for one who does really try to do something. That’s assuming he or she is able to accomplish anything in this savage world of course.

Mr. President,

The dream of justice is very good. I do look forward to seeing how you implement your socialist ideas within the framework of the liberal democratic system which is in place in your country. John Rawls, I believe, would have had a tough time theorizing the situation. New experiences are invaluable, though. Let’s give them some room.

….

We all wait for you to see how you deal with all these open issues. All these unsolved challenges, the wars, the conflicts, poverty, and injustice. No one person has the power to accomplish all these and we can not expect miracles, but, who knows? Maybe change indeed is possible!

Audio brought to you by Odiogo.

 

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How to Stomp on the Flag

Kamangir | November 3, 2008 | Category Iran, Islamic Republic, Picture of the Day, US

By Vahid Nikgoo

God Bless America, Iran, and the World

Kamangir | November 2, 2008 | Category Iran, Islamic Republic, US, Video of the Day

(direct link to video)

From Majid

Not a Ph.D. from Oxford University, but an entry in Oxford Dictionary

Kamangir | November 1, 2008 | Category Humour, Iran, Islamic Republic

You might be familiar with the story of Mr. Kordan, the interior minister, who “had claimed that he held an honorary PhD from Oxford University. However, after a probe by the Majlis research committee it was revealed that his degree was bogus” (more).

This is the joke that is circulating via email in Iranian communities regarding him,

Although his honorary Ph.D. was rejected, he found a place in Oxford University:

- Kordanize /‘k?rd?naiz/ (v.) [past tense: Kordanized / past participle: Kordanized ]

(1): To get Ph.D without having B.Sc.

(2): To become an important person (e.g. minister) by presenting fake certificate or documents.

- Kordanification( n.)

(1): The process of receiving fake degree, especially from a prestigious university (e.g. Oxford)

(2): The relationship between happiness and telling a big lie.

(3): A method in order to gain Self confidence.

- Kordanism(n. )

(1): The philosophy and strategy of telling lie to a large group of people (e.g. a nation)

(2): A psychological method for deceiving people and laughing simultaneously.

- Kordanic(adj. )

(1): Happy

(2): Self Confident

(3): Relaxed

- Kordanicly(adv. )

(1): In a Kordanic manner.

The Iranian/Persian blogosphere: Arash Kamangir

Kamangir | October 27, 2008 | Category Blogging, Iran, media

A rather long conversation with Daniel Breslau about blogging in Persian and the Persian blogosphere. Listen to the interview here.

Video of the Day: America’s Secret War

Kamangir | October 25, 2008 | Category Iran, US, Video of the Day

(direct link to video)

Is the US at war with Iran? Fantastic video examining the situation on the Iraq-Iran borders.

Link from Vahid

Six things about Kamangir you did not know!

Kamangir | October 20, 2008 | Category Blogging, Humour, Personal

I got tagged by Tori and this is how the game goes,

1. Post the rules on your blog (kind of recursive, huh?)

2. Write 6 random things about yourself

3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post

4. If you’re tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag (because I am writing this, I have obviously complied with it, sort of recursive again?)

So, enough with the ranting, these are six things about Kamangir you might not have known before, assuming you do care to know of course,

1- I am afraid of the dark. I have always been and I will always be. I just get terrified of the dark. This is quite embarrassing given my age.

2- The best days of my childhood were spent in Taleghan, a rural area two hours west of Tehran. My late grandfather had a cottage there and we used to spend couple of weeks during the summer in the country. There I dug up for bones in an old cemetery which was located on a hill. A road passed besides the hill and they used to crush parts of the hill to make more space for the road. That was how the solitude of the dead would be interrupted and there would come the great discoverer of the dead. The first thing I do, after I go back to Iran, is that I will buy out the cottage from my uncles and renovate it. See pictures from that little piece of heaven here.

3- My GPA in my bachelor’s is horribly low. My current adviser was terribly shocked to see that.

4- Being raised in an irreligious (if not anti-religious) family, I find it rather interesting when I observe “holy temptations” in me. A friend of mine once anticipated that I will become a devoted religious person before I turn forty. She is known to possess psychic powers.

