We had to attend a mourning ceremony for a relative in Isfahan. We took the freeway through Ghom and Kashan . It took us about 5 hours to reach the large city. Isfahan is a unique city by all means. The beautiful Zayanderood flows elegantly through the city dividing it into northern and southern quarters. The city has been well managed in recent years and by most standards it is emerging as a modern metropolitan while preserving the cultural heritage and art works. In Isfahan, you can find art and architecture dating back to centuries before Islam. The Jame Mosque was originally a place of worship for Zoroastrians, thousands of years ago , today it is one of the most remarkable tourist attractions. It is located in a part of the city which is known as the Ancient district belonging also to the Jewish tradition, including a location known as the Aaron neighborhood. In addition, the Vanek Church which I have seen before, is a standing example of Christian art and culture in the heart of an Islamic society. Together, these magnificent architectural works display the coexistence of diverse religions, throughout centuries. Even today Jews, Armenians and Zoroastrians live alongside Muslims in this ancient city, although their numbers have fluctuated throughout the years. The Abassi hotel is the best place to stay, the hotel itself is breathtaking in terms of the artwork displayed within the hotel which is a historic site as well.
By the way, amidst the New Year jubilation ,news and images coming from Gaza are alarming. Images of so many children killed or injured in Gaza are unbelievable. Is this a genocide campaign? More shocking is the impotence of international bodies that are entrusted with the mandate of preserving world peace. The security council has not been able to issue a resolution to condemn the attacks. The European calls for truce or ceasefire have not been taken seriously by the Israel government and the Islamic conference has not been responding to this crime in proper dimensions. Gaza is alone today, more than ever before.....
6 comments:
Dear Dr. Ebtekar,
I have told my two eternal beloved friends that I am also bowing out of this site, at least for a while, until that joyful, shining, and wonderful age of Obama Christ comes for everyone to enjoy! and as far as that conversation or "dialogue among civilizations" that jooybaar mentioned as a noble cause for ordinary people like us to keep spending time and energy on, well, I take it the reason my beloved friends don't talk to me anymore is that they don't want me to waste my innocent passions on such political topics as most of Persian Paradox posts, you know? politics being anything but innocent or noble!!!
I just couldn't help but say one last thing as I say goodbye though, and that's my (inexperienced, ordinary person's, unimportant) answer to your question at the end of this post "Is this a genocide campaign?"
I don't think so!
Bosnia was a genocide, maybe Darfur is a genocide, but not this!
Just as the so-called War on Terror in Afghanistan which was not taken seriously and was only waged as a pretext by the neo-conservative Bushies (or Bushites) before going for the actual planned intended WAR on Iraq's Saddam Hossein the Hitler of our times who had become a Frankenstein to be gotten rid of, this so-called war on Hamas by Israel is ALSO only a pretext or prerequisite for that ultimate plan of the neo-conservatives and warmongers of the world who were so enthusiastic about the prospect of a war on Iran but were disarmed by BRILLIANT Iranian diplomacy (thanks to amazing Iranian national heroes like Dr. Javad Zarif)!
this is why I'm so afraid that if the Muslim world, especially Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan don't take advantage of this 4-year window of opportunity that has been provided to them by the WILL of the peaceful PEOPLE of America and the liberals and socialist left wing population of the world including America, who collectively stood up to the old masters and "ownership societies" of the world and their "clash of civilizations" doctrines and their "preemptive war doctrines" and their "unilateral" mindsets about "ruling" the world, and DEMANDED change in the persona of Prophet Obama, if the RATIONAL people of the Muslim World don't take advantage of these 4 years, then it's no longer just a "lost opportunity" but the prelude to a human disaster on colossal proportions!
I believe Obama has only been given 4 years to see if he can TRANSFORM the world into a multilateral, win-win for all, peaceful and secure community of people who dare to HOPE, which he can do by banking on his incredible appeal among ALL the people of the world, from Muslims who consider him "one of us" due to his Kenyan background, to Christians, from black to white, from socialists to capitalists, from liberals to conservatives, from secular to religious people!
