I have been very fascinated with Iran and the Persian culture lately so much that it's inspired me to open a new thread to discuss it.

I remember I was totally stunned a few years ago when I first saw the pictures of Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution (along with pre-1979 Afghanistan), but the things may have changed after that. The Western media currently generally portrays the Iranian society to be conservative and radical, and stuff like that, but I am increasingly hearing that they are one of the very liberal Muslim societies out there. The stories I read prove this.

However, there are few contradictory issues and news, including that guy in Global Metal documentary saying that even Western clothes were banned once and that Western music is forbidden there, the persecution with lashes of the young men and women who made the Happy Tehran video last year, and the persecution by death that is still legal there.

Even the youth there are growing more conscious about their ancient Zoroastrian religion, as a result of which the Persian anti-Islam nationalism has been on a rise, which seems pretty fascinating to me for a country that has implemented the Sharia Law.

Few of the bands I have checked out from Iran are awesome, including 1000 Funerals, Azooma, and From the Vastlands. Even saw Arsames live few years ago, but they were just mediocre.

So what is your impression of Iran and the Iranian culture and society? Please keep aside the talk of the nuclear deal though.

I am studying Ancient Near East history in school. I find the history of Iran and the Near East in general to be greatly downplayed in its role in having helped shape the world. Even though Eurocentrism has been challenged in the last several decades, there is still great emphasis placed on Greece and Rome being the progenitors of civilization (however, no credible historian will agree with this). Iran's ancient and even medieval history and culture is rich and rivals that of any European nation during those periods.

You might enjoy this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppjg4Q-mCZg


We have always harboured an intense dislike of Arabs and Muslims in general. At family gatherings, my mother's side of the family always rage on about them and how vile and treacherous they think they are. The consensus among moderate Iranians is that Islam is a backwards and barbaric religion that is not compatible with any advanced civilization. I don't agree with this, but I do understand where the anger and resentment come from, even after 1,364 years since the Rashidun Caliphate invaded.


What do you expect from a draconian system (aka theocracy)? Rock the Ayatollah's sleeping chambers with Bolt Thrower cranked at max volume, I say.


Yes, this fledging Iranian nationalism is making our Arab neighbours very uneasy, which is always a good thing. The Arabs have destroyed much of what they have touched since that desert-dwelling prophet of theirs began his crusade from Mecca onwards. They rewrote much of our history in an effort to demonize pre-Islamic Iranian culture and tried to take credit for inventions and scientific discoveries that were developed by the Sasanians and other civilizations that came before them in what is dubbed the Islamic Golden Age. I know there is similar anti-Arab/Islamic sentiment in places like Turkey that are pushing for more secular reforms. There have also been rumours circulating that the Iranian government is in the process of eliminating Arab words from the Persian language, though I'm not sure how credible these sources are (I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case). I'm not necessarily in favour of this move, but it'd be interesting to see where they go with it.

On the topic of Zoroastrianism, the whole "revival" of it bears no meaning beyond its political utility. You'll encounter many Persians wearing the Faravahar around their necks, but it only symbolizes a shallow and vain cultural pride. Even the sellout bourgeois Iranians living in Beverly Hills wear it. If you study the history of Zoroastrianism, you will find that it was, and continues to be, a highly exclusive religion in which only those possessing the bloodlines linking them to the ancient priesthood are permitted to practice the faith with legitimacy. For the most part, real Zoroastrians have been relegated to small rural towns in Iran and the Parsi community in India.


I haven't really heard any Iranian bands. Sorry.


I was born there, but was raised here in Canada. I used to be filled with unwarranted cultural pride, but I sort of shed myself of it, since I eventually came to the realization it was something that was largely pushed on me by family. I became content with identifying as Canadian. Hell, I've even adopted the Western custom of butchering foreign names (including Iranian ones) when I try to pronounce them. So I really can't provide much insight about Iranian culture beyond my anecdotal experiences with it, which have become more sporadic as I've grown older.


You'd be wise to forbid Earthcubed from posting in this thread, then.

Here are my thoughts on Iran and some things I have heard anecdotally over the years:

Tehran has a huge number of Heroin addicts. (anecdote)

I was lucky to see a Behzad miniature in the Louvre. Persian Miniature painting is lovely, and learning about it can also introduce you to Persian folklore and poetry. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_miniature#Prominent_Persian_miniaturists for a quick intro.

Dan Carlin's latest episode of Hardcore History ( a great history podcast, well worth checking out of you haven't heard it), deals with the rise of the Persians. It goes into some great detail.

I really like how the Persians wrote their cuneiform. Again, I have been lucky to see examples of it in The British Museum, Louvre and Pergamon in Berlin. Their inscriptions are very great and orderly. Infact, this particular inscription https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behistun_Inscription acted as a 'Rosetta Stone' for translating cuneiform, thus opening up a wealth of historical knowledge that we can enjoy today.

