By Shobbar Moeel,
California
Dear Payvand
Editor;
On 8/26/06, you have published an
article entitled Who Won The Iran-Iraq
War?, by Reza Vatandoust. I found his article was racist,
untruthful, inflammatory and one-sided against the Iranian Arabs of
Khuzestan.
The writer, in one of his remarks
about Iranian Arabs of Khuzestan wrote that “… the ethnic Iranians who speak
a second language [a mutant version of Arabic (heavily overlayed with Persian words
and grammar)] would be sympathetic and welcoming …….”
I do not know where Mr. Vatandoust
got his credentials to judge Arabic languages and declare to the world that
Iranian Arabs are mutant, disordered and their grammar is nothing but overlayed
by Persian grammar. It is understandable to assume that some words of Persian
are substituted in Arabic for ease of conversation or lack of options of Arabic
education at regular school system for Arabs. But it is beyond reality to claim
that Arabic language grammar in Khuzestan is loaded with Farsi. Simply because
you learn to speak before you go to school.
I am an Iranian Arab, and this
language enabled me to deeply understand the Persian literature especially the
history and contents of “one thousands years of Adab-e Farsi” from the time of
Rudaki to poetry giants such as Rumi, Hafez, Saadi, Nazami, contemporary Shamlu
and etc. For your information, the Persian masterpieces are loaded not only with
Arabic words but also with Arabic lines and in some places with pages of Arabic
writings. According to your kind of reasons, they should have been labelled
“Mutant Poets.”
But I think differently, Iranians
are diverse people, with different languages, cultures, climates, food, clothes
and etc. As, we are different, but we have many commonalities, for example, all
of us, we love our country very dearly, and the second is, all of us are
anti-war. Unfortunately, not the former monarchs, and not the present government
understood that “Our strength is our diversity, because new ideas of progress
will surface from diverse cultures.” Iran belongs to its inhabitants and please
let’s truly respect them for whatever ethnicity they come from, Arabs, Kurds,
Turks, Fras, Lors, Baluch, Turkman, Bakhteyari ….are all Iranians without any
discrimination.
About the
author:
Shobbar Moeel is
a mechanical engineer by education and practice in the Bay Area.
He is fluent in Farsi and Arabic languages.
