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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Social Life in the Islamic Republic of Iran |
| 2004-02-15 |
| On a recent trip home to Tehran I was invited to a birthday party. When I arrived I found the 70 or so guests wearing fancy dress and dancing to the latest Western pop music. The party goers were all young and from well-to-do families. One was dressed as Tarzan, another as a pilot from the film "Top Gun". Assorted "ayatollahs" and "mullahs" were whirling drunkenly under the strobe lights. A girl in a black chador, flung it off to reveal a skin-tight Cat Woman costume underneath. In the middle of the fray, a waiter with a bow tie was trying to manoeuvre through the crowd, balancing a tray filled with glasses of wine, gin, vodka and whisky. [....] The hardliners had just banned hundreds of reformist MPs from taking part in the forthcoming parliamentary election. I asked one party-goer what he thought about it all. "Actually I’m more interested in trying to remember the words to Eminem’s latest song," he said, and launched into an impromptu version of "Lose Yourself". At that moment there was a knock on the door. It was the Revolutionary Guards, wanting to know why there were so many cars in the street. I was terrified, but needn’t have worried. One of the party guests, dressed as a mullah, told them it was a religious gathering and slipped them some money to leave us alone. They did, but as the party continued I wondered what it said about the state of the revolution. Who was the more cynical - the Islamic vigilantes who took the money, or the fancy dress cleric who offered it? |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #4 Ah, the Salam Pax's of Iran.... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-2-15 9:44:14 PM |
| #3 I second Gromky's sentiments. The fact that Iran is corrupt is not news and should not be mistaken for impending revolution. If these kids ran into a RG they couldn't buy, they'd fall in line rather than rise up and foment real change. If we are fortunate enough to see Iran reform itself, it will be led be clerics like Khomeni jr. or fedup military officers, neither or whom will know the lyrics to Eminem songs. These kids will join in only when the matter is settled. |
| Posted by: JAB 2004-2-15 7:16:24 PM |
| #2 Well, I think the sons and daughters of well-to-do families have carte blanche to violate the social standards of whatever country they come from. This might as well be an expose on the German Junkers of the 1890s. Also, the "journalist" seems to have a theme in mind which he wanted to write about before he even went to this party. |
| Posted by: gromky 2004-2-15 12:15:44 PM |
| #1 Hmm. Hypocrisy and corruption. Go figure... Reminds me of the classic Blue Brothers scene: Jake- How often does the train go by? Elwood- So often you won’t even notice. |
| Posted by: Hyper 2004-2-15 9:43:33 AM |