Classical Persian Music Concert in a Palace Garden

This evening, with some new friends, mainly PhD students in Islamic mysticism at Tehran University, I went to a concert by one of the great classical Persian musicians, Ustad Muhammad Reza Lotfi, who plays the tar, sitar, and also sings. The concert took place at Afifabad Park and Palace in Shiraz, a former pleasure spot of the Shah's wife before the revolution. I manage to find my friend in the chaos of the entrance, she was kind enough to invite me and buy the ticket for me...Iranians are like that, incredibly generous, always willing to give and make others happy.

So the first thing that happened when we entered is that a woman in a black chador stopped me and saying something about hijabs, I thought I was in trouble. But then she smiled and gave me a little booklet of prayers that had perfume in it, my friend said that I received a "prize" since I was wearing a full hijab, unlike most of the women there, who had lots of hair sticking out. In Iran, when I can't be bothered or plan on going to the university, I wear a maghna'eh, or one-piece hijab that is quite boring and plain, but on most days, I wear my hijab Egyptian-style, and cover everything up, but only some women wear their scarves like this here in Iran. Usually women will dress very fashionably and will wear a very loose scarf meaning they are less religious or they will wear a black chador, meaning they are religious - at least superficially this is what the scarf means, no one can judge what is in people's hearts. There don't seem to be very many women who embrace chic hijab style and still cover up, the concept hasn't gotten here yet. Compared to somewhere like Egypt, hijab styles are pretty boring here.

Anyway, back to the concert, after the initial surprise of receiving the prize, we headed to our seats. Ustad Lotfi came on stage with his entourage and just blew me away, it was kind of the equivalent to being stuffed with Iranians sweets, like gaz, faludeh with flower essences, carrot ice cream, sohan, and more. The sweets here have indescribable tastes, inducing an array of memories and emotions, as did the music and singing tonight. I just sat and took it in, it lasted for several hours, but it felt like several minutes. Lotfi was an unimposing man, wearing a loose shirt and pants, all white, he never spoke a word to the audience, he came on stage when the concert started, tuned his sitar, and began to work his magic on the audience. I don't think I have ever just sat back and enjoyed music so much, it was like eating the most delicious desert or receiving a massage. 

Celebration of Imam Ali's Birthday at the Sufi Khanaqah

So tonight was the birthday celebration of Imam Ali, all of Shiraz was celebrating, and lots of mosques and husayniyas (a hall for prayers and religious celebration, but not a mosque) have special celebrations where they read praise poetry in honor of Imam Ali. After I ran into my new friend the other day in old Shiraz and visited the khanaqah with her, she told me about tonight's ceremony and invited me to go with her. So I made my way to Shah Cheragh by bus, it was incredibly crowded, and outside of Masjid-e Naw (New Mosque), which is the biggest mosque in Shiraz reserved for Friday prayers, hundreds of men and women were lined up, sleeping bags and clothing in hand as they were waiting to start their i'tikaf, or spiritual retreat, for three days in the middle of Rajab at the mosque. About 15 mosques in Shiraz are open for i'tikaf, and mainly young men and women, who have more time on their hands, attend this event.

I finally managed to get to Shah Cheragh and the Khanaqah is only a five minute walk from there in a little side alley. I met my friend and her friend at the beginning of the alley, my friend, F. is a PhD student in irfan, or Islamic mysticism, at Tehran University and her friend, H. is also in the same program in Tehran. But they both live in Shiraz and work on their dissertations here. Anyway, we made our way to the khanaqah, where lots of men and women were milling about in the courtyard. Presumably the high-ranking members of the order, all men, were dressed in their finest, brown wool robes, at the entrance to the prayer hall. The women were seated in what is usually the library and there were probably a few hundred ladies sitting at the study tables and on carpets around the walls. First we prayed Maghrib, and then they prayed 'Isha (I don't pray 'Isha in congregation in Iran since Shi'is pray Zhuhr and Asr together and Maghrib and Isha together, whereas Sunnis must pray all of the prayers separately).