5- I used to not understand what the point of blogging was for a long time, before I started my own.

6- skjhsiu ylkjns l8uy s lkjh sliu ;slk ‘p[oi p[;s ;iuh luy oiy os pou spoi (You need to have the secret key to decipher this item. You have the key if you have the key).

And I tag these great people,

1- Antony Loewenstein

2- Lisa Goldman

3- Shahrzad

4- Bamdadi’s English Blog: The Aurora

5- Terry Glavin

6- Esra’a

And a very special invitation to Nim.

Twit of the Day

Kamangir | October 18, 2008 | Category Human Rights, Iran

Just ran across this fabulous Persian twit and thought you might like it too. This is the twit in English,

Just imagine! It will take little time before you look up a word in the dictionary and, where the description of the word used to be, you see, “Dear user! You are not allowed to have access to this word!”*.

* Mockery of the “page is banned” message in the Iranian filtering system.

I’m coming to eat you!

Kamangir | October 18, 2008 | Category Iran, media

If you have been visiting this blog for some time, I guess you do know that I am a relaxed person and that I do not take offense easily (see: Do not Panic! You are not a Cockroach! for example). But, seriously, what is this? “Iranians eat evidence“? So what? That Iranians are hungry creatures strolling in the streets looking for prey? (and that reminds me of “28 Days Later” by the way) Is this Reuters, or is this a spoof item from The Onion? I guess this is yet another clue how much more relevant a blog-like point of view can be.

This is the English translation of a “Personal Note” written by Ferevertish Rezvanieh, published in Pendar about the mentioned sandwich.

Why We should be Proud of the One-and-a-Half-kilometer Sandwich

In the midst of the rising negative views at Iran in the world media, why should we really be proud of our 1500-meter sandwich?

How is our cinema presented in the world? A student who has lost his school book, a kid with a worn off shoe, a boy who so wants a yellow balloon. We definitely should be happy that we have won the Golden Palm and the Golden Lion and all the other prizes, and that couple of Iranian directors are known around the world. Nevertheless, we have to also be aware of how Iran is portrayed in these movies.

Hollywood has long been selling the US as the “lost paradise” which accepts everyone, from whatever race and nationality they are and whatever their color of skin is. But, is that actually what is happening in the US? People think they have gotten more familiar with a society, its culture and the dynamics in there, after they watch a movie from that region. Similarly, when they watch an Iranian movie, of the kind described in the above, they will think, “So, this is Iran!” They will find Iran a country of deserts where kids run after shoes.

Does the presence of Golshifteh Farahani and Mitra Hajjar lead to a more realistic presentation of Iran in the world? Do you go and watch an Afghan singer and then imagine her as an artist who has fled her land of misery using her talents? Does her fabulous voice help you forget the Taliban and the devastated Buda statues for a second? Or to picture prosperous Afghan cities full of colors?

Some Iranian sources have reported that groups of Iranians complained against the making of the sandwich. Is it really useless to have the name of Iran registered as the host for the longest sandwich in Iran when we own the record for death in our roads? It is correct that the money spent on that sandwich could have been put to use in making a lot of sandwiches for the poor. But, still, is it pointless to not fight against the anti-Iran coverage?

The longest sandwich was prepared on Friday morning in Mellat Park, Tehran, and received a lot of attention in the international media. Just look for “Iran+Sandwich” in google to see some of the reactions.

700 kilos of ostrich, 700 kilos of chicken, 100 kilos of green peppers, 120 kilos of onions, 500 kilos of Mayonnaise, 700 kilos of mushrooms, 700 kilos of mustard sauce, 500 kilos of vegetable oil, 1 kilos of Saffron, and 2 kilos of caraway seeds were put into a sandwich. That was how the people of Tehran were brought together in Mellat Park for the world to see that Iranians do own shoes, and Handy cams, and parks. That they eat sandwiches and ride Hummers. That they do not look for a shoe in the sewage.

Mr Ahmadinejad, So you’re saying I’m free?

