Article

2007-03-26 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

U.S.-funded encyclopedia revels in Iran's greatness

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Posted by anonymous5089 2007-03-26 13:30|| || Front Page|| [5 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 The Jewish holy Talmud is littered with Iranian words and ideas. And some Iranians cherish the Israeli city of Haifa as a sacred place.
These are among the fascinating nuggets in the Encyclopedia Iranica.

Really. I don't recall ever seeing a Talmud written in camel schit.

Posted by Icerigger">Icerigger 2007-03-26 14:18|| 2007-03-26 14:18|| Front Page Top

#2 Its hardly surprising that the Talmud has persian words, as Judea was ruled by Persia for a couple of hundred years, and there was considerable cultural exchange. In fact the word "pardes" meaning garden or orchard (hence Paradise) is of Persian origin.

The Bahai look to Haifa as a sacred place. If youre ever in Haifa I recommend visiting the Bahai temple. Of course the Bahai are persecuted by the mad mullahs.

Now whats the problem?

Posted by liberalhawk 2007-03-26 14:54|| 2007-03-26 14:54|| Front Page Top

#3 Persia (as a whole) wasn't the only beginning culture in that long history. For the Iranians to claim roots as to others is at best ludacris. From the Jiroft, Proto-Elamite, Medes, Babylonians and so on.

The problem is that the Iranian Encyclopedia sounds like its claiming hold on and to the foundations of Middle East knowledge and all cultures.

It's almost as silly as the Bahai gumbo faith.

LH have you been to Haifa? Sure would like to visit that area at least once in my life.

Happy Trails.

Posted by Icerigger">Icerigger 2007-03-26 15:18|| 2007-03-26 15:18|| Front Page Top

#4 They are referring to Zoroastrianism.

Posted by Spot">Spot 2007-03-26 15:26|| 2007-03-26 15:26|| Front Page Top

#5 Zoroastrian? of the planet Zoros...

Posted by CB 2007-03-26 15:31|| 2007-03-26 15:31|| Front Page Top

#6 *shrug* I'm sure the Talmud is littered with Persian words and ideas, as Babylon was since the destruction of the first Temple in 597 BC one of the main centers of Jewish thought and learning, where a good part of the Talmud was written... at least until dhimmitude took its toll. It's nice that exiled Iranians are proud of this little fact, but it has nothing to do with current stupidity of modern Iran, nor that Islam has stolen so much of Persia's brilliance and vitality from them.

Posted by trailing wife 2007-03-26 15:34|| 2007-03-26 15:34|| Front Page Top

#7 1. Ive never heard that the Zorostrians look to Haifa as a holy site.

2. I was there once, years ago.

Posted by liberalhawk 2007-03-26 17:14|| 2007-03-26 17:14|| Front Page Top

#8 tw

Jewish cultural life in Baghdad continued to be brilliant after the Muslim conquest. that was the period of the Gaonim, and the beginnigns of formal Jewish philosophy. It faded a couple of hundred years after the muslim conquest, but that was due more to general economic decline. If it was the muslims fault, it was their tendency to favor commerce and herding over irrigated agriculture, which was the essential industry of old Mesopotamia. Two of the areas where Jewish culture moved were also muslim - North Africa, and Ummayad Spain (al andalus) The areas in Christian europe where jewish cultural creativity moved were Italy and Provence, to be followed somewhat later by Northern France and the Rhineland.

2. To a very considerable extent the culture of the Islamic world absorbed Persian culture, in areas from literature to cuisine. Unfortuantely they also absorbed the Persian tendency to "oriental despotism", minus the landed aristocracy that sometimes checked the ruler.

3. AFAICT the current mess in Iran is due to the mullahs, who slightly loosened the political system, but have turned Iran backwards culturally. OTOH the Shah advanced Iran culturally, but was an old fashioned despot (most of the time) politically. The big question is whether Iran is ready to make a jump to political AND cultural reform at the same time.

Posted by liberalhawk 2007-03-26 17:22|| 2007-03-26 17:22|| Front Page Top

#9 Iran is an old-fashioned, force of arms empire, albeit small scale. Arguably the last in the modern world. Talk about being on the wrong end of history.

Posted by phil_b 2007-03-26 17:27|| 2007-03-26 17:27|| Front Page Top

#10 Quite true, liberalhawk, and you have a better feel for the history of that part of the world than I. However, it must be said that Persian cultural life, too, continued to be brilliant for the same few centuries after the Muslim conquest; Persian miniature paintings and Persian poetry from that period are justly famous. But that probably can be said of most places conquered by the Muslims. Much like a fever that gives the appearance of animation, but when it burns itself out leaves the body fatally weakened.

Posted by trailing wife 2007-03-26 21:27|| 2007-03-26 21:27|| Front Page Top

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