Iranians for Peace and Justice

Austin For Iran Emergency Protest at LBJ Library Plaza 5Pm today, Sunday, May 2nd , 2010

admin — Sun, 02 May 2010 17:20:48 +0000

For Immediate Release: May 2, 2010

Contacts:

Mehrdad Soheili (512) 567-0049 soheilies@aol.com

Banafsheh Madaninejad (979) 525-9366 bmadaninejad@gmail.com

AFI presents an EMERGENCY PROTEST to demonstrate against Ahmadinejad’s unhindered presence at the UN.

What: Protest

Where: LBJ Library, 2313 Red River Street on the UT campus http://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/buildings/lbj.html

When: 5:00-6:00pm May 2^nd, 2010

At a time when the Obama administration is debating imposing sanctions on Iran, the Green movement says no to widespread economic sanctions and yes to targeted ones. We say no to sanctions that will weaken the Green movement by making the active middle class poorer and less able to contribute but yes to sanctions that target the authoritarian regime and it’s supporters. We ask that companies like Yahoo, Siemens and Nokia, which have provided the Iranian government with technological instruments of suppression (internet filters and mobile phones spying software) be held accountable for their actions. The Iranian regime must be banned from broadcasting its programs on international satellites if it persists in censoring incoming dissident programs. Most importantly, international lawsuits must be brought against those who have taken part in suppressing the people of Iran since last June. Ahmadinejad should be considered in violation of international human rights codes and tried at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

In solidarity with the Iranian people’s Green Movement and condemning the widespread and merciless repression of its people, the illegal arrest and torture of hundreds of citizens and activists in Iran, we ask the citizens of Texas to give the freedom-loving people of Iran their moral support. Join us…

SPONSORS

Austin for Iran, Texans for Peace and Austin, Center for Peace and Justice.

Wear green. No flags, no factions.

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At-site liason: Sylvia Benini (512) 579-9114 sylvia.benini@gmail.com

1389 Nowruz Celebration in Austin, Texas

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:07:17 +0000

Iranian Actors Needed For a Short Film

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:02:37 +0000

“Preliminary casting for short film entitled ‘The Day of Judgment.’ The film is an action-adventure, taking place in Iran in 1896. The following characters need to be cast:

- Mozaffar al-Din: The Shah of Iran, wants to carry on his father’s legacy of modernizing Iran. Regal, striking looks. Male, Persian (will accept Arab actors as well), 40s-50s.
- Hossein: one of the assassins. Male, Persian/Arab, 20s-30s.
- Behram: one of the assassins. Male, Persian/Arab, 20s-30s.
- Rostam: one of the assassins. Male, Persian/Arab, 20s-30s.
- Mirza Ali: the man who performs the assassination itself at the beginning of the film. Lanky, skinny, tall, striking features. Male, Persian/Arab, 20s-30s.
- Nasir al-Din: former Shah of Iran, assassinated at the command of Afghan terrorist Jamaluddin al-Afghani. Male, Persian/Arab, 50s.

This film is currently non-paid, but standard meals/copy of DVD are offered. Shooting is currently planned for the month of April. Auditions will be held on an appointment-only basis. Please email Philip Kreyche at pkreyche@gmail.com with inquiries.”

Rumi Teach-In at Texas, February 6-9

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:31:57 +0000

Session 1: Saturday, February 6, 3-6 pm.
Almost a hundred audience members heard Michael Craig Hillmann’s analysis in English of Rumi’s “Song of the Reed” (the first 18 couplets of Masnavi-ye Ma’navi, Bijan Afkhami’s readings of seven Rumi poems from Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi, and a lecture in Persian on “Rumi’s World” by Bahram Moshiri, Iranian American television personality, social critic, and political activist. Audience members found Afkhami’s readings inspirational and Moshiri’s lecture rich in background information.

Session 2: Sunday, February 7, 12 noon.
Students in UT’s Modern Persian Poetry Seminar met over lunch to discuss in Persian Rumi’s Poetry and Sohrab Sepehri’s Seda-ye Pa-ye Ab [The Sound/Voice of Water’s Footsteps]. Nastaran Kherad, Persian Studies Ph.D. candidate and author of In the House of My Bibi: Growing up in Revolutionary Iran, opened the discussion with a reading from Sepehri’s poem, and Koorosh Angali, Associate Professor of Persian at Defense Language Institute (Monterey, CA) and poet, painter, and musician, read and analyzed Sepehri’s “Sure-ye Tamaasha” [Stroll Sura] as a commentary on the nature of the Islam which the speaker of The Sound/Voice of Water’s Footsteps professes. The most successful such academic session ever at a UT Persian Studies literature conference, the discussion lasted almost five hours!

