Supreme Iranian Talent vs. Ahmadinijad Rhetoric

Author: Ghazal Omid

Renowned Iranian Artist Mohammad Reza Shajarian performed in Washington, DC on May 31. Appeared in New York on June 2 and will perform in Toronto on June 6th, tonight.

Iranians from all walks of life gathered at the George Mason Art Center to experience the best of Iranian culture presented by an incomparable artist Mohammad Reza Shajarian and his group  with deep love and appreciation for Persian music, art and poetry, who dazzled the audience with their compositions and flawless mastery of their instruments, as though born with the knowledge of music. Homayouan Shajaryan, son of the renowned artist and himself a marvelously talented musician, was tearfully humble in the presence of his father.    

The enthusiastic applause of the audience brought tears of joy to the eyes of the musicians as they seemingly performed each song of the two-part program better than the last. Those of us who have not been to Iran in years, reveled in this rare opportunity to enjoy art from our culture. We cherished him and his group and were rendered teary-eyed by the lyrics. We were especially moved because he and his group are among the best Iranian performers on the world stage; a stark contrast to the IRI government and its anti-Israel rhetoric.

As an Iranian, I highly recommend that any one with influence in policies dealing with Iran see his performance in order to have a better understanding of Iranian culture. The world must see them to judge Iranians fairly. Even for non-Farsi speakers, watching them perform is an overwhelming experience. You don’t need to understand the lyrics to understand the meaning. Your heart will know.  

 As I absorbed the performance, I was conscious of a truism about Iranian culture: It does not adequately exploit its assets. Characteristic of Iranians when outside Iran, they bootstrap marketing, which comes back to haunt the future of Iran/US policy.  As an invited Iranian activist VIP, author and President of a NGO that advocates for Iran, I was disappointed to be denied a photo opportunity with this world renowned artist by his management; a photo intended to be used to publicize the best of Iran.  I am not criticizing the artist. My point is: his management failed to recognize a marketing opportunity that would benefit both the artist and Iran by influencing positive public opinion of Iranians and their culture. Iranians are dealing with a social perception that needs to be corrected before Iranians inside Iran pay a hefty price. My incident is not a big deal.

His management did not understand that those who sat in the first row were the cream of Iranian society; many of them scientists who can be an asset, not only to the artist but to Iranian society in general. This magnificent artist and his group will survive the marketing mishandling and do what they do best, produce amazing music.   Iranians presuming to know everything about intelligence and United States and world foreign policy, leak inaccurate information to people such as Michael Ledeen from AEI and Kenneth Timmerman, a prominent conservative who indefensibly wrote in an article, “Iranians welcome an attack on their country.”  Interestingly, Iranian/Americans who support attack on Iran are business people who deal with the Iranian regime.  One wonders, where is the line drawn between patriotism and using the IRI as excuse to make money and fame out of Iranian’s misery.    

From faulty intelligence passed to US officials and the lassitude of a few VOA executives and incompetent political appointees that do absolutely nothing to help Iranian people inside Iran, everything smacks of mismanagement. Regrettably, the professionals never criticize such incidents because they fear backlash and judgment.  At a time when the world needs the best of Iranians on every front and at every level to prevent the war looming against Iran, we are saddled with misguided Iranians who casually mismanage the authority they have been given.  Until Iranians face their shortcomings, we should not judge others. Until we decide how much we love Iran and reject the idea of being destroyed, we cannot say we are patriots.  Patriotism is more than just words, blogs, shouts of death to the IRI or showing up at a protest or concert. Iranians are not intentionally but consequently affected by policies of the United States and Israel. 

Iran and Its Future.org in its research has noticed that when less knowledgeable people are strategically placed, their lack of thinking “outside the box” directly correlates with the policies implemented about Iran and Middle East.   For the sake of World Peace, the best policy the US can have is to hire the best individuals, who love both the Iranian and American people, not the woefully uninformed who simply want a job. People in the Middle East repeatedly observe that the most important jobs are given to those least qualified.  I am wondering, would seven out of seven be considered a miracle, a coincidence or intentional?A disastrous mistake affecting Iran has been perpetrated twice in the past thirty years. US President Carter was instrumental in both the removal of the Shah and the ascension of Khomeni to power. As a result, we now have to contend with Ahmadinejad.   

If Iranians don’t become controllers of our destiny and stand up to tell the world what is and is not working in our society and continue to allow the ignorance of a few to hurt us as a society, then we have not done our job and should not expect the President of United States to care about Iranians.  If we want our country to be free of the IRI and avoid a threatening war, we need to stand up for the cause.   If we don’t, no one else will.  I hope you know how much your presence at Shajaryan concerts matters because you are not there just to cheer for one Iranian; you are there to cheer for IRAN’S BEST.  www.Iranfuture.org

June 06, 08