Non-fiction author Erich Follath pens fiction as fact.
But first, an excerpt from the blog of my buddy, Dr.Andrew Bostom:
The eyewitness account by Sanasarian’s colleague provides a res ipsa loquiturdemonstration of the inveterate nature of Shiite Iranian Jew-hatred, a “cultural prejudice,” which persists even within a present day “secular,” highly-educated diaspora.
A group of [Iranian] émigré medical doctors used to meet and socialize on a regular basis in a major city in the United States. Among them only one couple were Jewish; the rest were Iranian Shiite Muslims, none of whom practiced any aspect of the religion or attended mosque. At a social occasion, out of the blue, a group of them began a conversation about “johooda [a reference to the Jews]” and their conspiracies, deceits, and lies. A friend of the author [Sanasarian], present in the gathering, turned to the Jewish couple: “How can you stand this? Say something!” “No,” responded the couple, “we are used to it. Don’t say anything.” My friend, unable to hold back, reminded the chatterers that they had Jews in their midst. They changed their tune immediately; addressing the Jewish couple, one of them sighed: “Khoda margam bedeh [God strike me dead—a colloquial expression]. We hope you don’t think we were talking about you. We are speaking in generalities which we know you’ll agree with us.” The Jewish couple remained silent and my friend walked out of the party in disgust.
The piece by Follath presents the outward expression of everyday life in Iran as proof of liberalism and moderation, in spite of the evidence to the contrary:
83% of Iranians remain Sharia supremacists, and 63% wanted nukes at the very height of the economic sanctions regime,
These very same supposedly ‘western leaning’ Iranians agree with the sharia aspects of the regime, as well as their hatred for Israel which is fully viewable in the above excerpt from Andy’s blog. It doesn’t matter how well educated they are, their fundamental Islamic influenced beliefs trump any real liberalism they might exhibit outwardly.
The Persian Paradox: Iran Is Much More Modern Than You Think
Pro-West Sentiment
The Iran of today has changed dramatically. In more liberal cities like Shiraz and Isfahan, young entrepreneurs have opened small cafés and Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a-Changin,” has become the favorite song. Young students hold hands in public and women pull their obligatory headscarves back to the point where their hair is visible (a forbidden act). Tourists are welcomed all over the place and are treated with overt hospitality.
With the exception of Israel, there is unlikely any other country in the Middle East where pro-Western sentiment is as pronounced as it is in Iran. Millions of young people attend university. And even though women are still discriminated against — laws limit their right to divorce and custody of their children and also stipulate that they can be subject to prosecution starting at the age of nine as opposed to 15 for boys — they live more freely here than in many other countries in the region. With the help of quick-to-install illegal satellite dishes that can be found everywhere, they also have access to Western news programs.
