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        <title>Isal news Agency - Latest News Culture :: Full Edition</title>
        <description><![CDATA[Isal news Agency]]></description>
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        <lastBuildDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 20:39:28 GMT</lastBuildDate>
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            <title>Isal news Agency - Latest News Culture :: Full Edition</title>
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            <description><![CDATA[Isal news Agency]]></description>
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        <copyright>Any reprint permitted just with the name of Isal news Agency</copyright>
        <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 20:39:28 GMT</pubDate>
        <category>Culture</category>
        <ttl>60</ttl>
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        <item>
            <title>Hajj can render ineffectual all plans of Arrogant Powers &amp; Zionism for moral downfall of humanity</title>
            <link>https://www.isalnews.ir/en/news/33230/hajj-can-render-ineffectual-all-plans-of-arrogant-powers-zionism-for-moral-downfall-humanity</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The following is the full text of Ayatollah Khamenei&#39;s message to the 2023 Hajj Pilgrimage.

In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
&nbsp;
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds and peace and blessings be upon the Great Messenger of God, Muhammad al-Mustafa and upon his Pure Progeny and upon his chosen Companions.

The Abrahamic call to Hajj and his universal invitation have once again addressed the entire world from the heart of history, making eager and excited the hearts that are ready and which remember.

The invitation is addressed to all human beings: &ldquo;And proclaim the Hajj to all the people&rdquo; (Holy Quran 22:27). The Kaaba is the blessed host and a guide for all people: &ldquo;Indeed, the first house to be set up for humankind is the one at Bakkah [Kaaba], blessed and a guidance for all nations&rdquo; (Holy Quran 3:96).

The Kaaba, as the focal point and the main focus of attention of all Muslims, and also the Hajj ritual as a small example of the extensive diversity of the Islamic world, can serve to elevate human society and improve the health and security of all people. Hajj can bless all humanity with spiritual and moral elevation, and this is the vital need of humankind today.

Hajj can annul and render ineffectual all the plans of the Arrogant Powers and Zionism for the moral downfall of humanity &ndash; today and in the future.

That which is a necessary condition for the occurrence of this universal impact is that as a first measure Muslims themselves should properly hear the life-giving message of Hajj and do their utmost to implement it.

The two main foundations of this message are &quot;unity&quot; and &quot;spirituality.&quot; Unity and spirituality are what guarantee the material and spiritual advancement of the Islamic world and its enlightening the entire world. Unity means being connected both intellectually and in practice. It means that hearts, thoughts, and orientations come closer together. It means a synergy in science and experience. It means having an economic connection between Islamic countries. It means the existence of trust and cooperation between Muslim governments. It means working together against common, definite enemies. Unity means that the plots designed by the enemy cannot set Islamic denominations, nations, races, languages, and the diverse cultures of the Islamic world against each other.

Unity means that Muslim nations should know each other, not through the enemy&#39;s seditious descriptions, but through communication, dialogue, and interaction. They should be aware of each other&rsquo;s potential and capacities and make plans to benefit from them.

Unity means that the scientists and universities of the Islamic world work hand in hand together, the scholars of Islamic schools view each other in good faith and with tolerance and fairness, and they listen to each other&#39;s words. The intellectual elites in all countries and of all denominations acquaint the people with each other&#39;s commonalities, and encourage coexistence and brotherhood.

Unity also means that political and cultural leaders in Islamic countries should prepare themselves in a coordinated manner for the situation that will exist in the upcoming world order. They need to determine with their own hands and by their own will the proper place for the Islamic Ummah in the new global experience, which is filled with opportunities and threats. They should not allow the bitter experience of the political and territorial engineering of West Asia at the hands of Western governments after WWI to be repeated.

Spirituality means advancing religious ethics. The enchantment of &quot;ethics minus religion,&quot; which has long been promoted by Western intellectual sources, has resulted in this unrestrained collapse of ethics in the West that everyone in the world is witnessing. Spirituality and ethics should be learned from the Hajj rituals, from the simplicity that exists in Ihram, from the negation of illusory privileges, from &ldquo;feeding the destitute and the needy,&rdquo; from &ldquo;there is to be no sexual contact, vicious talk, or disputing,&rdquo; from the circumambulation of the entire Ummah around the axis of monotheism, from the Stoning of the Devil [shaytān], and from the Disavowal of the Polytheists [mushrikīn].

My brothers and sisters who are performing the Hajj! Take advantage of the opportunity that Hajj provides to contemplate and ponder on the secrets and mysteries of this unparalleled obligatory action and make it a provision for the rest of your life. At this juncture in time and more than in the past, unity and spirituality are subject to the enmity and sabotage of the Arrogant Powers and Zionism. The US and other centers of Arrogance are strongly opposed to the unity of Muslims, to the understanding between nations, countries, and Islamic governments, and to the religiosity and commitment to religion of the younger generation in these nations. They are intensely opposed to these and they will fight these with any means they can. It is the duty of all of us, the duty of all nations, and the duty of our governments to stand against this evil scheme of the US and Zionist regime.

Ask the All-knowing, All-powerful God for help. Strengthen the spirit of &ldquo;Disavowal of the Polytheists&rdquo; in yourselves, and oblige yourself to spread and strengthen this spirit in the environment where you are living.

I ask Almighty God to grant all of you Iranian and non-Iranian pilgrims, success and an accepted and blessed Hajj, and I wish for all of you the accepted prayers of the great Vestige of Allah remaining on earth [Imam Mahdi (aj)] &ndash; may our souls be sacrificed for him.

May God&rsquo;s greetings and mercy be upon you.


Sayyid Ali Khamenei

Dhu al-Hijjah 6, 1444

June 25, 2023

end item*]]></description>
            <category>Culture</category>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Jun 2023 00:50:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.isalnews.ir/en/news/33230/hajj-can-render-ineffectual-all-plans-of-arrogant-powers-zionism-for-moral-downfall-humanity</guid>
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            <title>Isal News achieved the 6th provincial rank and the 94th national rank in the fifth round of news website rankings</title>
            <link>https://www.isalnews.ir/en/news/31790/isal-news-achieved-the-6th-provincial-rank-and-94th-national-in-fifth-round-of-news-website-rankings</link>
            <description><![CDATA[According to the Cultural service of Isal News, the news website ranking committee has released the results of the fifth round of news website rankings.&nbsp;

The committee emphasized that the purpose of ranking news websites is to create healthy and professional competition and to determine the true position of each news website with the aim of improving the quality of media in the country.&nbsp;

The ranking results were obtained through precise evaluation and verification of documents related to news website self-declarations in two expert and final evaluation committees.

Furthermore, the evaluation of news websites was conducted between October 2021 and September 2022.