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Session 3: Monday, Feb 8, 5-7 pm, Avaya Auditorium (ACE 2.302).
“The Mystery of Rumi’s Religion,” a lecture in English by Koorosh Angali. In this lecture, Professor Angali, who has lectured at UT Austin on Khayyam and Ferdowsi and has produced two CDs of readings of poems by Rumi, will analyze key Rumi poems to resolve the controversial issue of the poet’s religious convictions.

AVAYA Auditorium (ACE 2.302) is in the Applied Computational Engineering and Sciences Building (ACE) on the UT Austin campus at 201 East 24th Street (southeast corner of Speedway and 24th). For directions, including parking options, google “AVAYA Auditorium Parking.”
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Session 4 : Tuesday, February 9, 9-11:30 am, Asian Culture Room,Texas Union 4.224 A Discussion (in Persian) of Rumi’s “Story of Daquqi,”featuring a paper by Anousha Shahsavari, UT Lecturer of Persian.

Session 5: Tuesday, February 9, 6-8 pm. Avaya Auditorium (ACE 2.302)
Iranian Music and Persian Poetry by Hadi Farasat and Friends. .A special performance by talented musicians

Green Step Demonstration for Iran’s Green Freedom Movement

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:26:29 +0000

Green Step Demonstration for Iran’s Green Freedom Movement

“Green Steps of Iran” is a collaborative Green shoe installation piece in support of 22 Bahman in Iran.

Big thanks to everybody we made our goal to have 500 pairs of shoes. Shoes are already painted green. This will be an outdoor event.

We hope you and your family can join us for the fun!

Place: UT campus (West mall)

Date, Time: Friday 2-12-2010, 4:00PM to 6:00PM

Sponsored by Austin for Iran, Iranians for Peace and Justice UT, Austin Permanent Peace Protest.

“Green Steps of Iran” art installation on the UT campus in support of the Iranian Green Movement

admin — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:44:33 +0000

For immediate release: February 8, 2010

Contacts:
Sheida Soheili (512)567-0061 Soheilies@aol.com
Banafsheh Madaninejad (979)525-9366 bmadaninejad@gmail.com

What: “Green Steps of Iran” art installation on the UT campus in support of the Iranian Green Movement.

Where: by the West Mall Bldg, UT campus:

http://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/buildings/wmb.html

When: Friday, February 12^th

“Green Steps of Iran” is a collaborative Green shoe installation piece in support of the Iranian Green Movement. The Iranian regime has elevated its brutal crackdown on the defenseless population. In an unprecedented move, the regime executed two imprisoned demonstrators a few days ago. As the international community, we feel obligated in keeping the Green struggle alive as the stakes become higher and more costly for our brothers and sister inside Iran.

With this in mind, a group of concerned citizens in Austin have created “The Green Steps of Iran” art installation to symbolize that country’s tireless green march towards emancipation from tyranny. Please come by and support the movement on Friday the 12^th of February on the UT campus.

Sponsored by Austin for Iran UT, Iranians for Peace and Justice UT, Austin Permanent Peace Protest.

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For more information visit austinforiran.org

Shoe drive for a collaborative art installation on the UT campus in support of the Iranian Green Movement “Green Steps of Iran”

admin — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:43:46 +0000

Where: Shoe drop off at 6^th and Lamar in front of Waterloo Records

When: 4-6 PM, Friday, February 5^th

Take a Green Step for Iran’s Green Freedom Movement

With this in mind, “The Green Steps of Iran” welcomes your collaboration: Please participate in this Green Communal event by donating your unwanted shoes. Our goal is to collect 500 pairs of shoes. The shoes you donate will be colored green and installed on the UT campus (West mall) on February 12^th, 2010. Every kind of shoes is welcome; pairs, singles, small, big, old, basically any shoe that you do not need, we will happily accept.

A drop off station will be set up Friday the 5^th of February at the intersection of 6^th and Lamar in front of Waterloo Records.

Sponsored by Austin for Iran UT, Iranians for Peace and Justice UT, Austin Permanent Peace Protest.

For more information visit austinforiran.org

Rumi’s Poetry and the Persian Sufi Tradition. . .TTh 5–6:30 pm. . .CBA 4.344

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:11:07 +0000

ISL 372 (42083), MES 321K (42207), PRS 361 (42438), RS 358 (44517)

Jalaloddin Rumi (1207-1273), the premier Middle Eastern “Sufi” poet, is a bestselling author in the West and perhaps the most popular poet in America. This Persian literature-in-translation course, designed for undergraduate students without any background in Iranian Studies or the Persian language, examines the Rumi phenomenon through a close reading of representative texts of translated Persian poems and, in the process, dispels popular myths about Rumi and other Persian poets. On the occasion of this course, a Rumi Teach-In will take place on 7–9 February, involving guest speakers, a panel discussion, film screenings, music, and recitations from Rumi’s poetry.

