Love Letter to Iran

To the citizens of Iran:

Thank you for Rumi, Hafez, Rabia, and so many more.

I quote Rumi, the great poet and spiritual master, almost daily on this blog.  Rumi was born in the Persian Empire 800 years ago. He is just one of the great souls produced by your culture. Through Rumi–our best-selling poet–Americans and Europeans are learning that the roots of your culture are ancient and remarkable.

Thanks to the horrifying recent news from Iran, the heroic and beautiful spirit of your people is now shining around the world. We know now that your women are educated and hungering for freedom. We know that many of your young men are willing to risk everything for their vision of a new Iran.

Like  millions of people around the world, I have sat helplessly watching the recent violence in your country. Such tragedy! We know there are many others whose faces we have not seen–many unjustly imprisoned and perhaps being tortured. With great sadness, we see that your voices are now being silenced by guns.

Not so many years ago, American children were unprotected from violent actions by their own parents; that was “family business,” and government could not intervene. Some years before that, our women were also at the mercy of their husbands; husbands had the “right” to control (and beat) their wives as well as their children. The state could not interfere.

Eventually, America woke up to the fact that violence against the vulnerable is never anyone’s “right.” We made the abuse of children and women and elders illegal and subject to punishment.

On the international scene today, we operate like the America of the past. Sovereign states have the “right” to operate independently even if they are murdering their citizens in the streets.

Iranian martyrs of the 2009 uprising are waking the international community up to the fact that no government has the right to commit atrocities against the innocent. I believe that the sacrifices Iranians are making now will be milestones in the building of a new international awareness. In the global village of the future, bullies and murderers will be stopped. First, they will be observed on the internet. Then, action will be taken.

Determining how this can be done is a formidable challenge. It is one we must meet. I call upon President Obama and his team to lead the way.

Meanwhile, blessed citizens of Iran, may the God we know by different names be with you. May Allah comfort you in this time of great challenge. We are watching, and we are with you in our hearts.

Rumi (as translated by Coleman Barks) says:

The most living moment comes when

those who love each other meet each

other’s eyes, and in what flows

between them then. To see your face

in a crowd of others, or alone on a

frightening street,  I weep for that.

Our tears improve the earth….

Blessings to you as well, dear visitor. Please forward this post to any Iranians you know. You may respond here or by emailing me at drvlee1234@aol.com. My book on Rumi is called The Rumi Secret: Spiritual Lessons of History’s Most Revered Poet.