I'm conscious that this is all about ancient Persia. As far as modern day Iran is concerned, there are some great videos to be found online showing the start of the 'revolution'. Love him or hate him. Ayatollah Khomenei was an interesting guy. His stern, brutal composition as he flies into Tehran from exile is quite chilling to watch. you'll find that on YouTube if you look. I had a couple of Iranian teachers at school and have known a few socially and professionally. All of them seems to dislike political Islam and what it had done to the country.

I would love to see Isfahan. I've see some great pictures of Persian architecture and Isfahan seems to be the place to see for the cream of it.

If you're interested, there's a podcast available where this guy lectures on criminal argot in medieval Persia and where you can find it in literature. I can't remember what the podcast was called though.

A disjointed rambling post for sure.

As a child I was always obsessed with ancient cultures, their cities, architecture, customs and mythology. Naturally, this was fairly western-centric (growing up in australia) so Greece/Roman/Celtic/Norse stuff were my main interests, with Egyptian and Japanese being my more "exotic" leanings, although thanks to some beautifully illustrated books my step-father's mum had the Dreamtime was included.

The Middle East (Mesopotamian etc) wasn't ever an interest back then. I think in the books dealing more universal tales and legends I actually skipped those stories. I probably first encountered the word Tiamat reading the Dragonlance books, never contextualising her in her classical mytholgical guise! This has (also fairly naturally I suppose) been flipped backwards in the comtemporary sense. The media "spotlighting" everything Middle Eastern post-"world trade centre incident" has made my interests in all things Middle Eastern grow, more-so because of my studies of the Nag Hammadi corpus and the huge role those cultures played in the development of the dominant world religions as we know them now.

I've read the Qu'ran twice now, and go out of my way to educate myself on the various differences between Islamic sects and other important ethnic minorities from the Middle East. The Satanic "apologists" of the Sufi's and the customs of the Yazidi people naturally facinate me immensely, the stories of the Djinn and the Ghilan and the elegance of Arabic script itself, the dress sensibility and poetry - I'm hooked. It is actually quite pathetic on my own part that it was "the state of the world today" that made me pay any attention at all.

Likewise, I'm aware that the title of the thread is "Iran" and not "the Middle East". Here's the bit where it all ties back together, and the context of what I just wrote reflects back on me either being a typical western douchebag or someone suffering a deep centred feeling of immeasurable guilt. The first Iranian I met was a bloke name Medhi. In 2002 a whole shitload of us went out to the South Australian desert out of disgust at the way refugees from the war of over are locked away in detention centres by our English government. We "liberated" about 30 asylum seekers from the Woomera compound run by Australasian Correctional Management (a private American firm), got them out through walls of horseback mounted cops and two roadblocks nearly a hundred KM apart. In my own case, 19 of us faced trial for harbouring, carrying a maximum pentalty of 4 years gaol (equal to aiding and abetting BTW). We were represented in court by Galbolly Rolfe (criminal lawyers) pro-bono. Over the time of trial eventually only the drivers of our cars faced the final stand. It was thrown out of court.

Medhis' fate however is another thing. He was a vibrant (and quite happy) bloke, claimed to be Christian (perhaps to fit in with us thinking us of that faith), and was also apparently on his "third strike" for attempting to escape custody. Rumour has it, back then the Ayatollah hung "traitors" if they were forced to return back to Iran.

If he was deported I am of the opinion - indirect or otherwise - that there is blood on my hands regardless of whatever "noble" intentions I ever had. I hope he is wandering the world free from whatever made him leave his homeland.

AZADI!

In 2001, an Iranian writer published a book about the band Death, with Death's lyrics translated into Farsi and some texts about metal and the band Death. www.emptywords.org/VoicesFromIran.htm

The author also wrote an essay about metal in Iran for the official Death internet site, so you might want to check that article out: http://www.emptywords.org/VoicesFromIranMetalInIran.htm

as much i hate their government, i will say that iran really does seem like an intriguing nation. i have heard that the people are over there are a really nice group of people and that they aren't super religious. i've met a few persians and they aren't religious at all. and even though their track record in terms of human rights kinda sucks i don't think it's bad as people say it is, for example christians, jews, zoroastrians, and sunni muslims in iran are free to practice their religion, the azeri, kurdish, arab, and baloch minorities get along well with the persian majority, etc. President hassan rouhani looks like he could lead the country in a good direction, it's a shame that ali khamenei has him on a leash so to speak. and to googooboogie666's statement about iranian youth becoming aware of their zoroastrian roots and a growing presence of anti-islamic nationalism, iran has a large population of young people, with the median age for most civilians being around 25-30, and khamenei is 76 years old as of now. Youth are the driving force for the future of any nation, and with the generation gap between the civilians and rulers, i can imagine iran becoming less and less religious of a society when khameini kicks the bucket. i don't think they will comepletely abandon islam anytime soon but you never know, with they way the country is heading a persian spring may happen in my lifetime.

and by the way, persian women are fucking gorgeous. its a shame that the iranian government forces them to hide their beauty.

