BBC Persian conducted a poll recently to get people’s opinion about a case of an Iranian girl marrying an Afghan man. A significant portion of the responses were…eye opening! It seems based on some of the comments that Iranians can actually redefine racism!
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Are Iranian racist? Do we feel ethnically superior vs. Afghans ?
Why is there tension between the different Iranians even outside of Iran? ie Muslims vs. Jews vs. Christians, Kurds vs. Pars
What do you think about jokes on Iranian ethnicities?
What’s the root cause of this/any racism?
Is it problematic if different Iranian ethnicities could teach in their own ethnic language, while requiring Persian/Farsi as a language course?
Note: We have intentionally decided to separate Iranians’ racism against Arabs from this discussion because we believe it’s more about the preception of Islamic/Arab Conquest of Iran than racism. We have covered this issue last year with Dr. Behrooz and we may cover it again later.
June 10, 2011 at 4:20pm
(Comment moved by admin from a former thread) In regards to your next topic: Concepts like race, religion and nationality are not REAL. They were created artificially for political and economic reasons.
kheyli jalebe keh ma hazerim khodemoono baraye din va melliat az ham dige joda konim amma hazer neestim khodemoono baraye chiz haee keh “biological basis” barash hast az hamdige joda konim.
beh onvane mesal, khoone man B+ hast in man ro joda mikone az yek nafar keh khoone A- ya AB dareh, va in jodaee yek “biological and scientific basis” dareh amma ma in jodaee ro hichvaght bozorg nemikonim tooye jame’e. Nomreye cheshme man 3 hast, bedoone komake eynak ya lens donya ro khoob nemibinam, tar mibinam. In man ro joda mikone az shakhsi keh beh tore tabiee dide 20/20 dareh amma ma in jodaee ro bozorg nemikonim… hata baraye kasani keh “disability” daran va nadaran. Ma moteasefaneh faghat chiz haee keh vagheyat nadaran bozorg mikonim baraye khodemoon.
Hamin jodaee keh beyne mosalmoon ha va yahoodi ha hast yek masaleye kheyli jalebie. Ki in ekhtelaf ro shoroo kard? Mosalmoonha? Yahoodiha? Ya Gharb? kheyli jalebe keh beh jaye in keh ba ham kar konan va manafeye un mantagheye khodeshoono hefz konan, in doe gorooh alan daran too saro kaleh ham mizanan bedoone in keh az khodeshoon beporsan keh ki in ekhtelafat ro shoroo kard va chejoori in ekhtelafat shoroo shod. In beh manafeye hich kodoomeshoon neest. Faghat daran khodeshoono ranjo azab midan va bad akhar ham yek nafar dige so’od e in jang ha va dava ro mibareh.
Yek masaleye digeh hast alan beine Iraniha, hatman shanidid keh migan arab ha soosmar va marmoolak va shire shotor mikhoran! In albate az shahnameh Ferdowsi shoroo shode, keh dar shahnameh neveshteh: “Ze shire shotor khordano soosmar Arab ra be jayee residast kar ke taj-e- kian ra konad arezoo..” va bavar nemikonid keh man tooye hamin facebook shayad mahi 3-4 bar invite migiram az doost haye iranim keh in group ro join konam keh iraniha mikhan beh donya sabet konan keh Arab ha soosmar mikhoran:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.444429524459.229900.138593404459
Khob, ma hala in harf ha ro mizanim keh chi besheh? Az Arab ha “ba jorat” tar in chini ha hastan keh har mojoordeh zendeh ee ro gheir az adam mikhoran. Beh yek Amrikaee begin keh Iraniha kaleh pacheh mikhoran, halesh bad misheh. Doroste keh yek moghehee Arab ha omadan beh Iran hamleh kardan va yek dalili baraye in ekhtelaf boodeh. Vali alan in ekhtelaf chera bayad basheh va ma chera darim bozorgesh mikonim? Chi ro darim hal mikonim? In ekhtelaf beh manafeye ki hast? Aya vaghean beh manafeye iran e keh ba hamsayeganesh jang o dava dashte bashe? Ya aya yek nafar in vasat dareh az ehsasat e ma soo estefadeh mikoneh keh “instability” un mategheh ro bishtar koneh?
kheyli man doost daram keh Iraniha beh tore baz beh in masaleh negah konan va ehsasate khodeshoon ro bezaran kenar va manteghi fekr konan. Doost daram fekr konan chi beh manafeye iran e va ch beh manafeye un mantagheh hast?
