So, A Reporter Called Me...
"Blessed the one who continually humbles himself willingly; he will be crowned by the One who willingly humbled himself for our sake." - Ephrem the Syriac, a noted Persian ascetic
…because she had read the prayer for the Persian people that I posted the other day. Apparently it has been shared widely on Facebook.
Actually, she wasn’t a reporter; she was a journalist. There’s a difference.
Reporters wear out their shoes covering a story. They don’t mildly re-write talking points handed to the them by industry flacks or political staffs. They speak with actual people.
They are hardly ever at their desks. They are knowledgeable about current affairs and history. If a reporter doesn’t know something, the reporter finds out.
Journalists sit at desks. Their research is through search engines and AI. The holes in their education are impressive. If they don’t know something, well 🤷♀️.
Reporters inform you of the facts; journalists inform you of how you should interpret the facts.
A former member of the Obama administration referred to the contemporary media as “the blob.” “They literally know nothing”, he added. He acknowledged that the administration for which he worked was able to make use of their ill-informed malleability.
Obama’s staff member may have been on to something as I was surprised at how little the journalist knew about Iran, Islam, and Islamism. As with too many, she assumed that Iran is just another Arab Muslim country.
If the professionals who are imparting information to us do not understand cultures outside of TikTok or whatever, or have never been taught Middle Eastern history or religion, or have never traveled with people outside of their bubble, then there may be a general misunderstanding of realities in, well, the world.
So, let me relay some of the same facts to our educated and curious readers that I presented to the journalist.
As I mentioned in the post, the indigenous population of Iran is not Arabic, it is Persian. It is a formidable culture that is learned, educated, and grounded in the breadth of philosophy and invention.
It is very possible that the magi, the “wise men” who sought the newborn Jesus, were Persian.
Arabic is not their language; it is Persian, sometimes called Farsi. The majority of Persians are not Muslim. Zoroastrianism is the indigenous Persian faith.
Persians tend to view the 1979 Muslim Revolution in Iran as colonization and fascistic oppression. It’s hard to argue against their point.
There was once a sizable number of Persian Christians in Iran; there may still be although they are almost subterranean as they have been persecuted over the last half-century.
There is an Anglican bishop of Iran, although I do not know him. His predecessor, The Rt. Rev. Hassan Dehgani-Tafti, who served as bishop from 1960 to 1990, was one of my lecturers in my student days. He spent much of his final decade in exile in London as the Ayatollah’s thugs attempted to assassinate him in Tehran. They did manage to wound his wife and murder his son.
[I hope you understand why I sometimes become exasperated with some of my ordained colleagues in the United States, those who claim they are members of a resistance against a fascist administration. Oh, please. Many of our brothers and sisters in the Anglican communion during our lifetimes have faced true, mortal oppression and have served as morally and physically courageous members of an actual resistance. But, I digress.]
So, to paraphrase the journalist’s question, why do I care?
Because I have had Persian classmates and students who have suffered one way or another due to the Islamist takeover of their country. I also have Persian Anglican/Episcopal brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering for their witness of the Gospel. I might be a bit old-fashioned about such things, but this matters to me.
As of this writing, the Episcopal News Service has nothing about Iran on their website. Ah, well.
So, for Saeed, Fr. Merdhad, Fahrhad, Brother Darius, and others; for their Persian brothers and sisters in Christ who are in danger, I pray for their spiritual freedom and civil liberty. I hope they may one day know safety and peace.
پروردگارا، رحم کن پروردگارا صلح بیاور
بگذار پادشاهی تو بیاید. بگذار اراده تو انجام شود. آمینLord, have mercy. Lord, bring peace. Let Your kingdom come. Let Your will be done. Amen.
Also, I don’t think that journalist is going to be calling me again.