On the Iranian Diaspora
Sam Sasan Shoamanesh
Legal adviser at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and co-founder and Associate Editor of Global Brief magazine
Iran is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. But what of the over four million Iranians outside Iran? There has been heightened fascination with Iran since at least 1979. The contested presidential elections in 2009 and the escalating bras de fer over the country’s nuclear programme have only fed this interest. Still, Iran and Iranians remain very much misunderstood outside of the territorial boundaries of this age old country.
And this, strangely, for a nation that has been in existence for over 2,500 years – home to one of the world’s earliest and continuous civilizations; one that has made countless contributions to the human condition.
For most foreign observers, the word ‘Iran’ triggers only the sad images of a tormented people under authoritarian rule, a recent history of war and conflict and a highly conservative, theocratic political system with a deep-seated animosity toward the West.
Accurate though many of these impressions may be, thirty years against the backdrop of thousands of years of history and socio-cultural evolution can neither reasonably tell the full Iranian story nor provide a proper understanding of Iranian consciousness.
Further contributing to this ‘Persian enigma’ is the Iranian government’s isolationist posture since the 1979 Revolution – a posture that has circumscribed any meaningful cultural exchange or open contact with the outside world. And yet, behind the heavy formal ‘curtail’ of the Islamic Republic that one typically observes in the popular media, lies a highly sophisticated, cosmopolitan Iranian society with a profound self-awareness – an awareness of its ancient culture and history, as well as a sincere yearning for political reform and respect for basic civil liberties.
Indeed, the recent upheaval in the country over the presidential elections is a clear example of the social dynamism that is alive and well in Iran. To be sure, the Iranian story has not yet been fully narrated.
You can order the PDF version of this article for 4 Euros
You can order the PDF version of Analytica Iranica Volume II for 15 Euros
Sam Sasan Shoamanesh Legal adviser at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and co-founder and Associate Editor of Global Brief magazine
Iran is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. But what of the over four million Iranians outside Iran? There has been heightened fascination with Iran since at least 1979. The contested presidential elections in 2009 and the escalating bras de fer over the country’s nuclear programme have only fed this interest. Still, Iran and Iranians remain very much misunderstood outside of the territorial boundaries of this age old country.
And this, strangely, for a nation that has been in existence for over 2,500 years – home to one of the world’s earliest and continuous civilizations; one that has made countless contributions to the human condition.
For most foreign observers, the word ‘Iran’ triggers only the sad images of a tormented people under authoritarian rule, a recent history of war and conflict and a highly conservative, theocratic political system with a deep-seated animosity toward the West.
Accurate though many of these impressions may be, thirty years against the backdrop of thousands of years of history and socio-cultural evolution can neither reasonably tell the full Iranian story nor provide a proper understanding of Iranian consciousness.
Further contributing to this ‘Persian enigma’ is the Iranian government’s isolationist posture since the 1979 Revolution – a posture that has circumscribed any meaningful cultural exchange or open contact with the outside world. And yet, behind the heavy formal ‘curtail’ of the Islamic Republic that one typically observes in the popular media, lies a highly sophisticated, cosmopolitan Iranian society with a profound self-awareness – an awareness of its ancient culture and history, as well as a sincere yearning for political reform and respect for basic civil liberties.
Indeed, the recent upheaval in the country over the presidential elections is a clear example of the social dynamism that is alive and well in Iran. To be sure, the Iranian story has not yet been fully narrated.
You can order the PDF version of this article for 4 Euros
You can order the PDF version of Analytica Iranica Volume II for 15 Euros
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Managing Editor of Global Brief
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