One of my favorite quotes:
“You’ll never have a quiet world until you knock the patriotism out of the human race.” – George Bernard Shaw
June 10, 2011 at 4:56pm
it’s mostly because of history and political influences. afghans are not the only race that iranians are racist towards, it’s arabs mostly. I think in general that the middle east is far behind from the rest of the world, we live in the 21st century, we don’t live in the past anymore, it’s time to move on from all this racism and hate.
June 10, 2011 at 4:58pm
I think in general Iranians are racist. Some Iranians show their racism with no reservation, but most think they are not racist, but are actually racist when it comes to blacks, Asians, latino, and arabs.
And it is no wonder why Iranins are highly homophobic.
I do not rememebr ever having heard of racism problems in Iranian media, while I was leaving there, but since coming to USA, I can see how racist Iranins are. It is scasry.
June 10, 2011 at 5:08pm
The guys on staff almost passed out after hearing this voicemail!
Voicemail
Love you too Shadpari! Thank you for the voicemail and the kiss!
June 10, 2011 at 5:12pm
Racism is not unique to Iranians. Everyone is racist against at least one other race (or nationality or ..). It’s how we act upon those feelings that causes disruptions and stereotypes. The actions and behaviors influenced by racism cause ‘prejudice’ and those lead to stereotypes and further prejudcism.
I didn’t grow up in Iran so I don’t know how widespread racism is there, but I do know that growing up in the US, it was every where and still is. That is why there are controls and parameters set around these types of behavior to ensure that racism does not lead to prejudice (in action anyway). My guess is that Iranians living in Iran feel more united because they have a common cause, need, enemy..etc. When they come here, there are exposed to western beliefs and behaviors that is very racist in nature. Hence, they unite with their closest group who share common interest to ‘protect’ themselves. If you peg Jewish-Persians, Muslim-Persians etc. against a non-Persian anything, they will unite as Persians but if you peg them against each other, they will defend their immediate group. Granted over the years, I’ve heard non-Persians say that Persians feel as if they are superior to other nationalities and I have to agree. We do have this sense of superiority about us and I can’t understand why! Can’t really recall what we have so significantly contributed to the world in the past few decades or even in the last century.. but I digress!
Racism is a universal phenomenon and quite natural but prejudcism is often the natural extension of racism when it benefits us, such as during hard economic conditions. Steretypical jokes stem from racism but frankly, sometimes people just need to lighten up a bit!
June 10, 2011 at 5:41pm
Ellie,
I suggest you be careful before making statements such as “racism is quite natural”.
Its about as natural as fascism.
Racism is about superiority, or regarding a race as inferior due to an inherent trait they possess (which you generalize to the whole race). What about any of that seems natural to you?
Or maybe you should redefine the word for us.
June 10, 2011 at 5:39pm
Racism is disgusting and racist people should lose their reproductive organs so they can’t multiply.
Of One Essence is the Human Race,
Thusly has Creation put the Base.
One Limb impacted is sufficient,
For all Others to feel the Mace.
The Unconcern’d with Others’ Plight,
Are but Brutes with Human Face.
June 10, 2011 at 7:57pm
Natural doesn’t mean good. There are a lot of bad behaviors that come naturally to humans, but are destructive such as anger. You can express it, deny it, redirect it to a positive action or control it. But it exists. I challenge anyone who thinks they are not and have never made a racist or prejudice comment in their life. Hope that helps.
June 11, 2011 at 12:01pm
Your logic makes sense, but your premise is flawed.
Anger is natural. It is not destructive, or negative. It is an emotion which our body shows a physiological response to, and it sends signals to our brain that something is not right. Anger is an evolutionary mechanism that has helped us survive for millions of years.
