Rasoul Sadr Ameli

EVERY NIGHT, LONELINESS (2008)



=========================
The film is the story of Atiyeh, a young radio show host specializing on "relationships", who is suffering a terminal illness and will die in 4 months, unless she agrees to a risky surgery (which she refuses to have).
Her desperate husband brings her on a pilgrimage to Mashad. She is not a believer, but she becomes overwhelmed by the power of other's faith, and recognizes in her the love for ...

A Marvelous film, about belief, faith, pain, death, love, life ... shot against the rarely seen backdrop of Imam Reza's Shrine in Mashad.
=========================
By: Rasoul Sadrameli
Born in Isfahan, Iran in 1953, Rasoul Sadrameli studied sociology in France before returning to Iran to produce Ami Ghavidel's RAIN OF BLOOD (1981) and make his directorial debut with THE RELEASE (1982). He has since directed THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS (1983), PAIZAN (1987), THE VICTIM (1991), TEHRAN SYMPHONY (1993), THE GIRL IN THE SNEAKERS (1999), I'M TARANEH, 15 (2002) and DISHAB BABATO DIDAM, AIDA(2005).

Sadr Ameli is a post-revolutionary director, who opened the peri-war Iranian cinema to "love" stories: In "golhaye Davoodi" (THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS (1985)).

Leila Hatami is great in her role. (The great Iranian director, Ali Hatami first cast his daughter in Delshodegan, where she played the role of a blind Turk princess, wandering in a rose garden in search of her Persian singer. Ever since, Leila Hatami has played in numerous films, often type cast as an elegantly eccentric woman in 'search' of something lost ... and she plays her type WELL.)

I loved the poetry (Death of Swan By Hamidi, plus a lot of Hafiz).

The colours were vivid: the golden shrine, decorated with blue ceramics and glittering mirrors, marble mosaics, ruby red Persian rugs (source of pictures above!).

Of course the music by Mohammad-Reza Aligholi was another highlight of this wonderful two hours spent on passion, reflection and interospection.

AND ... this movie was made by assistance from a Mullah, which made me chuckle as i saw the titles, but then I came to realize that without the assistance of the "Hojat El-Eslam", no camera would have gained permission to go to the pilgrimage site. In fact the only other times I have seen the Imam-Reza Shrine on celluloid has been in Baraka, and in the last episode of Pasolini's, Trilogy of Life!

And this, to me, "is" velvet REVOLUTION
... Americans, Monarchists and the MKO:
HANDS OFF OF IRAN!

Let our artists do their job: Persian Renaissance!

Take a look!

Very cool!
Wonder if there was a press coverage of this exhibition at the DNC?

Susa

This is Susa, one of the oldest-known settlements of the world, dating back to 8000 BC.

Susa is mentioned in the Ketuvim of the Hebrew Bible, mainly in Esther, but also once each in Nehemiah and Daniel. Both Daniel and Nehemiah lived in Susa during the Babylonian captivity of Judah of the 6th century BCE. Esther became queen there, and saved the Jews from genocide. A tomb presumed to be that of Daniel is located in the area, known as Shush-Daniel. The tomb is marked by an unusual white, stone cone, which is neither regular nor symmetric. Many scholars believe it was at one point a Star of David. (Picture on bottom right)

Susa is further mentioned in the Book of Jubilees (8:21 & 9:2) as one of the places within the inheritance of Shem and his eldest son Elam; and in 8:1, "Susan" is also named as the son (or daughter, in some translations) of Elam.

Shushtar's Historical Hydraulic System is a UNESCO world heritage site (picture on top).

The main components of the hydraulic systems are:

• The canal called Ab-e Gargar (or the medieval Mashreqân) which is led from the left bank of the river about 500 m north of the town; it runs southwards along the east side of the cliffs of Shushtar and rejoins the Kârun at Band-e Qir;
  
• The great barrage called Band-e Qaysar (the Dike of Caesar) also known as Band-e Mizân, which is thrown across the principal arm of the river (here called Shoteit) east of the town and is about 350 m long; this barrage supports a bridge that connected the town with the west bank, but now a considerable gap is broken in it;
  
• The canal called Miyânâb which begins above the barrage in the form of a tunnel cut out of the rock on the western side of the town; the Miyânâb turns southwards and irrigates the land south of the town.