Based on the results announced by the evaluation and arbitration committee of the fifth round of news website rankings, Isal News Agency has achieved a provincial rank of 6 in Isfahan province and a national rank of 94 with a score of 49.9 among active news websites throughout the country. &nbsp;Additionally, according to the mentioned results, this news agency has succeeded in achieving the top rank in Najafabad city, Isfahan province.&nbsp;

It is worth mentioning that, based on the ranking committee&#39;s announcement, non-national, specialized, or non-Persian language news websites receive a 10% bonus in the rankings. The purpose of ranking news websites is to create healthy and professional competition, determine the true position of each news website, and improve the quality of media in the country. The evaluation of news websites was conducted between October 2021 and September 2022.

Furthermore, Isal News Agency was granted a publishing license on August 5, 2018, with registration number 83415 by the Press Deputy of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Currently, the news agency is equipped with one of the most advanced comprehensive news software in Iran, the Studio News software, which operates in Persian, English, and Arabic languages.

Mostafa Amini, a journalist and political and international affairs analyst, and the owner and managing director of Isal News Agency, believes that the domain of public media activity is not an arena where personal opinions and extremist media orientations should be expressed to manipulate public opinion for the benefit of specific individuals or groups. Therefore, Amini claims that he has tried to provide a platform for publishing diverse and even contradictory opinions and views, so that the aware and active audience can make the best choices, participate in the evolution of opinions and views, and be effective.

According to the founding statement of Isal News Agency, it is a professional and independent campaign that strives to provide, analyze, and interpret the latest news from Iran and the world in various political and social fields in pursuit of the goals of information dissemination, public service excellence, promotion of dialogue, and approximation of opinions and views.&nbsp;

As part of the development plan of Isal News Agency, the establishment of the Isal Journalists Network and the establishment of press offices in the provincial centers of the IRAN are envisaged, so that Isal News Agency can gradually become an international news and analysis agency in the coming years.

In the fifth round of news website rankings, the evaluation and arbitration committee included Bijan Moghadam, Mohammad Sadegh Arab, Habibollah Abbasi, Mohammad Karimi, and Mohammad Lassani. Based on the published results, Isal News Agency was able to achieve the top rank in Najafabad city, a provincial rank of 6 in Isfahan province, and a national rank of 94 in a difficult competition among 1,783 news websites.

end item*]]></description>
            <category>Culture</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 27 Apr 2023 15:20:57 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.isalnews.ir/en/news/31790/isal-news-achieved-the-6th-provincial-rank-and-94th-national-in-fifth-round-of-news-website-rankings</guid>
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            <title>Christians and Muslims are all humble before the greatness of Ali ibn Abi Talib(as)</title>
            <link>https://www.isalnews.ir/en/note/25242/christians-and-muslims-are-all-humble-before-the-greatness-of-ali-ibn-abi-talib-as</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) belongs to all of humanity. He does not only belong to Shia Muslims and Muslims in general. All of humanity is humble and respectful of the greatness and beautiful aspects of Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) except for those people who do not know him.&nbsp;

Therefore, you can see that the panegyrists of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) are not only Muslims. Christians also praise the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.): not only Shia Muslims praise him. Besides Shia Muslims, the community of Sunni Muslims, in all parts of the Islamic world, sometimes speak more enthusiastically about the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) than about other great personalities of the early Islamic era.&nbsp;

Why? What is the reason? The reason is the greatness of this Imam; the kind of greatness which some people tried to deny throughout the life of that great personality, during several centuries after his demise: but they failed.&nbsp;

The brightness of the sun cannot be denied because it is the sun, and it naturally shines and gives warmth and light. Can this be denied? These are historical facts, and even the enemy of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) has acknowledged them.&nbsp;

In a meeting with Muawiyah, somebody said something against the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) in order to flatter him. Muawiyah became angry at this person, and he began a statement in praise of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.).&nbsp;

Muawiyah used to ask the companions of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.)--those who confronted Muawiyah after the demise of that great Imam (a.s.)--to speak to him about Ali (a.s.), and they would do this. There is a narration which says, Muawiyah sometimes shed tears.&nbsp;

These are the astonishing facts about Ali (a.s.)--This is while the enmity of Muawiyah towards Ali (a.s.) is not a secret: everybody knows it.

One of the children or grandchildren of Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr--the Zubayr family were against the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.)--asked his father, &quot;What is the reason for the increasing greatness of the household of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.)?&nbsp;

He answered, &quot;Yes, it is like this. Whatever his enemies did to hide his virtues, he showed himself as pure gold amid all these hedges of thorns. Whatever his enemies did to gather virtues for themselves, they found out that their efforts made noses feel nauseous like a corpse would--whose appalling smell fills the space moment by moment.&quot;&nbsp;

This is the way the enemies of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) have spoken about him. Today too, the books of Muslims--whether Shia or Sunni--are full of the Commander of the Faithful&#39;s (a.s.) virtues.

At all stages of life, he is our role model. Teenagers who are ten, twelve, thirteen years old can follow Ali (a.s.). They can make him their role model. Why? Because when he was ten and eleven years old, he was the first person to know and accept Islam and follow the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.).&nbsp;

The fact that a child, between the age of ten and eleven years old, discovered the truth, stood up for it, and followed it as much as he could, amid all those hostilities and denials, is significant.&nbsp;

Young individuals who are between twenty and twenty-five years can also make the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) their role model. Why? Because when he was twenty- three, during the time when the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) migrated from Mecca to Medina, he undertook the heaviest responsibility during the great migration.&nbsp;

The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) entrusted the dearest members of his household to Ali (a.s.) so that he would bring them from Mecca to Medina. The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) entrusted him with the duty of giving the people things which were held in trust: to pay his debts, collect money which the people owed the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), and join him in Medina.It was he [Ali (a.s.)] who agreed to sleep on the Holy Prophet&#39;s (s.w.a.) bed and go face to face with danger on a night when the enemies planned to break into the house and mutilate the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) with their swords.&nbsp;

See how great that Imam (a.s.) was! His behavior can serve as an example for us. When the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) formed a government in Medina, the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) became his top soldier; he continued to play such a role during the ten-year rule of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.): that is to say, from twenty-three till thirty-three years old.&nbsp;

Whenever the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) had a problem, Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) was the first person to stand beside him and defend him. During different wars, he played a leading role. During different wars, his sword used to solve the difficult and insolvable problems of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.).&nbsp;

Whenever everyone retreated, he forgot about his life and he advanced. And he did not want anything for himself. Whatever he did was in the way of God, for the sake of God and for rendering services to the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.).When the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) passed away, the Commander of the Faithful thought that it was his right to be the caliph. And in order to do this, he took action, delivered speeches, and invited the people to accept his caliphate. But, he withdrew when he saw that it was not possible; and when he saw that if he entered the arena and continued to invite the people, the Muslim community would disintegrate. &quot;Therefore, I exercised patience while there was a thorn in my eye and while sorrow had blocked the path of my throat&quot; [Nahjul Balaghah, Sermon 3].&nbsp;

For twenty-five years, the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) did not say anything about his right--he regarded it as his absolute right--for the sake of the unity of the Islamic Ummah, the solidarity of the Islamic community and the maintenance of the Islamic government. Are these jokes? Are these things easy to do? These are the things which help an individual conquer the peaks of glory in human history. These are the things which turn an individual into the brightest sun--which never sets--in human history.

