Circulation 8,000 September 2001 4 0 p a g e s Newsletter 8

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7 10 21 26 Sophie Bava Mohamed Abusabib Forough Jahanbakhsh Abdel Wedoud Ould Cheikh The Mouride Dahira between Political Islam and the Arts: Abdolkarim Soroush: Brotherhoods and Gender Relations Marseille and Touba The Sudanese Experience New ‘Revival of Religious Sciences’ in Mauritania

AMIRHASSANPOUR

Millions of Iranians left their country after the coming to power of the Islamic Republic in February 1979. Homeland and Some twenty years later, the urge to leave the country is as strong as it was in the early post-revolutionary years. In a world that is less hospitable to refugees, some Iranians risk their lives in search of a hostland. For many emigrating Iranians, the hostland does not Hostland readily turn into a new homeland. In fact, is often present, or rather reproduced, in the memory, lan- guage, way of life, and the network of relationships that remain in place despite physical distance. Iranian Press in

More than ever, new communication tech- Where is the homeland? message continue to be Christian Iranians nologies contribute to the collapse of time The following newspapers, mostly week- rather than the entire Christian population and space. Round-the-clock television and lies, were published in in 2000: Iran- of Canada. The editorial of the quoted paper radio programming in Persian is available to Estar- (Iran Star), Iran-e- Javan- (Young Iran), ends by writing: ‘In a couple of months, the diasporic communities around the world via Iran Tribune, Iran- Post, Javan- an- (Youth), Sa- new Iranian year [, March 21], too, satellite and the internet. Print journalism is lam- Toronto (Hello Toronto), Sarmaye- (Capi- will arrive. And why should not we turn also extensive in major urban centres. tal), Sepidar- (White Poplar), and Shahrvand every day into a day of housecleaning of our (Citizen). All are secular, privately owned, fi- spirit?’ – housecleaning being a practice of Be hich y¯ar mad-e kh¯ater o be hich diy¯ar nanced primarily through advertising in- preparing for the new year. Ke barr-o bahr far¯akh ast o¯adami besyar come, and distributed free of charge in Equally noteworthy is the treatment of the Do notdedicate yourself to any companion places frequented by the targeted reader- indigenous . Since the and any land, ship (grocery stores, restaurants, video and 19th century, Iranian perceptions of Canada Becauselands and seas are vast and human bookstores). and the United States have been shaped by beings numerous. Browsing through these papers, one notes colonialist politics and discourses. Thus (Sa’di of Shiraz, Persian poet, 1184-1292 AD) immediately that the coverage of Canadian many Iranian continue to label news is minimal. Although interest in the aboriginal peoples collectively as sorkhpust Quoted out of context, Sa’di’s couplet seems country of origin is to be expected in the (i.e. redskin) and refer to the people of to be a call for detaching oneself from com- ‘ethnic media’ of all immigrant communities, the Arctic region as eskimo; these derogato- munity and place of birth. Later in the poem, most of the cited papers are sharply focused ry labels are not used in Canada today. however, he celebrates the ties that bind on Iran. The limited space devoted to the Even in the civic nation of Canada, extra- people together and asks: ‘Who will shy Canadian-Iranian community is also centred legal dynamics of inequality – racial, cultur- away from the affection of a friend. Which on issues and activities related to Iran and al, economic, social, and political – reinforce lover will turn away from the intimacy of a being Iranian. the attachment of new citizens to their eth- beloved?’1 Sa’di was probably not contra- The over-representation of Iran in the press nic, religious, racial, and national roots.7 dicting himself if we see detachment and at- is matched by similar preoccupations in face- Some Iranian Canadians use the word tachment not in isolation but as constituents to-face communication. Many Iranian Cana- gharib-e (stranger) to describe themselves. of a dialectical relationship. dians refer to the majority (i.e. the white pop- The author of a series of articles dealing ulation of European origin) as khareji- (i.e. for- with the census data about Iranian Canadi- The eigner). The word means ‘external, outer, ex- ans chose the title ‘Stranger in the land of of Canada terior, foreigner, outsider, stranger, alien’4 strangers’.8 In spite of these linguistic and The number of Iranian immigrants in and has been used in Iran to refer to non-citi- discursive reproductions of the country of Canada was approximately 100 in 1961 and zens, especially European travellers or resi- origin, characteristic of the first generation, increased to 660 by 1970.2 According to the dents.Thelabel is not intended to treat Euro- many Iranians integrate into their new 1996 census figures, Persian, the official or Canadians as ‘foreigners’; its use indicates homeland. state language of Iran, was the ‘mother deep-rooted ties – linguisticand political – to tongue’ of 60,275 Canadians (out of a popu- the country of origin, Iran. Struggle for control lation of 28,846,261).3 It ranked 17t h among In a similar vein, the words hamvatan and of the diaspora some 110 non-official languages of the hammihan, both meaning ‘compatriots’, are If Iranian Canadians continue to be at- country (English and French being the only used to refer to Iranian Canadians only. The tached to their first homeland, the Islamic official languages). synonyms vatan and mihan mean ‘homeland, state too continues to regard them as Iranian Canada is a country of the ideal ‘civic na- country, motherland, fatherland’. The word citizens. Initially ’s policy was the rejec- tion’ system in which citizenship is not ham means ‘also, too, likewise, even, both, tion of emigrants as ‘counter-revolutionaries’ based on relations of blood, ethnicity, lan- homo-, co-, con-, com-, sym-, iso-, equi-, syn-’, who had betrayed both Islam and Iran. A guage, religion, or national origin. The over- and as a prefix it means ‘fellow’ as in hamkeläs more tolerant approach was adopted in the whelming majority of Iranian-born Canadi- (classmate), or hamkar- (fellow worker).5 early 1990s in order to encourage their return ans acquired Canadian citizenship without The treatment of Iranian Canadians of to Iran and to stem the exodus. Although this rejecting their previous citizenship. Iranian Christian faith shows a similar trend of at- policy failed, it has allowed many refugees to presence can already be felt in the major tachment to Iran. Like the papers published travel to Iran and return again to their diaspo- urban centres. There are Iranian grocery in Iran, the press of Cana- ras. It also contributed to Western govern- stores, mosques, restaurants, travel agen- da writes: ‘We congratulate the new Christ- ments’ adoption of policies to restrict the ad- cies, driving schools, bookstores, and Per- ian [sal-e- milad- i] year to our Christian com- mission of Iranian refugees. sian language sections in public libraries. patriots’ (front page headline in red, Mehr-e While Iranian exiles have established stable Persian signs can be seen in some business Iran- , Toronto, Vol. 1, No. 3, January 1991).6 In diasporas in the West, the instability of the Is- quarters. Canada, however, the addressees of this lamic state together with its policies of re-