Kamangir | October 2, 2008 | Category Features, Iran

Translation of a Persian post by the renowned Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad. In the post, Alinejad announces her plans for the publication of her latest book outside Iran. Interested people are invited to contact her at the email address masih_pooyan@yahoo.com for more information about the book and how they can get hold of a copy.

Mr Ahmadinejad, So you’re saying I’m free?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran, attended the UN General Assembly, for the fourth time, and proudly bragged about freedom in Iran. Referring to the treatment of civil liberties in Iran he stated,

Although, there is punishment in the US penal code for offense against the military uniform, there is no punishment in Iran for speaking out against the officials…Freedom in Iran is more inclusive that what you think and criticizing the government officials is absolutely allowed. People will only be punished when they violate others’ rights.*

This is Iran and I am a journalist from the country whose president is so keen to dress up and go to New York every year to show off how much free we are. This is my land, the place which has a president so confident that criticizing the actions of the officials is absolutely free. For the past four years, the fairy tale of freedom has been told by the same person. For the past four years, we have been listening to Mr president when he regularly bashed the international media in the eyes of the world and made us all proud. We are becoming accustomed to thinking that offending the military uniform is in fact a crime in the US and that, us, the inhabitants of this land, are in fact given the gift of absolute freedom and we don’t even realize it.

When Mr president, with his unearthly pride, tells us that there are no political prisoners in Iran and that freedom, beyond imagination, rules in Iran, we, the journalists, try not to remember that Emadeddin Baghi and the other confined journalists did nothing but constructive criticism of the actions of the officials. That of course cost them time in the jail. Closing-off of the newspapers and magazines and banning of the books in fact turned the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance headed by a minister assigned by Mr president into a new form of prison. We have gotten used to no one explaining it to the students, activist women and intellectuals, who are confined in physical or virtual prisons, whether the acts of writing, thinking, publishing articles and books, and giving speeches are in fact illegal and that’s why they are sent behind the bars. The same goes for running a seated strike in a university, attending a calm protest in front of a courthouse, or arguing against a discriminatory law. These are all what the administration interprets as violating the rights of “others” and that’s why they punish the “offenders”. People have been struck by major law suits for the same reasons. Some are sitting in a jail waiting for a furlough and the rest are students banned from attending their classes. There are also the women who are sentenced to jail and lashes everyday. Thanks to the kindness of the Head of the Judiciary the lash sentences are never actually carried out.

This the dilemma that we are facing; why is it that the absolute freedom, Mr president brags about in the US, does not apply for the citizens of my country? The newspapers are banned, websites and personal blogs of the journalist are filtered, and our inquiries are left unanswered. Do the journalists actually break into the privacy of anyone when they use words and pictures?

Nevertheless, he keeps insisting on his claims and we keep being silent, thus practically verifying his claims. I believe we have to break this cycle and actually help him realize what the facts are. Maybe then, we, us the journalists and him, can actually end up showing off how much freedom we have got in our country for real. We have to push the illusion of freedom away and show our wounds. Then, Ahmadinejad or anyone else, when they put Iran and freedom in the same sentence, in front of people from outside Iran, we won’t have to wait for the foreign journalists to ask the questions. We have to have given the answers beforehand.

Our efforts might look minuscule and we might seem not making any progress, but we have to do it to the best we can. If we are not able to fight for others’ rights, let us do what we can do to protect our own rights. We have to do something if we want to be safe from the claws of the “absolute freedom”. Name it a call to action. Instead of trying to argue that the president is not telling the truth and that freedom does not exist in Iran, let’s call on him on that. Let’s make him commit to the claims he is making.

There are many great writers in my country, compared to whom the administration owes me the least. But, based on the absolute freedom that Ahmadinejad has talked about in the UN, I gladly take his words seriously and do not fear to give a hand to him and to the “absolute freedom”, how much little my contribution can be.

I went from door to door in the hallways of Ahmadinejad’s Ministry of Culture for three years to have my book be granted the permission for a reprint. That was after it had already been given the permission for print in the previous administration. The story of polishing that book for publication contains many fascinating chapters.