I believe, these neo-conservatives CAN'T accept defeat, they have not just so easily admitted to having been wrong or promised to retire and go home!!! They have lost one battle, but before they leave, they wanted to set the stage for what they perceive as a SURE failure by Prophet Obama to achieve his World Peace with his Audacity of Hope, so they are now making sure that the stage is set for a crushing defeat for Obama administration's goals in the Middle East, as well as his goal of TRUE War on Terror in Afghanistan! they are using these last few weeks they have left under Bush to stir up crises that will ensure Obama's failure in his RATIONAL yet HUMANE policies! crises like this Israel/Gaza one and also that India/Pakistan one which is still boiling under the surface!!!
Their assumptions are that Iran is soooooo radical, suicidal, crazy, fanatical that will see this atrocity in Gaza and react PRECISELY the way some of your radical fanatics are reacting, hence setting the stage for a definite failure of his "let's engage with Iran directly" policy! how? their calculations would tell them that if all goes well and the fanatical "thugs" in Iran get emboldened by these killings in Gaza, then they will do what they did 4 years ago after Iran was called "Axis of Evil", this will arouse the anger and resentment of the ultraconservative (bassiji) Iranians soooooo much that they will come out and vote for their (seemingly) MOST anti-Israel choice, i.e. Ahmadinejad, which is EXACTLY what the John Boltons of the world want!!!!
they don't want Iran to elect a rational man with a mandate to have a rational negotiation with the Obama administration!!!!! they know what rational Iranian men are capable of!!! they've seen the masters at play when they were desperately trying to beat Dr. Zarif at UN, and couldn't!!!!!
If the policies that experts like Dr. Brezinsky and President Carter are advising President Obama to pursue actually have a chance of bearing fruit, then it is REALLY the end of neo-conservatism and the Bush Republicans (as well as other neo-conservatives of the Western World) will have no choice but to go back to traditional conservatism in the form of people like Chuck Hagel or Mike Huckabee, but if they can make sure Obama loses, if they can make sure the liberals and TRUE Democrats like Jimmy Carter get humiliated in their attempts at bringing EVERLASTING and JUST PEACE to the Middle East, then they can come back in 4 years time and tell their people "look what HOPE and AUDACITY did for you!!!"
and the elders and party leaders of BOTH parties will have a reason to take away all that bipartisan support they had given to Obama in 2008, and "URGE" Hillary to run for the Democratic nomination as the more "realistic" and hawkish alternative to this naive young man who was hoping to have "the skies open and celestial choirs sing" and solve all the world's problems with just expecting EVIL people to do the "right thing"!!!!
and of course on the Republican side you will AGAIN see the likes of Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney who will help Hillary's foreign policy arguments, except from the right wing! of course the Republicans are not supposed to win anyway b/c this economy can only be saved by Democratic policies, but still, the only reason such a brainless fanatic as Sarah Palin is still kept in the lime light is that they're hoping Obama will lose with his peaceful and engagement-intensive foreign policy, and his Foreign Minister (Secretary of State) who will be able to claim from the position of authority that my boss's policies were the reasons I couldn't achieve what was needed (i.e., obliterating Iran in order to teach the bad, fanatical, EVIL Palestinians a lesson and force them to make "Peace" with Israel)!!! so, if you vote for me, I'll continue all the good Democratic economic policies of his administration but I will follow my own (AIPAC-friendly) foreign policy and get rid of this DANGEROUS threat of a Nuclear Iran and force the Palestinians and other Middle Easterners into submission and achieve that eluded peace!!! that's why the idiot Sarah Palin has to be in the race too, going toe-to-toe with Hillary so that ALL the same people (56% of America) who voted for Obama will vote for Hillary out of FEAR of a Palin administration!!!!