The waterworks in Susa were developed to deliver water to the city from the river Kârun, located 10 meters below. The main aim of these constructions was to meet the inhabitants' needs for protecting themselves from floods, while irrigating their agricultural lands and making possible passages across the river and canals. The construction of bridges, dams, bridge-Dams, mills, qanâts, reservoirs, tunnels, and canals for the water supply of the town were conducted in the Sâssanian period (224-650 A.D.), especially during the reign of Shapur I (r. 240-272 A.D.).

For a touristic view of the region: see this.

=================
Encyclopedia Britanica:
Susa, ancient city, Iran also called Shushan, Greek Susiane, modern Shush.

Capital of Elam (Susiana) and administrative capital of the Achaemenian king Darius I and his successors from 522 bc. It was located at the foot of the Zagros Mountains near the bank of the Karkheh Kūr (Choaspes) River in the Khuzistan region of Iran.

The archaeological site, identified in 1850 by W.K. Loftus, consists of four mounds. One held the citadel and was excavated (1897–1908) by Jacques de Morgan, who uncovered, among other objects, the obelisk of the Akkadian king Manishtusu, the stele of his successor Naram-Sin, and the code of Hammurabi of Babylon. A second mound to the east was the location of the palace of Darius I and was excavated (c. 1881) by Marcel Dieulafoy. A third mound to the south contained the royal Elamite city, while the fourth mound consisted of the poorer houses.

The finest pottery was found in the lowest strata and belonged to two different civilizations, both Neolithic. Above the early strata were remains of Elamite and early Babylonian civilizations. In the upper portions of the mounds Achaemenian, Greek, Elamite, Parthian, and Sāsānian remains were found. Until sometime after the 14th century ad the city was a flourishing centre of a district known for silk, sugarcane, and oranges.

Aspects of this topic are discussed in the following places at Britannica.

Assorted References

• Hellenization of religion ( in Zoroastrianism: The Arsacid period )

  In consequence of Alexander’s conquest, the Iranian religion was almost totally submerged by the wave of Hellenism. At Susa, for instance, which had been one of the capital cities of the Achaemenids but where the religion of Auramazda was not indigenous, the coinage of the Seleucid and Arsacid periods does not represent a single Iranian deity.

arts

• Hammurabi’s stele ( in epigraphy: Ancient Mesopotamia )

  The stela of Hammurabi must have been originally set up in some Babylonian population centre for the literate to read and know their rights. Some Elamite invader must have carried it off to Susa (perhaps c. 1200 bc), where it was found in 1901 and removed to the Louvre in Paris. The bulk of the stela contains the text of the code, partly erased on the obverse but restorable in some...

• pottery ( in pottery: Ancient Near East and Egypt )

  ...Flood (about 3000 bc), was wheelmade decorated pottery of a type usually called Al ’Ubaid. Perhaps the most richly decorated pottery of the Near East, remarkable for its fine painting, comes from Susa (Shushan) in southwest Iran. The motifs are partly geometric, partly stylized but easily recognizable representations of waterfowl and running dogs, usually in friezes. They are generally...

history

• Alexander the Great’s conquest ( in Alexander the Great: Conquest of the Mediterranean coast and Egypt )

  ...who surrendered it, was confirmed as satrap in conjunction with a Macedonian troop commander, and quite exceptionally was granted the right to coin. As in Egypt, the local priesthood was encouraged. Susa, the capital, also surrendered, releasing huge treasures amounting to 50,000 gold talents; here Alexander established Darius’ family in comfort. Crushing the mountain tribe of the Ouxians, he...

  in ancient Greek civilization: The final phase )

  At Susa in 324 Alexander staged a splendid mass marriage of Persians and Macedonians. He himself had already married a Bactrian princess, Rhoxane (Roxane), in 327, but he now took two more wives, a daughter of Darius III called Barsine (or Stateira) and Parysatis, the daughter of Artaxerxes III. This and other demonstrations of “Orientalizing,” including the brigading of Iranian...