What you describe as negative in terms of anger, is some wrong decisions that are made due to the arousal brought about by anger. It is like saying because you can get stuck with a rotten fruit once in awhile, fruits are rotten in general.
Racism however is not an emotion. Therefore it is nothing natural like anger, or sadness, or even happiness. Racism is like that rotten fruit. Our human nature is to like what is similar to us (similarity bias), and what is familiar (familiarity bias)–however, that does not mean our NATURE is to go a step further and DISLIKE, HATE, or DISCRIMINATE (and then GENERALIZE) against those who are not familiar or similar. This is far too external and complicated for it to be in anyways natural.
You are trivializing Racism, I do not understand why you keep insisting on it either. I hope you don’t believe that genocides are natural as well.
June 10, 2011 at 8:05pm
This is in response to:
“We have intentionally decided to separate Iranians’ racism against Arabs from this discussion because we believe it’s more about the preception of Islamic/Arab Conquest of Iran than racism.”
Racism is politically or economically motivated HATE towards a group of people. Iranians, although they make jokes about ethnic groups like turks and lors, they don’t HATE them. There is not the same sense of boiling anger directed towards them that there is towards Arabs. Throughout history, many many empires have invaded Iran why don’t we hate the Mongols or the Italians the way we do the Arabs? In the case of the Arabs, it was not a race that invaded Iran, it was an Empire but we don’t hate the empire, we don’t hate the politics, we hate the Arab Race. Anyway, I believe that a lot of this attitude stems from seeds that were planted there to create a chaotic sense of instability in the middle east. Our perception of the Islamic/Arab conquest of Iran is not a very logical one. The Romans spread Christianity throughout Europe in a very barbaric way, Joseph Conrad once wrote in referring to the spread of Christianity throughout Europe: “They took what they could, for the sake of what could be taken…” but Europeans don’t go bashing them the way we do the Arabs and even Islam, they go about their daily lives and try to do what’s best to protect the interests of their region in present day.
It’s interesting how racism can have a “reactive force” within the group that is being discriminated against, which can actually perpetuate more and more racism towards that same group. (Anyone seen the movie crash? They do a great job of illustrating this in that movie!)
For example with the Jews: Jews were not until very recently allowed to have government jobs and government positions throughout Europe and even in Iran (although Iran was not as discriminative towards the Jews as the Europeans were). Because of this, Jews were FORCED into business! They were forced into taking independent business jobs and ironically, these jobs gave them more cash flow, and hence came the stereotype that Jews control all the world’s businesses and money… and hence came more hatred towards the Jews…
The same holds true for blacks in the US. There is a prejudice against blacks here that they are all violent, and under educated. But it was actually a system and vaccum of prejudice which existed here (and continues to exist here) which made them fall into crime and violence and held them back academically… The irony is that this concept of race doesn’t exist in Iran like it does in the US. For example, you go to areas of southern Iran like bandar abas and you see people who have very dark, almost black skin but they were never seperated from other Iranians. People have a better understanding there that sharayate geography rooye range pooste adam asar mizare…
Now I’ll play devil’s advocate and bring in the topic of Islam. The concept of race doesn’t exist in Islam the way it does in some other religions. I don’t know if any of you know who Malcom X was? He was a controversial African American public figure during the civil rights movement because he wanted a seperate black America from white America. He believed all whites where evil. He was virtually unwilling to compromise and meet with other members of the civil rights movement who wanted to integrate black and white society until he want to mecca. When he went to mecca he said he was deeply moved by the fact that blacks and whites and people of all races were making the pilgrimage together united as equals, dressed in the same clothing, without any racial tensions between them. He came back to the US ready and willing to speak with members of the civil rights movement and find ways to overcome the racial tensions that existed between blacks and whites. Just thought I’d share… I also have a lot more to say, but right now I don’t have time to type it all out…. later… lol
