Toronto - As Tehran and Jerusalem exchange threats on a regular basis, a former Iranian journalist who is credited with having popularized Internet “blogging” in the Islamic republic is waging a campaign to defuse the tensions.
Hossein Derakhshan, a 32-year-old Iranian expatriate living in Toronto, files daily blog posts in his native Farsi and in English. Although the Iranian authorities attempt to restrict access to his blogs, Derakhshan says he has 20,000 Iranian readers who know how to circumvent the government filters or who receive the material via e-mail.
Last January, Derakhshan visited Israel for the second time in a year, drawing puzzled glances by wearing his “I love Tehran” T-shirt on the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In addition to addressing a conference at Ben Gurion University in Beersheba, he enlisted a number of Israelis for online dialogue with Iranians.
The Tehran native wants selected blogs in Hebrew and Farsi translated for audiences in the other country, and he also plans on having an Internet chat room where the two peoples would communicate directly in English. Another of his ideas is that Tel Aviv disc jockeys would “remix” Iranian popular music with Israeli elements and play it at parties, while Tehran musicians would do the same for Israeli music sent to them over the Internet.
Derakhshan first decided to travel to Israel following Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s inflammatory remarks calling into question the Holocaust and urging that Israel be wiped off the map. “After his stupid comments, I thought about how I could undo some of the damage he was causing,” Derakhshan said. “I thought that the only thing I could do as an independent citizen was to use my Canadian passport, go to Israel and tell people that he doesn’t represent all Iranians.”
Derakhshan wants Israelis to know that Ahmadinejad, though president, is not the supreme leader in Iran, and that the ruling ayatollahs have “never said anything close to” Ahmadinejad’s apocalyptic remarks. “Total rejection of the idea of Israel is not part of the intrinsic ideology of the Islamic Republic,” he said.
Critics of Iran have noted that in fact, Ahmadinejad was not the first prominent leader of the Islamic regime to raise the specter of a nuclear attack on Israel. In late 2001, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani did so, without explicitly advocating such an attack.
Even Iranian expatriates who applaud Derakhshan’s idea for online dialogue are not convinced of its likely effectiveness. Amir Hassanpour, associate professor of Near and Middle Eastern civilizations at the University of Toronto, said, “It’s a good idea that this kind of relationship between Iranians and Israelis gets under way in cyberspace, but it won’t change the reality on the ground.”
Derakhshan partly agreed. “The political system is quite distant from the views of ordinary people,” he said. “Part of this project’s aim is, in a way, already done. The Iranian people don’t have that hostility toward Israel. But the more important part is to work on the Israeli public, because that’s where the threat comes from. We have to stop the dehumanization process that the right-wing media are doing on both sides.”
The son of a rug manufacturer in Tehran, Derakhshan wrote a computer column for a reformist newspaper before immigrating to Canada in 2001. He now works as a Web site designer. He said that in 2005, when he visited his homeland, the authorities detained and interrogated him about his blogs, and forced him to sign an apology. He believes he will be arrested if he returns to Iran.
Derakhshan is a jumble of apparent contradictions. Although he is a professed atheist, he supports the concept of an Islamic republic in Iran — albeit a more enlightened one. Although an avowed peacenik, he favors Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons as a hedge against non-Israeli enemies. He does not view the country’s bid for nukes as a potential threat to Israel.
Though censored by the Iranian authorities, he also has made enemies in the Iranian Diaspora by blogging against critics of the Islamic regime. “I see some of these people who have left for the U.S. as having become part of the U.S. propaganda campaign against Iran,” he said.
Detractors, however, say that Derakhshan has not limited his attacks to expatriates.
“He consistently writes appalling articles against Iranian human rights activists which include individuals whose lives are in serious danger and under pressure from Iran’s intelligence and judiciary agencies,” wrote Nikahang Kowsar, a Toronto-based cartoonist and fellow exile, in his blog.
Derakhshan is also not an unqualified admirer of Israel.
“I have a problem with Israeli policies,” he said. “For example, they could have reacted differently to the Hezbollah attack last summer. But I have no problem with the existence of this democratic, diverse society.”
"mullahs" actually encouraged and financially supported the youth to engage in blogging and Mr. Derakhshan is the product of this policy.
This guy if a goof!!!
What a story and what a brave guy. The mullahs will prolly try hunting this guy down.
The language of Iran is not FARSI in English, rather it is Persian. Only ignorants or those who want to insult the Persian language and culture say that, like Zionist and Imperialist and Bush who is informed by the Zionsits.
Please stop the Zionists' lies who say Ahmadinejad said" wipe out..." The Iranian policy on the question of Palestine has remained the same. Islamic Republic did not change the policy which was in place during the Shah. You must know that Iran like the rest of the world except the West, did not voted for the partition of Palestine. Iran believes in one country for all and many people including the Jewish intellectuals as well as Palestinian such as Edward Said, have came to the same conclusion. Therefore, Ahmadinejad is talking about the regime change like you do with one big difference. The difference is that you have started this vicious attack and have committed crimes against humanity in many places including Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia and the rest that everyone knows about them. You through your elements of Zionist lobby who are involved in US foreign policy have openly and loudly have asked for bombing of Iran using all the options available including the nuclear weapon. You have already wiped out Palestine and if people of the Middle East and other places did not react against your vicious desire to eliminate others, you would have wiped out Lebanon, Syria, Egypt.... Shame is all yours. Stop the campaign of lies and deception.
I am an American student at Goucher College in Baltimore, MD majoring in Middle EAstern culture and ideology. I want to establish the same type of online dialogue between American's and Iranian's. I believe that between people's in all three nations, we as students should be forming bonds for the future. How would one going about contacting Derakhshan? This is exactly what should be happening.
Only an ignorant or those who deliberately want to harm Iranian culture and language would say "Farsi" instead of Persian. The name of the Iranian Language is Persian but unfortunately since the revolution vicious people have started using different avenues in order to belittle Iranian language and culture, I strongly believe that this is politically motivated. One avenue has been the use of Farsi instead of Persian. For those ignorants and vicious people alike, I must say that the language of Persia or Iran, was "Parsi" which has been modified to "Farsi" after the Arab invasion of Persia because Arabic, a semitic language, does not have letter P but Persian and English, both Indo-European languageous, do have letter P and as a result for the past few centuries we have said Persian language and culture and not Farsi. Farsi is used among people of Iran and Arabs in non English environment. The language of Greece is elenica in Greece but in English you never say elenica language, you say Greek language and culture. Please respect Persian and use nothing but Persian language and culture in English. Use of Farsi has confused even educated people, a desired outcome for those who design to harm Iran. They think Farsi is a dialect of Persian. It is laughable.
Poor Ahmadinejad is under wrong impresion as he is waiting for Emam e Zaman to come again. That is why he thinks that Israelies should not be back home in Israel. Other wise Israel is rightfully formed on time according to the Emam Zaman's Will and His original Plan.
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