• Darius I’s capital ( in Darius I: Darius as an administrator. )

  Darius was the greatest royal architect of his dynasty, and during his reign Persian architecture assumed a style that remained unchanged until the end of the empire. In 521 bc he made Susa his administrative capital, where he restored the fortifications and built an audience hall (apadana) and a residential palace. The foundation inscriptions of his palace describe how he brought materials...

• Elamite capital ( in Elam )

  ...in southwestern Iran approximately equivalent to the modern region of Khūzestān. Four prominent geographic names within Elam are mentioned in ancient sources: Awan, Anshan, Simash, and Susa. Susa was Elam’s capital, and in classical sources the name of the country is sometimes Susiana.

  in Iran, ancient: The Elamites )

  ...government was the Elamite system of inheritance and power distribution. The normal pattern of government was that of an overlord ruling over vassal princes. In earliest times the overlord lived in Susa, which functioned as a federal capital. With him ruled his brother closest in age, the viceroy, who usually had his seat of government in the native city of the currently ruling dynasty. This...

  in Khūzestān )

  ...Urban centres appeared there nearly contemporaneously with the first cities in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium. Khūzestān came to constitute the heart of the Elamite kingdom, with Sūsa as its capital. Beginning with the reign of the legendary Enmebaragesi, about 2700 bc, who (according to a cuneiform inscription) “despoiled the weapons of the land of Elam,”...

• relations with Mesopotamia

  • Ashurbanipal’s conquest ( in Ashurbanipal: Ashurbanipal’s reign. )

    ...Raiding the Arab tribes, he defeated the Nabataean Uate and his allies and isolated the Qadar tribe. The struggle with Elam was harder; war there dragged on until 639 bc, when the Assyrians sacked Susa. That year Ashurbanipal celebrated his triumph; he had “the whole world” under his sway, and four captive kings drew his chariot in the procession.

    in Mesopotamia, history of: Ashurbanipal (668–627) and Shamash-shum-ukin (668–648) )

    ...with Elam. The refusal of Elam in 647 to extradite an Aramaean prince was used as pretext for a new attack that drove deep into its territory. The assault on the solidly fortified capital of Susa followed, probably in 646. The Assyrians destroyed the city, including its temples and palaces. Vast spoils were taken. As usual, the upper classes of the land were exiled to Assyria and other...

  • Sargon of Akkad’s domination ( in Sargon: Life. )

    ...known world, together with an energetic temperament, led Sargon to defeat cities along the middle Euphrates to northern Syria and the silver-rich mountains of southern Anatolia. He also dominated Susa, capital city of the Elamites, in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran, where the only truly contemporary record of his reign has been uncovered. Such was his fame that some merchants in an...

Citations

MLA Style:

"Susa." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 28 Aug. 2008 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/575503/Susa>.

Tribute to Khosro Shakibai

I JUST learned about the death of an actor whose star in Hamoun will outshine the short meteor of his life.

If you don't know Khosro Shakibai and what he was to the Iranian cinema, then think of him as what

Marcello Mastroianni was to the Italian one
Jeremy Irons is to the British one
Bruno Ganz to the German Cinema
Gerard Depardieu to the French Cinema
Toshiro Mifune to the Japanese cinema
Humphrey Bogart to the American cinema

Shakibai (or shakibayee) WAS the face of Iran's National Cinema after the war.

The following films are perhaps available in your upper-scale video club:
Hamoun , (1990)
Banoo (1995)
The mix (2000)

...
and I am noticing IMDB is missing a number of his films ...
I am happy I didn't learn about his death on my Birthday ...
Now I am quite s.a.d ...

Iran, Georgia, Russia

I know I am over due in providing an Iranian perspective on the Russian/US stand off, which has GREAT implications for Iran. But, luckily someone else has said what I had to (emphasis is mine):

IRAN: US-RUSSIAN TENSION CREATES NEW DIPLOMATIC OPTIONS FOR TEHRAN
(Naj: Not necessarily though)
Kamal Nazer Yasin 8/22/08

The ongoing crisis in the Caucasus, sparked by Russia’s incursion into Georgia, can open new diplomatic opportunities for Iran. Officials in Tehran are currently treading cautiously, however, keeping their options open as they seek to maximize the benefits of renewed confrontation between the United States and Russia.

