RELIGION

DE: How important is religion in Iran? In particular, do all Iranians pray several times a day? What religions besides Islam are practiced in Iran? Are other religions allowed? If so, is it easy to practice other religions?

KZ: Contrary to what is being advertised, the total amount of time that the Iranians spend daily engaged in worship and other religious rituals would not surpass 45 minutes! Also we cannot pretend that all of the Iranians pray daily. Religion is an individual preference in Iran and nobody investigates in the personal life of people to assess whether they practice Islam pragmatically or not. Let’s stress again that only those are scrutinized who insult the religious beliefs and creeds of people publicly, or advertise atheism, irreligiousness and sacrilege; otherwise, the masses of people, unless they offend or are aggressive toward the believers, are free to choose their own religion, to believe in God or not and change their religion to the other official religions which are Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Christianity. The followers of these three religious minorities, which are also mentioned in the national constitution, have 5 permanent seats in the parliament, their own communities and their own social rights.

It would be interesting for you that, Iran has registered the cathedrals of its Western Azerbaijan province to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites; something which you can not find in a Christian country to be applied about the mosques of Muslims.

EDUCATION AND WORK

DE: In America, public education is provided at the elementary, junior high (middle school), and high school levels. Education beyond high school is the responsibility of the individual. How does education in Iran compare to this? In particular, how is a university education made available to Iranians? Is it free? Must rigorous entrance examinations be passed?

KZ: We have different kinds of university education in Iran, which are among the unique types in the world, I believe. After one finished one’s college or high school studies, he/she can apply for the university entrance exam, which is a national examination administered annually with the traditional name of "Conquer". It is said that each year, more than 2 million entrants participate in the competition, but due to the limitation of university capacities, a number of 400,000 ones would be accepted each time.

In each exemplary group (Mathematics, Biology, Humanities, Languages and Theologies), approximately 100,000 persons would be qualified to enter the university as freshmen students; then they could select their desired major according to the exemplary group. For example, if I took the examination of humanities, then I could apply for sociology, journalism, law, management; or if I took the examination of mathematics and I were qualified, I would be allowed to apply for aviation, computer, architecture or other engineering fields.

Depending on the scores which you obtain in "Conquer", you will be designated with a national rank. For example, the person who gains the 1st rank of mathematics is the one who will undoubtedly apply for the Electrical Engineering of Sharif University, which is in this major among the best universities of the Asia.

Those who obtain adequate scores to be classified under a certain amount of rank, for example, all of the students with the rank of under 20,000, will be qualified in the "Daily Courses" which means that they can apply for the best state universities without having a need to pay even a dollar during their B.A. courses. The students with a rank under 20,000 are also eligible to apply for the state universities, but in "Evening Courses," which means that they might pay tuition, which is nearly 5,000 dollars totally.

There also other free, non-profit and private universities with lower scientific validity and a need of more annual tuition, but needless of a strenuous entrance exam which the majority of high-school students are afraid of!

DE: How many hours a week do Iranians work? Do Iranians have much free time?

KZ: The average working time in Iran is 6 hours a day which starts presumably from 8 AM and lasts until 2 PM, but it varies from job to job. For example, the crews in hospitals, fire stations, police offices and ambulance services would be active 24-hours a day. Friday, which is weekend in Iran, is usually considered as a golden opportunity to rest and revive. Families usually go to city-side, countries, seashores, meadows and historical places on Fridays to spend their leisure time.

ECONOMY AND INDUSTRY

DE: A lot of Americans have heard of Persian rugs. Is rug-making still a big business in Iran?

KZ: Unquestionably, Iran is currently the world’s leading carpet producer and exporter. According to Iran’s Ministry of Commerce, the value of Iran’s carpet exportation in the last 8 months stands at $M 271.5 which indicates a 5 percent surge in compare with the same period of 2007. It should be interesting to note that Canada and US are the main customers of Iranian carpet, as you mentioned.

Historically, the art-industry of carpet weaving is a national, inbound craft of Iranians and what makes their efforts so worthwhile and appreciated is that the Iranian carpet is not woven by any kind of machines or industrial instruments, but solely with hands. The hand-woven, yarned rugs of Iran are world-renowned.

DE: I was surprised a few years ago to learn that Iran designs and manufactures its own automobiles. Is that true? How many domestic automobile companies are there in Iran? Can you estimate the percentage of cars driven that are Iranian versus imported?