June 10, 2011 at 8:37pm
man be dolat hagh midam ke be rasmiat nashnase ezdevaje zane irani ba afghani ro be 1000 dalile vazeh ke hame too in linka hast …
http://tabeh11.mihanblog.com/post/archive/1390/2
http://mohajereshiraz.blogsky.com/
va maloome ke dashtane 32 hezar bache bi hoviat dorost nist … agar zane irani mikhad ba afghan ezdevaj kone mitoone hich moshkele sharei nadare az nazare ina faghat migan ma be rasmiat nemishnasim shoharo va bachashoono ke tabee iran bashe chon be andazeye kafi iraniha moshkel daran . mitoone zane irani tabaeye afghanistan beshe va bachashoon ham va rahat Iran ham bian o beran ya bemoonan vali az mazayaye bime o refahe ejtemaei dar afghanistan estefade konan ke kamelan Fair hast …
June 10, 2011 at 9:48pm
the old civilisations in what is known as Iran today were non-persian.. the Elamite were semetic, their kingdom dates back 5000-7000 yrs ago, well b4 the persians migrated to what was later named Iranian plateau, and the today’s inhabitants of arabstan or ahwaz region or khuzistan or huzistan(re-formation of the word ahwazistan or huz being singular of the plural Ahwaz, meaning farming plot or boundry..etc. the mede who established their kingdom in north-western iran were non-persian, in fact they were the ancestors of the today’s kurds of Iran. etc etc, however later on the persians – who descended southward form central asia and parts of the southern edge of europe and settled in parts of modern day iran – established their own kingdoms, empires and went on to dominate and ruled vast areas of “Iran” and beyond under the achamenides, ashkanians, sassnides etc..obviously having assimilated and integrated the newly conquered peoples, groups and communities into their folds and domain, they utilised and added to the old systems and established their own civilisation which lasted for centuries. So these are the facts and let’s separate them from myths. no persian person should be offended by this true version of history. in fact they should be proud. and as a non-persain iranian i too admire that. We should wake up and face reality. Let face it there is nothing for Persians , arabs or any nation in third world countries to be proud of as all are backward politically, economically, technologically, socially and so on. What counts is what we are now not what we were in the past which exists only in dusty history books..
June 10, 2011 at 9:50pm
This is a nice poet :
Ghazal for Iranians Who Don’t Hate Arabs
Today I met Iranians who don’t hate Arabs.
They smiled and said “hey, selam,” even knowing I was Arab.
They didn’t have green eyes, yet they seemed to bear up
pretty well without them, and they don’t fault Arabs,
not all of us, at least, for Nahavand, and the bloody flare-up
at Karbala; after all, remember, Imam Husayn was Arab.
I was a little scared at first, but soon I scraped my chair up
closer and acknowledged half our poetry and science isn’t Arab.
Half? Two thirds! Three quarters! All Persian! I went clear up
to The Arabian Nights, to Ibn Sina; who says he was Arab?
We parleyed on Ferdowsi. They didn’t want to tear up
all the Arabic words in Farsi, since they don’t hate Arabs.
They didn’t insist, “Say ‘Persian!’” or “We’re Aryan, like Europe.”
They felt kin to “Third World” peoples, even Arabs.
Not royalists who think the Shah just got a bad rap,
though they don’t love the Republic, they don’t blame Arabs.
For making Persians browner, for conquest, and Umayyads,
if it helps, janem, I apologize, on behalf of Arabs,
and for implying by misnaming that the Gulf belongs to our hub
(let all the waters be yours! who needs water when you’re Arab!).
Paradise we got from Persians! It was a one-way educarab,
as backward as we were (there’s not much more to rhyme with “Arab”).
For forcible conversion of the all letter p’s we could scare up
to f’s just so they could trip off the tongues of Arabs—
por priendship and pondness’ sake, I give it all—all—up!
Mohja’s relieved to find Iranians who don’t hate Arabs.
– Mohja Kahf
June 11, 2011 at 2:54am
man link e bbc ro ta alan nakhoondam… va khob az ye nazar fekr mikonam kheyli ba’es e ta’asof e (hala har dalili dolat mikhad dashte basheh baraye napaziroftan e ezdevaj e yek Irani ba Afghani…) Amma fekr mikonam ma bayad ba baghieh donya ham moghayseh konim Iran ro ta bebinim in policy ta cheh andazeh racist ya “nejad parast” hast?
