From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kiumars

This user is an Iranian and of Iranian ancestry (In case you have not worked that out yet from his name!).

This user is proud to be Iranian (Who wouldn't?).

This user is a middle-aged man and does not have the patience or energy for Cat-fights!

This user tries to be logical and understanding (and he succeeds most of the time! But don’t push your luck!).

This user gets mad when confronted with illogical arguments (and kicks back very hard! So Watch it!)

This user does not like Zionists and Neo-Cons and their world domination plans. (So now you know his political inclination).

Kiumars 14:17, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

Contents 1 Misconceptions about Iran 1.1 References 1.2 See also 2 Beautiful Iran 3 Persian Gulf naming dispute

[edit] Misconceptions about Iran

User:Khorshid/Misconceptions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Khorshid/Misconceptions

• Misconception: Iran used chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq war.
  • These allegations first surfaced by the Defense Intelligence Agency in which Iran was accused of using chemical weapons as well as Iraq. These allegations however, were later shown to be erroneous at best. Joost Hiltermann, who was the principal researcher for the Human Rights Watch between 1992-1994, conducted a two year study, including a field investigation in Iraq, capturing Iraqi government documents in the process. According to Hiltermann, the literature on the Iran-Iraq war reflects a number of allegations of Chemical Weapons use by Iran, but these are "marred by a lack of specificity as to time and place, and the failure to provide any sort of evidence". ^[1] And Gary Sick and Lawrence Potter call the allegations against Iran "mere assertions" and state: "no persuasive evidence of the claim that Iran was the primary culprit [of using chemical weapons] was ever presented".^[2] Policy consultant and author Joseph Tragert also states: "Iran did not retaliate with Chemical weapons, probably because it did not possess any at the time".^[3]
• Misconception: The word Iran and Iraq are related.
  • The two words of Iran and Iraq have absolutely no relation, etymological, or historical. "Iraq" is Aramaic or Sumerian in origin. "Iran" literally means Land of the Aryan.
• Misconception: Iranians are Arabs.
  • Iran is home to many different ethnic groups, including the Kurds, Persians, etc. The majority are speakers of Indo-Iranian languages [2]. However, all of these, even the great majority of Iranian Arabs, are descendants of the Aryans or the non-semitic indigenous peoples living on the Iranian plateau before the Aryans arrived. See: Iranian peoples
• Misconception: Persian language is similar or from the same family as Arabic.
  • The official language of Iran, as well as Kurdish, Gilaki, Luri, all are derived from Indo-European origin, contrary to Arabic. The script is the same (with a few extra letters in Persian), and modern Persian shares a good portion of vocabulary with Arabic, but the languages are from completely different roots, and are mostly unintelligible.
• Misconception: Persia and Iran are different entities.
  • Persia was the official international name of Iran before 1935. This name was coined by occidentals. The name "Iran" has been used by Iranians themselves in history, not unsimilar to the situation of Deutsch vs. German. See: Iran naming dispute.
• Misconception: "Farsi" is a different language than "Persian".
  • "Farsi" is the Arabicized name of "Perse" or "Persis" or "Pars", and is hence an inaccurate usage in English. Although Iranians themselves use the word Farsi to refer to their language, but the proper way to address the name of the language is "Persian". See: The English name of the Persian Language. Dari is also an accented form of Persian. The language is officially used in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.
• Misconception: Iran is desert, hot, and arid.
  • Iran is largely mountainous and rugged, similar to Afghanistan. However northwestern Iran receives much rain and is therefore covered with greenery. The Caspian coasts of Iran are covered with humid forests. 10% of Iran's area is covered with vegetation, hence not arid. See: Geography of Iran.
    

