Free Republic

The social makeup of Iran's population is very complex, because there is actually no such thing as the Iranian people. There are, instead, Iranian citizens divided into many ethnic groups: Persians make up about 60% of the population, while the rest are Azars, Kurds, Blouchis, Arabs, Turkmen and tens of smaller ethnic groups. The main religion in Iran is Shia Islam, adhered to by 90% of the country's people, while Sunnis - mainly Kurds and Blouchis - make up about 10%. The country recognizes Judaism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism and reserves a parliamentary seat for each religion. Zoroastrianism is based on...

In the modern day, the nation of Iran in the Middle East has become synonymous with Islamic extremism and terrorism. This is because the country is ruled by a religious dictator, the Grand Ayatollah, and is known to support radical organizations that share its uncompromising Muslim ideology. People worry, with good reason, that Iran will acquire nuclear weapons or otherwise strengthen itself. And this condition persists even as a majority of Iran’s population is young, progressive, and, unlike its government, not at all hostile towards the West. Iran wasn’t always like this. It has a long and venerable history as...

And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before...

And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai . Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand...

In 1979, after a long campaign of political pressure applied by the Carter administration in the United States, the Shah of Iran fell to the Islamic Revolution, ending a tradition of monarchic rule that had persisted in Iran for thousands of years since the rule of Cyrus the Great. The stage was set for the rise of the Ayatollah, and the establishment of a theocracy in Iran that, today, most Iranians do not even want. But what if none of that had ever happened? While a momentous departure from actual history, it is not nearly so far-fetched as it sounds....

Hello! To everyone celebrating Nowruz—across the United States and in countries around the world—Nowruz Mubarak. For thousands of years, this has been a time to gather with family and friends and welcome a new spring and a new year. Last week, my wife Michelle helped mark Nowruz here at the White House. It was a celebration of the vibrant cultures, food, music and friendship of our many diaspora communities who make extraordinary contributions every day here in the United States. We even created our own Haft Seen, representing our hopes for the new year. This year, that includes our hopes...

British scholar Timothy Mitford believes he has found the spot from which a Greek army first sighted the Black Sea during its flight from the forces of the Persian king Artaxerxes II in 401 B.C. Earlier that year Artaxerxes had defeated his brother Cyrus at Cunaxa on the Euphrates, crushing the latter's bid for the throne. Among Cyrus' forces was a contingent of Greek mercenaries known as the Ten Thousand, led by the Athenian general and historian Xenophon, who recounts the event in his Anabasis. After the battle Xenophon led his troops through the Tigris and upper Euphrates valleys,...

The Israeli military said Sunday it struck two Syrian army posts with artillery fire after rockets from the war-torn country landed in Israeli-controlled territory. The military said the two rockets, which landed over the last two days, were errant fire from the Syrian conflict. They caused no damage or injuries. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, said in a statement that Israel holds the Syrian military "responsible and accountable for any aggression emanating from Syria." Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said a Syrian army position in the Quneitra region of the...

EXCLUSIVE: Russian, Syrian and Iranian military commanders have set up a coordination cell in Baghdad in recent days to try to begin working with Iranian-backed Shia militias fighting the Islamic State, Fox News has learned.  Western intelligence sources say the coordination cell includes low-level Russian generals. U.S. officials say it is not clear whether the Iraqi government is involved at the moment.  Describing the arrival of Russian military personnel in Baghdad, one senior U.S. official said, "They are popping up everywhere."  The Russians already have been building up their military presence in Syria, a subject expected to factor prominently in...

How the Jihad ravaged Christian Byzantium for 800 years, and how valiantly the Byzantine Christians held back the Arab and Turkish hordes, saving Europe from Islam. [ Full title ]. While the Zoroastrian Persians were defeated and were being subjugated, the Muslim hordes turned on their other neighbor the Christian Byzantines. The two armies met at the battlefield of Heiromyak. Lessons from the Battle of Heiromyak (Al Yarmuk). At the Battle of the Yarmuk (river), between the Muslim Arabs and the Byzantines, the Muslim Arabs were losing the battle in the initial stages. When the victory seemed certain for the...

They anticipate that full implementation of this JCPOA will po sitively contribute to regional and international peace and security. Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons.