After twenty years, when the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) was fifty-seven or fifty-eight years old--when he was in older in age--the people came to him and firmly insisted that he should accept the caliphate.&nbsp;

They said, &quot;You should come and you should accept it. We will not stop asking you.&quot; The Commander of the Faithful did not accept their offer at first, but when he saw that many people from the entire world of Islam--people from Egypt, Iraq, and Medina, including the outstanding personalities, al-Muhajirun and al-Ansar--came and firmly said: &quot;Oh Ali, no one except for you can manage this community and solve these problems,&quot; then he said &quot;Alright, I accept the caliphate,&quot; and he accepted it.&nbsp;

Since the moment that he accepted this responsibility and until the time when his holy head was slit, while he was praying, he did not stop--not even for a single day or hour--safeguarding the right and the truth from which Islam emerged. No considerations, no fear, and no weakness prevented him from carrying out his responsibility.
&quot;That men may stand forth in justice&quot; [The Holy Quran, 57: 25].&nbsp;

The prophets entered the arena for administering justice. They entered the arena for helping the people get close to God and enforcing divine rules among the people. This is the mission of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) as the executor of the Holy Prophet&#39;s (s.w.a.) will and as the Islamic caliph. He did not retreat, even for a second, on treading this path. He was not negligent in moving forward. His old friends broke off their relationship with him. Those who had extravagant claims became unhappy and they separated from him. They waged wars against him in order to overthrow him. Those who used to praise him in the past turned into his mortal enemies.


But the criticism of these people did not at all influence the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.). &quot;I am one of the people who is not intimidated by the criticism of faultfinders&quot; [Nahjul Balaghah, Sermon 192]. He continued the path in a steadfast way until he was martyred. &quot;He died by assassination in the mosque at Kufa, death occasioned by his own generous fairness.&quot; This is the character of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.); these are the outward qualities that we can see. See how amazing they are: how delicate, beautiful, and astonishing his virtues are.

Now we call ourselves Alavis and Shias of Ali (a.s.). If we say the name of Ali (a.s.), but we do not follow his path, this is of no value. There were some people during the time of that great Imam (a.s.) who expressed their love for him, but who refused to do what he wanted. The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) treated them without mercy. They were involved in corruption, and he administered divine punishment upon them. They said blasphemous words, and he put them to the sword.

When a number of people saw the greatness of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.)--we are inferior before this greatness--they said that he was a &quot;god.&quot; When we see a great individual, we compare him to a &quot;god.&quot; We cannot believe that our great and omniscient God can create such a great individual.&nbsp;

But we make a mistake by saying such things. During the time of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.), some people made this mistake by saying that he was a &quot;god.&quot; The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) ordered all of them to be killed; he did not show mercy towards them; he did not stand in a ceremony with them; he did not say that they are his supporters or that they are exaggerating: he did not do any of that. They abandoned the path of monotheism and fighting against polytheism; they became apostates, and they did not repent. The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) ordered that divine punishment is inflicted upon them, and he killed all of them.

The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) is like this. If we imagine that just because we praise the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) in words or just because we love him in our hearts, Allah the Exalted and the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) himself will forget about our wrongdoings and our deviation, we should know that this is not the philosophy of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.). The philosophy of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) is treading on the path of God. A Shia Muslim is a person who follows the path of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.).&nbsp;

Now an individual may make a certain mistake or commit a certain sin; this is a different issue. This individual should repent. But the philosophy of the Commander of the Faithful does not at all allow us to pin our hopes on our relationship with the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) and minimize the seriousness of our deviation from the path of God. The significance of what the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) did lies in the fact that he did not forget about people&#39;s rights, justice, and preserving the path of God just because of certain considerations.

*Supreme Leader of Iran leader

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&nbsp;]]></description>
            <category>Culture</category>
            <pubDate>Mon, 18 Jul 2022 02:31:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.isalnews.ir/en/note/25242/christians-and-muslims-are-all-humble-before-the-greatness-of-ali-ibn-abi-talib-as</guid>
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            <title>Mass festival on the occasion of Land Day held in Yarmouk camp</title>
            <link>https://www.isalnews.ir/en/news/22431/mass-festival-on-the-occasion-of-land-day-held-in-yarmouk-camp</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The participants, in a statement delivered at the festival held by the Palestinian national factions and forces, said that the Palestine Liberation Organization is the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people with its national charter, which includes that Palestine is the homeland of the Palestinian Arab people and an integral part of the Arab world, stressing the need to end the division immediately by unifying the Palestinian people on the basis of struggle and democracy.

Secretary-General of the Abnaa al-Balad Movement in Palestine, Raja Ghobariya, pointed out, via video, that Land Day constituted a remarkable step in the march of the Palestinians who adhere to their land and turn to the popular struggle against the occupation, stressing the need to firmly confront the projects of the surrender settlement aimed at liquidating the Palestine cause through resistance in all its forms.

Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia Atallah Hanna in Jerusalem said that the unity of the Palestinian people has become a national and strategic demand in order to be strong in defending rights and constants and facing conspiracies and challenges.

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            <category>Culture</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 25 Mar 2022 22:22:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.isalnews.ir/en/news/22431/mass-festival-on-the-occasion-of-land-day-held-in-yarmouk-camp</guid>
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            <title>Canadian Islamologist: Motives for Islamophobia Have Not Changed Since Early Islam</title>
            <link>https://www.isalnews.ir/en/interview/19623/canadian-islamologist-motives-for-islamophobia-have-not-changed-since-early-islam</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Interview by Mohammad Hassan Goodarzi,

In recent years, the phenomenon of Islamophobia in Western countries has grown tremendously, and Muslims are aften faced with Islamophobic behavior.

There has been a lot of talk about Islamophobia and its roots, but some experts believe that the rise of extremism among Muslims has led to a misrepresentation of Islam among Westerners and, ultimately, the spread of Islamophobia.

In this regard, we have conducted an interview with John Andrew Morrow, a prominent Islamologist. John Andrew Morrow (Imam Ilyas &lsquo;Abd al-&lsquo;Alim Islam) is a M&eacute;tis Canadian Muslim scholar who embraced Islam over thirty years ago at the age of sixteen. He has studied Islamic sciences for over three decades at the hands of both traditional Muslim scholarships as well as Western academics.

He completed post-doctoral studies in Arabic in Fez and Rabat and considers Morocco to be his second home. He worked as a university professor for two decades, retiring from teaching after reaching the rank of Full Professor. He has authored a vast body of work, including over one hundred academic articles and thirty scholarly books.

One of his most influential studies, The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World, inspired the creation of The Covenants Initiative, an international Muslim movement devoted to promoting the letters, treaties, and covenants of the Messenger of Allah with the People of the Book.