Continued on page 34 pression continue to create new waves of em- tellectual inroads into the exilic community. It N o t e s igrants, including highly skilled groups, pro- also dismisses return to the homeland, or en- 1 . These are quotations from the first part of a well- fessionals, investors and the youth. gaging in intellectual and publishing activi- known panegyric q a i s d a by Sa’di. Twenty years after the revolution, diasporas ties there.9 However, a large number of Irani- 2 . Cited in Navid Azadi, ‘Gharib-e dar sarzamin-e have gained in importance and they impact ans who do not support the Islamic state g h a r i b - e -ha- ’ (Strangers in the land of strangers), in diverse ways the political environment in demonstrated strong attachment to their first S h a h r v a n d, Vol. 9, No. 452, 28 January 2000, p. 20. Iran. Some members of the exilic community homeland when a soccer team visited Aus- 3 . Canadian Almanac and Directory 2000, Toronto: engage in political activisms aimed variously tralia, Canada and the U.S. in the late 1990s. Micromedia, 1999, p. 1-48. at the reform or overthrow of the Islamic The visit of the pop singer Googoosh to Cana- 4 . Aryanpur-Kashani, A. and M. (1983), The Concise regime. Moreover, members of the diaspora da and the U.S. in 2000 also rallied tens of Persian-English Dictionary, Tehran: Amir Kabir influence the foreign policy of the countries thousands of nostalgic audiences to her per- P u b l i c a t i o n s . where they have become new citizens. Not formances. She had been denied the freedom 5 .I b i d . surprisingly, a struggle has ensued over the to perform in Iran since 1979. 6 . The exact words, sa- l - e now-e m ila- d i ra- be co m u m - e control of the diaspora. The de-territorialization of a sizeable popu- h a m v a t ana- n - e masih-i tabrik migu’im, can be Iran’s policy of controlling the diaspora is lation of Iranian dissidents has a far-reaching found in other papers (e.g. Sa- y eba- n, Vol. 1, No. 1, complex, diverse, and implemented through impact on the political destinies of Iran. January 1998, p. 2). the chain of embassies, consulates and all the Today, the struggle between the diaspora 7 . See, for instance, Himani Banerjee (2000), The Dark power that diplomacy and statehood bring and the Islamic state goes on everywhere – at Side of the Nation: Essays on Multiculturalism, into play. Moreover, Tehran uses satellite conferences and demonstrations, in print and Nationalism and Gender, Toronto: Canadian broadcasting; allows artists, film makers, broadcast media, and on the internet. How- Scholars’ Press. films, singers, and sport teams to travel ever, convergence of political interest be- 8 . Navid Azadi, ibid. footnote 3 above. abroad; builds mosques and religious centres; tween the two sides has developed in the 9 . For a survey of the politics of return see, for offers material rewards for those using these wake of the rise of ‘the reformist movement’ instance, Azadeh Sepehr, ‘Honar-e ba- z g a s h t va services; and gathers information on exilic in and outside the government. Browsing ba- z g a s h t - e honari’ (The art of return and the communities. through the diaspora press, it is often difficult artistic return), published first in Qa- s e d a k ( E u r o p e ) , The opposition in exile was quick to note to distinguish between the reformist trend in reprinted in Ka- r ika- t o r, Toronto, Vol. 1, No. 4, 1997. the shift in policy. Debates have been going Iran and in exile. on about the extension of state repression to the diaspora and how to confront it. Accord- ing to one political trend, the Islamic regime This article is based on research in progress and a Amir Hassanpour is assistant professor at the should not be allowed any space in the dias- paper presented at the 34t h annual meeting of the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, pora. This involves a boycott of its export Middle Eastern Studies Association of North America, , Canada. products, sports and art groups, and other in- November 2000. E-mail: [email protected]