So, I hope YOU will take URGENT advantage of this very short window of opportunity which is GENUINELY and TRULY offered to Iran and the Muslim World really, by the experienced, conscientious, and NOT warmongering TRUE Democrats like Jimmy Carter and Dr. Brezinsky! Obama's political clout was given to him by the likes of Teddy Kennedy and John Kerry ONLY based on respect for Jimmy Carter's vision of the Middle East, and it has an expiry date of 4 years!
If YOU REALLY want PEACE for Palestine and NOT APARTHEID, then Obama's first term is the Muslim World's ONLY chance to help Carter and Obama and Biden achieve it together, and they can't do it without YOUR help!!! so, DO NOT let your crazies win, do not let your Ahmadinejads and other reactionary radicals win!!!! not only YOU can't afford it, but your dear Palestinian brothers and sisters can't afford it, and the entire Muslim World can't afford it!!!
I don't have much to say but this:
http://www.mizanews.com/default.asp?nid=1352
You IRI establishment, LEARN from this LION of Iranian politics! READ and LEARN "Mr. President"!!! THIS is what YOU should be saying!!!!! READ and LEARN!!!!
To the tune of Professor Henry Higgins singing "Why can't a woman be more like a man?", I sing:
Why can't IRI be more like FMI?
Probably the DIRECT result of brilliant, pragmatic, realistic, rational, genius Iranian DIPLOMACY behind the scenes:
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/01/02/al-Maliki_to_head_Iraqi_delegation_in_Iran/UPI-16671230921709/
Long Live DIPLOMACY!
Long Live The God of Diplomacy, Dr. M. Javad Zarif!
Where would Iran be without him????
Oh!!!!! I just got it!!!! it wasn't Jomhoori Eslami, it was Keyhan!!!! ;-)
http://www.mizanews.com/default.asp?aid=213
it must have been Keyhan's editor that I've heard Ray Takeyh talk about that way, not Jomhoori Eslami!!! and apparently the guy's name is Shariatmadari! hopefully NOT related to that Grand Ayatollah Sharaiatmadari?!!!! but if he is, then it just goes to show why most ordinary Iranians have turned away from the entire class of Ayatollahs altogether and are losing all faith in Islam too more and more every year! a great achievement for the Islamic Republic!!!!!
anyway, ... it's good to know who it was that I hated so much!!!!! it was Mr. Shariatmadari, not the poor sap who is the head of Jomhoori Eslami newspaper, whatever his name is!!!! :-) OK, things make much more sense again! Thank God! ;-)
Why is this guy NOT being arrested for encouraging terrorism and defacing Islam???
http://www.mizanews.com/default.asp?nid=1388
If Shiite Ayatollahs call the Wahabi al-Qaeda terrorists "moshrek" or heretics and infidels, then they should also call Shiite extremists like this guy Hossein Shariatmadari ALSO heretics and infidels!!! He sounds exactly like the al-Qaeda, and his words certainly have the SAME negative and destructive effect on TRUE Islam!!!
Isn't it the duty of TRUE Muslims in Iran to stand up and get rid of their OWN BinLadens before they can join the rest of the world in the very important responsibility of cleaning the Muslim World from radicalism and terrorism???
Down with Keyhan Newspaper!
again, READ and LEARN IRI, read and learn!!!
http://www.mizanews.com/default.asp?nid=1416
BE TRUE TO YOURSELVES!!!! or you'll have to answer God on Judgment Day when he asks you: WHY DID YOU PRETEND TO CARE FOR HUMANITY BUT IN FACT TOOK MEASURES THAT PROLONGED THE SUFFERING OF DEFENSELESS HUMAN BEINGS IN GAZA, WHEN INSTEAD YOU COULD HAVE BEEN THE RIGHTEOUS MENTORS OF THE "ZAALLEEN" ASTRAY ONES WHO WERE BEING SENSELESSLY SLAUGHTERED BY INFIDELS???
Islamic Terrorism = the result of illiteracy in the Muslim World, causing the brainless, soulless, fundamentalist fanatics to prey on hungry, defenseless, desperate people, leading them ASTRAY and away from the TRUE teachings of Islam
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