&nbsp;Here is he full text of the interview:

In recent years, more than ever, we have seen the rise of Islamophobia in the West. What do you think is the root cause of the rise of Islamophobia in the West?

Prof. Morrow: It is not a matter of recent years or centuries. The history of Islamophobia spans a thousand and a half years. It commenced when the Prophet Muhammad came down from the Mountain of Light and preached the Word of God.

Since the principles that that Messenger of God preached threatened the unjust status quo, and jeopardized the vested interests of those in political and economic power, the fear of Islam filled the hearts of the oppressors. Both psychologically and spiritually, they hated in Islam what they hated in themselves.

The morals and ethics of Islam filled their consciences with guilt. When challenged on such a profound plane, one either repents in humility or revolts in arrogance. One seeks to improve oneself or one retrenches oneself in wickedness and hardens one&rsquo;s heart even further.

The Prophet Muhammad did not call for the Kingdom of Evil on earth. He called for the Kingdom of God. He did not call for killing, rape, pillage, plunder, slavery, and sexism nor did he call for economic exploitation and social injustice.

He asked for humans to act humanely, to feed the poor, care for the orphans, and free the slaves. He called for an end to the infanticide of baby girls. He promoted unity and solidarity. The Meccan surahs are saturated with spirituality.

&nbsp;They are works of ethical edification. They remind one of the words of Jesus, Christ, son of Mary. If a person comes to the fore and promotes a diabolical agenda, it is but normal that people fear him and oppose him. Such a phobia is sane and sound. The fear of the Prophet&rsquo;s Islam was unfounded. Reasonable people accepted it as it was right. Those who opposed it knew, in their heart of hearts, that they were wrong, and that the Prophet was right; however, their love of power and wealth prevented them from embracing his message.

If you study the image of the Prophet Muhammad in Spanish or French literature, the picture it paints is constant. The man is maligned. His name is deformed. His teachings are distorted.

He is accused of abominations of all kinds and his followers are presented as polytheists and idolaters. How else could the religious, political, and economic elites convince so many people, including small children, to wage suicidal and murderous crusades against Muslims?

&nbsp;Those who fought Islam were deceived as to its true nature and teachings. Had they known that Muslims were monotheists, that they recognized the Gospel and Torah, that they accepted the biblical prophets, that they honored Jesus and the Virgin, and believed in promoting the good and forbidding the wrong, they would have had no reason to fight them.

&nbsp;The discourse may have changed in recent centuries; however, the motivation remains the same: Islam is a threat and Muslims must be opposed. The Prophet is now painted as the Lord of Terror and Muslims are depicted as barbaric savages and terrorists.

&nbsp;How else can the imperialists at the service of the global economic elites enlist over a million combatants to fight wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond? The negative adjectives that are used may change, but everything stays the same. The war against Islam has never ceased.

&nbsp;

Some believe that Islamic extremism has spread Islamophobia. Do you agree with this opinion?

Prof. Morrow: Of course it has. However, who is at the heart of Islamic extremism? The enemies of Islam themselves! The early Muslims were manipulated by the enemies of Islam who played one party against the other. Abu Sufyan, who was aligned with the Byzantines, sided with &lsquo;Ali after the passing of the Prophet.

&nbsp;When Abu Bakr became Caliph, Abu Sufyan offered to support &lsquo;Ali against him. Imam &lsquo;Ali&rsquo;s response was a resounding no. He knew what Abu Sufyan was up to, namely, to cause chaos and confusion, and to turn the Companions against each other in war. Abu Sufyan and his party could then sweep in and take control. Some of the hypocrites sided with the Byzantines.

&nbsp;Others sided with the Sassanids. Whether they were polytheists, Jews, or Christians by name -- unbelievers have no real religion but egotism and materialism &ndash; they played Muslims against each other. Hence, the sedition that took place during the dawn of Islam. The enemies of Islam supported extremists on all sides of the spectrum.

If prostitution is the oldest profession, then divide and conquer is the oldest political tactic. Over the centuries, the enemies of Islam were eager to exploit any weakness or division among the Muslims. European imperialists supported seditious extremists and used them during the First and Second World Wars to weaken the Muslim Ummah.

Ultimately, they succeeded in destroying the mighty Ottoman Empire. And they have not stopped. The leading powers may have changed; however, the Great Game remains the same. This is history, not paranoid conspiracy theory. This is not to say that every extremist is the product of the West. What is true is that every &ldquo;Islamic&rdquo; extremist is a useful fool who can be played like a pawn.

&nbsp;

What do you think is the biggest harm that Islamophobia does to societies?

Prof. Morrow: Islamophobia is a form of self-deceit. It is self-destructive. Hate is not healthy.

It consumes the hater and harms the hated. It encourages division as opposed to unity; discord instead of harmony; antagonism instead of cooperation; and conflict instead of peace. Such insanity is not in the greater interest of humanity. It simply serves the interests of the one-percenters who control virtually all of the world&rsquo;s wealth, the billionaire boys club, and the sons of Satan who are suddenly so concerned with &ldquo;social justice&rdquo; causes.

&nbsp;Forget about Islam. Forget about Christianity. Forget about Judaism. They are but names. The signifier is not significant: it is the signified that matters! The real threat is not &ldquo;Islam&rdquo; and &ldquo;Muslims.&rdquo; The real threat are values, morals, ethics, and primordial principles of right and wrong. For the Malthusian worshippers of Mammon, good is bad. It is bad for business. For us, the believers, opposing good can only be bad. Promoting hatred is the ultimate harm.

&nbsp;

How can Muslims play a role in the fight against Islamophobia?

Prof. Morrow: By being Muslims, real Muslims, good Muslims, God-fearing Muslims, and pious Muslims, not so much by ritual but by action. As Imam Ja&rsquo;far al-Sadiq taught us, we should not judge people based on how much they pray and they fast but by how they treat other people. Those rituals are the means but not the end.

What we are concerned about is faith in action, namely, putting the principles into practice. We serve God by serving people. We care for God by caring for His Creation. That is our duty as the Caliphs or Representatives of God on Earth.

&nbsp;Basically, it boils down to being good human beings and sharing our humanity with others. It is not about differentiation but commonality. Good is a universal language. Be good, do good, and you will draw good. Do not preach. Just practice.

&nbsp;

Next year we have the French presidential election. Why do you think some of the candidates in this election are promoting Islamophobic speech?

Prof. Morrow: Whether it is the US, France, or elsewhere, Islamophobia sells. In fact, sex sells, violence sells, racism sells, and hate sells. It appeals to base primal urges. It stimulates the reptilian brain. It is not that difficult to stir up a crowd and cause a riot.

&nbsp;It is more difficult to convince a large crowd to build a sewage ditch with shovels, to turn over part of their wealth to the poor, or to wash the hair of a homeless man.

&nbsp;For some, it is easier to do bad than to do good. Scapegoating Muslims, like scapegoating Jews in the past, is simply an effective form of marketing. Donald J. Trump mastered the art of inciting the worst in people. The slogans were simply: Ban Muslims, Build the Wall, and Make America Hate Again.

