Often confused for an Arab state in the Middle East, Iran doesn’t readily come to mind as one of Asia’s great cultures. Yet what has become modern-day Iran is a continuation of 2,500 years of civilization dating back to Cyrus the Great (‘Kourosh’ in Persian), a remarkably humane ruler who authored the first declaration of human rights and united and governed the largest empire of his time, stretching from India to the Mediterranean Sea. Today, after a quarter century of isolation and extremism that followed the birth of Iran’s Islamic Republic in 1979, it is this more accepting Persian persona that is beginning to reemerge . Even so, mutual misgivings still overshadow Iran’s relations with the West.

On one of my first visits to Iran in 2002 a friend of mine, an American-born Kurd who has returned to Iran, explained it to me like this, “Until the U.S. and other Western governments realize that we belong to the East and have more in common with those cultures than we do with the West or the Arab World, there will never be any reconciliation. We will continue to feel disrespected and have a deep mistrust for Western power.”

Iran & the West

During the Safavid Dynasty (1499–1736), widely considered the height of the Persian Empire, Ismail, Iran’s first Shah, established Shiite Islam as the Iranian state religion. For more than two centuries following the collapse of this dynasty, Iran was cursed by a desire to be more like the European empires of the day. ßHow do you support this claim? In what way did Iran seek to do so, and how did that harm its interests? What follows below doesn’t explain that. The Qajars, a tribal group whose dynasty lasted from 1796 to 1925, failed to protect Iran’s wealth from coming under the dominance of the British and the Russians, losing territories and creating economic entanglements that the Islamic Republic is still trying to pull itself out of.

A few decades later, starting in the 1950s, Iran’s Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi looked to the US as his guiding light, a policy that twice went awry — first in 1953 when a CIA coup overthrew Iran’s democratically-elected prime minister, Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, mistakenly assuming that he was leading Iran towards communism, and again in the late 1970s when the Shah’s crooked and embattled regime (at first propped up by the Nixon and Kissinger Republicans) was abandoned by the Carter Administration. By the end of the Iran hostage crisis (1979-81), in which students seized the US Embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans captive for 444 days, it was abundantly clear that Iran’s flirtation with the West had ultimately led to nothing but problems.

For 25 years, the relationship has remained extremely hostile. And Iran had repeatedly been implicated in major terrorist activities until September 11, 2001, when not a single Iranian was suspected in the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Nonetheless, Iranians were brandished by President Bush as part of an “axis of evil” in his 2002 State of the Union Address, despite their strong cooperation with the US in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

            These sorts of snubs have hurt and humiliated Iran’s politicians and its people. While the US may view its own harsh words as political posturing meant to deter Iran from destructive activities, the regime in Tehran sees them as yet another slap in their face.

Even though diplomats and analysts in the West still contend that Iran’s salvation is tied to improving relations with the US, in most capitals east of Tehran — Asian capitals — there is already a general warming and increased exchange  in the social, political and economic spheres, a thaw which has gradually led to a relaxation inside the Shiite-dominated megalopolis of Tehran.

Iran & Asia

For centuries, the Persian Empire extended deep into Central Asia. The largest of Iran’s provinces today is Khorasan, which during the height of the empire included parts of what are now Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. This was the very cradle of Farsi, the Persian language, and homeland to many of Iran’s great poets, authors and scholars. The influence of Persian culture on the societies now surrounding Iran endures. Many still practice Islam and speak Farsi, despite spending most of the 20^th century under Soviet rule. Simply put, Iranian culture and Islam have had a much greater and more lasting impact than did Moscow and communism.

In the 1930s the great English traveler Robert Byron described the scene in the holy city of Mashhad this way: “Turcomans, Kazaks, Afghans, Tajiks, and Hazaras throng its approaches, mingling with the dingy crowd of pseudo-European Persians. The police are frightened of these fanatics; so that access to the Shrine is still denied to infidels, despite the official anti-clerical policy which is opening the mosques elsewhere.” Although it had become government procedure to ignore indigenous culture and dress, the realities of nearby tribal nations were everywhere. This movement of people and ideas dates back much earlier. The great cities of Khorasan, including Samarkand, Bukhara and Mashhad, were all major stops along the Silk Road that connected much of the world from China to Europe.

