Free Republic

What's in it for America, and for you? The Islamic State of Iran is held to be a sovereign state bordered on its west by Iraq and Turkey, in the east by Pakistan and Afghanistan, to the north by the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, and to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. This presents the world of Asia with a land mass of over 636,000 square miles. Barack Obama said, in Oregon, in 2008, that Iran is “…a tiny country,” and that, “they don’t pose a serious threat to us.” However, how does...

Overnight Islamic Republic have Wiped out 3000-Years of Iranian History 30 October 2007 Pol-Borideh after its destruction by the Islamic Republic Ministry of Road & Transportation" LONDON, (CAIS) -- The destruction of one of the biggest historical sites in the Chahar-Mahal Bakhtiari province by the Islamic Republic Ministry of Road and Transportation was reported by the Persian service of ISNA on Monday, October 22. "Overnight %60 of the architectural and archeological remains of Pol-Borideh in Chahar-Mahal Bakhtiari province is being destroyed to construct a road. The ancient site was registered on the National Heritage List", said Aliasghar Noruzi, an archeologist...

Though the holiday of Purim is celebrated by Jews worldwide, the story, based as it is in Persia, has special resonance for the Jews of Iran. Recent decades have proved difficult for Persian Jews, many of whom fled the country after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. From a community of about 100,000, an estimated 25,000 to 35,000 now remain. This month, Jews from across Iran will pray at a shrine in Hamadan, in northwestern Iran, dedicated to the heroes of the Purim story. They will likely be met upon arrival by Muslims and Christians, who pray year-round at the unusual shrine....

Despite the tendency to see Iran as an Islamic monolith and the attempts of the ruling clerics in Tehran to cast it as such, the full complexity of Iranian identity is little understood and almost never discussed—even by Iranians themselves. Long before it was absorbed into the Islamic empire by Arab armies under Caliphs Umar and Uthman in the mid-seventh century, Persia had been the birthplace of Zarathustianism, or Zoroastrianism, the world’s first monotheistic religion.The religion was forged some 3,500 years ago around the philosopher-prophet Zarathustra’s teachings, which emphasized personal morality and a conscious choice between good and evil. From...

TEHRAN (MNA) -- During the latest season of excavations of the northern gate of Takht-e Suleiman, an ancient Zoroastrian fire temple located in northwestern Iran, the stamps of two seals were discovered which indicate that objects entered Takht-e Suleiman from other regions with special tags attached to them which seem to be advertisements. They signify that an early form of advertising was being practiced during the Sassanid era (224-642 C.E.), Yusef Moradi, the head of the excavation team, said on Friday. “The team began its excavations in early August and found the stamps of two seals at the upper levels...

Yesterday in history, was the 100th anniversary of the Iranian Consitutitional Revolution in 1904. The war for freedom lasted 5 years. Iranians were the first Asian nation that uprised against the dictatorship of the rulers. They protested againt the Qajari Kings and the rule of Radical Islam. And they successfully made the first Asian Parliament and make the king respect the Parliamentary system. Good to know that an American Teacher died in clashes with Kings forces while helping Iranian constitutionalist forces in city of Tabriz. Iranians still pay tribute to his grave in that city and are thankful for his...

Shah greeting the leaders Shah leaving to meet world leaders at the airport for the ceremonies. Imperial Pahlavi family arrives to celebrate 2,500 years of Iran's monarchy. Achaemenid Soldiers March The opening March of the 2500 Years Celebrations was the Eye Catching and Glorious Achaemenid Soldiers March. Viewing the ceremonies Alahazrat and Oliyahazrat viweing the opening parade of the ceremonies hosted by the Shah and Empress of Iran. The Persian Navy March Simulation of Achaemenid's Glorious Navy represented by Grand Admiral Artemisia, Commander in Chief of The Persian Navy and her soldiers, presented as an interesting part of the...

The history of Persian Jews dates back to ancient Iran marked by the emancipation of the Jews from Babylonian captivity after the Persian conquest. In relative terms, the Persian treatment of other religions, including the jews, is among the first enlightened and universal practice of religious tolerance in ancient times, a practice which was perhaps more universal and inclusive than the restricted religious tolerance of the Moslems limited to "the people of the book." According to Biblical and historical sources, Jews did not only gain freedom but also the favor and financial support of the Persian King, Koroush (Cyrus), to...

