Hello everyone. You might be wondering why I’ve been so quiet lately. Frankly, posting content hasn’t felt like an important priority during recent developments: from the tragic loss of life when a passenger plane was shot down shortly after ascending into the skies of Tehran, to the equally tragic loss of life in Iran and beyond at the hands of the Corona Virus.
COVID-19 in particular has prompted deep reflection. The truly global nature of the crisis has served as a striking reminder of our common humanity and vulnerability; the undeniable fact that we are all, irrespective of nationality, race or religion, subject to the same fragile human condition. The renowned thirteenth century Iranian poet Saadi encapsulated this truth perfectly with his aphorism ‘Bani Adam’. Whilst his words lose much of their beauty and flow in translation, they still retain a timeless and potent truth. As such, they have been etched on a carpet hanging on the walls of the United Nations, quoted in speeches by Barak Obama and Ban Ki Moon and, even inspired a recent Coldplay track by the same name (Bani Adam):
"Human beings are members of one body,
since in their creation they are of one essence.
When the conditions of time brings a member (limb) to pain,
the other members (limbs) will also suffer from discomfort.
You, who are indifferent to the misery of others,
it is not fitting that they should call you a human being."
These words couldn’t ring more true today, especially as COVID-19 spreads to underline our shared physical and emotional vulnerabilities. All this has prompted me to question the motives and need for the Know Iran project, championing as it does just one group of people (Iranians) or one ‘limb’ rather than the whole body, so to speak. There’s no doubt that developing the Know Iran website felt like a more urgent cause a month or so ago when war with Iran loomed large. At that time, I felt there was a desperate need to offer a view of Iran and her people beyond the thickening fog of politics and negative propaganda. And so what of this need today?
In the final analysis, I’ve concluded that keeping the Know Iran Blog alive remains vital, even in the age of COVID-19. Surely any endeavour that promotes the better understanding of and between peoples is worthwhile, now perhaps more than ever. If our human family is but one body as Saadi beautifully suggests, we must surely get to know and understand it’s every part. Perhaps through this knowing and understanding, we might also develop a clearer, deeper appreciation of the ‘misery of others’ as well.
The aforementioned fog of political propaganda and the stereotypes and misconceptions that it gives rise to, is a dangerous phenomenon. Like a virus or pollution it hangs heavy in our midst. For decades, if not more, it has accentuated our differences, created false ‘enemies,’ and legitimised hate, division and conflict. I can only hope that as we spend our obligatory time at home, waiting for a pandemic to subside, watching pollution clear from the skies, that we may also witness the demise of this unhealthy fog [of political propaganda, stereotyping and misconceptions]. Wishful thinking perhaps, but then again these are strange and unprecedented times.
The Know Iran website was founded primarily to address the stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding Iran and particularly, its people. It doesn’t claim to offer anything beyond a collection of curated videos and pictures from the web, but there’s no denying what this collection helps to show: that the PEOPLE of Iran are simply another hospitable member of the human family worth ‘knowing’, that they have many gifts to offer the world and that they share your core values and ideas, interests and aspirations, courage and strength.
My thoughts are with all those around the world coping heroically with the practical and emotional challenges of this crisis.