&nbsp;It was the means to an end: power. Such rhetoric is dangerous and is denounced by six million slaughtered Jews, over a million Roma people, as well as thousands of other ethnic, political, and religious groups that were demonized by the Nazis. Politicians should know better and they do. They know exactly what they are doing and why. Should we be surprised? Can we expect good from evil?

&nbsp;

What is the situation of Islamophobia in your country and how is it being fought?

Prof. Morrow: It is not abating. It is only accentuating. Slow Joe Biden has only deepened the deadly divide in the United States. He has deepened the trenches in the Culture War. The more one party pulls to the left, the more the other party pulls to the right in tit for tat fashion.

&nbsp;While there is truth on both extremes, reason and moderation is to be found in the middle. The conservatives have turned into the lunatic right. The liberals have turned into the lunatic left. The discourse on both sides is demented.

Like two tectonic plates pulling apart, there is no middle ground, only the fiery abyss of the earth, ready to pull all parties down into its belly. May God save America. May God save America from itself.

Have you ever faced an Islamophobe? What do you think is the best way to deal with an Islamophobic person?

Prof. Morrow:Yes, indeed, and some of them are among my very best friends. I live in rural America and have had the pleasure of being in close proximity to those Hillary Clinton described as &ldquo;deplorables,&rdquo; and those that Barack Hussein Obama condemned for loving their &ldquo;guns and Bibles.&rdquo;

They are conservative Christians. They are those that are mocked in the media. They are the subject of jokes and derision. They are looked down upon. But, as President Trump understood, they are the salt of the earth, and the heart of America.

I love them more than I could ever love a secular liberal. While they have their shortcomings, and are not always the most educated of people, mostly focusing on farming, factory work, and trades, they are hard-working, family-oriented people, with some sense of traditional moral values.

They know right from wrong and up from down. They are thinking people, not blind followers, who are suspicious of authority and have little trust in the system. They are those who have been screwed over by the global elites. They love their country but not necessarily their government.

I met Jim, a white American dairy farmer, half a dozen years ago. He believed in being a good neighbor so, when we moved to our homestead in rural America, he came to visit. I could tell by his facial expressions that he had suspicions regarding our religion or heritage.

&nbsp;He noted the names of my children, the olive-colored skin of my wife, and her jet-black hair. He also suspected that I was a foreigner due to my slight accent. He presumed that we were Muslims. He thought that we were Arabs. He regularly repeated that he was a God-fearing Christian. Perhaps he thought he could preach the Gospel to us.

Jim complained about Islamic terrorism and we smiled and nodded our heads, acknowledging his fears and feelings. Every time there was a terrorist attack, he stated, Muslims were responsible.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s getting old,&rdquo; he expressed. &ldquo;Whoever kills an innocent soul, it is as if he has killed all of humanity,&rdquo; I stated, without citing my Qur&rsquo;anic source. &ldquo;Less than 0.001% of Muslims are terrorists,&rdquo; I pointed out, &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t put them all in the same basket.&rdquo; &ldquo;I suppose so,&rdquo; he admitted, &ldquo;I know that many Christians give a bad image of Christianity as well.&rdquo;

Jim complained about how the local Yemenis were always trying to rip him off and never wanted to pay a fair price for his lambs and goat kids. &ldquo;People are people,&rdquo; I explained, &ldquo;some are good and some are bad, regardless of their religion.&rdquo; He thought it was crazy that the Yemeni women wore burkas and covered their faces. He seemed puzzled by the fact that my wife did not.

&ldquo;Where are you from?&rdquo; he asked, trying to confirm his suspicions. &ldquo;We are from South Dakota,&rdquo; I explained truthfully. &ldquo;We used to have a ranch there,&rdquo; I noted. &ldquo;We have also lived in Missouri and New Mexico.&rdquo; &ldquo;I mean, where did you come from before that?&rdquo; &ldquo;Canada,&rdquo; I explained, &ldquo;from Ontario and Quebec.&rdquo; &ldquo;I mean, where did you come from before that?&rdquo; he insisted, thinking I was giving him the runaround. &ldquo;I am a Native person,&rdquo; I clarified, &ldquo;I am also part French and part Irish.&rdquo; He was dumbfounded.

One day, while criticizing Muslims, my wife was finally fed up. &ldquo;You know we are Muslims,&rdquo; my wife interjected one day during Jim&rsquo;s Islamophobic ramblings. &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; he said shyly and awkwardly, &ldquo;I suspected that. &ldquo;I am confused,&rdquo; he admitted, &ldquo;I thought that all Muslims were Arabs.&ldquo; &ldquo;Actually,&rdquo; I explained, &ldquo;Arabs account for less than 15% of Muslims. There are Muslims all over the world. Indonesians are the largest group of Muslims. There are also millions of Chinese Muslims.&rdquo; &ldquo;I did not know that,&rdquo; he admitted.

As the months and years passed, the critiques continued, the questions continued, and the humble &ldquo;I did not know that&rdquo; became increasingly common. He learned to distinguish between culture and religion. He learned that most Muslim women did not wear burkas. Most of them were no different from the Amish women in our community who wore long dresses and covered their hair, just like Catholic women did until recently.

He learned that not all Muslims were dishonest. He noted that we always paid him the full price for his lambs and sometimes more. He helped us out and we helped him. When his wife of decades divorced him, we consoled him. When his daughter had some issues, we counseled him. He became a friendly and familiar face on our farm. We were always eager to learn from his knowledge and wisdom.

While many Muslims and non-Muslim secularists would have pushed him away at the first sign of perceived Islamophobia or racism, we preferred to focus on his qualities as opposed to his faults. Jim is a good man with a good heart.

He is kind. He is funny. He is helpful. He is generous. He is a good neighbor and a person one can count upon. He was a loyal husband. He is a loving father. He believes in God. He strives to be a good Christian. He has sound morals. And he is a hard-working man who would never steal a cent or engage in any dishonesty imaginable.

We always treated Jim kindly and respectfully even when some of his comments were searing. We tried to place ourselves in his shoes and see things from his perspective. In some cases, what is perceived as Islamophobia, racism, and bigotry is simply lack of knowledge and information.

Jim is far from being a racist. His sister-in-law is African American and he dated a Lakota Indian woman, learned much from her, and was willing to marry her and become a member of the tribe. Later, he set off to marry a Christian woman from the Philippines. He had despaired at finding an American woman with traditional values.

Labels are walls that divide. We need to break down those walls. I strove to set aside my negative stereotypes of &ldquo;good white Christians.&rdquo; Jim strove to set aside his negative stereotypes of Islam and Muslims.