Hala ghabl az in keh ina ro man begam faghat mikhastam ino moshakhas konam keh man varede bahse siasi nemisham faghat daram vagheyat ha ro inja matrah mikonam, va in vagheyat ha ro kheyli az Iraniha, amricaeeha va moteasefaneh khodeh yahoodi ha ham nemidoonan:
Midoonid keh dolat e Israel ezdevaj e yek Yahoodi ba gheire yahoodi ro nemishnase? Yani dar Israel, yek mosalmoon mitooneh bereh ba yek masihi ezdevaj koneh amma yahoodi nemitooneh ba gheire yahoodi ezdevaj koneh. Hata kheyli az ezdevaj ha ro beine khodeh yahoodi ha ro ham nemishnase. Beh onvaneh mesal: yahoodihaee keh az roosieh beh israel mohajerat mikonan nemitoonan dar Israel ba yek yahoodieh digeh ezdevaj konan va yahoodihaee keh pedareh yahoodi daran va madareh gheire yahoodi nemitoonan ba yek yahoodieh digeh ezdevaj konan. In nejad parasti neest? Beh nazare man in beh marateb badtar az un nejad parasti keh dar iran hast… va man khoshhalam az in keh Iraniha hanooz beh in marhaleh nejad parasti naresidan!
June 11, 2011 at 7:33am
what you are saying is problems that exist in Iran today are not that bad, because there are other countries who are messed up too. Typical losers mind style. Excuses never made a man or a nation any better and this country will never imrove when its citizens think like you.
June 11, 2011 at 11:45am
Persian Boy, I don’t know who you are but you’re amazing.
June 11, 2011 at 7:57pm
thanks Lila for your nice comment. they should put a “like” button here
June 11, 2011 at 12:27pm
Kimya,
That is not racism. That is Jewish Law. Please learn to distinguish the two.
June 11, 2011 at 5:49pm
Hi Lila,
Is it really? That poses debate on whether Judaism is a race or a religion and why some people are trying to make it a race. Also, laws are relative to how they are interpreted. The US Law for example, isn’t always interpreted the exact way it’s written. Should our friends here open the topic of Islam, I have a lot to say.
June 11, 2011 at 7:56pm
Judaism does not allow inter-faith marriages, just as some other religions do not either. Judaism is passed through the maternal side, that is why if the mother is of another faith, the kids are not seen as Jewish (regardless of the father’s faith). This is not racism. They do not see people of other faiths as less or inferior, it is just a way to safeguard the continuation of their faith and rituals.
Muslim women are also not allowed to marry men of other faiths, until they have converted.
Religion’s stance on interfaith marriages has nothing to do with Racism.
June 11, 2011 at 9:23pm
Religion and racism are two mental diseases that have made human race suffer for ages, the good news is for both, their time is ending
June 11, 2011 at 9:57pm
“Judaism is passed through the maternal side, that is why if the mother is of another faith, the kids are not seen as Jewish (regardless of the father’s faith). This is not racism.”
It’s really interesting how people can use any means (religion, or even historical events) to justify racism.
David, not all branches or interpretations of Judaism say that Judaism is passed through the maternal side (like reform Judaism for example). If someone calls themself Jewish who is anyone to say that they are not? Judaism is a BELIEF, the Israeli government has turned it into a race! If someone was born into a Jewish family (both mother and father Jewish) but they don’t believe in God, are they Jewish? Who is anyone to say that they are more Jewish than someone who has a Jewish Father and a Christian mother but practices and believes in the Jewish faith and calls himself Jewish?
Maybe the way we justify our own “racist” belief is a part of the inner wolf or evil inside every human being which bleeds into society and into many despotic regimes. I really like Moshiri’s take on this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWWLMazFHCE
June 13, 2011 at 8:19pm
Kimya,
The only reason that this would be a problem or racist is if you regard Judaism as some superior country club that you cannot wait to get your hands on the in-card to.
If you marry outside the faith and stop practicing the faith with your children, then why insist on being called Jewish? This is what happens to an overwhelming majority of interfaith marriages. However, if you’re talking about the minority that remain practicing, even the convert practice, then you will find the sect of Judaism that does accept the interfaith marriage. Like I said before, Judaism discourages interfaith NOT because of the “inferiority of gentiles”, however because of the fact that the tradition and ritual is usually lost by the next generation. You are mistaking a way of safeguarding as racism— and this has existed way before the state of Israel, it was put into place since the first exile.