In the library was a small TV screen that showed what was going on in the mens section...first a man with a lovely voice read some verses from the Qur'an, and then several other men read praise poetry of Imam Ali in Persian, in that signature melancholic and beautiful Iranian tune. Some women sat and spoke, while others closed their eyes and concentrated on the meaning of the poetry. The women present were diverse, some were from obviously conservative backgrounds, wearing black chadors and modest clothes, while other women were wearing the latest fashion, with most of their hair sticking out of their fashionable silk scarves. Sufis are tolerant and in Iran they attract young people who might otherwise discard their practice and beliefs of Islam based on their disgust with the orthodox, forceful image of Islam pushed by the current regime.

After about two hours, the ceremony was other and the women filed upstairs for a meal full of food full of zikr and blessings/barakah. The entire khanaqah was incredibly clean and tidy and they served every individual containers containing sweet rice, lentils and meat, and zucchini. I picked out the meat (since I am vegetarian) and enjoyed the food immensely, and at the end they handed out apples. Everything was very well-organized, clean and respectable, the khanaqah really shows the positive and beautiful side of Islam and is a good example to follow.

Pros and Cons of Internet Censorship in Iran

Cons: If you don't have a "filter shikan" program to get through Iranian censorship online, your online content is very limited, you can't even read most news websites, although smaller newspaper websites like Washington Post and LA Times are available, NY Times, BBC and the famous news websites are all banned. Being here, especially before I got my "filter shikan" program, really made me realize how lucky we are in the US, even in Egypt, where, of course, you can open any website you like, how could you not?

But here in Iran, censorship is real, seemingly harmless websites are blocked, I don't know what algorithm or method the government uses to block websites, but it is exceedingly strict and blocks most websites I want to visit.

Here is an example of what comes up when I try to visit the BBC, the oh so dangerous news website:



It basically says, In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate, according to the law of computer crimes, you are not allowed to visit this website.

It thens gives a list of websites that are permissible to visit, under subjects such as culture and religion, news, family, etc., presumably websites in Persian that are under the supervision of the government.

Pro: I have been weaned off my Facebook addiction, after one month in Iran I managed to get a program so I can access most websites that are usually blocked on the regular Internet connection in Iran - so I can read BBC, NY Times and articles online that have keywords like Sufi, women, Egypt (touregypt.net), girl (girl solo in Arabic), bikini (as in articles that talk about the niqab and bikini) and other dangerous content that are censored by the government. But the program doesn't allow me to use Facebook, so I have been Facebook-free for 1.5 months, apart from the two times I got on when I went to a net cafe.

Iran: A Cat or Axis of Terror?

While most people in the "West" associate Iran with terrorism, nuclear weapons, stoning, and other negative images, Iranians think of their country as a cat. That's right, a cat. For them, the shape of the country looks like a cat relaxing in the sun. Look closely and you will see what I mean:



The northwest corner is the head, with the cute little ears sticking up, in the north east is the back and rump of the cat and in the southern provinces, it's kind of spread out (it's a fat cat!), and the western part is the chest and paws. Look closely and you will see what Iranians see, look from afar, and all you will see is a violent and scary country like the one you see on the news!

Last Sufi Lodge in Shiraz

Iran is around 90% Shi'i and there are only a few Sufi orders that are active in the Shi'i world: Nematollahi (Gonabadi and Nurbakhsh branches) and the Dhahabiya/Ahmadi. In primarily Sunni Kurdistan, the Qadiri and Naqshabandi orders are prevalent.

While doing a little research on the topic of Sufism in Iran, I was surprised to discover most of the articles and websites I wanted to access were blocked by the Iranian government. Sufi orders are suppressed in Iran, mainly for political reasons as Sufis usually support the opposition government. Sufism also poses a threat to the established orthodox order and lots of rumors are spread about the un-Islamic practices and because Sufis tend to follow their shaykh/pir instead of state-recognized mujtahids, or experts in Islamic law.

Here in Shiraz, there previously used to be a number of Sufi khanaqahs (lodge), but the government has methodically been closing them down over the years - only one has been spared - the Dhahabiya order located in old Shiraz still remains due to its specifically orthodox adherence to Shi'i Islam. I heard that the Nematollahi khanaqah was taken by the government and turned into a government office.

