A story not to tell

What I admire most in Marjane Satrapi, aside from her talent, is her audacity. She has consistently broken Iranian taboos and written about things that should not be spoken of, of all the hypocrisy: like revealing that as an adolescent, she did drugs, like talking about "reconstructed" virginities. I know that many Iranians were offended.

And now she is making a film. The NY Times piece is already archived, but there is a good article and also a short video, both in French.

Future... what future?

In the past few days, a couple of analysis or criticism of Iran and its political structure, taking a look at its not-too-bright future, have been published in Rooz. The first one was by Ahmad Zeidabadi followed by the report of a conference given by Akbar Ganji (the English translation skips parts of the original Persian version, so I recommend that you read them here and here, respectively, if you can).

Interestingly, one states that "the real solution is in the hands of the country’s leaders" while the other "called on the people not to sit in their houses and expect changes, which otherwise would only make matters worse" but I agree with both articles.

Do as I say, not as I do

I read Mr. Abtahi's post last week but did not have a chance to react before now:

Isn't it strange that the "Head of the Interreligious Dialogue Institute" does not even realize what he is writing, and that when threading on thin ice, perhaps he should watch his steps in order not to crack it.

In order to cover-up for the recent attack on Christians because they are trying to "convert" Muslims in Iran, Mr. Abtahi tells us that "the present world is the world of dialogue among religions and their cooperation", and that although it is easier for Muslims to accept Judaism and Christianity, as they existed before Islam, the Christians, thanks to the Vatican II Council, have accepted to have a dialogue and cooperate with Muslims.

With all this thirst for dialogue among religions, I think one should ask Mr. Abtahi how he feels about the Muslim accepting the Bahais, who came after Islam? And why they are not included as partners in his Institute.

Of course, he does not accept comments on his blog, but I will email him the link to this post... and will let you know if he responds.

Baghe Anar

Yesterday, I was walking in a garden and noticed this pomegranate, hanging by itself on a leafless tree, having resisted the winter...