New Perspectives on UK-Iran Cultural Relations New Perspectives on UK-Iran Cultural Relations Contents
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New perspectives on UK-Iran cultural relations New perspectives on UK-Iran cultural relations Contents British Council 01 Foreword 10 Spring Gardens 03 Preface London SW1A 2BN 09 Overviews www.britishcouncil.org 11 The Myth of ‘Perfidious Albion’: Anglo-Iranian Relations in Historical Perspective Paperback 30 Persian Studies in Britain: a brief review E-publication 47 Working together in hard times Edited by Nick Wadham-Smith and Danny Whitehead 49 Gassed: from the trenches of Khorramshahr Designed by Navig8 to the Imperial War Museum Copyright © 2015 British Council 66 Bam: pictures of life, tragedy, hope and recovery 83 British imperialism and Persian diplomacy in the All rights reserved. No part of this publication may shadow of World War I (1914–1921) be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, 127 Working together in the arts recording or any information storage and retrieval 129 The Contemporary Art Scene of Iran: cultural policy, system, without permission in writing from the infrastructure, dissemination and exchange copyright owners. 151 British Cinema in Iran: a brief history 170 Extending thresholds: Studio INTEGRATE on an While every effort has been made to trace all present architectural quest across continents copyright holders of the material in this book, any 188 Irregular Channels unintentional omission is hearby apologised for in advance, and we should of course be pleased to correct 199 Working together through language any errors in acknowledgments in any future editions 201 Bridge or Wall? English Language in Iran of this book. 224 Persian Language Teaching in the UK: challenges, potential and initiatives The views expressed within this publication are the views 239 Abalish: how English changed the language in Abadan of the individual contributors, and do not necessarily reflect 248 Owersettin the Rubaya’iat of Omar Khayyam the views of the British Council. 263 Working together in education and science Printed in England 265 Higher Education in Iran, and UK-Iran cooperation 282 Iran and UK on the World Stage in Particle Physics 293 Acknowledgments This volume seeks to explore the past and present cultural Foreword relations ties between the UK and Iran, and make positive suggestions for future development. Despite the history of relations between the two countries being characterised by mistrust, cultural The British Council is the UK’s organisation relations partnerships and respect for each country’s arts, education for international cultural relations. Through sector, and linguistic heritage have remained extremely high. We hope that this volume demonstrates the strength and scope of some cultural relations – the arts, education and of those relations, and that it might provide inspiration for further society, and languages – we build trust through and deeper cooperation and collaboration in these areas. greater understanding, creating opportunities for the individuals and groups with whom we work across the world. The British Council has been working in and with Iran since 1942. Although we currently do not have a physical office in the Islamic Republic of Iran, we continue to deliver a full cultural relations portfolio in partnership with UK and Iranian organisations, in order to build a better understanding between our two countries that may lead to greater trust. Misunderstanding and misrepresentation in Iran and the UK are among the greatest challenges affecting bilateral relations. Cultural relations are among the most powerful tools that the UK and Iran have for addressing these twin challenges, and building trust for mutual benefit. The British Council has responded to the positive developments in the bilateral relationship since the inauguration of President Rouhani in August 2013 by increasing the scope, scale, and impact of its cultural relations work with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Working with, and for the benefit of UK and Iranian partners, the British Council seeks to create opportunities for individuals and organisations in both countries. 1 2 Ali Ansari writes in his article: ‘The myth of Perfidious Albion Preface remains especially potent because of the intimacy of an historical relationship which is profound, frequently affectionate and LORD LAMONT OF LERWICK essentially respectful’. As he points out, for all the rhetoric about ‘the Little Satan’, Iranian politicians are often very keen to I am delighted that the British Council is finally seeking to return acquire British qualifications from British institutions. President to Iran and that it is publishing Didgah: New Perspectives on Rouhani was not backward in the Iranian elections in mentioning UK-Iran Cultural Relations. his degrees from Glasgow University, although he had to clarify At the time I write this, it seems we may be at the start of a that it was from Glasgow Caledonia rather than the much older period when British-Iranian relations are