KZ: Fascinatingly, the automaking industry in Iran is currently considered as the country’s mother industry following the oil industry. IKCO (Iran Khodro) is the largest auto manufacturer in the Middle East and exports its products to more than 35 countries including Russia, Poland, Turkey, Bulgaria, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Venezuela, Ecuador, Algeria and Egypt which are the regular consumers of Persian automobiles. At the time being, there are 14 private or governmental automaking companies active in Iran and According to UNIDO’s International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2008, Iran has currently the world’s 10th largest automaking industry following Japan, US, Germany, France, South Korea, Britain, Canada and Spain, surpassing giant markets of Sweden, India, Brazil and Italy.

Four types of domestic cars (Samand, Souren, Sarir and Miniator) which are totally produced on a national basis of engine and platform are manufactured in Iran and the country also sustains the exclusive assembly lines of Dacia Logan, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Citroen C5 and Peugeot 407 in joint projects with France and Japan.

DE: India has a huge moviemaking industry. Does Iran? Are there popular Iranian singers or music groups? If so, what are the names of some of the most popular and the style of music they perform? What about “Western” entertainment? Is it available in Iran? Are there amusement parks in Iran?

KZ: You went through a widespread scope of thought that needs a lot of becoming opportunity and designation to be elaborated; for the matter of arts in Iran have been historically a source of interest, discovery and innovation. Iran is itself a land of multifarious artistic breakthroughs and the fertile soil of nurturing the most fruitful crops of culture. Cinema and music are only two subsidiaries of Persian Culture’s pedestals and every aspect of Iranians’ life could have cultural, artistic dimensions.

However, in order to make a direct response, I should emphasize that the Iranian Cinema is now one of the most flourishing, prolific and successful cinemas in the Asia with the recent victories which it has acquired.

Within the past decades, specially during the 1980s to 2000s, Iranian directors and filmmakers have won hundreds of reputable and honorable awards from international contests, festivals and competitions and therefore, many of them gained an immense international popularity and fame.

Among all, I can name Dariush Mehrjui who has won the Silver Hugo of 1998 Chicago International Film Festival, Bahman Qobadi who caught up the 2004 Golden Shell at San Sebastian International Film Festival, Samira Makhmalbaf who triumphed over the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at Cannes 2003, France, Jafar Pahani who has been granted with the Silver Bear of 2004 Berlin Film Festival and so many others which needs a "Constellation of White Papers", according to a famous Persian proverb, to describe.

But let me mention that we have some other film producers and screenwriters who are categorically among the everlasting masters of world cinema. Master Abbas Kiarostami whose list of international honors and awards is really much longer than I can elucidate, and you can find the honors of Glory to the Filmmaker Award at the 2008 Venice Film Festival, World’s great masters Award of Kolkata 2007 International Film Festival and Honorary doctorate of Toulouse University in the bill of his CV.

Another definite master is Majid Majidi who has the experience of winning some 33 international awards and 10 nominations for his masterpiece movies. Among his prolonged list of awards, I can extract the Lino Brocka Award of 2000 Cinemanila International Film Festival, Golden Dolphin of Festróia - Tróia International Film Festival, Douglas Sirk Award of Hamburg Film Festival, FIPRESCI Prize of 2004 Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival and the Oecumenical Special Award of 25th Montreal Film Festival. Once he had also been nominated for the Oscar Academy Award of Best Foreign Film in 1998 and was on the brink of landmark prosperity, but eventually lost the final contest to the Italian film Life Is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni.

The same story should be repeated chronologically about the position of music in Iran. You need to listen yourself to the delightful, tranquil Persian music with its majestic and charming captivation in order to grasp realistically that what the art significantly is referred to in the ancient land of Iran, and behold tangibly that the delicate and subtle aptitude of art has taken its roots into the heart, mind and soul of Iranians for a long time.

Master Shahram Nazeri who is the recipient of Légion d’honneur Medal des Arts et Lettres of France Government and Master Mohammad Reza Shajarian who is the holder of The UNESCO Mozart Medal are among the outstanding personalities of traditional music in Iran who enjoy an international notability and you may wonder that a great deal of Iranian youth are the regular fans of these major figures of arts in Iran.

We have also an international Popular Music band in Iran, Arian Band, which has attained a global popularity following its joint performance with Chris de Burgh in 2008 and since then, has been invited to numerous concerts and programs worldwide. The program manager of Arian Band says that the ensemble voyaged to more than 40 countries including Canada, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and England in order to hold concerts for the all of those who are enthusiastic about Persian culture and art.

Collectively, a variety of miscellaneous entertainment is available in Iran such as frequent music concerts by foreign artists who come here upon the invitation of the Culture Ministry or private artistic companies, theater plays, cultural festivals, artistic weeks, giant book exhibitions, artistic contests etc.