Members of the Parsi Zoroastrian community in Calcutta have filed a petition in a local high court against the music video for the song “King” by Amitis featuring Snoop Dogg, calling it blasphemous and disrespectful toward their faith, the Times of India reports. Zoroastrianism is a millennia-old faith with roots in ancient Persia and a flourishing community in India; its scripture emphasizes the sanctity of nature and the duality of existence. Amitis is an Iranian-born singer who now lives in Atlanta; “King” appears to be her entrance into the realm of Western pop. Snoop Dogg is Snoop Dogg — in...

Don’t know about Israel, but I’m scared to death. Putin has decided to supply S-300s to Iran, thereby expecting gratitude from the ayatollahs and indignation from… well, just about everyone else. Both his expectations have been fulfilled, but the ayatollahs have reasons to be upset too. First, because he has responded to world outcries by saying that it "won't be anytime soon." And second? Fair enough, the S-300, the world’s first fully automated AA missile system, is a fine weapon. But it was developed in 1979, when the Soviet Union was still alive and kicking. At that time the S-300...

In the roughly ten years since I helped found PJ Media, I have been back and forth between LA and DC a fair amount of times. I am on a plane at this moment, returning to my California home once again, but never have I been more disturbed by my trip. Our nation’s capital has become strange, surreal and disquieting. It’s hard to have a lot of hope. Long gone, thankfully, are the endless booths selling Obamabilia. But replacing that falsely optimistic atmosphere is an empty, bleak feeling. Yes, Washington is still the capital of posh, with celebrity chefs aplenty...

Ralph Peters: First of all, what are we going to do about those Jews? No, I’m serious. I’m serious. What are we going to do about all the Jewish refugees? After the nuclear cataclysm in the Middle East?

Every month there is an incident, like taking property of Hindu people or forced conversion of Hindu girls. ... Minority Hindus have complained of increasing harassment and discrimination in Muslim-dominated Pakistan in recent years, including the destruction or desecration of their places of worship. ... Hindus complain that girls are forcibly converted to Islam, there is no legal recognition for Hindu marriages, and Hindus are discriminated against when it comes to access to government jobs or schooling. ... During partition in 1947, the violent separation of Pakistan and India into separate countries, hundreds of thousands of Hindus decided to migrate...

<p>In a recent review of Donald Kagan’s The Peloponnesian War, and my Autumn of War, ("Theatres of War:  Why the battles over ancient Athens still rage”  New Yorker Magazine, [January 12, 2004]), the classicist Daniel Mendelsohn  says that I believe that it is immoral to suggest defeat can be seen as victory: "The play asks the very question that Victor Davis Hanson considers "immoral": whether abject defeat can yet somehow be a victory."</p>

Nowruz 2569 (1389) will begin on: با شادباش نوروز - تحويل سال نوتحويل سال نو ۲۵۶۹ - ساعت ۹ و ۲ دقيقه و ۰۰ ثانيه بعد از ظهر شنبه اول فروردين ۱۳۸۹ در ايران Tehran: Saturday:      09:02:00 PM      March 20, 2010 New York: Saturday 01:32:00 PM March 20, 2010 Chicago: Saturday 12:32:00 PM March 20, 2010 Denver: Saturday 11:32:00 AM March 20, 2010 Los Angeles:      Saturday 10:32:00 AM March 20, 2010 London: Saturday 05:32:00 PM March 20, 2010 Paris: Saturday 06:32:00 PM March 20, 2010 Rome: Saturday 06:32:00 PM March 20, 2010 Berlin: Saturday 06:32:00 PM March 20, 2010 Athens:...

Archaeological excavations in Netiv Haasarah have uncovered a Persian era military installation. Netiv Haasarah is a town in the "Gaza envelope" with a population of about 700. The dig, being headed by Dr. Yael Abadi Rice, found a fortified town and a military tower, from approximately 2,100 years ago. This time period was when the Second Temple was standing in Jerusalem. "It seems this was a military outpost", Dr. Rice told Tazpit News Agency. "Besides for the army stationed there, people were sent there to work the area on the road from Ashkelon to Gaza." The outpost had the military...

In 1979, after a long campaign of political pressure applied by the Carter administration in the United States, the Shah of Iran fell to the Islamic Revolution, ending a tradition of monarchic rule that had persisted in Iran for thousands of years since the rule of Cyrus the Great. The stage was set for the rise of the Ayatollah, and the establishment of a theocracy in Iran that, today, most Iranians do not even want. But what if none of that had ever happened? While a momentous departure from actual history, it is not nearly so far-fetched as it sounds....