We are talking about Judaism. But really, Islam says the same thing. Especially for women. Judaism has a different nature that is why conversion into the faith is different than in Islam. This different nature does not make it better or worst, more exclusive or not.
And finally, I believe many people would disagree with you that “Judaism is a belief”. Judaism, Islam, Catholicism, and some other religions regard themselves as “ways of life”. A belief in God does not make you a Catholic, a Jew, or a Muslim. If you think that way, I encourage you to live in your naive bubble where religion is so light-hearted and fair.
June 13, 2011 at 5:22pm
What do you think of ethnic jokes? Funny or degrading?
June 13, 2011 at 9:55pm
According to the book called Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination,Stereotypes and prejudices are adaptive in nature and therefore innate. Steretyopes are Exaggerated beliefs associated with a categoryâ ( Allport, 1954).Now, Prejudice is an affective component.
Discrimination is a behavioral component. Children as young as 5 years start developing pereference for some group. They express their preference by showing negative or positive behavior towards the outgroup. This behavior could be shown in differnt forms of “EMOTIONS”.
If you look closly , nature and natural do come from same roots. Racism is not too far from the word emotion.
June 14, 2011 at 5:42am
David, I am only responding to this because I believe this way of thinking about religion is responsible for a lot of the world problems.
“The only reason that this would be a problem or racist is if you regard Judaism as some superior country club that you cannot wait to get your hands on the in-card to.”
Well, isn’t that what they are doing when they say the only way you can be Jewish is based on who you parents are? You can’t join the club unless your mom is Jewish. Lets not forget there are people with non-Jewish mothers and Jewish father who consider themselves Jewish. Is this not a form of antisemitism towards them?
“If you marry outside the faith and stop practicing the faith with your children, then why insist on being called Jewish? This is what happens to an overwhelming majority of interfaith marriages”
Not necessarily David. What happens in interfaith marriages is that children are exposed to both faiths in the same way that Iranian-Americans are exposed to both cultures. Sometimes they side with one faith over the other, other times they see both faiths as a part of themselves.
“Like I said before, Judaism discourages interfaith NOT because of the âinferiority of gentilesâ, however because of the fact that the tradition and ritual is usually lost by the next generation.
Judaism itself is not science, it’s not an absolute!!! It’s something people have to interpret for themselves!!!! Tradition and ritual is already being lost by the next generation without interfaith marriage as there is a cultural and linguistic divide between the Jews of the world. The way a Jew in Israel practices their faith, is not the same as the way a Jew in America would. What is happening in interfaith marriages is that many children of these marriages see Judaism as a part of themselves. Their last name is Jewish! But they are not seen or accepted as Jewish by certain members of their own community because of their bloodline, because of their ancestry. Should any religion tolerate this kind of hate?
“We are talking about Judaism. But really, Islam says the same thing. Especially for women. Judaism has a different nature that is why conversion into the faith is different than in Islam. This different nature does not make it better or worst, more exclusive or not”
Judaism and Islam, whatever they have become, it’s because of people! People have interpreted the religion. Lets not forget that factors like education and economic conditions all play a much greater roll in how people interpret a religion than the overall theme of the religion itself. In the midst of these interpretations sometimes the theme is forgotten and lost.
“And finally, I believe many people would disagree with you that âJudaism is a beliefâ. Judaism, Islam, Catholicism, and some other religions regard themselves as âways of lifeâ. ”
You live your life according to what you believe and your own set of moral values and convictions. Islam is a belief that encourages certain morals, certain principles, a lot these principles are not exclusive
to Islam but rather they can be found in other different religions too.
Farzad, depends on the circumstance. Iranians make jokes about Esfahanis and shirazis too. Turks make jokes about other turks. Sometimes a joke is just a joke if it’s done in good taste and not meant to put down, offend or bully anyone.
PS: Narid tooye barnamatoon ghor bezanid begid kimya omad e blog e ma ro hijack kardeh dobareh!