The ground of selection is unrestrictedly vast and everybody is free to choose whatever he/she would like or enjoy. If you are fond of Eastern music, you can attend the cultural music concerts of Turkish, Arabic, Russian Chinese or Japanese groups who conduct programs weekly in Tehran. If you want to enjoy the Western music pieces, you can go to the special cultural complexes of Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria and Finland all around the country and relish what they offer you. That’s why I can tell you that Iran is the country of "Cultures" and nothing else!

DE: Have the economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on Iran caused noticeable difficulty within Iran?

KZ: Without even a bit of exaggeration, I should reiterate that U.S. sanctions were entirely constructive and progressive for Iran. If we don’t consider the slim damages that sanctions inflicted on the aviation industry of Iran, which has been recompensed by the contribution of Russia and China afterwards, the rest of embargo was an overall benefit and profit for Iran!

They aroused the sense of creativity and novelty among the researchers and academicians of Iran, and such a provocation would have never happened without the imposition of rigid sanctions. Each time upon the announcement of a specific product’s prohibition of being exported to Iran, Iranian professors, inventors and academics gathered together so that they could find a creative solution. It is estimated that 45,000 inventions have been registered to the National Bureau of Inventions and Industrial Innovations of Iran during the past 3 years. Unbelievable figure, no?!

American sanctions fortified the sense of solidarity and cohesion in Iran, as well. Different political wings, flocks and parties tried to congregate and reach a consensus in order to solve the problematic consequences of sanctions, and today we see that they have prospered!

But we should note that a major part of the so-called sanctions are also "empty rhetoric" and media propaganda. America itself imports a variety of carpets, saffron, agricultural products and handicrafts from Iran each year, and it has been unveiled by the media that the amount of Iran-US economic ties have increased tenfold under the tenure of President Bush!

DE: How self-sufficient is Iran? Does it produce all of its own food and necessities, or must it import some goods?

KZ: Iran is moving toward absolute self-sufficiency and it has been anticipated that by the 2050, Iran will be among the completely-industrialized countries alongside US, Japan, France, Germany and UK.

The country produces almost everything which it needs. From energy to agricultural crops, automobiles, computers, cell phones, scientific labs equipments, home appliances and other trivial necessities.

Some kinds of rare fruits which are not adaptable to the climate of Iran, including bananas, pineapples and grapefruit, wheat and rice in small loads, some machinery services and electronic devices of computing industries in addition to redundant productions, i.e. which are not necessary or vital to be imported from abroad including clothes, foreign cars, digital cameras etc. are imported and dispensed regularly.

Believe it or not, Iran is the one of the most influential countries of the Asian continent and Persian Gulf region in all terms of finance, economy, military etc. According to the CIA 2007 FactBook, with a GDP rate of 294,100 million dollars, Iran stands 29th in the world ranking of countries by nominal GDP number higher than countries such as South Africa, Finland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hong Kong and Croatia.

As the world’s 4th largest oil exporter, Iran’s Forex reserve value is more than that of Switzerland, United States, United Kingdom, Canada and European Central Bank as of May 2008, according to the same source aforementioned.

SOCIAL WELFARE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

DE: How is health care provided in Iran? Does everyone have access to it? What is the cost and quality?

KZ: You may wonder by what I am going to tell you! The last week, I had a guest from Norway, who is a biology student and one of my E-friends which I’d invited to Iran. We talked about a diversity of topics and subjects, but when it came to health services, he complained screamingly about the situation of health care in Norway in comparison to Iran’s.

Surprisingly, Iran benefits from the most enhanced health and biomedical accouterment in the Middle East and some of the hospitals in Iran are among the unique ones in the world. In the terms of pharmacology, molecular biology, cancer therapy and radiology Iran is among the best ones in the world. Furthermore, in the terms of clinical equipment, Iran should be ranked at least 3rd in the Asia.

The cost of healthcare in Iran is almost insignificant in comparison to the neighboring countries of the Persian Gulf. Also, for families with an average income below a specific threshold, costs would be reduced by a 50% discount.

DE: How is “retirement” provided for in Iran? Does the government support retirees? Do businesses provide pensions? Do people provide for their own retirement? Do retirees live with their children?

KZ: After a precise number of years during which you have worked officially under the auspices of a particular organization or company, you will be retried. The number of official working years varies from one occupation to another. In cultural jobs, for example, which include journalism, media, teaching, universities, advertisement etc. you usually have to work 25 years to be retired.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is responsible for the matters of retirees. All of the retirees, who have finished their career in a governmental organization, would be paid a specific amount of pension monthly as long as they are alive.

Most of the retirees in Iran live with the children and enjoy their support, but those who have no children, or have their children gone abroad, would be kept in sanatoriums.

DE: What happens in Iran if one loses their job? Are they on their own, or does the government provide some sort of assistance?