Conventional wisdom holds that the breakdown in US-Russian relations could bring immediate benefits for Iran’s nuclear program. Given the fallout over Georgia, many US experts believe Russia will now obstruct American-led efforts in the UN Security Council to expand sanctions against Iran that aim to pressure Tehran into giving up its nuclear aspirations.

But while Iranian officials certainly would like to see Russia veto any proposal to tighten the sanctions regime, they are not counting on Moscow to do so. Iranian experts say Russia in the past has proven to be a fickle friend. Thus, many in Tehran do not believe the Kremlin’s policy on the Iranian nuclear issue is necessarily linked to the twists and turns of US-Russian ties. While Moscow may be intent on tweaking Washington, Russian leaders may still see it as in their best interests to maintain solidarity with the other members of the so-called 5+1 group, comprising the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Russia, in any event, cannot be considered an inveterate friend of Iran. In several notable instances, in particular in the ongoing process on the territorial division of the Caspian Sea, the Kremlin has acted more like an enemy than an ally of Iran. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "Relations between Iran and Russia can best be described as a ‘marriage of convenience," said one Tehran political scientist, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The partnership has never been one of equals. For the past three decades, Iran has been dependent on Russia -- for diplomatic support, arms sales and technological assistance in the nuclear sphere. "Iranian leaders are aware of it [the dependency] and they resent it, but there was very little they could do about it," said the Tehran political scientist.

Iran’s wariness of Russia’s commitment to the bilateral relationship is reflected to Tehran’s studied silence when it comes to the Caucasus crisis. In sharp contrast to other perceived friends of Russia -- in particular Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who voiced full support for Russia’s military action in Georgia, then inked an arms deal in Sochi -- Iran has refrained from taking sides in the Caucasus conflict. [Naj: Iran has good reasons for staying silent: 1) Iran cannot condemn Georgia because Iran's dealing with her own secessionists and would be dealing with them heavy-handedly as Georgia did. 2) Iran cannot condemn Russia because Russia's weakening the Americans, which is what Iran really needs now. 3) Iran cannot support Russia because it is a foreign invasion in the name of "human rights and democracy" which mirrors America's action in Iraq. 4) Iran cannot support Georgia because Georgia's is sucking up to the US! So Iran is doing what is always does during WW-like conflicts: remain silent and neutral]

The Iranian Foreign Ministry adopted a decidedly neutral tone when addressing the Russian-Georgian conflict, resorting to diplomatic platitudes that countries use when they don’t want to commit themselves. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi stated simply at an August 12 briefing that Tehran was "following current developments in the Caucasus and urge[s] the belligerent parties to resolve their disputes through peaceful means."

Since then, Iranian officials have uttered nary a word about the conflict. The low-profile approach seems to indicate that pragmatists in Tehran have control of the foreign policy wheel. Iranian neo-conservatives who are loyal to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have voiced discontent with Tehran’s current policy. "Our reticence only aids the camp that wishes US regional adversaries to remain silent while US supporters come to the support of [Georgian President Mikheil] Saakashvili," noted an August 16 commentary published in Kayhan, a newspaper that is strongly supportive of Ahmadinejad.

Experts in Tehran believe the Iran’s foreign policy establishment is playing a waiting game in the expectation that deepening US-Russian acrimony will open up new diplomatic avenues that Tehran can use to end its international diplomatic isolation. "A whole new set of options may be opening up for Iran," said an Iran-based expert.

According to some prominent US experts, Iran’s strategic assessment of the situation is sound -- the United States and Russia appear headed for a period of prolonged hostility. "This war [in Georgia] was an early sign of escalating Russian assertiveness" in the Caspian Basin, said Gail Lapidus, a regional expert at Stanford University’s Institute for International Studies. Lapidus added that NATO members will likely feel compelled to take counter-measures to check Kremlin attempts to reassert Russia’s influence in the former Soviet sphere.