In Tehran, there are more khanaqahs and they are harder to keep track of in the giant metropolis, but Shiraz is a relatively small city and it has been easy to the government to systemically suppress the local Sufis. Even this very week, a professor of Persian literature at Shiraz University, Dr. Muhammad Nayari, and follower of the Dhahabiya order was specifically named in a book by an orthodox Shi'i scholar, along with the rest of his order, stating that it was against Islam and a danger to the regime. This order has already gone to great lengths to establish itself as an orthodox Shi'i order, women and men are separated in different rooms, they hold Shi'i ceremonies as well as circles of remembrance, and have designed their khanaqah to look the same as a regular Shi'i mosque/shrine. Still, it is not enough for the government, who is not fond of the politics of the order, namely their support for Mousavi, and much like the Wahabbis in Saudi Arabia, will formulate any old argument to criticize and stigmatize the Sufis.

So I happened upon this khanaqah quite by chance, I had been wandering the narrow alleys of old Shiraz, specifically around Sang-e siah (the black stone), one of the most well-known lanes that contains tombs of famous Shirazis, including Sibuyah, the Arabic grammarian (who was Persian!), beautiful historical homes, churches, synagogues, and tombs of descendants of the Prophet and Imams. Anyway, since I noticed an alley labeled as "khanaqah" on my map, I figured I might try and look for it. I had tried to ask Dr. Niyari if I could visit it, but his response was vague and I think because of his current volatile situation, he was reluctant to let me (as a foreign American, albeit Muslim woman) visit under his supervision. Nevertheless, I was determined to find the last remained Sufi khanaqah in Shiraz...

I finally came across the back door of the khanaqah, just a plain white door and graffitti on the wall, "Death to America." I lost hope that I couldn't get inside, so then started wandering around, looking for another historical house to visit. I couldn't seem to find the house (the map I have has a lot of mistakes in regards to locations of historical sites in the alleys of old Shiraz), and so finally bought some water and asked the owner of the store where I might find the house. He had no idea where it was, but while I was wasting my time with him, a woman came up, shook my hand and said "salams." And the amazing thing is that I knew her, she had been in the class I had attended at Shiraz University in Islamic philosophy, and we had spoken at some length. Not only was it an amazing coincidence to meet someone I know in a narrow alley of old Shiraz, but she had also just come from the Dhahabiya khanaqah and invited me to visit it with her. I of course agreed, thinking that this was some amazing naseeb/fate and off I went, following F. to the khanaqah.





We arrived to a grander door than the one I found (I had only found the back door), and F. ringed the bell and we were let in. Inside was a large complex of buildings, a library, prayer hall/shrine room, women's room, and some other buildings. It was quite busy and men were coming and going from the khanaqah. We went into the prayer hall prayer hall/shrine room where we were met by an indescribably sweet and attractive smell and an exceedingly clean room. The room contained two gravestones covered in glass, presumably of important Dhahabiya shaykhs/pirs, and also had a minbar/pulput. Male dervishes sat around the edges of the room, quietly reading Qur'an and doing their zikr. A woman was paying her respects to the gravestone of the shaykhs and we wandered around the room. We then went to the women's room - I have never seen such a clean and well-lit prayer room for women - where I prayed Asr and said salams to the women who were hanging out there. The library was also impressive, we had to take off our shoes to go in and put on some white plastic flip-flops, the library is said to have an extensive collection of books on Sufism as well as a decent-sized collection of manuscripts.

All in all, the khanaqah was an impressive complex,but it is a shame that the government has suppressed Sufism in the country and that there is only one khanaqah left in the city.

Tonight I am going back as it is the birthday of Imam Ali (as well as father's day in Iran) and there will be a celebration that includes lots of duas (supplications), prayers, and praises of Imam Ali.

Shiraz: Tomb of Hafez

Shiraz for the Summer

Check out this wonderful website with 360 degree panoramas of my favorite places in Shiraz

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome! Ahlan wa sahlan! Khosh amadid!

This is a place where I can keep track of my ideas, travels, and reflections on my life as it is. It is completely subjective and offers a perspective that is not often heard. I will strive to make my commentaries on issues well-informed and welcome your comments...