Required course texts are: The Koran (2006) translated by Anonymous and N.J. Dawood; The Koran: A Very Short Introduction (2000) by Michael Cook; Rumi–Past and Present, East and West: The Life, Teachings, and Poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi (2007, revised edition) by Franklin Lewis; and a packet of Persian texts in translation and commentary.

Course grading takes into account class recitation and participation in discussion (30% of the course grade), two review tests (20% of the course grade each), and a term paper (30% of the course grade). Term papers present a personal impression of a Rumi text chosen by the student, that personal impression grounded in concepts and information developed in class and in course readings. The course has no final examination.

The opening course session on January 19 at 5 pm in CBNA 4.344 is a lecture (open to the public) by course instructor Michael Craig Hillmann on “Edward FitzGerald’s The Rubaíyát of Omar Khayyám vis-à-vis Sufism.”

UPDATE: Event for Rooz-e haft of the Ashura martyrs (Austin caravans for Iran)

admin — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:00:13 +0000

For Immediate Release: December 31th, 2009

Press Contacts:

Roja Najafi (609) 712-1193 rojanmn@gmail.com
Banafsheh Madaninejad (979) 525-9366 bmadaninejad@gmail.com

ROLLING PROCESSION IN REMEMBRANCE OF IRAN’S GREEN ASHURA, AUSTIN, TX

What: Commemorative Automobile Procession.
Where: First rendezvous point: Mozart’s café (3825 Lake Austin Boulevard) at 11:00am.Second rendezvous point: Central Market parking lot (4001 North Lamar Boulevard) at 12:00pm.
When: Saturday, January 2^nd 2010, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm.

The day of Ashura, a day of mourning for Hossein, the grandson of the prophet Muhammad, has been commemorated by Muslims for more than a thousand years. Hossein, who was brutally killed at the hands of the corrupt caliph of the time, has come to symbolize the struggle against injustice, tyranny, and oppression in the Shi’i world.

This year’s Ashura, Dec 27 2009, millions of Iranians gathered in many cities to mourn for Hossein. The Iranian regime brutally suppressed what was also being used as an opportunity for protest against the fraudulent elections of June 22nd. Since Dec 27^th, the Iranian security forces have injured hundreds, arrested nearly a 1000 and killed 12 people. Due to the regime’s brutal response, Dec 27^th, 2009 is now being called Iran’s Ashura.

To condemn the Iranian regime’s cruelty and to show solidarity with the families of the people who have been killed, injured and imprisoned, we invite you to follow our mourning procession on January 2^nd.

Please join us at Mozart’s Café from 9-11am for decorating your cars to be followed by the procession at 11:00am. If you can’t make it at 11:00am to Mozart’s meet us at noon at the north Lamar Central Market location. For route details please visit austinforiran.org.

We will provide the material needed, just show up.

Please refrain from placing any flags or using inflammatory slogans to decorate your cars.

This event is sponsored by AustinforIran.org.

Iranian Film Screenings at the Austin Asian American Film Festival

admin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:25:48 +0000

People in the Shadows by Bani Khoshnoudi Sat, Nov 14, Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar

Run time: 90 min. | Iran | Language: Farsi

US Premiere! Award-winning director Bani Khoshnoudi shows the capitol city of Tehran in all its complexities and contradictions. In three loosely interconnected segments, everything from the Islamic Revolution, to war with Iraq, to Tehran’s embrace of consumer culture are addressed. But, the focus is on the multifaceted inhabitants of Tehran. The martyrs who build roads, cobble shoes, and cut hair, and the trailblazers who consider emigration, go to underground concerts, and shop at the mall, all get equal treatment in this illuminating documentary that sees and listens to the everyday people who live with the consequences of disputed elections, international sanctions, and the banalities of everyday life. People in the Shadows offers a rare glimpse into a city teeming with life and possibilities.

Persepolis (in the park)

Sat, Nov 14, Mexican American Cultural Center

The acclaimed Oscar nominated Persepolis is back for a FREE one-time only outdoor screening on Town Lake! Marjane is a young girl coming of age during the Iranian revolution along with her idealistic family who yearns for a brighter future for their country. From young punk rebel to alienated Austrian expatriate to outspoken political dissident, we follow Marjane’s extraordinary life through the stunning and inventive animation of Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi (on whose life Persepolis is based). This winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Festival captures the optimism of a young girl who refuses to let even the most adverse of circumstances dampen her rebellious spirit. Accompanied by the delicious global cuisine of three Austin food vendors (Sushi-A-Go-Go, Satay Thai and Get Sum Dim Sum) and preceded by the phenomenal Iranian band Tehranosaurus, this is an event not to be missed!