I've been there twice, backpacking around the country alone, mostly staying with Iranian families and students, rarely in hotels. First time was three weeks in summer 2012 and then three months in spring 2013. I still have many Iranian friends. What do you want to know about the everyday life over there?

Which cities in iran did you visit? Did a lot of the people you met there speak english? Did you encounter any hardships along the way? Did you introduce any of your iranian buddies to metal music?

I halfway wish we could turn back time and prevent the CIA from overthrowing the Iranian government back in 1953. I'd prefer that America was allies with Iran now than Saudi Arabia and Israel... however, without our mutually beneficial alliance with Saudi Arabia back in the 1970s, USSR may have won the Cold War. The present world might have been more chaotic than it already it is.

Anyway, I love Persian culture, have been impressed by most people I've met from the country, and I empathize with their nation's view of the West. Silently cheering for them as they expand their Shiite crescent in the ME to Syria and Iraq. I fully believe they're better, smarter, and more peaceful than the people trying to suppress them (especially the terrorist supporting scumbags in Saudi Arabia)... but I still hope their theocratic system fades away sooner than later.

actually kind of the opposite happened. After Ataturk stepped back from daily control of the country Turkey had a couple of oppressively secular governments. The average citizen was kinda considered useless and they were ignored and held little real power and control over their own lives. This actually made sure that the average person stayed religious and even got more religious in more than a few cases after the unrest in the early 80s in particular. Only with the current ruling party has the working class been freed of the shackles so to say of the oppressive and controlling elite. Sure turkey was not as oppressively secular as iran was theocratic it still led to a similar sense of not feeling represented and reactionairy behaviour.
I am personally happy enough that the current government hasnt gone overboard and tried to go all the way to replace the old power structures with their own like what the muslim brotherhood attempted in Egypt.


Personally i have quite some interest in persia and the middle east in general. Been kinda slacking lately though on reading up on new things.

Hello! Sorry for the late answer, had a busy weekend!

First off: Iran is the best, most interesting country I've travelled in, and I've been to a few places around the world. The famous Persian hospitality was awesome and almost overwhelming. I didn't have any hardships at all, only great experiences, and in fact, the people were so nice, that I, on the 2nd or 3rd night on my first stay said to myself that I had to come back and really spend some time in Iran - so I went back again for three months. I have been all over the country, basically. The first, three week trip was mainly in Tehran, Esfahan and Shiraz with some shorter trips, for example to Mashhad (really interesting place). My second trip I was all over. Tehran and around, snowboarding in the mountains north of Tehran, in the Turkish areas in the North West, the Caspian Sea, Kurdish areas in Western Iran, in the South, on islands in the Persian Gulf, close to the border to Afghanistan and Pakistan and of course Esfahan and Shiraz again...
Not many people you meet in the streets speak English. Many people will know a few words and it is not uncommon for people to stop you and say hello or thanks, the only words they know. Many people are thankful that you visit their country. Of course you will often end up in conversation if you happen to meet someone who actually speaks English. I went around mainly using couchsurfing, so I made arraignments, so I would hang out with English speaking people (to some degree) most of the time. If you happen to meet someone speaking English, for example through couchsurfing, they will often "pass you along" to someone who speaks English in the next place you go to if you want it.

I met a few guys who listened to heavy metal, even a former metal musician (from a shitty black metal band, though he was more into trip hop now). Apart from my former black metal-friend, mainly, the Iranians I met listened to big name metal, like Metallica and Iron Maiden. One dude ripped a lot of death and black off of my mp3-player.

Hail
forget about all the hype and propaganda you see and hear in western media.
as a persian, I can help you if you want any specific info about Iran except it's metal scene. drop me a pm if you'd like.

also, check this out: www.iranchamber.com

Never been to Iran nor have I met an Iranian person in my life ever, so no opinion there.

Has anyone here read Persepolis? Interesting graphic novel

I did. all around it was better than the animation movie based on it.

Yeah, I read the graphic novel and remember it being really cool, but I skipped the animated movie after watching the trailer.

The real Persepolis, the ruin city, is awesome too.

I didn't know of the movie before reading the comic. Picked it up at a bookstore... and read it all the way through in there.

It's just the life of a woman, but at least it should clue people in somewhat on what life was like in Iran before the 1979 revolution and how it changed after it.

From what I hear/read, Iran has a fairly negative image of being a country as bad as Saudi Arabia regarding women and LGBT rights. I've also heard from someone who has been there before that it's actually quite a developed country considering the region it's in. I mean, surely it must be better and stabler than Afghanistan or Iraq.

