Current Issues:

I wanted to start with a report related to Iran’s nuclear technology, but something more current is the first item: reaction to Pope’s comments. Yes, there were reactions in Iran. No, they did not involve burning anything. Yesterday, a group of Iranian students marched to the Vatican Embassy in Tehran carrying flowers and a large banner that read: “We respond to the Pope’s violent words with love.” They stood there in silence, then threw their flowers at the building and returned. There are pictures at Baztabs site (courtesy of my friend Mohammad Companieh) http://www.baztab.ir/news/48459.php  Scroll down to see the banner which reads as I translated.

The reaction of the Iranian Spiritual leader Khamenei was: “We don’t expect much from President Bush, but such assertions from a figure as revered as the Pope are suprising and regrettable.” He warned, however, that the Pope’s “mistaken” judgments should not lead to animosity between Muslims and Christians.

And now to the issue of Iranian nuclear technology. PLEASE publicize this recent—and important—development particularly to those who find the news about Iran’s nuclear technology frightening. Last week, U.N. inspectors investigating Iran’s nuclear program angrily complained to the Bush administration and to a Republican congressman about a recent House committee report on Iran’s capabilities, calling parts of the document “outrageous and dishonest” and offering evidence to refute its central claims. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, which had issued the report about Iran’s nuclear capabilities, said his intent was “to help increase the American public’s understanding of Iran as a threat.”  Privately, several intelligence officials told the Washington Post that ” the committee report included at least a dozen claims that were either demonstrably wrong or impossible to substantiate.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/13/AR2006091302052.html?referrer=email
On a much happier note, an Iranian American Anousheh Ansari Co-founder and Chair Person of Prodea Systems, will be the first Iranian-born and the first female Muslim in space. Anousheh was born in Mashhad, Iran in 1966. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1984. She has a masters degree in electrical engineering from George Washington University. If you wish to read more about her, please click on:  http://www.payvand.com/news/06/sep/1167.html
Art and Culture: A Major Contemporary Poet and Painter

Last week I promised not to focus on women’s achievements only. Allow me to introduce you to a master poet and painter from 20th century Iran: Sohrab Sepehri. Celebrated as a poet of peace and a nature mystic, Sepehri has continued to be a major influence over the past few decades. His works have formed a popular topic for Persian scholarly studies while staying on the best-selling list. Take a look at his short biography and scroll down to see some paintings: http://www.iranchamber.com/literature/ssepehri/sohrab_sepehri.php  And visit this site to see more paintings; you will find a delightful self-portrait: http://www.caroun.com/Literature/Iran/Poets/SohrabSepehri/SohrabSepehriContents.html
Suggested Reading: I wrote an article in 1997 which made extensive use of Sepehri’s writing in the journal Religion & Literature with the title “The Call to Prayer from the Cypress Tree: Modernity and Redefining the Spiritual in Persian Poetry.”  The essay’s title is from a well-known long poem by Sepehri, “The Footsteps of Water.”

And now back to women! Nazila Fathi reported in New York Times in 2005 “The number of women who have published novels has reached 370… That is 13 times as many as a decade ago, the research showed, and is about equal to the number for men today.” No kidding.  I would like to introduce you to one of these great writing talents Moniru Ravanipur.  Ravanipour is imaginative, prolific, and outspoken. Her candid writing, interviews, and public appearances draw large groups of men and women. A native of southern Iran, Ravanipur lived in my hometown Shiraz for a long time. Indeed our undergraduate studies coincided in Shiraz University; she majored in Psychology and I in literature. Click on the first attachment to get a picture and a short biography of Moniru Ravanipur.
Suggested Reading: Stories from Iran: a Chicago Anthology. For bibliographical details and a list of authors included in the book, please visit: http://www.mage.com/authors/anthology_biography.html