The Difference Between Iranians & Arabs
Published July 1st, 2007 in Life Tags: arabs, babak, canada day, iran, iranians, mohammad, persians.If there’s one thing all Iranians (er, I mean Persians) hate, it is being lumped together with Arabs. Why? For one, we aren’t Arab. And for another, our country and civilization was taken over by the Arab (Muslim) hordes and our culture decimated in an attempt to totally erase it.
For more than a thousand years we fought to remain a distinct society while being controlled by a much larger Arab civilization. Persians are very crafty. We use every conceivable tool. For example, we rejected an imposed language by turning the words to mean the opposite. Mozakhraf in Arabic means, beautiful, guilded, ornate. In Persian it means garbage, trivial, of no value.
Our heroes to this day are people who fought against the invading Arab army. My namesake was one such hero. It says a lot about our collective character that to this day, Babak is the most common Persian name for boys - and not Mohammad.
So for the love of all that is holy, please don’t call a Persian an Arab.
Oh, and happy Canada day !! 
arabs, babak, canada day, iran, iranians, mohammad, persians
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7 Responses to “The Difference Between Iranians & Arabs”
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Lol this comedian is hilarious..
I guess most people who think Iranians are Arabs do so because following the Islamic Revolution the regime has aligned itself more and more with the Arab world in terms of ideology, rhetoric and international relations policy. And by and large the regime is the “face of the nation” to most people who don’t really have any contact with typical Iranians. Who knows maybe all this will change one day.
Happy Canada day.
Babak,
It’s crazy how things have changed. In the East as whole. But countries like India, Iran, Iraq, Egypt etc… were historically modern. In terms of technology, thinking and sexuality. Now these countries are some of the most conservative and backward thinking. If you go to North India, you will experience some of the best Persian and Aryan influenced history. These days those words are confused with terrorism and evil. It couldn’t be further from the truth. Also, I wish you luck in trying to convince people on this side of the Atlantic the difference between Persian and Arab. Just as it is hard to convince people that Jews are also Arabs. Hell, try getting an Arab to acknowledge that Jews are their cousins. Or that the Torah, Bible and Quaran have far too many similarities to be fighting and hating each other. I may be simplifying things but damn I wish we all got along.
LP
LP, yes definitely. In India just go to a temple and look up, you’ll get the best sex education. The force that changed these countries was Islam of course. Most people in the West still have no idea how much Iranians *love* the West and especially the US. Its culture, food, people, everything! It was the only country in the ME to spontaneously hold vigils after 9/11. I join you in wishing we could all just get along.
I had many Iranian friends when in college. Every college in Pune had so many Iranians students due to historical ties between India and Iran. Iranians during that period were extremely Westernized. The Iranian girls were all westernized and never use to wear Hijab. They were very progressive in their thinking. Used to be fun loving and hardly religious. And then the Revolution happened and in few years the number of students dropped sharply. I was in touch with many of them for for many years.
Maybe one day we’ll all get that wish, when the Buddhists take over and beat us into submission