More than a millennium of Iranian identity-building predated Islam’s arrival in Iran in the mid-7^th century, when Arabic armies forced Iran into the Muslim caliphate, a religio- political empire that one day would stretch from Spain to India. Iran’s culture was so strong that the Arab caliphs assumed many Iranian traditions. Although today Shiite Islam has become synonymous with Iran, it actually originated in Arabia, in the strife of succession following the Prophet Muhammad's death. Even today it’s still easy to observe in Iran that religious practices are informed by the earlier Zoroastrian faith, as well as by local customs and superstitions.

Many Zoroastrians fled Iran for India in the 9^th and 10^th centuries, yet another link that ties Iran with the rest of Asia. India today is still home to nearly 70,000 Zoroastrians of Persian origin, known as Parsis. The most well-known of contemporary times was the late Freddie Mercury, the rock band Queen's famous lead singer (born Farrokh Bulsara), who moved from India to England in 1963.

As a rule, Iranians have always had a respect for other ancient civilizations, which they have considered developed and wise, especially the Chinese. Before I fully grasped this I was amazed to see Islamic Republic state television denounce the Taliban’s destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan, months before the Taliban was on the average American’s radar screen. Iranians’ reverence for tradition extends naturally into their own homeland, where ancient ruins connected with the Zoroastrian, Christian and Jewish heritages are well maintained.

The eight-year war between Iran and Iraq (1980-88) was not only further proof of Iranians’ isolation from the US and their Arab neighbors, but also an early sign of Iran’s renewed links to the Far East. The US publicly supported Saddam Hussein, as did nearly the entire Arabic world (Syria and Libya excepted). China, meanwhile, was one of Iran’s staunchest supporters. Today the two counties’ ties only seem to strengthen as China has become increasingly dependent on Iranian oil and Iran has begun to favor China for many consumer goods, especially electronics and home appliances. One mustn’t forget, though, that this strategic alliance goes back much further: Iran and China have been trading partners since the days of the Silk Road.

Education

One of the ways in which Iran is drawing closer to its Asian neighbors is through education. Although for its entire 25-year history the Islamic Republic has been inviting foreign theology students to learn in Iran’s religious seminaries, the recent trend is for Iranians seeking better opportunities and a greater sense of personal freedom to pursue education abroad.

While it has become virtually impossible for Iranians to get visas to study in the United States and the high prices of Europe have also kept many away, prestigious universities in India, Thailand and other Asian countries are luring young Iranians with their English-language professional and graduate programs. In India alone, it’s estimated that there are up to 5,000 Iranian students enrolled, and the number grows every semester.

In the summer of 2003 I visited one of these universities in Pune, India. From the moment I boarded my flight from Tehran to Bombay, I could see that there were two reasons for Iranians to visit the subcontinent: education or trade. My fellow passengers were almost entirely college-age students or businessmen interested in importing and exporting with India. Upon our arrival we spotted a couple of dozen Iranian students huddled around an airport taxi stand, waiting to welcome newcomers. For most of the younger travelers, this was their first opportunity to experience a culture outside the strictures of Iran. It can be a tough transition. After earning their degrees, usually in engineering or other sciences, many of these Iranians have been returning home, but with the subcontinent’s stamp forever upon them.

Perhaps the growth of such cross-cultural education is part of the reason the notoriously isolationist Persian palate is also broadening its horizons. On my first visit to Iran, finding anything besides the ubiquitous kebab shop proved hopeless. At that time Iran seemed provincial at best, and I suspected a certain closed-mindedness. But in the short years since, I credit Iran’s youth with expanding its acceptance of other cultures.

Although rules themselves are diminishing, some of the Revolution’s pillars prevail. Alcohol, dancing, bars and nightclubs are still outlawed, making restaurants and cafes the official hangouts for people from all walks of life. I’d wager  it’s no coincidence that the popular spots at the moment are those offering Asian fare.

Many clear signs point to this burgeoning exchange with Asia. In terms of trade, South Korean automobile giants Daewoo and Kia are quickly catching up with Iran Khodro. Their cars are now so common cars on the streets of Iran that it’s no wonder that one of Tehran’s main expressways is named “Seoul.” Baseball, played in much of Asia, is quickly becoming a major sport in Iran. Classes in Asian meditation and healing practices, especially yoga and reiki, are increasingly in demand. And images of the Buddha are as trendy as they are in New York or Los Angeles.