Iran: If The Mullahs Don't Hasten US Entry, Their Young Will Bring Them Down

[Annie]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,12858,1456663,00.html

Religious mourning casts pall on Iran's once carefree ski slopes

Robert Tait in Dizin
Monday April 11, 2005
The Guardian

It would have made for a jarring sight at any place of leisure. But the large black banners mourning the death of the Prophet Muhammad and his grandson Hasan were cause for particular dismay among the small army of skiing enthusiasts expecting a day of care-free enjoyment on Iran's slopes.
The proclamations signified that the Islamic authorities had ordered the closure of Dizin, the country's leading ski resort, in memory of the religious figures, both of whom died more than 1,300 years ago.

It was a mourning festival observed with passionate intensity in mosques throughout Iran.
But among the affluent and mostly young secular-minded set who had travelled 80 miles north from Tehran with their expensive skiing equipment, it generated an outpouring of surprising - and, in Iran, potentially dangerous - blasphemous sentiments.

None could remember Dizin ever being closed before for the annual holiday marking the deaths of Muhammad and Hasan, revered in Shia Islam as the second Imam.

"It is wrong that someone died 1,400 years ago and here we have to worship not just him, but his grandchildren as well," said Parsa, 27, a computer engineer.

"We are born Muslims because our parents and grandparents are Muslims. But if you gave a choice to most young people here today, I think they would choose to be Christians or Zoroastrians."

Difference
Iman Rad, 22 - whose first name, ironically, means faith in Farsi - said: "The problem is that we are Iranians and historically, we are Zoroastrians, while Islam has come from the Arabs. We are not Arabs - there is a difference between us."

Defying freezing temperatures and Iran's Islamic dress code by wearing a sleeveless top, Mr Rad, a technology and engineering student, warmed to his theme. "What they [the Iranian authorities] have been doing for the past 25 years is the best way to damage Islam in the eyes of the people.

"Here in Iran, if you want to walk with your girlfriend, you are not allowed to. If you want to play loud music in your car, you are not allowed to. If you want to have a party and drink alcohol, you are not allowed to. If you do these things, you are taking a big risk. I have been arrested many times [for such activities].

"Skiing is exciting. It is one of the few ways we can spend our energy and not see many law enforcement agents. It gives you a beautiful feeling."

He added: "I think in 10 years' time, Iran will be just like the west."

Mourning banners aside, Dizin - one of 16 skiing areas in Iran - appears western enough on the surface.

A small clutch of hotels and winter chalets sit at the bottom of the ski slope to offer accommodation to skiers, some of whom are indeed westerners - being based either in Iran or in nearby states such as Dubai.

On the slopes, female skiers swap their Islamic hijabs for gaudy headbands and hats. Some even dare to defy the strict dress code by going without head gear entirely. They are generally unmolested by the small number of pro-regime Basij militia guards patrolling the site looking for infractions.

On an average Friday - Iran's traditional day of rest - Dizin attracts an estimated 4,500 skiers.

Skiing in Iran dates back to 2000BC, when ancient tribes are believed to have devised a ski board made from animal hide. Linguists associate the word ski with the Aryan language, from which Farsi is derived.

Modern skiing was introduced to the country in the 1930s by German industrialists who built the national rail network, and by rich Iranians who learned the sport while studying in Europe.

Its popularity among the social and economic elite led to the opening of Dizin in 1969. The resort was a favourite haunt of the last shah, who encouraged the tourism ministry to build hotels and install modern ski lifts.

Old-fashioned
Investment dried up after the 1979 Islamic revolution. Today there are old-fashioned hotels, a poorly tended landscape garden and a festering rubbish dump at the entrance.

Although privatisation three years ago generated much needed funds, the issue remains a sore point with staff.

"You get annoyed when you see the lack of investment. The better order the place is in, the more people will come," said Ahmed Baha, 51, a guard and former ski instructor who has worked at Dizin since 1971.

"After the revolution, the management kept the profits and didn't put any money in," Mr Baha said.

"During the shah's time, there was constant building. He used to come here once a month. He was a good skier.

"He queued up for the ski lifts along with everybody else - he did not ask for the piste to be cleared just for himself," he added.

Yards from where Mr Baha was speaking, the rusting iron super-structure of a hotel hovers like a ghost from that period. Work started on it while the shah was still on the throne but stopped immediately after the revolution. It has never been resumed.

 

[Gunny]

Bring on the rebellion! I's honestly like to see the alleged "nornal" people of these Islamic Republics do their own fighting and rid themselves of their oppressors. If they fight and some die for their freedom, they would cherish far more than by us handing it to them, and think twice before relinquishing it.