Iran is the most developed Middle Eastern country after Israel, with high literacy rates, life expectancy etc. Iran is not close to the level of suppression of Saudi Arabia, neither for minorities or women.

Not surprised.

Never heard people say that ethnic and religious minorities suffered a lot of suppression in Iran, tbh. As for women rights, are women required by law to wear a veil?

And I don't think any country will ever top Afghanistan under the Taliban when it comes to women rights. Those were pretty hardcore. Women couldn't even talk in public there.

I can't go into details for some reason but women rights are on a much higher level than saudi arabia or afghanistan.
judge by yourself, pictures of some of the most famous persian actresses:

iran has its issues but i can assure you that the rulers in jordan, egypt and iraq all have killed many more.
Saudi arabia is also the biggest cancer in the middle east.

Iran has a tragic history. It never really recovered from the Arab conquests, and the Mongol invasion was the last nail in it's coffin. Ever since then it went from one of the mightiest empires to a local power at best, ruled by foreign dynasties. Iranians carry that kind of historical weight.

It's not a libertine paradise but the west lumping them together with medieval throwbacks such as KSA is a great injustice.

It's because thats where all the money is right?

In the post-islam era and during the rule of many kings Iran regained much of the power and lost territories. last nail in the coffin was the qajar dynasty, and the coup d'etat and overthrowing of 'Dr. Mossadeq' with the help of CIA during the rule of Pahlavis, through what is known as operation ajax.

"Shāh Abbās the Great or Shāh Abbās I of Persia, by the 1603-1618 Ottoman War, he regained possession over Transcaucasia and Dagestan, as well as swaths of Eastern Anatolia and Mesopotamia; the latter two were territories which had been lost since the 1555 Peace of Amasya. He also took back land from the Portuguese and the Mughals, and expanded Iranian rule and influence in the North Caucasus, beyond the traditional territories of Dagestan. Abbas was a great builder and moved his kingdom's capital from Qazvin to Isfahan, making the city the pinnacle of Safavid architecture."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbas_I_of_Persia

"Nāder Šāh Afšār or Nadir Shah ruled as Shah of Persia (1736–47) was one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history. Because of his military genius as evidenced in numerous martial encounters throughout the Naderian Wars, such as the battles of Herat, Mihmandust, Murche-Khort, Kirkuk, Yeghevard, Kheibar pass, Karnal and Kars, some historians have described him as the Napoleon of Persia[6] or the Second Alexander.
Nader idolized Genghis Khan and Timur, the previous conquerors from Central Asia. He imitated their military prowess and — especially later in his reign — their cruelty. His victories during the Naderian Wars briefly made him West Asia's most powerful sovereign and possessing over what was arguably the most powerful empire in the world"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nader_Shah

the iranian-turkic link is an interesting one. My father is turkish but our last name is Akşit which either means white moon or (more likely) is derived from the soghdian word for prince namely Ikhshid.

A rich culture - their graphical art is more than worth investigating and the poetry of Hafez is immortal.

Impossibly beautiful. Who is she and what movies has she made? If I was a Christian this would be Madonna to me.

Thanks! Time to explore the wonderful world of going to Middle Eastern DVD sellers. There's actually heaps where I live. If you know of any other films from over there which are amazing feel free to post or PM.

I actually just have to say, those photos above are pure Magnum.

You might also like this iranian model, Noushafarin Rahmani:



there are pre- and post-revolution films which are pretty different especially from a foreigner's point of view:




I recommend you Taste of Cherry for starters:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120265/
http://www.amazon.com/Taste-Cherry-The- ... 6305362688

some of the old (pre-revolution) singers which leaved the country after the revolution and live in US. they were such beauty:

Googoosh:
[img]http://home-sport.ir/Content/UserFiles/Images/بیوگرافی-گوگوش-تصاویر-2.jpg[/img]

Marjan:


Shohreh:


and many many more...

Not really sure about Gwen Stefani above, but I'll look up Taste of Cherry for sure.

Hedieh Terani's typecasting (according to what you refered me to) is sassy as. I cannot stand "hey, I'm sexy and nice" women, Ice Queens are amazing, and I'm not talking about the leather clad girls you see at every gig who don't wanna talk to you unless you're in an international band and just got off stage. That's more "Ice Ice Baby".

Thanks for the responses above, guys. I, as always, as a lurker had already read the responses but failed to reply. Interesting posts!

Thanks, Gorz, for stopping by. I have only watched one Persian movie, titled "A Separation." It was really awesome.

You're welcome bro.
if you ever visited tehran, be sure to visit this cafe called "Cafe Rock" where some rock and metal fans gather and enjoy some music and coffee:

https://www.instagram.com/cafe.rock/