|
|
|
Dangers
to pre-Islamic sites in Iran today Lendering’s Note 5 against the CAIS
website states that: “ …The report that the Iranian authorities will endanger the site of
Pasargadae
by building a dam in the Sivand, which has often surfaced in the blogosphere
and probably is a hoax,
was repeated on the CAIS website…This is sheer innuendo. One
cannot help but think that the CAIS is an anti-Iranian propaganda institute
disguised as a scholarly resource.” Lendering has posted
this view on Wikipedia as well: “The future inundation
of Pasargadae is a well-known hoax, which has been refuted
long ago. The news report that was quoted in the section
I have removed, is from the CAIS, a website that is -for excellent reasons-
blocked by Wikipedia; it also contained remarks like: "Iran’s pre-Islamic
past and Iranians’ non-Islamic-national-identity and heritage have always
been the subjects of abhorrence for the clerics. This diabolical plot
by Ayatollahs in Tehran was set in motion in 1979 to destroy and erase
all pre-Islamic Iranian past from the consciousness of the Iranian nation
as part of their de-Iranianisation campaign." Oddly enough, those clerics, once in power, have not pursued this "diabolical" policy, but instead spent lots of money to restore and maintain Iran's pre-Islamic legacy. In other words, the CAIS report is biased. Jona Lendering
(talk) 10:04, 16 July 2008 (UTC) This
is indicative of Lendering’s ignorance of the state of affairs within
Iran since 1979. Before dismantling the false observation about Pasargardae,
an outline is provided regarding the destructive actions that have already
taken place against pre-Islamic sites in Iran; not all of these have
been done by pan-Islamic fanatics. One example of vandalism against
Achaemenid sites took place at Persepolis on December, 6, 2006:
Destruction
of Achaemenid relief by anti-Cyrus vandals at Persepolis, December 6,
2006
Another
example is December 19, 2006 in which a mass book burning took place
by anti-Cyrus fanatics. These ideologues burned numerous post-Islamic
manuscripts (in New Persian) regarding Cyrus the Great, the Achamenids
and pre-Islamic Iran: Anti-Cyrus activists burning books pertaining to ancient Persia inside
Iran on December 19, 2006 (originally posted on pan-Turkist
website www.baybak.com, subsequently
reported by Payman Pakmehr of Tabriz News) Many
leading pan-Islamic ideologues in Iran actively called for:
“… the
destruction of the Cyrus tomb and remains of the two-thousand-year-old
Persian palace in Shiraz, Fars Province, the Persepolis.” Molavi, A., pp.14, 2005, in The Soul of Iran, Norton.
There
are currently a number of ideological organizations inside Iran that
are strongly opposed to the history of pre-Islamic Iran and have sought
to destroy numerous sites, including Pasargardae. The only reason the
site remains intact is due to the vociferous protests of UNESCO,
the activities of a whole host
of organizations inside of Iran as well as in the west (i.e. The
Pasargard Heritage Foundation), and western
reporters, etc. The CAIS website (which Lendering sharply criticizes),
may not be up to date regarding this particular issue, however it is
generally correct in highlighting the dangers to pre-Islamic sites in
Iran at present.
There are numerous other dangers
to pre-Islamic sites in Iran – below are two other examples:
Tagh-e-Bostan site of Sassanian royalty and cavalry, Kermanshah province. Government railway project nearby (past the islet) threatens to damage
site, including archway containing statue of late Sassanian cavalryman
as well as statues of Anahita, Ahura-Mazda and Khosrow II. “Ignorance towards Tagh-e-Bostan Continues”, CHN News of Iran, June 24, 2006.
Just
recently, in the second week of August
of 2008, a hotel construction company bought bulldozers to carve out
10,000 square meters from the ancient site of Susa. This ancient site
will now become the “Laleh Hotel”. The site however contains
invaluable archaeological data dating to the late Parthian (248 BC-224
AD) and Sasanian (224-651 AD) eras. During the land clearing process
Partho-Sassanian relics, as well as a skeleton, were simply
destroyed.
The construction
permit has been issued by Khuzestan Province’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts
and Tourism Organisation (ICHHTO). Fortunately, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei
(head of ICHHTO) spoke to reporters in Tehran and assured that the company
will be bought to justice. For
more information on the Susa case consult:
7000-year-old
Shushan (Susa) damaged by hotel construction http://www.chn.ir/interactivity/show/?section=2&id=47753 Pics - what
have we done to Susa! http://www.tabnak.ir/pages/?cid=14281 There are
numerous other recent examples of damage to pre-Islamic sites in Iran
as reported by official sources inside of Iran:
Bulldozing Iran's
7000-year-old mound for brick production http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=747668 http://www.chn.ir/News/?section=2&id=47926 http://www.chn.ir/news/?section=2&id=47955
Farabi building damaged
It
is difficult to explain why Lendering has made such a large and blatant
mistake: he believes that reports
of dangers to pre-Islamic archaeological sites in Iran (including
the Tomb of Cyrus) are simply “hoaxes” and “sheer innuendo”.
Lendering has made rapid authoritative statements without objectively
examining the sources and the facts.
Lendering’s
lack of knowledge of dangers to archaeological sites in Iran is partly
explained by a lack of appreciation of the very complex political climate
of Iran today, in which a constant tug of war tales place between pan-Islamists
(who often try to manipulate construction projects to destroy ancient
sites) versus authorities and organizations in Iran who wish to preserve
those sites. Included in this volatile mix, are miniscule separatist
organizations with ties to political lobbies.
Unfortunately,
Lendering’s views of Cyrus and his ignorance of the state of archaeological
sites in Iran are but two of a multitude of distortions with respect
to Iranica. |
