Hi John! Harry's observations below are pretty telling about certain attitudes towards present day Iran, in particular from U.S. TV Personality and Woirld Traveler Rick Steves.
As a long-time German Baha'i, Harry explains how history repeats itself in the acceptance of outright persecution and total banishment of a minority religious group, this time, the Baha'is.
Jim
From: Harry Liedtke
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2009 8:03 AM
Subject: U.S. TV Personality and Woirld Traveler Rick Steves reporting on Today's Iran - The Television Domentary about Iran and her People - Some observations
The television series Rick Steves in Europe, a regular feature on PBS, has brought Europe’s people and their cultures to millions of North American homes. Apart from promoting travel, something Rick started 30 years ago when he was 24 years old, his highly professional documentaries have made a huge contribution to general knowledge. Rick Steves, a practicing Lutheran, is dedicated to promoting peace and amity among diverse people through his travelogues. His recent one-hour documentary on Iran is meant to fulfill the same purpose. Rather than read about it here, listen to Rick’s introduction and then watch his program by clicking on
http://video.google.com/
As alluded to in his introductory remarks, there are always certain rules he and his crew of 10 cameramen and assistants have to observe wherever they go. This would be especially true in a country which is not known for its freedom of expression. And it would violate his professional ethics first to agree to certain rules while on foreign location, but then to go and criticize the host country in the aired documentary. Besides, such a breach of trust would not only close the doors to him for a return visit, it may also make other countries uneasy to allow him the necessary freedom for his work. It is therefore understandable that Rick Steves tries to portray all the positive aspects of today’s Iran which can be seen in her people and their families, and to stay deliberately clear of the political and “religious” ugliness that abounds. Nevertheless, in the 31st minute of the show Steves very candidly mentions the fact that the Baha’i Faith is not accepted in Iran “because Mohammad was the Seal of the Prophets and the founder of the Baha’i Faith, Baha’u’llah, lived in the 19th century.” He says further, “If you want to get ahead in Iran either professionally or militarily you must be a practicing Shiah Moslem.”
While this documentary seems to strike a fair balance, Rick Steves talk before the Commonwealth Club of Paolo Alto in Silicon Valley unfortunately did not. The talk’s web address
http://fora.tv/2009/01/26/
was e-mailed to you On February 24. I wanted to withhold comment until you had “seen with your own eyes and heard with your own ears.”
His presentation slavishly repeats the Mullahs’ excuses for holding the Iranian people hostage to their iron-fisted rule. Many Iranians will be shocked to hear his explanation that it was them, the people, who wanted the shador in the streets “out of respect for women.” His mental gymnastics to find sex appeal in a tiny lock of woman’s hair protruding from the veil requires psychiatric help. At one point his sweet reasonableness in vindicating Iran’s harsh theocracy unsettled even his chair person when he drew parallels between Iran and the U.S. It is sad that such missteps threaten a hard-earned reputation as a knowledgeable and even-handed observer of the world.
The most serious lapse occurred when he talked about the fate of the Baha’is living in Iran. He repeats the explanation that we hear in his documentary as mentioned above, but instead of deploring the situation, he makes it sound as if it was quite logical that Baha’is should be unwelcome in their own country. Instead of using the opportunity to inform his audience of the painful history of Iran’s Baha’is and their intolerable present condition in a country whose rich culture he had just so vividly described, he bluntly advises, “if you are a Baha’i in Iran get out of the country.” No plea here for love and reason in the tradition of the great spirits of Iran’s illustrious past. This is Shiah territory. There is no room for Baha’is. So whatever happened to Rick Steves’ life-long dictum? Instead, he agrees with the Mullahs’ clear objective of getting rid of Iran’s Baha’i community once and for all.
His ill-advised outburst was fortunately not heard by the millions who are watching his documentaries, but by his Paolo Alto audience and by those watching this on the internet. Still, his openly expressed views are damaging, because they repeat the false claim that the Baha’i Faith is a splinter group of Islam, instead of the Creator’s gift to all humanity. This false impression is fed by the Iranian Diaspora which has resulted in the dispersal of tens if not hundreds of thousands of Iranian Baha’is throughout the world, bringing an Iranian flavor to many communities. The idea that the Baha’i Faith is simply some Iranian sect that is conflict with Muslim law, makes it much more difficult for other nations and their governments to generate feelings of solidarity with Iranian Baha’is and come to their defense. The most recent vote at the U.N. condemning Iran’s human rights record passed 69 in favor, 54 against with 57 abstentions. Out of 180 member states 111 voted with the Mullahs or abstained. How can this dismal performance improve when a man as knowledgeable as Rick Steves proposes a quick and easy solution for the Baha’is: Leave the country or suffer the consequences.