From Tehran’s perspective, creating new opportunities requires leverage, and the only way to obtain it is if Iran can play Russia against the United States and European Union, or vice versa. Currently -- with the Bush administration in power in Washington, and Ahmadinejad occupying the Iranian presidency -- few in Tehran are under any illusions that Iran can engage in substantive cooperation with the United States in the near term. But some experts and officials believe that present circumstances, especially given the US-Russian acrimony, could change quickly.

"Iran’s rather neutral stance on the [Caucasus] can be read as a signal to the United States," said the Tehran political scientist. Many in Iran’s foreign policy establishment remain interested in trying to restore diplomatic relations with the United States, which would open up the possibility of Iran serving as a major conduit for funneling Caspian Basin energy westward. The fighting in Georgia has exposed the vulnerability of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and other routes. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

"If the United States was to open an interest section in Iran, perhaps neighboring countries [such as Turkmenistan] would see this as the start of a thaw in US-Iranian relations -- the real opening they are waiting for in order to boost their trade or oil and gas shipments [via Iran]," said a European-based energy analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Of course, there are numerous obstacles that currently impede a normalization of relations between the United States and Iran. But Iran could at least gain leverage with Russia if it can create the appearance that a rapprochement between Tehran and Washington is possible.

In doing so, Iranian officials would be looking to coax Moscow into following through on numerous commitments, such as completing the Bushehr nuclear power plant and selling advanced anti-aircraft missiles to Iran. Tehran could also possibly use the US-Russian tension to try to break down Russian and Chinese opposition to admitting Iran into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Editor’s Note: Kamal Nazer Yasin is a pseudonym for a freelance journalist specializing in Iranian affairs.
=============================
Trivia:

Gerogia was an Iranian state, taken away by the Russians some 200 years ago

Iran supplied fuel to US-backed Georgia in 2006 when Russia cut them off gas supplies
Fossil fuel energy is not the only form of energy offered to Georgia

Woohoooo I get an award

DivaJood has bestowed me with the kick-ass blogger award :)

And this is the first time anyone has given me an award. And to get this award from DivaJood, an American(/Israeli) artist, who blogs for peace, and who--according to herself--doesn't see eye to eye with me, means even more.

To get this award is making me reflect a bit on the objective of the "Neo-Resistance". I started blogging in November 2006. The threat of war on Iran had begun to look eminent. The media was full of disinformation. People, who assumed themselves intellectuals had started noticing there was a place called Iran on the map. And Iran was becoming the buzz word of cocktail parties. What intrigued me to blog, was some German neuropsychologist, with self-assumed 'global' aspirations asking me: "so, In Iran, could you go to University?"

I was about to scream: "not only we do, but also our universities teach us well enough to not think/assume that in Germany everyone is still a Nazi."

I held my tongue, but came to blog the same evening.

I decided to do a counter-propagandist blog. To take the same buzz words used by CNN, and to use it in favor of my country and its ill-known people, culture, history. And this, I have been doing against the burden of life, against tragedies i have and am going through, and against my lack of proficiency in English language.
And, more importantly, I have been empowered in my struggle to blog, by every single one of your comments, your critics, your encouragements, and your enthusiasm to have learned something new about an old place in our world; about Iran.

These days I am busy; and I am in a state of hibernation with respect to Iran events. I also have limited access to internet; on my own decision. But, I am grateful to DivaJood for this gesture of appreciation, and keeping me on my toes, and letting me know that I may have been making a little difference, for peace, for justice, for human dignity.

I must pass on the torch to 5 other bloggers. These, wonderful men and women, inspire me, inform me and entertain me. My list is missing ALL those who are in my blogroll. I don't blogroll anyone who is not an ass-kicker!

Here, my selection criteria is just based on the most recent statistics of bloggers with whom I have communicated.

