Kourosh Ziabari: A prominent Canadian Iranologist says that Iranian people have historically attached high importance to love and beauty, which have existed at the center of their spirituality and subtle culture.
Responding to a question on why some American people do not know too much about Iran and the Iranian culture and civilization, Prof. Richars Foltz said, “According to studies I’ve seen, most Americans cannot even locate America on a world map. The United States is a very insular society; it is a large and relatively uniform country culturally speaking, which means that it is easy for Americans to believe that what they know is the general standard.”
“Unfortunately, the wide admiration for American popular culture throughout the world tends to feed into this notion, obscuring the value of other cultures and their contributions,” said Prof. Foltz.
Prof. Richard Foltz is a specialist in the history of Iran and the history of religions. He has extensively studied Islam and Zoroastrianism and teaches at the Department of Religion at Concordia University, Montréal, Canada. He holds a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern history from Harvard University and also has a degree in Persian language from the University of Utah. His latest book is titled “Religions of Iran: From Prehistory to the Present” published by the Oneworld Publications in 2013. Two of his books have been translated into Persian, “Dinha-ye jadeye abrisham” (2006) and “Gozar-e ma’anaviyat az Iranzamin” (2010).
According to Prof. Foltz, “Persian culture is very subtle [and] for someone raised in the more straightforward North American society, this subtlety can be both attractive and sometimes frustrating. But what I think attracts me the most about Iranians throughout history is the importance they give to love and beauty, which for them seem always to have been at the center of their spirituality.”
I conducted an interview with Richard Foltz about the different aspects of Persian culture and the contributions of Iranian people to sciences, arts and literature throughout the history. What follows is the text of the interview.
Q: What primarily made you interested in the Iranian culture and propelled you toward studying ancient religions and the Iranian culture?
A: I have been studying Iran for 25 years, so it is a little difficult to remember how it all started. I had some Iranian friends at university, and I was also attracted to Persian miniatures and traditional architecture.
Q: What’s the most significant element of Persian culture in your view? To the Western citizens, what’s the most interesting and attractive aspect of the lifestyle, culture and civilization of the Iranian people?
A: Persian culture is very subtle; for someone raised in the more straightforward North American society, this subtlety can be both attractive and sometimes frustrating. But what I think attracts me the most about Iranians throughout history is the importance they give to love and beauty, which for them seem always to have been at the center of their spirituality.
Q: Many Western citizens, including the people of the United States, don’t recognize that the Ancient Persian civilization belongs to the contemporary Iran and that Iranians are not Arabs. I’ve personally heard from many American citizens who told me that they’re unable to locate Iran on the world map, and seen many others conflating Iran with Iraq. What’s the reason in your view?
A: According to studies I’ve seen, most Americans cannot even locate America on a world map. The United States is a very insular society; it is a large and relatively uniform country culturally speaking, which means that it is easy for Americans to believe that what they know is the general standard. Unfortunately, the wide admiration for American popular culture throughout the world tends to feed into this notion, obscuring the value of other cultures and their contributions.
Q: How much do you know about the symbols of Iranian art, including the art of carpet-weaving which is original to the Iranian people? Today, countries such as Turkey and China have started efforts to dominate the international markets of carpet industry. How do you estimate this competition?
A: Well, I am an academic, not a carpet seller, so I couldn’t really say. But in my opinion Persian carpets are superior to those produced in Turkey, China, or Pakistan.
Q: We already know that Iranians have been historically monotheist people and worshipped the unique God. The teachings of both Zoroastrianism and Islam are based on the uniqueness of the Creator, the importance of morality, decency of behavior and attachment to honesty, sincerity and truthfulness. How do you estimate the impact of religion on the formation and development of Iranian culture?
A: In my opinion religion and culture are inseparable. I have devoted much of my research to the contributions of Iranian ideas in the history of world religions, especially the influence of ancient Zoroastrian religious concepts on the development of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and even Buddhism.
Q: What’s the perception of your students about Iran? They conventionally hear about the political conflicts and disputes of the West with Iran and that’s the recurrent theme of the mainstream media’s portrayal of Iran. Do they accept that such a country which the Western media usually vilify and attack has had a glorious, 7,000-year-old civilization?
A: If a student registers for a course on Iran it usually means they have some curiosity about the country. My students are mostly very appreciative of Iran’s importance in world history. I should say that Montreal is a very cosmopolitan city, with a large and visible Iranian population, so students here tend to have a more sophisticated sense of the world and a greater respect for Iran than in many other parts of North America. Also Canadians in general are more curious and open-minded about other cultures than their American counterparts, mostly lacking the cultural arrogance which tends to characterize the US.
Q: Which of the great Iranian poets fascinate you the most? We have Hafez, Sa’di, Mowlana, Ferdowsi and several other literary giants in Iran’s history. What’s your idea about them?
A: I admire Ferdowsi for the purity of his language, Mowlana for his emotional intensity, Sa’di for his wit, and Hafiz for the richness of his expression.
Q: How did the emergence of Islam contribute to the progress of science, arts and culture in Iran? We already know that people such as Al-Farabi, Avicenna, Al-Khawrizmi and Rhazes rose to prominence in the post-Islamic era. What’s your viewpoint regarding the impact of Islam on the scientific and artistic achievements of the Iranians?
A: I would put it the other way around, and say that Iranians had a major impact on the development of Islamic civilization. The academy at Gundeshapour, which was the most important academic institution in the world during Sassanid times, is a prime example of this; it simply became Islamicized after the Arab conquests. Iranians were an advanced nation before the coming of Islam and they were central to the emergence of the civilization we refer to as Islamic. The great cultural achievements of the Abbasid period were largely due to Iranians, but these ideas did not emerge suddenly out of a vacuum; they were built on ideas that already existed in the past.
Q: And finally, what’s your viewpoint regarding the contribution of Iranian artists, scientists and scholars to the international community? Iranians have historically made great efforts to improve arts, science and fields of academic study in the world. I think we cannot ignore the importance of the contribution of Iranian artists and scientists to the world. What’s your take on that?
A: I can say that here in Canada Iranians are statistically the second most highly educated immigrant group, after the Germans. I guess in the US the situation is similar. In most fields there exist prominent Iranians, as one would expect from such a rich and long-established culture.