Azam Ali and (most of) the members of Niyaz played two shows in Philadelphia on Thanksgiving week. I left from my home in Maryland on Sunday the 20th and travelled to the northeast suburbs of Philly to visit with family. Monday afternoon I headed into the city and found the venue, Ibrahim Theatre, at International House on Chestnut St. Having a few hours to spare, I sought out the Occupy Philadelphia site to get a first-person view of the encampment, and perhaps some perspective that the media was not presenting.

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Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Blurred Vision, a band of two young Iranian brothers, Sepp and Solh in Toronto used the Pink Floyed song  “Another Brick in the Wall“, which was written by the great Roger Waters in 1979, as a musical-political statement to express their support for the pro-democracy movement and revolution in Iran which started in the summer of 2009 in Tehran, Iran.

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The famous line, “Hey. teacher, leave us kids alone” is replaced with “Hey, Ayatollah, leave those kids alone” which was approved by Roger Waters. The video shows a mullah and the security forces chasing after and beating the young protesters in Iran. The director of the  video is the Canadian/Iranian filmmaker, Babak Payami who lives in Toronto.

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A Norooz celebration of Persian arts & culture feat. literature, music & film.

Date: March 26, 2011
Time: 6pm doors, 7pm show
Venue: 92YTribeca (200 Hudson Street, New York City)
Ticket: Buy Tickets NOW!

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Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

About the film

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Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

No green, no blue, no red, no black…………but all colors: get together and focus on one thing: your freedom!………….Keep Zabane Atesh all the time with you when you’re on the streets!!! Take your tar, dombak, guitar, sax – anything that can make the sound of freedom - with you. No gun can kill you when you’re flying on and with the sound of freedom. Ostad Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, please join the people on the streets and be the power of music!

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Text by Asia Society

Schoolgirls wave Iranian flags as they mark the start of 10 days of celebrations for the anniversary of the Islamic revolution at the Behesht-e Zahra (Zahra's Paradise) cemetery in southern Tehran on Feb. 1, 2010. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)

Date: Thursday, February 10, 2011
Time: 6:00pm to 8:30pm
Venue: Asia Society (725 Park Avenue, New York)
Ticket: $10

In the midst of international diplomacy over Iran’s controversial nuclear program, the US and its allies are intensifying sanctions against the country. The aftermath of Iran’s disputed 2009 election and growing violations of human rights are adding fuel to the fire, resulting in deeper hostilities with the outside world than at any time since the revolution’s early days. The stakes—and consequences—are greater than ever. 

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Date: December 14, 2010
Venue: Drom (NY)
Presented by the Persian Arts Festival
 

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi 

Courtesy of Abjee

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Posted by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Filmed in Karaj, Iran and New York City, “Songs of Hope” explores the life and music of Kayhan Kalhor, a master of the kamancheh, or Persian spike fiddle.

The love he showed for the instrument as a child led him to the life as a prodigy who left Iran in 1981 after the 1979 Islamic Revolution so he could continue his musical studies. He is renowned as a soloist and composer and as a founder and member of several ensembles, including Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, with which we see him rehearsing one of his compositions in the film. In 1997 he returned to Iran to renew his connections to his homeland and to teach a new generation of musicians, while establishing a life with his wife. His existence was that of a prolific, peaceful, globetrotting musician.

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Testing the Limits of Collaboration - painting by Nicky Nodjoumi

Text by Jason Reza Jorjani

On August 15, 2009, in Tehran, Mir Hossein Mousavi announced the formation of The Green Path of Hope, which includes Mehdi Karroubi and Mohammad Khatami among its leadership council. Read More

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Hamid Dabashi: a professor of Iranian studies and comparative literature at Columbia University, writes frequently on politics and world affairs. This time in CNN Opinion.

This article is very well formulated. He writes: Obama must stick to his vow to “bear witness” to crackdown in Iran,  U.S. civil rights icons, Muslim leaders; human rights groups should go to Iran.

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