Marc: Adored by Hordes
Pedestrian: Sidewalk Lyrics
Brother Tim: Of Revelation
Sophia: Les Politiques
Rick: Ten Percent

Simin in Los Angeles (December, 1952)

Previously:
Stanford Village (Simin's letters 1952-3)
Eisenhower's role in 1953 (Simin's letters: Stanford Village 1951-52)
Simin and Jalal

I december 1952, Simin pays a visit to LA with the hope to meet a producer who might show an interest in some of her or her husband's work; but with the objective of learning about theater and cinema in America. Here are some of her impressions of Los Angeles and Hollywood.

page 206-207:
"yesterday, we left Stanford at 7:30, heading to Paolo Altos, and then off to LA on the highway ... We had fun, because the road was very smooth and the landscapes magnificent. The ocean on the right, pacific; and the woods on the left, palm, redwood, pine, oak and trees I don't even know their names. It had just rained. Air was clear and a mild sunshine. Weather like heaven and scenery enchanting. Some of the hills were covered with trees, others with just grass. The sea changed color; and the empty beach houses, laying around like a doll house. Completely uninhabited. Even a bird didn't fly. These were the vacation homes of the Hollywood stars. Trust me, this part of California is like a fairy town ... the entire 400 miles of road between Stanford and LA crossed through beautiful towns. We passed through San Jose, Santa Maria, Salinas (which you have read in Steinbeck), Santa Fresco and Santa Barbara. All were beautiful and magnificent. All had schools, churrches, excellent hospitals and big stores. Also, the university of California has a branch in Santa Barbara. How lucky are these people and what a country they have.

Don't worry dear. America's not absorbed me. But I can't deny how beautiful and rich it is, of both industry and nature.... How I envy them. Our country so run down, we are ruined to make these prosperous ... but I have to say that all of America looks almost alike because the big companies have a franchise every where.
...
...
This city is a cinema city. Hollywood and film studios are here. We passed through a famous garden where the Fox stdio is. They had made a fake sky. or a little indian city, with a model of Taj Mahal. like a doll house. As for Xmas decorations, they had reconstructed Jesus' birth and had put it in the Sunset street.
...
p 209
Here (in LA) I feel more lonely. Thank god I didn't transferm myself to here [from stanford]. Of course this is a very large city. But for what? The people where I am [Stanford Village] are more educated and smarter, i.e. more intellectual. These past few days, we have just been at home listening to nonsense. Of course on Tuesday, we went to the Metro Golden-Myre, with previous appointment.Of course, it was uniquely vast and I learned a lot about cinemtography techniques....
p 215
In LA, you can find all sorts of beauties, western and oriental, but all superficial... Prettiness, but not beauty, are cheap and accessible to all. The star's houses are like theater sets. The streets are decorated to make you think you are in a fairy city. But all of this artificial reconstructions are sickening.
p226
my general impression of LA: a city like Hollywood. Fake, fooling, superficial and sprawling. They couldn't manage the garbage. At the corner of every street there was a big incinerator where people burned their trash at night. Therefore ,LA was a city of smog and sexual promiscuity. This is the Babylon of the 20th century. And this too, will be ruined like the Babylon of the ancient times.

Iran's not a big enough bogey

Let's promote fear of Russia to give Johny a chance.

Stanford Village (Simin's letters 1952-3)

Translated excerpts from letters of Simin Daneshvar (ISBN 964-448-218-2).

page 53:
"where i live now is called a village, quiet, beautiful, nice climate. But in reallity, it is a grand university, magnificent and prestigious. and it has interesting professors too. But the students here are not that good. I can be just as good as them. I have enough money. The give us 160$ per month for expenses. they pay 50$ per month for tuition and 90$ per year for books. So 160$ is more than enough because the room rent is 25$. A sunny room in the women's dorm, in next to Jane's. (same girl whose husband is missing in Korea) Jane has a car and drives me to school. Food is approximately 80$ a month; other expenses such as cleaning products, post, cinema and transportation roughly 20$ ..."
page 85:
my room is quiet. my neighbors are reasonable. All married women: either widowed or their husband's in war. The food they give is good for boxers or footbalists. i don't eat even 1/6th of what they give. [...] in the midst of all these blessings, when I see these more than tall people waste food, I get aggitated. They fill a tray, and waste half of it. eat a bit of everything and the rest? you think they give it to beggars? No. they throw it away. In the trash. And the black women, holding black black children come and fill their bags with the trash ...
page 96:
You know, usually the studious people come to Stanford because this is a clean and quiet village that doesn't have the big city's entertainments, but has every educational facility from books to laboratoirs to academics. That's why the smart ones come here and work hard. Anyways, Iranians have a good reputation here and I am happy about that.