&nbsp;I focused on his human qualities and he focused on our human qualities. We both realized that that separated us was semantics and that we shared a world in common. Jim became so close to our family that, when we moved to another town nearby, he broke down in tears. &ldquo;You are such good people,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and such good neighbors.&rdquo; Although we are no longer neighbors, my family and I are honored to have this &ldquo;Islamophobe&rdquo; as our friend.

end item*]]></description>
            <category>Culture</category>
            <pubDate>Mon, 25 Oct 2021 19:38:25 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.isalnews.ir/en/interview/19623/canadian-islamologist-motives-for-islamophobia-have-not-changed-since-early-islam</guid>
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            <title>Passing Away of the Prophet of Peace</title>
            <link>https://www.isalnews.ir/en/note/5404/passing-away-of-the-prophet-peace</link>
            <description><![CDATA[&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;It is He Who sent to the unlettered [people] the Messenger from among themselves, to recite to them His signs, to purify them, and to teach them the Book and wisdom, and earlier they had indeed been in manifest error.&rdquo; &nbsp; (Holy Qur&rsquo;an 62:2) &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Heartfelt condolences to all our readers on the advent of a very tragic day. It is the day on which the Almighty&rsquo;s Last and Greatest Messenger, who had been sent to purify and deliver mankind from manifest error, departed from the mortal world at the age of 63 after molding many human beings into monotheists during his 23-year mission.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; It is in fact, a day of double grief, since on the 39th anniversary of the tragic 28th of the month of Safar, the Prophet&rsquo;s elder grandson Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS) attained martyrdom on being fatally poisoned by the charlatan Mua&rsquo;wiya.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The path of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) was not paved with roses. It was strewn with thorns, at times poisonous and fatal, as is evident by his sufferings at the hands of the pagan Arabs, especially of Mecca, who refused to listen to his words of wisdom, mocked at him, derided him as insane, pelted him with stones, clamped a socio-economic boycott upon him, and plotted to murder him. When, by the Grace of God, he safely migrated from his hometown Mecca to Yathreb (Medina), where the people welcomed him and helped him establish the first instance of the ideal state of social justice; these hardcore pagans imposed war after war upon him, but with no success. Then these pagan Arabs ganged up with the equally treacherous Israelites to try to extinguish his mission through armed battles and conspiracies, but were soundly defeated. Finally in 8 AH, on the total failure of all their murderous plots, following the surrender of Mecca to him, two years before his passing away, they resorted to hypocrisy by paying lip service to Islam and claiming to be Muslims in order to save their skins, although at heart, most of them had no faith in his mission.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nonetheless, as the Prophet of peace, he overlooked their faults and strove to guide them towards monotheism and the best of morals, being certain that the universal mission of Islam will stand the test of time and one day in the future, as God has promised, Islam will prevail peacefully over all creeds. Let us focus on a wonderful debate that Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) had with the atheists to show them the rationality of Islam.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The Prophet, when confronted by a group of atheists, who mocked at God and divine messengers, asked them: &quot;Now, tell me what reasons you have behind your claims that the objects [or whatever is] in this Universe, have no beginning and they have been there forever and will exist forever.&rdquo;
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The atheists replied: &lsquo;We are simply stating what we observe. We have not seen &quot;hudooth&rdquo; or contingency, coming into existence in objects [or whatever exists] of the universe, so we say that this Universe has been there forever and when we did not observe destruction and annihilation, we postulated that whatever exists in this Universe is not transient [or will never annihilate].&rsquo;
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The Prophet asked them: &quot;Did you find this Universe &quot;qadeem&rdquo; or eternally pre-existent, without a beginning, or did you find it eternal? If you say so, then explain whether you yourself are in the same physical and intellectual state as you are now and that you will remain like this forever. If you will answer positively, then undoubtedly, you will deny your own observation and reject the observation of the observers [in other words, you yourself were not in the same physical and intellectual state].&rdquo;
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The atheists replied: &lsquo;No, we do not find this Universe pre-existent or everlasting.&rsquo;
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The Prophet then said: &quot;Then how come you said that the objects in this Universe are eternally pre-existent and eternal? And when you did not observe in the Universe &quot;hudooth&rdquo; [or contingency, coming into being] or for that matter &quot;inqadha&rdquo; (which means perishing or being transient), you called it pre-existent and eternal; while it was better for you, when you did not find eternal pre-existence and eternity in this Universe, to claim that this Universe is &quot;haadeth&rdquo; [that is, came into existence] and has &quot;inqadha&rdquo; (that is, perishable).
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The Prophet continuing his debate with the atheists asked them: &quot;Alright, have you seen how the day and night come one after another?&rdquo;
&nbsp; &nbsp; The atheists said: &lsquo;Yes.&rsquo; The Prophet said: &quot;Do you think of the night and the day to be eternal?&rdquo;
&nbsp; &nbsp; The atheists said: &lsquo;Yes.&rsquo; &nbsp;The Prophet said: &quot;In your opinion, can the night and the day coexist?&rdquo;
&nbsp; &nbsp; The atheists said: &lsquo;No.&rsquo; The Prophet continued: &quot;Doesn&rsquo;t one of them separate from the other and come forward and the other one follow it?&rdquo;
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The atheists said: &lsquo;Yes, this is how it works.&rsquo;
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The Prophet said: &quot;So, through your affirmation, you have said that the night and the day that have passed display &quot;hudooth&rdquo; [that is, coming into existence], while you have not observed it directly. Now, tell me you say that the Universe is eternally pre-existent and not &quot;haadeth&rdquo; [or created]. Do you know what are the things that you will have to admit to and reject, based on your proposition?&rdquo;
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The atheists said: &lsquo;Yes.&rsquo;
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The Prophet said: &quot;You have definitely observed that in this Universe, one thing is dependent over another because existence of anything in this Universe is impossible without its contact [or connection] with another thing. You may have seen how some parts of a building are dependent over others or else, the building would be unstable and not be able to stand as a unit [will fall] and this is true for everything [in this Universe]. The same is true for all other objects. So, when these objects, while being eternally pre-existent, require other objects for their strength and completeness, so now tell me, what would have been their situation and characteristics had they been &quot;haadeth&rdquo; [having a beginning]?&rdquo;
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The Prophet&rsquo;s divinely-designated vicegerent, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), who was present at this lively debates has narrated that after hearing this question from the Prophet, all the atheists were baffled and understood that it is impossible to acquire a new characteristic for a &quot;haadeth&rdquo; object [that is, something with a beginning] which is different from the characteristics of the objects which we call &quot;qadeem&rdquo; (eternally pre-existent).
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The atheists stopped their discussion and said: &lsquo;We wish to think over our matters for some time. Soon many of them were convinced of the truth of Islam and became Muslims.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;This was Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), who came to enlighten mankind, and did not leave the world without showing clear ways of guidance, including whom God has chosen to be his vicegerent and successors or Imams after him.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Alas in 50 AH, those who styled themselves as Muslims, not only poisoned to death his elder grandson, Imam Hasan Mujtaba (AS), but riddled the coffin and the corpse with arrows.