KZ: There is a department in Iran called the "Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs" which deals with the same concerns. If some laborers, crews or personnel are expelled from their work by the employer for any reason, even because of the occupational deficiency, they should be paid with forfeits. Depending on your working years, the amount of sacrifice might be different. The more working experience you have at the time of being fired, the more indemnity you will receive.

DE: What are some of the most pressing social problems in Iran? For example, does Iran have problems with crime, drug abuse, homelessness, illiteracy, inadequate income, etc.?

KZ: The most crucial problem is inflation, which the people know the main reason for, so they try to cope with it. The construction of infrastructural projects, such as sports stadiums, railways and new airports, urban constructions, bridges and dams, hotels, cinemas, museums and auditoriums need the exertion of complex processes, investment and management.

The more you inject cash into such projects, the more circulation of money surges in your society which dramatically adds to the flame of inflation and inflicts negative effects on the price of goods, productions, foods and edibles etc.

The other problem is the unemployment of educated layers. Iran has a high number of physicians graduated from its medical sciences universities. Not necessarily all of those who have graduated from such high-ranking universities can find adequate occupation and job opportunities, so the rate of unemployment would be increased intrinsically.

I think the best solution is to reduce the number of domestic students of medical sciences and attract more foreign students to become physicians, because they can return to their own countries; but in such a situation, we face a load of educated people who have no job! This is something both interesting and sad; Interesting because in most countries, unemployment refers to those who have not sufficient education or academic degrees; sad because it takes a lot of commitment and sacrifice to be solved.

DE: Are drugs – like alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, cocaine, and “harder” drugs – used in Iran? Are they prevalent? Are they legal? Are there severe penalties associated with their use? Are there any drugs that are legal to use?

KZ: According to legislative body of Iran, which is known locally as the "Judiciary Authority", the mass smuggling of drugs and alcoholic drinks is subject to death by execution in public and those arrested during their illegal job of trafficking will be sentenced to death without the allowance of having any attorney or barrister.

No type of drug or alcoholic drink is legally allowed in Iran; however, foreign tourists unofficially use some light beverages and nobody prosecutes them.

DE: How about sexual mores in Iran? Do Iranians engage in premarital sex? Are gay people in Iran as oppressed as we’re led to believe?

KZ: Generally, the concept of ethics is highly sensitive in Iran. I know that in religions prior to Islam such as Judaism and Christianity, an immense attention is paid to ethics and premarital relation is strongly denounced. Likewise Islam prohibits its followers from engaging in such diminishing relations and encourages them to fulfill their desires through marriage which builds the healthiest basis of one’s society.

To the majority of Iranians, even those who are not practicing Muslims, premarital relation is abundantly censured, for the ancient Persian Culture itself is blended with moral frontiers and barriers which cautions the people to adhere to some ethic regulations properly in their life so as to not get lost in the well of deviation.

However, those people who do not cleave to such mores are not usually subject to interrogation or conviction unless they publicize their deeds socially. Nobody investigates the personal life of people to see if they adhere to moral frameworks practically, but there are some judicial consequences for those who jeopardize the moral security of society by publicizing their crimes and sins.

HEART TO HEART

DE: Finally, how do Iranians feel about Americans?

KZ: Dave! I am enchanted that, in such a short period of time, you have covered such a large number of topics and subjects as would be imaginable for me in a single interview! I had never answered such a mound of questions before; from politics and society, to arts and industry! However, that was really a praiseworthy experience of dialogue between an Iranian citizen and an American one which could undoubtedly lead to reaching a comprehensive consensus and understanding of both sides.

I think there are several links of common interests, grounds and values between the two nations of Iran and US. Although there is a rough and unfair war of words between our statesmen some times, I am sure that the both nations pay considerable tribute and respect to each other, for they are both civilized and cultured nations with deep roots in the soil of history.

There are millions of Iranians in the US, even holding lots of sensitive and pivotal positions; from Microsoft and NASA, to AT&T and GM, from the Harvard University to private laboratories being managed by the Iranian scientists.

Iranians believe in the scientific, cultural and social progression, advancement of America as a developed country and in many cases, set the examples of your country before their eyes as prosperous instances.

However, as a historical and civilized nation, Iranians would not tolerate the external intervention in their affairs. They want not to obtain social privileges, freedoms and concessions by the intrusion of US statesmen, for they believe that White House people have already their own problematic challenges to be dealt with.

But, in a general sense, we praise the people of America, and believe that they are feeling in a same way toward us, especially when we see how respectfully they treat our cultural manifestations; for example when they huddle around to witness the rituals and ceremonies of the New Persian Year Fiesta (Nowrouz) in the streets of NY City, or when they overcrowd inextricably to attend the music concerts of Iranian singers, artists etc.

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