Related posts:
Simin and Jalal
Eisenhower's role in 1953 Coup: Simin's letters 1952 Stanford
Iranians ace Stanford's difficult PhD enterence examination

Sharif University: the Star Students of the Islamic Republic

While with Simin in Stanford of 1952, I thought it is interesting to have a little Stnafordian view on Iranian students of today:

NEWSWEEK SPECIAL REPORT: THE EDUCATION RACE

Forget Harvard—one of the world's best undergraduate colleges is in Iran.

In 2003, administrators at Stanford University's Electrical Engineering Department were startled when a group of foreign students aced the notoriously difficult Ph.D. entrance exam,the whiz kids weren't American wasn't odd; students from Asia and elsewhere excel in U.S. programs. The surprising thing, say Stanford administrators, is that the majority came from one country and one school: Sharif University of Science and Technology in Iran. [...]

Stanford has become a favorite destination of Sharif grads. Bruce A. Wooley, a former chair of the Electrical Engineering Department, has said that's because Sharif now has one of the best undergraduate electrical-engineering programs in the world. That's no small praise given its competition: MIT, Caltech and Stanford in the United States, Tsinghua in China and Cambridge in Britain.

Sharif's reputation highlights how while Iran makes headlines for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's incendiary remarks and its nuclear showdown with the United States, Iranian students are developing an international reputation as science superstars. Stanford's administrators aren't the only ones to notice. Universities across Canada and Australia, where visa restrictions are lower, report a big boom in the Iranian recruits; Canada has seen its total number of Iranian students grow 240 percent since 1985, while Australian press reports point to a fivefold increase over the past five years, to nearly 1,500.

Iranian students from Sharif and other top schools, such as the University of Tehran and the Isfahan University of Technology, have also become major players in the international Science Olympics, taking home trophies in physics, mathematics, chemistry and robotics. As a testament to this newfound success, the Iranian city of Isfahan recently hosted the International Physics Olympiad—an honor no other Middle Eastern country has enjoyed. That's because none of Iran's neighbors can match the quality of its scholars.

Never far behind, Western tech companies have also started snatching them up. Silicon Valley companies from Google to Yahoo now employ hundreds of Iranian grads, as do research institutes throughout the West. Olympiad winners are especially attractive; according to the Iranian press, up to 90 percent of them now leave the country for graduate school or work abroad.

So what explains Iran's record, and that of Sharif in particular? [...]

Part of the explanation, says Mohammad Mansouri, a Sharif grad ('97) who's now a professor in New York, lies in the tendency of Iranian parents to push their kids into medicine or engineering as opposed to other fields, like law.

Sharif also has an extremely rigorous selection process. Every year some 1.5 million Iranian high-school students take college-entrance exams. Of those, only about 10 percent make it to the prestigious state schools, with the top 1 percent generally choosing science and finding their way to top spots such as Sharif. "The selection process [gives] universities like Sharif the smartest, most motivated and hardworking students" in the country, Mansouri says.

Sharif also boasts an excellent faculty. The university was founded in 1965 by the shah, who wanted to build a topnotch science and technology institute. The school was set up under the guidance of MIT advisers, and many of the current faculty studied in the United States (during the shah's era, Iranians made up the largest group of foreign students at U.S. schools, according to the Institute of International Education).

Another secret of Sharif's success is Iran's high-school system, which places a premium on science and exposes students to subjects Americans don't encounter until college. This tradition of advanced studies extends into undergraduate programs, with Mansouri and others saying they were taught subjects in college that U.S. schools provide only to grad students.

[...]

Eisenhower's role in 1953 (Simin's letters: Stanford Village 1951-52)

Today, I finished the first volume of the "letters".

