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The Pajamas War

Kamangir | April 23, 2007 | Category Iran

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There is a new war going on in Iran, between the administration and students of Shiraz University (Balatarin). More than two thousand students in University of Shiraz gathered on the campus and refused to attend their classes (link). When the dean of the university tried to talk to them they interrupted him by chanting “liar! liar! resign! resign!” Other sentences they shouted were “this is not a barrack” and “shame on you”.

The protest started after a newly announced law tried to regulate the conduct of the students in the dormitory. The new law forbids the students from wearing shorts and pajamas in the halls. It also forbids students from bringing guests to the dormitory and gives the security the right to enter dormitory rooms without permission. According to the students, there has been one incident in which a security personnel entered a room and woke everybody up to ask them for their IDs. He has reportedly shouted “we have a terrorist here” (link). According to the new law, doors of the dormitory will be closed from 23pm to 5am (link).

The university insists that the law has been in effect since a a long time ago. “It is only announced again”, said Dr Sadeghi, the dean (link). The administration has also expressed preparedness to revise the law according to the demands of the students.

The story had a happy ending, when yesterday afternoon, at 4pm, dean told to the students “if you find this law offensive, I apologize”. Then, the students told him that they have not had launch and asked the dean to have dinner with them. He accepted (link). He also stated “we respect privacy of people”.

Can you imagine an old dad who has been so cruel to his children when he was young? That’s the Islamic Republic. The administration has so many problems to deal with and everyone remembers a reason to avenge for. At least that is my understanding of this Pajamas War.

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Demands of the students: 24-hour Khwarizmi [probably the name of a library on campus], non-filtered Internet, free student press, improvement on the food services, service 4 [probably a campus shuttle] to be changed, freedom for extra curriculum activities. [Thanks to JE for correcting my mistake]

Reader's Comments

  1. Jack | April 23rd, 2007 at 11:27 pm

    “Pajama War?”

    Sounds great!

    You’re up tomorrow.

    And thanks.

  2. Kamangir | April 24th, 2007 at 12:12 am

    Jack,
    Same here.

  3. Lesly | April 24th, 2007 at 2:34 am

    The story had a happy ending, when yesterday afternoon, at 4pm, dean told to the students “if you find this law offensive, I apologize”. Then, the students told him that they have not had launch and asked the dean to have dinner with them. He accepted (link).

    Are you sure you’re not reporting my family? This sudden outburst—and just as sudden diffusion of tempers—is a daily occurrence in Miami.

  4. serendip | April 24th, 2007 at 3:24 pm

    kaman: did you know pajama is rooted in the Persian words, “Bi Jameh”, meaning without your get up?

  5. JE | April 24th, 2007 at 6:51 pm

    “Kharazmi” I think should be “Khwarizmi,” for the famous inventor of algebra, محمد بن موسى الخوارزمي

  6. shimbalkhaan | April 24th, 2007 at 9:54 pm

    Dear Serendip,

    AS you may know, many words are pronounced in a more simple way rather than their original and correct spelling and pronunciation in Persian. “Bi jameh” is originally “Pa Jameh”, meaning leg’s clothes. In this way, English and Persian words are more similar!

  7. kia | April 24th, 2007 at 11:07 pm

    JE,

    Indeed, Kharazmi is the famous inventor of algebra. “Khwarizmi” is just another english spelling of the original Persian name. In Iran, we pronounce it as “Kharazmi”. The english world “algorithm” is also the latinized form of the same name. According to Wikipedia, his name is also the origin of the Spanish word “guarismo” and of the Portuguese word “algarismo”, both meaning digit.

  8. yekvahid | April 24th, 2007 at 11:12 pm

    aleykomo ssalam va rahmatolahe va barakato!
    Translation: Hi!

  9. JE | April 25th, 2007 at 12:32 am

    Kira,

    Thanks - I would have guessed that Ùˆ would have been pronounced like an English ‘v’ in Farsi, from what little Farsi I’ve heard. The great American computer scientist, Donald Knuth, mentions al-Khawarizmi on the first page of the first chapter of the first volume of Knuth’s magnum opus, “The Art of Computer Programming.” Would that Iran were known for Khawarizmi instead of احمدي نژاد - or احمدي نجاد as I’m more used to seeing in Arabic.

  10. serendip | April 25th, 2007 at 10:59 pm

    Thanks Shimbalkhan; duly noted. What does Shimbalkhan mean?

  11. shimbalkhaan | April 26th, 2007 at 12:51 am

    Dear Serendip,

    It is a long story so let me say It is some kind of meaningless! ;)

  12. غلام خدا | April 28th, 2007 at 4:39 pm

    this may be silly, but why do you translate from “salam :: hi” to “as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatahu” as both “hi” ? let me break it down for you…

    salam سلام :: arabic, “peace”
    alaykum علیکم :: arabic, “upon you”
    wa Ùˆ :: arabic, persian: “and”
    rahmat رحمت :: arabic, persian: mercy
    allah اللہ :: arabic: God
    barakah برکۃ :: arabic: blessings

    so “Salam” would be more accurately translated as “Peace”, which the word اسلام “Islam” is also derived from. and “As-salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatahu” should be translated as “may the peace and blessings of God be upon you.”

    thanks.. :) salaam..

  13. غلام خدا | April 28th, 2007 at 6:00 pm

    sorry, I missed a few words. the full salaam should be translated as: “may peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of God too”. sounds funny in english.

  14. Motori | April 29th, 2007 at 6:06 pm

    @ Gholaam e Khoda,
    Sorry m8. Salaam doesn’t mean “Peace” it literally means “I submit to you”. It comes from the arabic verb “Salm” which means “To Submit” the same verb which the word “Tasleem” comes from and it has been entered in Persian language as well meaning “Submission”.

  15. Kamangir | April 29th, 2007 at 6:47 pm

    غلام خدا ,
    May peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of God too. :)

  16. غلام خدا | April 30th, 2007 at 6:59 pm

    Motori,

    Sorry mate. (lol) But please check your references, because they are incorrect. “Salaam” means peace. I believe you are thinking of the word “aslam”.

    == Wikipedia: ==
    As-Salāmu `Alaykum (السلام عليكم) is an Arabic language greeting used in both Muslim and Christian cultures. It means “Peace be upon you.”

  17. Iranian Government No-No List Grows Longer | March 6th, 2008 at 12:49 pm

    [...] dishes – Young men with hair gel – Young men in short sleeves – Pajamas and shorts in the hallway – Iranian rappers – Manly makeup, bad hijab – Reformist newspapers – [...]

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