The other poor lesson taught by Rick is to cozy up to tyrants. It was tried before in a country of similarly high culture and heritage. England’s national soccer team gave the Nazi salute at Berlin’s stadium; the French Olympic team lowered the tricolor and did the same as they came marching in; aviation hero Charles Lindberg sucked up to the Luftwaffe; Lloyd George dedicated his portrait “To Chancellor Hitler with admiration for his gift of courage.” - None of it stopped the London Blitz or Auschwitz from happening. If Hitler had only lived 70 years later, Rick Steves and his camera crew would have come rushing up to the Eagle’s Nest for agemuetlich hour over Kaffee and Kuchen with Adolf and Eva to tell the world, “Na, siehst Du, this avuncular Austrian isn’t such a bad egg after all. One can get on with him as long as one is peaceful and subservient and lets him have his way with the world.”
http://video.google.com/
As alluded to in his introductory remarks, there are always certain rules he and his crew of 10 cameramen and assistants have to observe wherever they go. This would be especially true in a country which is not known for its freedom of expression. And it would violate his professional ethics first to agree to certain rules while on foreign location, but then to go and criticize the host country in the aired documentary. Besides, such a breach of trust would not only close the doors to him for a return visit, it may also make other countries uneasy to allow him the necessary freedom for his work. It is therefore understandable that Rick Steves tries to portray all the positive aspects of today’s Iran which can be seen in her people and their families, and to stay deliberately clear of the political and “religious” ugliness that abounds. Nevertheless, in the 31st minute of the show Steves very candidly mentions the fact that the Baha’i Faith is not accepted in Iran “because Mohammad was the Seal of the Prophets and the founder of the Baha’i Faith, Baha’u’llah, lived in the 19th century.” He says further, “If you want to get ahead in Iran either professionally or militarily you must be a practicing Shiah Moslem.”
While this documentary seems to strike a fair balance, Rick Steves talk before the Commonwealth Club of Paolo Alto in Silicon Valley unfortunately did not. The talk’s web address
http://fora.tv/2009/01/26/
was e-mailed to you On February 24. I wanted to withhold comment until you had “seen with your own eyes and heard with your own ears.”
His presentation slavishly repeats the Mullahs’ excuses for holding the Iranian people hostage to their iron-fisted rule. Many Iranians will be shocked to hear his explanation that it was them, the people, who wanted the shador in the streets “out of respect for women.” His mental gymnastics to find sex appeal in a tiny lock of woman’s hair protruding from the veil requires psychiatric help. At one point his sweet reasonableness in vindicating Iran’s harsh theocracy unsettled even his chair person when he drew parallels between Iran and the U.S. It is sad that such missteps threaten a hard-earned reputation as a knowledgeable and even-handed observer of the world.
The most serious lapse occurred when he talked about the fate of the Baha’is living in Iran. He repeats the explanation that we hear in his documentary as mentioned above, but instead of deploring the situation, he makes it sound as if it was quite logical that Baha’is should be unwelcome in their own country. Instead of using the opportunity to inform his audience of the painful history of Iran’s Baha’is and their intolerable present condition in a country whose rich culture he had just so vividly described, he bluntly advises, “if you are a Baha’i in Iran get out of the country.” No plea here for love and reason in the tradition of the great spirits of Iran’s illustrious past. This is Shiah territory. There is no room for Baha’is. So whatever happened to Rick Steves’ life-long dictum? Instead, he agrees with the Mullahs’ clear objective of getting rid of Iran’s Baha’i community once and for all.
His ill-advised outburst was fortunately not heard by the millions who are watching his documentaries, but by his Paolo Alto audience and by those watching this on the internet. Still, his openly expressed views are damaging, because they repeat the false claim that the Baha’i Faith is a splinter group of Islam, instead of the Creator’s gift to all humanity. This false impression is fed by the Iranian Diaspora which has resulted in the dispersal of tens if not hundreds of thousands of Iranian Baha’is throughout the world, bringing an Iranian flavor to many communities. The idea that the Baha’i Faith is simply some Iranian sect that is conflict with Muslim law, makes it much more difficult for other nations and their governments to generate feelings of solidarity with Iranian Baha’is and come to their defense. The most recent vote at the U.N. condemning Iran’s human rights record passed 69 in favor, 54 against with 57 abstentions. Out of 180 member states 111 voted with the Mullahs or abstained. How can this dismal performance improve when a man as knowledgeable as Rick Steves proposes a quick and easy solution for the Baha’is: Leave the country or suffer the consequences.
The other poor lesson taught by Rick is to cozy up to tyrants. It was tried before in a country of similarly high culture and heritage. England’s national soccer team gave the Nazi salute at Berlin’s stadium; the French Olympic team lowered the tricolor and did the same as they came marching in; aviation hero Charles Lindberg sucked up to the Luftwaffe; Lloyd George dedicated his portrait “To Chancellor Hitler with admiration for his gift of courage.” - None of it stopped the London Blitz or Auschwitz from happening. If Hitler had only lived 70 years later, Rick Steves and his camera crew would have come rushing up to the Eagle’s Nest for agemuetlich hour over Kaffee and Kuchen with Adolf and Eva to tell the world, “Na, siehst Du, this avuncular Austrian isn’t such a bad egg after all. One can get on with him as long as one is peaceful and subservient and lets him have his way with the world.”
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