In my first book, Crown of Thorns (Taaj-e Hhaar), I talked about an MP, who was a clergyman, and how he got mad at me. That book is essentially about the story of acquiring and publishing a copy of the monthly paycheck of the MPs and thus questioning their claims of not having a high salary. One day, I was in the hallways of the parliament and this cleric MP kept insisting that my veil was not proper and that if I do not rectify the problem he will kick me out of the building. I, on the other hand, kept telling him that the few strands of hair on my forehead did not represent poor veil. I surveyed how I looked and after I made sure that I was within the definition of proper covering, I uttered, “So, you are willing to beat me to push these few strands of hair underneath my veil. What are you going to do to the thousands of girls in the wealthy neighborhoods of Tehran and their way of covering their heads?” That was when he got mad and took off his clergyman outfit and turban. It was only the intervention of other men in the hallway that made him calm down. So I wrote this down in the book. Apparently, that was too much, even for a reformist administration, and so I had to change the sentence to refer to “formal clothing” instead of “clergyman outfit and turban”. This was how my book got the permission for print in the first place.

What are you supposed to do when the head of a government states in the UN that inappropriate reference to the military uniform is an offense in the US, and he does not refer to the fact that in Iran you are not allowed to refer to the outfit of the clergymen even when they are involved in improper conduct?

I met Saffar Harandi, Ahmadinejad’s Minister of Culture, in his first year of occupying the office in Tehran Book Fair. Like other conservative politicians, he would stare at the floor to avoid eye contact with the lady who was talking to him. When I told him “I am Masih Alinejad”, he starred deep into my eyes and said “So, you are Masih Alinejad”. Glad that I am having a conversation with him I got optimistic about the fate of my book. Not that he was the minister in a conservative administration. I would have felt the same way if he was Ahmad Masjed-Jamei from the former reformist cabinet.

I had had to accept the removal of some parts of my book in order to have it published when the reformist government was in power. I did that only to save the whole book from being sacrificed. So, I told him the same thing, that I wanted him to tell me what parts of the book he thought should be removed for the book to escape the ban. When three years passed and I got no response from the ministry, I, like all other people in the same situation, realized that I have no share in this absolute freedom, even when I agree to censor parts of my book.

So, what is my share of the absolute freedom? When Manijeh Hekmat, the renowned director of the famous movie “Women’s Prison”, said if her movie does not get approved for the theaters she will sell cigarettes in front the parliament (selling cigarettes in the streets is the illegal petty job for unskilled poor people in Iran), I found it even funny. I was too young at the time, now I know that I will do the same thing if my book does not get published. After all these years, and Ahmadinejad’s men pretending that my book does not exist, I will publish it here in the UK, out of my own pocket and with the help of an Iranian publisher located here. I believe that the sale of my book will be a testimony for everyone, both the public and the administration, that I have not violated anyone’s rights and that I do not deserve any punishment.

If they do not give my share of the absolute freedom, I will take it. The only difference is, I will not be worried about the fear of arrest when I go back to Iran, where freedom rules. I will go back to Iran and I will take copies of my book, which I will title “I am Free”, and I will sell them in the streets of Tehran where the bookstores are. I may even have a venture in front of the presidential buildings in Pastor Sq. This is not a shame. I am also taking all the precautions to avoid that old silly label, that I have received help from foreign organizations. I am going back clean and I am not looking for trouble. It all boils down to one simple fact, “there is absolute freedom in Iran and there is no offence for speaking out against the officials”, as Mr Ahmadinejad put it. I totally obey the law and I am ready for prosecution if I cross the line drawn by Mr Ahmadinejad’s claim. Therefore, it is on the administration to give in to what they have promised for, the absolute freedom to criticize the officials.

Not that I am not worried, I am. But, at the same time, I am relying on Ahmadinejad’s latest promise and so I am planning to go back to Iran, in two months and half from now, and I will be carrying copies of my book “I am Free”, the very ordinary story of a female journalist in the days which led to the ninth presidential elections (the elections which led to Ahmadinejad’s presidency). I am not that brave that I totally forget the fear. At the same time, I am not that strong that I see my book remain on a shelf forever and stay in this foreign land for the rest of my life. The people who have gone through this know that it is impossible to survive here without working for a non-Iranian media sources. These are my only reasons for what I am doing and if they do not start a ruckus to disrupt the sale of my book and do not filter my blog, which I am planning to acquire some of the costs of publishing my book from, I am not looking for anything but publishing my fourth book.