I
June 14, 2011 at 3:35pm
I think that some Iranians do feel superior to other races and this stemps from our deep-rooted history and the want to continue this pride of being “Persian”, which of course I think is crock of. YES, Iran was where a lot of important things in history were discovered. Such as the first irrigation system to bring fresh water, or the first place where doctors used the poppy seed to extract opium and use as an anesthetic. That’s wonderful, but I don’t think that makes us any better than any other race on the planet. We need to be humble, not boastful and arrogant.
I can understand why many parents prefer their children to marry someone of their own race, including mine. It may be that people of the same race have similar beliefs and traditions, making the relationship “less complicated”. BUT… Just because I marry an Iranian person does not guarantee anything. It is even more complicated when you consider the Iranian-American’s and the diversity among us. Some of us decide to accept certain tid bits of American culture, while others do not. So if I do as my parents prefer and marry an Iranian-American who was raised here, as I was, does that really make things “less complicated”? I don’t know. Race cannot define each individual person. We are all different. And is the request of my parents racist? No, I don’t think so. Because in the end they only want my happiness,and they have said that any person of any race that treats me well, will do. Others of you may disagree.
Many Iranians feel superior to Afghani’s because in Iran they are in lower economic bracket. Here is an example of a remark I made while visiting Iran, “Wow that Afghani guy is so cute.” I heard laughter and someone remarked, “are you serious? But he’s Afghani! They are the hamal’s in Iran.” I replied, “so what, he’s handsome. What does his race have to do with it?” HOWWWWW SAD!!!!
All I know is that people should not judge people based on their race, religion, economic status, or even their personal looks. We should embrace our differences. I think the only thing that should matter is whether or not you are a good human being. I may not marry an Asian, American or Arab, solely because of our cultural differences and the yearn to preserve my race and its culture. This however, does not mean that I should dislike, look down upon, or view negatively any other race and their cultural views.
June 15, 2011 at 11:47pm
This is the first time I am listening to your program!
Just for your information, I think talking in such a humiliate way about people is a kind of racism(I mean the way you mentioned Ostaad Asadi)…but generally I liked the mixed Farsi and English language you use!
June 16, 2011 at 2:18pm
If Shahed THINKS lobnanian (arab) guys are 5 times as “Hot” or attractive as a PERSIAN one… I should say Im sorry for her growing up WHERE she never got the chance to meet any hot Persian boys
furthermore, the ghorbun sadaghe goftane pesare iranio kesi barat nemikeshe khanumi
June 16, 2011 at 2:19pm
p.s.
Please bring Ali Back!
June 17, 2011 at 10:19am
Hey,
Your last show is linked in the post!
Thanks for updating the link!
June 18, 2011 at 10:54am
nobody’s gonna leave you a voicemail
June 18, 2011 at 11:40am
Why not hamid?
June 24, 2011 at 4:17pm
From Pejman on Radio Javan:
I don’t like the girl speaking always in english.
nothing of her.
please send her to lebanon and oblige her to talk only in arabic lol.
From Bobak on Radio Javan:
The one girl in your show is quite annoying. SOme of the comments she makes are absolutely ridiculous about Persian girls or the skid on Farhad Majidi. She can’t believe that he is Persian? What is being implied here? What is wrong with her? When she obviously has an accent speaking English, why won’t she just speak Persian like the rest of the show hosts?!!!
I think your show is amazing sans the one girl!
~A Fan
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Thank you Pejman and Bobak! Once Shahed comes back from Europe we may ask her to speak French instead. Jokes aside, we’re thinking about this issue deeply, so your voice is heard!
June 24, 2011 at 10:37pm
Toro khoda dast az sare in shahed e badbakht var darin! khob baba too show e irani omade ehtemalan farsi agar mifahme balade harf ham bezane, inaee keh too show hastan (mesle borhan o iman) behesh migan englisi harf bezan, una ro blame konid in shahed e badbakht bi gonahe!
July 1, 2011 at 12:30pm
Iranians and Afghans share the same language ,history and culture . There are Persians (Tajiks) in Afghanistan , i don’t see any problem with Iranians and Afghans marrying with each other .