Since our vision is so limited, let's go!
Let our sight be dissolved in the seeing of the Friend.
Our sight for His - what an exchange!
Thus wrote the great Persian poet, Rumi. Though he lived in the 13th century his words are an invitation for us today to look at our "perceived enemy" in a different way, and for them to begin to see us through the shadow of a new light. Our coming together will not be an easy adventure. It will take time, listening, and a commitment to dialogue. In his great work, Mathnawi, Rumi gives us a few verses that help point us to a new way of encounter:
There are such helpers in the world, who rush to save
anyone who cries out. Like Mercy itself,
they run towards the screaming.
And they can't be bought off.
If you were to ask one of those, "Why did you come
so quickly?" he or she would say, "Because I heard
your helplessness.
SEDA: Voices of Iran offers some glimpses to the history, the political turmoil, and the culture of Iran. Many years ago George Orwell suggested that the way to enter a new culture is to keep our eyes and ears open and our mouth closed. Some may view his observation as naive, but if we delve a little deeper we find that the Iran of today, while still holding tight to its core values, is not the Iran we left behind in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. We have a long road to travel as we begin to learn about Iran again. The material on these pages provides a pathway to new insights and offers a new framework from which we can ask questions and seek answers.
To begin our journey, join one of Voices Board members', Abdi Sami, who acted as Rick Steves video consultant for Steves’ PBS special on Iran. Learn more about their journey to Iran in this short preview and then hear Abdi and Rick talk about Iran. You can also view some of Abdi's great pictures at one of Voices' strategic partner's home pages, Yes Magazine and see his photographs on Voices My Voice.
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