This is my share of the absolute freedom and I believe that each and every Iranian has to ask for their own share from the administration. This is a call for action and I find myself obliged to give a hand to anyone who decides to do the same for their rights. I am in need of support as well. We are not in the illusion of support coming from the outer world, as Ahmadinejad is. We need help and I am counting on all the support I can get.

* The quote does not exactly match what is carried by the state-run Iran News Agency.

The logo of the post reads “Free” in Persian.

Persian Blogosphere: Going Ahead, Slowly and Smoothly

Kamangir | October 2, 2008 | Category Blogging, Features, Iran, Lead Story

I got involved in the blogging experience in here and in English and then moved on to writing a Persian blog. Persian Kamangir, however, progressed faster and farther than what I could imagine and even overshadowed this blog (according to the statistics, Persian Kamangir is now among the twenty most referred blogs in the Persian blogosphere). All this, however, does not mean that this blog will be sacrificed.

The matter of fact is, if anything is to be done for Iran, it will be accomplished through community building and by creating an environment for healthy discussions. The Persian blogosphere, in spite of its vast population, has not yet been able to meet that goal. One of the reasons for this failure, to my understanding, is that blogging can very easily become a venue for individuals whom seek means for satisfying their narcissism. We have suffered from that in the Persian blogosphere to a great extent.

I am just back from Toronto, where we had a panel on the Persian blogosphere and I tried to emphasize on some of the ideas I have also talked about in this article: Do Not Be A Dinosaur Blogger. The head of the Persian blogosphere has gone ahead with using the new technologies, but, nevertheless, there are a lot of people to whom feed and content aggregation are still rocket science.

Struggling with all the bullying and all the “Paris Hilton”s, things are going ahead in the Persian blogoshpere. Recent indications of state-backed efforts to infiltrate into our communities prove that.

Video: Arrest for Unknown Reason

Kamangir | September 22, 2008 | Category Features, Human Rights, Lead Story, Video of the Day, Women

(direct link to video)

The video is apparently taken from one or two floors above the street level. The screams of the girl to be arrested are not legible but people around the camera are contemplating why the girl is being arrested and if this has anything to do with the Modesty Police.

9/11: The day of terror and despair

Kamangir | September 11, 2008 | Category Blogging, Features, Iran, Lead Story

Translation of a Persian post commemorating the 9/11 attacks from “The Old Land“,

9/11: The day of terror and despair

September 11, 2001 was a hot day, and I remember that the heat was irritating. I was going home, so I waited in the street to get a [shared] cab. I don’t remember how long I waited for, but it was enough to irritate me even more. Just then, a cab came and I told the driver where I was going. I chose the front seat… I was able to get some air and cool off. I was tired and irritated of the heat when the driver, with his face covered by a big smile, turned to me and said “Is it right that the US is all gone?” Maybe he was not even talking to me. I had a newspaper in my hand and I was opening it to read.

I thought, well, another head of the state has probably found a vacant microphone and has probably uttered some fuss. So, with a smile of sarcasm, I said “Things happen”, meaning “Do your job and drop me where I am going”. He, on the other hand, translated my sentence as “Yes, I heave heard too!”

“And so I have to listen to the details of how the heroes of the revolution have blown up the US”, this was what I imagined. It was boring, we were actually blowing up the US couple of times every day.

I finally got home. No one even turned back from TV when I stepped in. They were watching the national television and all in shock. One was standing, one was sitting, one was pacing. I looked at the screen. The towers were falling down. I had a cold feeling in my stomach. I could not understand it. The towers fell down and fell down and fell down. The tape went on and on and on. This was the only scene I ever watched more than that fantastic goal Khodadad Azizi scored [and led to Iran's admission to World Cup 98 - Wikipedia].

My mom kept crying. She had no idea where these towers were or what the Pentagon was. She was just sad.

9/11 is my mom’s birthday. I will never forget her birthday, ever.