Here are some excerpts. I reference the page number in Persian. (ISBN: 964-448-218-2)
Page 115
"Association of the oldest ladies i had ever seen. So many old ladies in one place is really overwhelming. Trust me, everything in the Us is weird. When I first entered, I felt I walked in a cemetery. All old old, gray gray. Your grandmother would have been the yongest. Anyways, they shook hands with us. I ate in the club, which was a very beautiful home. after dinner, someone, who had traveled to the Middle East, gave a speech and projected a few nice slides. Colorful pictures of coffee shops, mosques, museusm, people's lives, inns in Israel, Lebanin, syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Turkey. It was very interesting. Anyways, once they showed mosque pictures,(I had no clue why the had invited me), he said that now a young Iranian lady who is Muslim will introduce us to mosques and will tell us about Islam. I was first confused and shocked, but they had created a nice atmosphere, so I accepted and got up and talked. I talked about Islam, prayers, and etc. Anyways, they liked it a lot and from next day, they invited me to other clubs as well. I have not accepted any, but the one to which I will go tonight.
...
Dear Jalal, I went and came back. I'm exhausted. I talked about Iran's role in the United Nations, only ten minutes, but it was okey. I had gathered all th einformation already in the UN. I dragged the subject to Mosaddegh and the third force, which was interesting. I compared Mosaddegh to Gandhi. It was a success. Then they wrapped me in questions. And I told them that all the thirld world movements are the "third force" movements, which are not 100% in America's interest, but they help in the liberation of the people--which is America's objective. And then I gave an example of Sir Benegal Rau's role in the Korean crisis. ...]
Page 120
"Well dear. Mosadegh seem to have messed up the Brit's plans. Here, as you know, people are busy with the election. The feasts are on. A while back it was Eisenhowers' birthday. We're doomed if he wins. Everyone goes, eats and signs up to vote. Comes election time, they just have to sign. All are wearing pins. Either STEVENSON or IKE, and this itself is a form of propaganda. ... Trueman, who is a democrat and wants Stevenson to win, has recently exposed the Republicans corruption files. On the radio and TV, they constantly talk about new files. By the way, they are refuting the charges. Eisenhower rejected teh charges on TV and explained that he has earned his wealth from selling his book. Also Nixon, who wants to be the VP, has shown his life in TV and has given a big speech. Also, the Eisenhower supporters are very critical of Trueman, and blame him for the corruption of the cabinet, subordination to the British and large government spendings. Right now, this is a verbal attack market. But not abusive like in Iran. Here, they swear with documents and witnesses. Anyways, it is almost the same everywhere in the world."

[page 136]
And about the election. As you know Eisenhower won! We are screwed.
[page 137]
Eisenhower had higher number of states and also higher number of votes. He gave a speech and read the congratulation telegraphs. His wife and daughter in law were with him too. He said that the Korean problem is the first thing he will tackle. He didn't mention Iran. Here, Iranians believe that this silence will cost us. They think he will treat Iran hawkish.
[page 142-143]
Sunday talks of the History professor have concerned me. He has made a frightening prediction about Mosadegh. He said that because he has given liberty to the Toodehi [a version of communist party in Iran], these same Toodei will bring his demise. I told him that Mosadegh is the promoter of democracy and he has to give such liberties to all political parties. Otherwise, he is an aristocrat and cannot be communist. He said that the Brits are sneaky in politics, and are like cousins to Americans, and that the Americans use their colonial archives when dealing with countries like Iran. Of course the US is trying to take over the empire. But Iran's problem, because of the oil and the persian gulf is vital to the Briatain. They might throw Mosdadegh into Toodei lap, who always stick themselves to Mosaddegh. They [toodei] try to turn any movement into theirs, if they cannot destroy it. The Brits can convince eisenhower that unless mosadegh is ousted, Iran will fall in the soviet hands. I asked, you think they can fool Eisenhower. He shrugged and said, unfortunately modsadegh doesn't have strong party supporters. I said, because Shah has not allowed any party become strong; he is a dictator.

Arjang Rad

The actors of Iranian revolutions

CROWDS

Thank you Critical Montage.