&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;..
1.Condolences on the Tragic Departures of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) and Imam Hasan (AS)

end item\*]]></description>
            <category>Culture</category>
            <pubDate>Sat, 26 Oct 2019 01:53:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.isalnews.ir/en/note/5404/passing-away-of-the-prophet-peace</guid>
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            <title>Tehran Chamber Orchestra to resume with vocalist Shahram Nazeri</title>
            <link>https://www.isalnews.ir/en/news/432/tehran-chamber-orchestra-to-resume-with-vocalist-shahram-nazeri</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The concert will be conducted by Bardia Kiaras at Milad Tower on March 13, the organizers have announced.
Songs from Nazeri&rsquo;s latest album &ldquo;Arash the Archer&rdquo; released by Qoqnus Art and Culture Institute on Monday will be performed during the concert.&nbsp;
Pejman Taheri is the composer of the album that features &ldquo;Night&rdquo;, &ldquo;Tale&rdquo;, &ldquo;Hope&rdquo;, &ldquo;Arash&rdquo; and &ldquo;Farewell&rdquo; selected from a poem collection of the same name by Siavash Kasrai.
Director and theater expert Qotbeddin Sadeqi, who is also a prominent actor, has collaborated with Nazeri and Taheri in this project as a narrator.
&ldquo;Arash the Archer&rdquo; is based on the story of the Persian mythical character Arash the Archer.
Legend has it that Arash shot an arrow from the peak of Damavand, Iran&rsquo;s highest peak, to mark the border of Iran and Turan after the long-lasting war between the two countries.&nbsp;
The arrow fell on the bank of the River Oxus in what is now Central Asia. Arash, who had pulled his bow with all his strength, collapsed to the ground on Mount Damavand and passed away.
The Tehran Chamber Orchestra was established by former Tehran Symphony Orchestra conductor Nader Mashayekhi in 2008.]]></description>
            <category>Culture</category>
            <pubDate>Wed, 06 Mar 2019 14:58:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.isalnews.ir/en/news/432/tehran-chamber-orchestra-to-resume-with-vocalist-shahram-nazeri</guid>
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            <title>Iranian filmmaker wins at Academy Awards</title>
            <link>https://www.isalnews.ir/en/news/304/iranian-filmmaker-wins-at-academy-awards</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Rayka Zehtabchi, an Iranian filmmaker, received the Short Film (Live Action) award for her film, &#39;Period. End of Sentence.&#39; on Sunday.
Zehtabchi, 25, said in her speech when receiving the prize that she couldn&#39;t believe that a film about health problems could win an Oscar.
Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton made the film which follows an enduring stigma around women health problems in rural parts of India and how it affects the lives and education of women.
The 25-minute movie narrates the poor sanitary conditions of women in a village in India. The women living in the village don&#39;t have access to sanitation products. Some girls of the village leave school due to the shame of the problems.
To make the movie, Zehtabchi visited India twice in 2017, when she had just graduated from the School of the Arts and Architecture of University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) a year earlier.
About her goal in making the movie, she said that it was necessary that the problems and deprivations of women throughout the world be put on the spotlight.
Overall, 20th Century Fox&#39;s &#39;Bohemian Rhapsody&#39; won four honors while &#39;Green Book&#39;, &#39;Roma&#39; and &#39;Black Panther&#39; earned three apiece.
In the top categories, &#39;Roma&#39; helmer&nbsp;Alfonso Cuaron&nbsp;claimed the directing Oscar for the second time in his career. He received the honor five years after winning it for &#39;Gravity&#39; in 2014. Cuaron also&nbsp;took home the cinematography prize, making him the first person to nab the award for serving as DP on his own film. He accepted a statue for foreign-language film on behalf of Mexico as well.
Olivia Colman earned the best actress award for &#39;The Favourite&#39;, Rami Malek won the best actor honor for &#39;Bohemian Rhapsody&#39;, Regina King claimed the best supporting actress honor for &#39;If Beale Street Could Talk&#39;, and Mahershala Ali won best supporting actor for &#39;Green Book&#39;.
&#39;BlackKklansman&#39; director Spike Lee took home his first Oscar at Sunday&#39;s Academy Awards, following five nominations over nearly 30 years, while Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie and Peter Farrelly claimed best original screenplay for &#39;Green Book&#39;.
In craft categories, &#39;Black Panther&#39; earned the costume design honor and a win for production design while &#39;Vice&#39; won for makeup and hairstyling. &#39;Bohemian Rhapsody&#39; won for film editing, sound editing and sound mixing and &#39;First Man&#39; won for visual effects.
For best original song, Lady Gaga won for &#39;Shallow&#39; in &#39;A Star Is Born&#39; while Ludwig G&ouml;ransson claimed a win for the score of &#39;Black Panther&#39;.
&#39;Roma&#39; nabbed the best foreign-language film and cinematography honors. &#39;Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse&#39; won best animated feature, while &#39;Free Solo&#39; earned the best documentary feature award.
&nbsp;
Women, people of color triumph
Oscar marked a night of important firsts &mdash; and seconds &mdash; for diverse artists and filmmakers and their Hollywood contributions.
The 2019 telecast started making history almost immediately. After Regina King accepted best supporting actress for &#39;If Beale Street Could Talk&#39;, Ruth E. Carter became the first African American woman to ever win best costume design, for her work on Marvel&#39;s &#39;Black Panther&#39;.
&quot;I dreamed of this night and I prayed for this night honestly&hellip;what it would mean not just for me but for young people coming behind me,&quot; Carter told press backstage at Hollywood&#39;s Dolby Theater. A nod to a new generation of costumers could have been expected, as the first person Carter thanked in her acceptance speech was Spike Lee. The director gave her start, she said, and he was himself a multiple nominee on Sunday for &#39;BlacKkKlansman&#39;.
The production designer of &#39;Black Panther&#39;,&nbsp;Hannah Beachler, took that advice to heart and proceed to win in her category minutes after Carter, the first time a woman of color had even been nominated in that space.
&quot;When you think it&#39;s impossible, just remember to say this piece of advice I got from a very wise woman: I did my best, and my best is good enough,&quot; Beachler said in an emotional speech that kicked off with a shout out to New Orleans. Both Beachler and Carter&#39;s wins are historic in multiple ways: An African-American woman hasn&#39;t won a non-acting Oscar in 30 years.
Mahershala Ali&nbsp;took the best supporting actor Oscar for &#39;Green Book&#39;, and now becomes the only other black performer besides Denzel Washington to have won more than one Academy Award.
Despite Disney-Pixar often taking the animated feature category, &#39;Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse&#39; ended its clean-sweep of awards season against films including &#39;Incredibles 2&#39;.