on an upward trajectory. Glasgow University. Some would say this is not before time. It is sometimes said that Iran is the last country in the world When political and diplomatic relations are cool, one tends to to believe that Britain is a great imperial power, manipulating hope that trade will be an avenue of contact. In recent years, that everything behinds the scenes including even the United States has been extremely difficult. But cultural ties have been and remain government. Why has Britain has been demonised more than other one of the ways in which citizens of the two countries can maintain countries such as the United States and Russia? Ali Ansari puts some communication and understanding of each other. The arts forward a number of highly ingenious theories. Some may seem can bring us closer when all else fails. far-fetched but I think they reflect the subtlety and complexity of One of the great, indeed heroic, cultural events of recent years the Iranian mind. I particularly was surprised and amused by his was the initiative of the British Museum in lending the Cylinder account of how George Bush’s labelling Iran a part of the ‘axis of of Cyrus the Great to the Tehran Museum where it was viewed evil’ was attributed to British influence. by hundreds of thousands of delighted Iranians. The Cylinder, Iran, of course, was never a colony of Britain or, indeed, a from the 6th-century BC, is seen by some as an early declaration colony of anyone. Iran suffered much self-interested interference by of human rights. Even President Ahmadinejad, not the greatest Britain without getting the benefits of British roads, training of civil admirer of Britain, seemed pleased and keen to identify himself servants or lawyers. I sometimes wonder if British-Iranian relations with this great event. Pessimists at the time forecast that Iran would wouldn’t be much better if Iran had in fact been a colony of Britain. not return the Cylinder but, of course, not only was it returned but Then they would have had a concrete British legacy instead of a it has continued to tour different parts of the globe to the joy of bad collective memory of manipulation and interference. Iranians worldwide. For a long time, Britons viewed Iran through the lens of While there have been long periods of distrust and suspicion India. Mughal India was part of the Persianised world. The between Iran and Britain, there has also been a great deal of first Ambassadors from Britain to Iran were from the East India mutual respect – for each other’s history, culture and traditions. Company. British Civil Servants had to learn Persian to serve in 3 4 India, which, as is pointed out in the essays here, brought them not were, amazingly, political mutterings about ‘interference’. Nevil just into contact with the language but with wider Persian culture Mountford writes movingly about what he found in Bam when he and values. organised a photographic project in which ordinary people – the Even before the Empire, as Charles Melville points out, butcher, the policeman, the student – were invited to portray individual Britons developed a fascination with Persia – travellers, themselves in photographs as they wanted in the aftermath of archaeologists, even mere romantics. This was followed by the disaster. They sent the message that Bam was still alive and increasing academic interest: in 1888, Cambridge established its unbowed, full of dignity and humour. first lectureship in Persian and EG Browne was appointed. He also In another moving chapter, doctor Shahriar Khateri compares became involved with contemporary Persian politics including the his personal experience of mustard gas in the Iran-Iraq War with Constitutional Revolution in 1905, which he strongly supported, the accounts he heard at Ypres of chemical weapons in World though alas the British government did not. Quite rightly, he is War I. This led him to become a campaigner against chemical commemorated today by a street named after him in Tehran. warfare and he recounts his efforts to establish the Peace Museum Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India and Foreign Secretary, however, in Tehran. does not have a street named after him in Tehran, although he One link between Iran and the UK is literature and above probably knew more about Persia and Persian culture than any all, poetry. Iranians love poetry including Shakespeare. Today British politician since and had a great academic interest in in Britain, poets like Rumi, Hafiz and Sa’adi are increasingly Persia. Unfortunately his policies only led to more criticism and admired. Again, it was through India that knowledge of the opposition to Britain’s role in Persia’s internal affairs. classics of Persian literature reached England. However, Edward Many people when visiting Iran are startled by the lively arts Fitzgerald’s translation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám was scene. Iranian cinema is widely recognised throughout the world different and it was only loosely based on the alleged Persian and continues to win many international prizes.