Ancient photos of Arg-e-Bam, the city that has basically been leveled can be found here! Please Email to Everyone You Know!!!1 Compliments of ActivistChat.com ">

Who are the Arabs? It's not a facile question. Historian Bernard Lewis devotes 14 pages to the subject in his introduction to The Arabs in History. Part of the problem, Lewis warns, is that the term Arab "may be used in several different senses at one and the same time, and that a standard general definition of its content has rarely been possible." The easiest definition is to say that an Arab is simply someone who speaks Arabic. But that's not satisfactory. Not all Arabic-speaking peoples identify themselves as Arabs. To those definitions, Lewis adds a more recent usage that...

O.K. freepers who can help me out. I almost have a Persian friend of mine to convert to another religion (from islam) and would like to offer him options of what his ancestors practiced. Sorry admin modrator for posting in the wrong place, but could let it run a little while, till I get some answers?? Thanks

1941 - The Shah's pro-Axis allegiance in World War II leads to the Anglo-Russian occupation of Iran and the deposition of the Shah in favour of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. 1950 - Ali Razmara becomes prime minister and is assassinated less than nine months later. He is succeeded by the nationalist, Mohammad Mossadeq. 1951 April - Parliament votes to nationalise the oil industry. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company is unable to continue operations and as a result Britain boycotts the purchase of Iranian oil. A power struggle between the Shah and Mossadeq ensues. 1953 22 August - With the help...

The Sazeman-e Mojahedin-e Khalq, Persian for "Organization of People's Crusaders," was established in 1965 by six former members of the Liberation Movement, a nationalistic, liberal and lay-religious party formed in the early 1960s by Mehdi Bazargan (Abrahamian 81). The founders of the Mojahedin were all either university students or recent graduates who had become discontented with the Liberation Movement's moderate stance and interpretation of Islam as well as its strategy of peaceful struggle against the Shah of Iran. In order to dislodge the Pahlavi monarchy in Iran, the Mojahedin devised a radical interpretation of Islam and adopted the strategy of...

A few days ago, I walked into a local small business owned by a naturalized American citizen who was from Iran. During our conversation, the owner asked me what I thought about the U.S. and Coalition forces invading Iraq. I said that in my opinion Jimmy Carter and his State Department were totally responsible for this war, Iraq's slaughtering of its own citizens, and the tragic war with Iran. The shop owner grabbed me and gave me a "bear-hug." He said that in his 20 years living in America, I was the only American who understood what Iranians have known...

In his hastily written memoirs, Answer To History, the late Shah of Iran, described his painful journey towards oblivion: I cannot nor am I willing to express fully the sentiments which I felt on January 16, 1979, when I took the road to the airport with the Empress and my children. I had in me a sinister foreboding for I knew all too well what could happen. I wanted to persuade myself that my departure would calm the people, decrease hatred, and disarm the assassins. I hoped that Shapour Bakhtiar would perhaps be fortunate and that the country could survive,...

One of the significant events in ancient history is the conquest of Babylon by the Persian king, Cyrus the Great. On October 4th, 539 BC, the Persian Army entered the city of Babylon, which was then the capital of the Babylonian state (in central Iraq). This was a bloodless campaign and no prisoners were taken. Later, on November 9th, King Cyrus of Persia visited the city. Babylonian history tells us that Cyrus was greeted by the people, who spread a pathway of green twigs before him as a sign of honor and peace (sulmu). Cyrus greeted all Babylonians in peace...

In attempting to attain some perspective on Iran in history, I begin, as I think one must, with the Arab-Islamic conquests in the seventh century-that series of epoch-making events following the advent of Islam, the mission of the Prophet Muhammad and the carrying of his message to vast areas east and west from Arabia, and the incorporation of many lands, from the Atlantic and the Pyrenees to the borders of India and China and beyond, into the new Arab-Islamic empire. These events have been variously seen in Iran: by some as a blessing, the advent of the true faith, the...