Producers Phil Lord (a Cuban-American) and Chris Miller accepted the prize with directors including Peter Ramsey, for mounting the groundbreaking Sony Pictures Animation film that was the first to ever feature a Spider-Man of color (the Afro-Latino Miles Morales).
Female visibility above and below the line was incredibly strong, with Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney&#39;s makeup and hairstyling win for &#39;Vice&#39; and Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton&#39;s best documentary short win for &#39;Period. End of Sentence.&#39;
Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb of Pixar also nabbed an animated short for &#39;Bao&#39;, and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Shannon Dill shared best documentary feature for &#39;Free Solo&#39; with Jimmy Chin and Evan Hayes.
Hollywood Reporter, Variety, theguardian.com and oscar.go.com contributed to this story.]]></description>
            <category>Culture</category>
            <pubDate>Tue, 26 Feb 2019 07:58:54 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.isalnews.ir/en/news/304/iranian-filmmaker-wins-at-academy-awards</guid>
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            <title>Curtains falls on 37th Fajr Film Festival, winners announced</title>
            <link>https://www.isalnews.ir/en/news/224/curtains-falls-on-37th-fajr-film-festival-winners-announced</link>
            <description><![CDATA[According to Ebrahim Daroughezadeh, the director of this edition of the Fajr Film Festival, 22 Iranian films and three domestically-made 3D computer-animated movies contested to win the Crystal Simorgh (Iranian mythical flying creature) in this competition.
Daroughezadeh said that 37th&nbsp;Fajr festival was the most welcomed event of the year in terms of the number of audiences, special screening time-slots and number of halls showing the film.&nbsp;
The jury composed of filmmakers Mohammad-Ali Bashe Ahangar, Mohammad Bozorgnia, Pooran Derakhshandeh and Mohammad Ehsani.
Cinematographer Mahmud Kalari, film critic Mehrzad Danesh and actress Rima Raminfar are the other members of the jury.
Entering the night with 13 nominations &lsquo;Night of the Full Moon&rsquo; took home seven awards, including best makeup, best director.
The feature film &lsquo;Night of the Full Moon&rsquo; directed by Narges Abyar and produced by Mohammad-Hossein Qassemi won this year&rsquo;s top prize, the Golden Simorgh for best film.
Negah-e No (New Vision) section awarded &lsquo;Pedovore&rsquo; by Mohammad Kart with best short. This is while best documentary award was given to &lsquo;Baharestan, House of People&rsquo; by Babak Behdad.
Best film award in this section was given to &lsquo;Buffoon&rsquo; by Homayoun Ghanizadeh. But the director rejected the award and in a message read by an Afghan individual hoped to be a better director for Iran.
The program paid special honor to the 23 people on which the film with the same name was built by Mehdi Jafari.
Iran&rsquo;s veteran actress, who played in more than 130 films, Gohar Kheirandish, actors Habib Ahmadzadeh, Manouchehr Shahsavari and Iran&rsquo;s Culture Minister Abbas Salehi went on the stage to offer a symbolic Simorgh to all the 23 people on stage.
The film won national award best film which was received by Mojtaba Faravarde and Mehdi Jafari.
Javad Matoori was awarded with best visual effects prize for &lsquo;Buffoon&rsquo;. Mohsen Kheir-Abadi, Reza Misaqi and Shahab Najafi for &lsquo;Takhti, the World Champion&rsquo;, Hadi Eslami and Amir Saharkhiz for &lsquo;23 People&rsquo;, Javad Matoori for &lsquo;The Warden&rsquo; and Sina Qavidel for &lsquo;Midday Adventures: Trace of Blood&rsquo;.
Iman Karamian for &lsquo;Midday Adventures: Trace of Blood&rsquo; won the best special effect award and beat out other nominees.
The nominees were Mohsen Roozbehani for &lsquo;23 People&rsquo;, Iman Karamian for &lsquo;The Ninth Symphony&rsquo;, Arash Aqabeik for &lsquo;Night of the Full Moon&rsquo;, Arsha Aqdasi for &lsquo;Oath&rsquo; and Iman Karamian for &lsquo;Midday Adventures: Trace of Blood&rsquo;.
The best makeup award was presented to Iman Omidvari for the film &lsquo;Night of the Full Moon&rsquo;.
Costume designer Meshkin Mehregan picked up his best costume design from 5 nominations for &lsquo;The Ninth Symphony.
Keyvan Moqaddam received the best stage design award for the film &lsquo;Takhti, the World Champion&rsquo;.
Best sound recording and best sound mixing awards went to Iraj Shahzadi for &lsquo;6.5 per Meter&rsquo; and Mehrshad Malakooti for &lsquo;Midday Adventures: Trace of Blood&rsquo;, respectively.
Best music award went to Amin Honarmand for &lsquo;Qasr-e Shirin&rsquo;.
Bahram Dehqani won the best editing award for &lsquo;6.5 per Meter&rsquo; but the film&rsquo;s producer Sadataian received the award on behalf of the winner.
Among the six nominees, Hamid Khozooei for &lsquo;Takhti, the World Champion&rsquo; managed to win the best cinematography award.
Fereshteh Sadr-Orafaei won best supporting actress for &lsquo;Night of the Full Moon&rsquo; beating out Zohreh Abbasi, Zhila Shahi, Niusha Alipour and Pantea Panahiha who were also nominated.
Veteran actor Ali Nassirian, 84, won the best supporting actor award for &lsquo;Buffoon&rsquo;.
Best animation award went to &lsquo;The Last Fiction&rsquo; by Ashkan Rahgozar.
&lsquo;Buffoon&rsquo; By Homayoun Ghanizadeh received the best film in Art &amp; Experience Cinema section.
The award for best actress and best actor in a leading role went to Elnaz Shakerdoust for &lsquo;Night of the Full Moon&rsquo; and Houtan Shakiba for &lsquo;Night of the Full Moon&rsquo;.
Mohsen Qaraei and Mohammad Davoudi for &lsquo;Qasr-e Shirin&rsquo; picked up the best film script award.
Filmmaker Narges Abyar received the award for best director for the film &lsquo;Night of the Full Moon&rsquo;.
Audience award best film went to the film &lsquo;6.5 Per Meter&rsquo; by Saeed Roustaei.
The national section of the Fajr festival, which brings together motion picture industry professionals from across the country, is held in January and February during the celebrations to mark the anniversary of Iran&rsquo;s Islamic Revolution.
The 37th edition took place in Tehran and several other Iranian cities from January 30 to February 11.
In the international section, annually held in April, hundreds of filmmakers from around the world apply to take part in the major contest.]]></description>
            <category>Culture</category>
            <pubDate>Mon, 11 Feb 2019 20:34:32 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.isalnews.ir/en/news/224/curtains-falls-on-37th-fajr-film-festival-winners-announced</guid>
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        <item>
            <title>Opening ceremony of 37th Fajr Film Festival</title>
            <link>https://www.isalnews.ir/en/gallery/138/1/opening-ceremony-of-37th-fajr-film-festival</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The opening ceremony was held in the presence of Iran&rsquo;s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Abbas Salehi, the director of the 37th Fajr Film Festival Ebrahim Darougheh Zadeh and the well-known actors and actresses of Iran&rsquo;s cinema.]]></description>
            <category>Culture</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2019 00:55:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.isalnews.ir/en/gallery/138/1/opening-ceremony-of-37th-fajr-film-festival</guid>
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