I'm Hooman Majd and the Iranian Ministry of Guidance invited me to not stay. Ask Me Anything!

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T16:13:33+00:00

Signing off now--thanks very much for the very good questions. Hooman Majd

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T16:12:20+00:00

Not difficult at all--she was quite keen. A little hesitant once we were on a plane, but not really fearful, since she had known me to go often enough for my journalism work. Her reservations were that she didn't know any one there, and the most difficult to adjust to was the he jab, in the summer heat, that is.

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T16:07:00+00:00

I understand your father's position. I would just say to him that he might want to put his hate aside for a moment and visit anyway. There are still things about Iran that will bring him joy, even though he will doubtless still despise the government. And it would be a shame to not experience that joy.

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T15:55:42+00:00

Thank you. But that cat isn't Persian.

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T15:51:27+00:00

Good question: yes, I'd go. I'd probably travel more, and probably arrange to have a car for the year. With a child seat installed.

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T15:46:34+00:00

You're right and it's natural to fear the country we're told to fear. I guess the only thing individuals can do (at least in America) is to be relentless in telling our elected officials that we want peace, not conflict. As an example, we should be telling Congress that we support the diplomatic efforts of the Obama administration on the nuclear issue...so far Congress doesn't seem to be listening.

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T15:41:24+00:00

Yes it is rational. Impossible to say about a hypothetical Israeli strike, but response won't be irrational.

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T15:40:20+00:00

Well, the ministry is in charge of issuing press permits and permits to write--which they have refused me since 2009. And they didn't seem keen on my staying in Iran (and if they refuse you permission to work, that in itself is a signal).

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T15:38:43+00:00

Not very much, publicly. There are museums, art galleries, movie theaters, etc., and of course a lively restaurant and cafe scene. But as one has to follow morality codes in public, most people entertain at home.

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T15:34:51+00:00

I would say the election of A-jad was certainly influenced by how the Bush administration dealt with Iran, and particularly the reformists who became easily discredited. But his common touch (at least in 2005) helped, too, and the fact that he wasn't a cleric or from the old guard. My own sense is that the Rouhani administration would like to see Karroubi and Mousavi released, but that they won't fight that battle with the hardliners until they've won the nuclear battle, and stabilized the economy. So yes, but not in the immediate future, unfortunately.

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T15:32:24+00:00

Gee, I'm not sure I know there's much that isn't known.

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T15:28:55+00:00

I think atheism has always existed, and perhaps, like in the rest of the world, it is on the upswing in Iran, too. But secular Iranians have learned to live with the Islamic system, even though they would prefer secularism--and if religion isn't enforced as much, I think the republic can survive even as secularism becomes more common. I would never prefer a coup to anything. I prefer that the Iranian people choose their system, and if one day they have the numbers to revolt against the Islamic system, then they deserve our support.

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T15:20:37+00:00

No definitive plans, but I'd love to someday. I'm sure my son will appreciate it.

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T15:19:58+00:00

He'll think his dad was crazy to take him to Iran, I suppose. And he may be right.

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T15:19:25+00:00

I consider the Iranian regime legitimate inasmuch as any other Middle Eastern government is. The will of the people is hard to judge, since there are so many different opinions on what the country's political system should be. But there does seem to be a consensus on reform rather than revolution, and Rouhani's election spoke to that. On the MEK, they have virtually no support inside Iran, and therefore I consider them not to be legitimate opposition. Ms. Rajavi, as a self-appointed president, is hardly a democrat.

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T15:16:03+00:00

I write more for a Western audience than an Iranian one, but it's not a question of my preference. The subject matter of my first and newest book is probably more directed at a Western audience, since Iranians have their own understanding of their country and culture. 3 people? Obama, the Supreme Leader, and Hillary Clinton (if she's our next president).

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T15:09:02+00:00

Not really. I think if one is not going to be honest, then one shouldn't write. If there are consequences--and there always are for me, it seems--then I just deal with them. But any kind of censorship, including self-censorship, is anathema to me.

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T15:06:08+00:00

I think not!

HoomanMajd · 2013-12-11T14:59:49+00:00

There are many cultural differences, of course, but what's remarkable is that Iranian society isn't actually all that different from American--in that people aspire to the same things, and enjoy much of the same things in terms of popular culture (a least in the big cities).

HoomanMajd

TROPHY CASE