A number of years ago my husband was asked to give a presentation in our local library as part of their Community Relations Week. It was billed as ‘An illustrated talk – Iran, the country, the people and its culture’ but when I asked him exactly what he planned to do, my husband wouldn’t say.
I was quite surprised because we were normally so open about most things that involved our separate heritages, but I let it go. So, on the actual evening of the event, and sitting amongst the audience with everyone else, I was as unaware as they were as to what was about to transpire.
Iran: country of invention and breathtaking scenery
The presentation began and the first slide appeared – a photograph of the Iranian or Persian flag. This was followed by a photograph of a burning American flag and then a third slide depicting a mass gathering of angry, chanting men and women protesting on a Tehran street.
A couple more negative images appeared on the screen and I looked at my husband wondering if he had suddenly lost his mind. You could tell that there was a sense of anticipation in the room, and then my husband said, “This is the Iran that you know and now I want to tell you about the Iran I know.”
Then for the next hour or so he enthralled us all with images of the land of his birth, with explanations about the diversity of its climate, people, culture and religions. Who knew that Iran gave us the first international charter of human rights, or that from Iran came some of the earliest ceramic glazes, the windmill and watermill, the world’s first postal service?
And the scenery – breathtakingly beautiful, from the shores of the Caspian Sea or the icy peaks of the Alborz mountains, to the magnificent Si-o-si-pol bridge in Esfahan, Persepolis and the mountain caves of Candovan near Tabriz. It was an evening of great pride for me (and revelation too), and for the audience it was an educational, inspiring and measured presentation by someone speaking from his heart and his own experiences.
The media influence our prejudices
Too often these days, we form our opinions through the media and depending on which particular news channel we watch or which newspaper we choose to purchase, we are persuaded to think in a certain way. It is not always easy to tease out the truth and I personally try to fact check a lot of the articles I read or explosive headlines that are specifically designed to attract attention.
But I’ve actually been doing this for a long time because being married to a Muslim Iranian man, I’ve been on the receiving end of some shockingly ignorant and cruel comments from folk who should have known better.
Someone once said to me that my husband might appear to be a really nice and decent bloke over here, but what sort of person would he turn into when he went back home? Or the classic one is that my husband is ‘not like them’, inferring that although he is a Muslim, he’s different somehow from all those ‘other’ Muslims (even though he really isn’t). It’s insulting, of course it is, but better to try and educate people by discussion and tolerance than to get all steamed up about it.
Politics obscures ordinary lives
I’ve travelled to Iran now many times, as well as having held residency in both Bahrain and Oman. Presently both of our children are working in the UAE. All of these countries have their individual challenges and regulations but without exception they also have a true and deep pride in themselves that we can recognise here at home in our own imperfect little country.
I love Northern Ireland. I was born and brought up here and although I try not to be involved in politics nor make political comment in my writings, that doesn’t stop me feeling frustrated much of the time. We are so much more than the bitter exchanges and displays of unkindness and intolerance that come across on the television at times. Yes, we are so much more than that.
And the peoples of the Middle East are so much more than how they are portrayed as well. Most are ordinary folk getting on with their ordinary and often tedious lives and I imagine that they seek the same kind of existence that we do, with the hope of decent education, adequate healthcare and a living environment free of physical threat and danger.
Trust in our humanity
The recent turn of events in the Middle East is so highly complicated that it’s virtually impossible for a lay person like me to truly understand, but I know I need to go beyond accepting everything I’m told in the media and trust that my own humanity will ultimately distinguish right from wrong. I know that the only positive differences I might make to the world are small ones, so I’ll try to concentrate on those.
These days I generally only write about things that I’m really touched by and are important enough for me to want to put my head above the parapet; and what is happening in the world at large at the moment should be important to us all. Life should not be played out like a video game as though it were some casual entertainment in someone’s sitting room and I feel it’s important to acknowledge that. Meanwhile I will count my many blessings and wish with all my heart that the future contains a great deal more hope than we’re missing at the present time.
This article is an edited version of one that first appeared in the Belfast Telegraph. Read the original article.