    

    Dizin skiing resort, Iran.
• Misconception: It never snows in Iran.
  • Some areas of Iran see more snow than what the average American is used to seeing in America year round. The city of Zanjan for example, sees below freezing temperatures on a daily regular basis during winters. Iran has a dozen or so ski resorts. See: List of Iranian ski resorts.
• Misconception: Iranians hate Americans.^[4]
  • Iranians continue to exhibit relative affinity for American culture and ideals, in spite of their national line of policy.[3][4] However, Iranians also highly value their independence, and have a strong sense of national pride.[5] And many Iranians are increasingly resentful of the way Iran is being treated in the international arena. They hold the U.S. Government (not its people) directly responsible for the failed democratic government of Prime Minister Mossadegh, which was ousted by the CIA and the British in 1953 (operation Ajax). See: US-Iran relations
• Misconception: Iran sponsors terrorism.[6]
  • Terrorism by itself is a subjective label. On the one hand, no Iranian has ever been directly charged, indicted, or proven to be involved in any major terrorist act such as 9-11, WTC 1993, Panam flight 103, London Subway 2005, Spain's railway 2003, US Marines 1983 in Lebanon, Khobar Towers bombing, the Argentina Jewish center in Buenos Aires incident, or any other similar incident. On the other hand, Iran does however sponsor Hamas and Hizbollah. However it considers both to be popularly elected and hence legitimate movements.[7][8][9][10] The U.S. on the other hand considers them both terrorist organizations, despite the aforementioned, and despite the fact that Hizbollah for example holds a majority of seats in the Lebanese parliament.
• Misconception: Iran is interfering in Iraq.[11][12][13]
  • Iraq holds the holiest cities of Shia Islam, such as Kerbala, Najaf, and Samarra. Iran is largely and officialy Shia. Iranians have therefore been traveling to or resided in these cities for centuries. The name Baghdad itself comes from a Persian name, and Ctesiphon, now 30 miles from Baghdad, was capital of the Persian empire, until the Islamic conquests. Almost every famous Ayatollah of Iran was a permanent resident of Iraq at one time or another. Khomeini, Ayatollah al-Shirazi, Grand Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi, and Allameh Tabatabaei are examples. Many Iraqis in fact still have Persian names, and are Persian descendants. Examples are Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, and Ayatollah al-Udhma Muhammad Shirazi are notable examples. In many ways, Najaf and Karbala to Iranians are what The Vatican is to Catholics.
• Misconception: Iran has no democracy.[14]
  • Iran has a limited form of democracy. It holds elections for both legislative and executive posts at the local and national levels, including for its president. Iran's parliament was in fact first inaugurated in 1907. Iranian women obtained the right to vote before their American siblings did a century ago.
• Misconception: Iran is fundamentally muslim.
  • Iran's indigenous religion was Zoroastrianism. Today, Iranians believe in a customized (and often argueably even personalized) form of Islam called Shia Islam. Many traces and roots of Zoroastrianism can still be seen in the current beliefs of Iranians.
• Misconception: Iran bans religious minorities.
  • Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism are allowed and their rights guaranteed by the state and the constitution and have representatives in the Iranian Parliament (Majlis). They can have facilities, gatherings, and even their own communities. Christian communities in Tehran for example hold rock concerts, mixed sex swimming pools, and legal alcohol consumption. All three religions have even reserved seats in Iran's parliament. Other religions however, like the Baha'is are not officially permitted. See: Religious minorities in Iran
• Misconception: Music is banned in Iran.[15]
  • A select group of a-political rock music is officially allowed in Iran. Queen [16], Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, The Doors, are some bands whose albums are legally sold in Iran.[17] Rock concerts are allowed in limited conditions, and only by indigenous bands. The practice and teaching of this and other forms of western music is free in private quarters, and above all, even with laws banning certain forms of western music, they are largely disregarded by the populace [18]. Classical music is completely free. See Rock and alternative music in Iran.
• Misconception: Women are not free in Iran.[19][20][21]
  • Unlike neighboring countries, women in Iran do vote, can be elected to limited government positions (such as parliament for example), can drive, and make up over 60% of Iran's university student population. Women can sing or play sports in public, but only in the absence of male audiences. So freedom for women in Iran exists, but is limited. See: Women in Iran
• Misconception: Iranians do not support Iran's Nuclear Program
  • In fact, most Iranians see the Iran nuclear program from the perspective of legal rights and national economic interest. Even members of the former Pahlavi regime support the program. Ardeshir Zahedi for example, who signed Iran into the NPT during the Pahlavi dynasty, in an interview in May 2006, voiced his support for Iran's Nuclear Program stating it as an "inalienable right of Iran".[22]
• Misconception: Iran is sitting on oil, and therefore does not need nuclear energy.^[5]
  • Iran is short on energy, and imports gasoline for domestic consumption.[23][24] Many cities continue to see routine blackouts on a fixed schedule, to offset the lack of energy in the national power grid, especially during the summer. Since over 80% of Iran's revenue and economy is based on petroleum exports, it has little choice but to export its oil, and cannot use that oil for domestic consumption only.
• Misconception: Persian is the only language allowed in Iran.
  • Many Iranian provinces have radio and television stations in local language or dialect. School education is in Persian, the Iranian official language, but use of regional languages is allowed under the constitution of the Islamic Republic. Article 15 of Iran's constitution stipulates:

"The Official Language and script of Iran, the lingua franca of its people, is Persian. Official documents, correspondence, and texts, as well as text-books, must be in this language and script. However, the use of regional and tribal languages in the press and mass media, as well as for teaching of their literature in schools, is allowed in addition to Persian."

Article 19 of the constitution adds:

"All people of Iran, whatever the ethnic group or tribe to which they belong, enjoy equal rights; color, race, language, and the like, do not bestow any privilege."

Ethnic minorities however do voice sometimes serious concerns on the degree of freedom allowed.

• Misconception: Iranians were forced to convert to Islam by Arab conquerors.
  • The Arabian conquerors originally did not want Iranian peoples to convert to Islam. Majority of Iranian-speaking populations did not become Muslim until hundreds of years after the end of the Arab occupation. Islam was not imposed on Iranian-speaking peoples by Arabs. See: Islamic conquest of Iran
• Misconception: Arabs ruled over Iran for hundreds of years.
  • Arabs occupied Iran for only 200 years, namely during the Umayyid and Abbasid era.

[edit] References

1. ^ Lawrence Potter, Gary Sick. Iran, Iraq, and the legacies of war. 2004, MacMillan. ISBN 1403964505 p.153
2. ^ Lawrence Potter, Gary Sick. Iran, Iraq, and the legacies of war. 2004, MacMillan. ISBN 1403964505 p.156
3. ^ Joseph Tragert. Understanding Iran. 2003, ISBN 1592571417 p.190
4. ^ See:
   • "...No wonder why many Iranians hate us....People all around the world, from Ireland to Iran, want to drink Coke, eat at McDonalds and wear Levis. They want American products but hate America and Americans." Show Iranians some real love this Valentine's Day. Ben Thelen. Arizona State University Web Devil. Thursday, February 13, 2003.
   • Iranian.com article: http://www.iranian.com/Arts/2001/March/Wurzer/index.html
   • http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/2004-July/003990.html
   • http://www.iran-press-service.com/ips/articles-2006/june2006/baqerzadeh_5606.shtml][http://ubersite.com/m/90269
5. ^ See:
   • "...And why does Iran want light water reactors? Iran is sitting on one of the biggest pools of oil in the world....". Testimony of Gary Milhollin. Professor, University of Wisconsin Law School and Director, Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. January 19, 1995.
   • [1]

[edit] See also

• Misconceptions about the Shi'a

[edit] Beautiful Iran

Link to External Sites with photos of Iran.

Nature: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=221738

Historical: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=323085

Cities: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=338071

Tehran: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=226146

Tehran Metro: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=221083

Mazandaran: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=304446

Shiraz: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=221087

Persepolis: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=305896

Azarbayejan: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=272252

Note: Some of the above pages contain large photos and maybe slow to load. Kiumars 13:32, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Persian Gulf naming dispute

Extract from a technical paper prepared for a meeting of the UN Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN), submitted by Iran: Historical, Geographical and Legal Validity of the Name: PERSIAN GULF (4 April 2006):

Background for Application of Incorrect Words Instead of PERSIAN GULF. After England's attack on Khark Island in 1837, the government of Iran at that time protested to England's separatist policy in the PERSIAN GULF and officially warned the government of Britain to avoid mischief intended at separating the southern side of Iran. This warning caused the Times Journal, published in London in 1840, to name the PERSIAN GULF for the first time as Britain Sea, but such a name never found any place. Moreover, following nationalization of the oil industry in Iran in 1950 and dispossession of English Companies and discontinuation of relations between Iran and England, the Ministry of English Colonies, for the first time used the incorrect name of this water body. In these years, the States South of the Persian Gulf were either colonies of Britain or under its support. To compensate its defeat, the government of England published a book by Roderick Oven, an agent of English Spy Org.,"Golden Bubbles of the Arabic Gulf" in 1957 which was immediately translated into Arabic. In this book the assassination of the name PERSIAN GULF began and in 1966, Sir Charles M. Belgrieve, the political agent of England in the affairs of Persian Gulf Southern States supported by England, published a book at the end of his mission used fals name . After coup of Abdolkarim Ghasem in 1958 in Iraq and then coup by Baas and their claims for some lands against Iran, they avoided using the name of PERSIAN GULF for political reasons. In 1960, after Iran and Egypt's disconnection of relationships and after the Arab-Israeli war, anti Iranian actions culminated due to the previous Iranian regime’s support of Israel. This occurred in Arabic Circles and in a congress of Baas Party convened at Damascus, in which participating heads demanded for change of the name of PERSIAN GULF to the forged name of Arabic gulf, without relying on any legal and historical document. Following this, to achieve the political motive, they altered this historical name in the text books of Arabic Countries. After the Islamic Revolution, followed by breaking relations between USA and Iran, and commencement of the imposed war of Iraq against Iran, there have been some efforts to apply incorrect words instead of the Name Persian Gulf. Most of these efforts were not on purpose but resulted from unawareness of facts. Though, in USA the geographic and publication institutes have been hardly influenced by other countries, but in 2005, we witnessed that the reputable National Geographic Society, with a past history of not accepting and using forged words in its works, distorted the name of PERSIAN GULF and Iranian islands and intentionally mentioned incorrect information. This action only helped damaging its own international credibility, but ultimately, it surrendered to protests of Iranians throughout the world and corrected its error. It is interesting that Mr. Roderick Oven stipulated in Golden Bubbles of Arabic Gulf: "I visited all parts of PERSIAN GULF and believed that it was Persian Gulf, because I noticed no map or deed, unless it had named the place as Persian Gulf, but when I watched it closely, I found out that the people residing at the southern beaches are Arabs, therefore, to be polite, we should name it: Arabic Gulf." Either Mr. Roderick Oven should have noticed that on the northern sector of that water body, up to 1269 km of coast exists with a far larger population who speak Farsi. This is larger than the Arabian population he was concerned about. He did not notice the important fact that this sea was first named by the Greeks and neither Iranian nor Arabs took any part in it. The Muslims and Arab Geographers learned the names from the Greeks and Romans, and used it in their works, especially that they named Pars Sea, unanimously: Persian Gulf. In the end, it is worth mentioning that the name of Persian Gulf has been admitted in all the live languages of the world so far and all the countries throughout the world, name this Iranian Sea, just in the language of the people: PERSIAN GULF.

• United Nations' Paper: Historical, Geographical and Legal Validity of the name: PERSIAN GULF (April 2006)
• Encyclopedia Iranica on the History of the Persian Gulf

Kiumars 01:29, 25 July 2006 (UTC)