Brilliant Flemming Rose

Why I Published the cartoons
By Flemming Rose
Feb. 19, 2006
Washington Post

"Childish. Irresponsible. Hate speech. A provocation just for the sake of provocation. A PR stunt. Critics of 12 cartoons of the prophet Muhammad I decided to publish in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten have not minced their words. They say that freedom of expression does not imply an endorsement of insulting people's religious feelings, and besides, they add, the media censor themselves every day. So, please do not teach us a lesson about limitless freedom of speech.

I agree that the freedom to publish things doesn't mean you publish everything. Jyllands-Posten would not publish pornographic images or graphic details of dead bodies; swear words rarely make it into our pages. So we are not fundamentalists in our support for freedom of expression.

Those examples have to do with exercising restraint because of ethical standards and taste; call it editing. By contrast, I commissioned the cartoons in response to several incidents of self-censorship in Europe caused by widening fears and feelings of intimidation in dealing with issues related to Islam. And I still believe that this is a topic that we Europeans must confront, challenging moderate Muslims to speak out. The idea wasn't to provoke gratuitously -- and we certainly didn't intend to trigger violent demonstrations throughout the Muslim world. Our goal was simply to push back self-imposed limits on expression that seemed to be closing in tighter.

At the end of September, a Danish standup comedian said in an interview with Jyllands-Posten that he had no problem urinating on the Bible in front of a camera, but he dared not do the same thing with the Koran.

This was the culmination of a series of disturbing instances of self-censorship. Last September, a Danish children's writer had trouble finding an illustrator for a book about the life of Muhammad. Three people turned down the job for fear of consequences. The person who finally accepted insisted on anonymity, which in my book is a form of self-censorship. European translators of a critical book about Islam also did not want their names to appear on the book cover beside the name of the author, a Somalia-born Dutch politician who has herself been in hiding.

Around the same time, the Tate gallery in London withdrew an installation by the avant-garde artist John Latham depicting the Koran, Bible and Talmud torn to pieces. The museum explained that it did not want to stir things up after the London bombings. (A few months earlier, to avoid offending Muslims, a museum in Goteborg, Sweden, had removed a painting with a sexual motif and a quotation from the Koran.)

Finally, at the end of September, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen met with a group of imams, one of whom called on the prime minister to interfere with the press in order to get more positive coverage of Islam.

So, over two weeks we witnessed a half-dozen cases of self-censorship, pitting freedom of speech against the fear of confronting issues about Islam. This was a legitimate news story to cover, and Jyllands-Posten decided to do it by adopting the well-known journalistic principle: Show, don't tell. I wrote to members of the association of Danish cartoonists asking them "to draw Muhammad as you see him." We certainly did not ask them to make fun of the prophet. Twelve out of 25 active members responded ... Read the rest here.

Hat tip CMARR II Iraqi Blogers central
Weakend reading
***

Brilliant Rose

In a comprehensive article in the Sunday Washington Post, Editor Flemming Rose gives us a brilliant rendering of the context within which the decision was made to publish the 12 cartoons that appeared in his newspaper, the Jyllands-Posten on 30 Sept 2005.

For any reader of his article, it will now be clear that between the initial act of publishing and today, the entire cartoon event has morphed from its avowed pre-publication intent - to stimulate debate in the Danish community on the issue of self-censorship with respect to Islam and Muslims - as declared by Mr. Rose, to something quite difference.

He assists our understanding of the whole set of events by dividing it into two narratives – one European and one Middle Eastern.

The trail of evidence shows that the Islamic leaders in the Middle East deliberately created the pan-Islamic outrage and riots for particular political purposes. These issues he puts in the Middle East narrative not the European narrative of this story.

Of the Middle East part he says this.

“The narrative in the Middle East is more complex, but that has very little to do with the cartoons.”

As for the European narrative, writing 19 Feb 2006 in the Sunday article with the insight of a critical witness, Mr. Rose observes and comments on the current face of Danish reaction.

“The Muslim face of Denmark has changed, and it is becoming clear that this is not a debate between "them" and "us," but between those committed to democracy in Denmark and those who are not.”

On the larger issue of freedom of speech as seen through the prism of our western secular democracies, Mr. Rose uses the words of Karl Popper to frame the debate. Popper in his seminal work "The Open Society and Its Enemies," insisted that one should not be tolerant with the intolerant.

For himself and for anyone suffering the intolerance caused by a religious belief, Mr. Rose puts down this red line:

“But if a believer demands that I, as a nonbeliever, observe his taboos in the public domain, he is not asking for my respect, but for my submission. And that is incompatible with a secular democracy.”

As a good newspaper person, Rose chooses to educate readers with this little reality check.

“Nowhere do so many religions coexist peacefully as in a democracy where freedom of expression is a fundamental right. In Saudi Arabia, you can get arrested for wearing a cross or having a Bible in your suitcase, while Muslims in secular Denmark can have their own mosques, cemeteries, schools, and TV and radio stations.”

cn


For Danish Imam Laban's terrorist connections, see articles in Jihad ready or are we "tooned" out ?

The lie and the images.
Anatomy of an outrage - Cartoon : Aug 2005 - mid-February 2006

Chronology

January 10 - February 20, 2006 by Reuters
Chronology Protest by Reuters
Protests over Prophet Mohammad cartoons


September 2005 - February 2006 from Wikipedia
Timeline of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
- This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.-

September
September:
Flemming Rose, the cultural editor of Jyllands-Posten, commissioned twelve cartoonists to draw cartoons in response to the difficulty that Danish writer Kåre Bluitgen had finding artists to illustrate his children's book about Muhammad, because the artists feared violent attacks by extremist Muslims.
September 30:
The cartoons of Islamic prophet Muhammad are printed in the Danish daily newspaper, Jyllands-Posten.

October
October 9:
The Islamic Society in Denmark demands that Jyllands-Posten apologise to all Muslims and withdraw the cartoons.
October 14:
3,500 people stage a peaceful demonstration outside the Copenhagen office of Jyllands-Posten.
Two of the cartoonists are advised to go into hiding after receiving death threats[3].
October 17:
Egyptian Newspaper El Fagr publishes six of the cartoons during Ramadan along with an article strongly denouncing them, but the publication of the images did not engender any known protests from either Egyptian religious authorities nor the Egyptian government.[4][5]
October 19:
Eleven ambassadors request a meeting with the Prime Minister of Denmark, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and want him to distance himself from the cartoons in Jyllands-Posten as well as various other allegedly derogatory comments about Islam in the Danish media. The Prime Minister refused to meet the ambassadors, on the grounds that he cannot infringe on the freedom of the press.
October 28:
Danish police are notified by a number of Muslim organizations, claiming that the intention of the publication of the cartoons has been to "mock and deride" the Muslim faith, something the Danish penal code prohibits (§ 140)... find it here.

Latest positions today February 20

Russia
Putin - Totalitarian regime is being reinstalledl in Russia.
Loosing everything for publishing cartoons.
Volgograd newspaper's license withdrawn after religious cartoon
VOLGOGRAD,
Feb 20

(RIA Novosti) - " A local media and culture watchdog has annulled the license of a newspaper in the southern Russian city of Volgograd embroiled in a controversy over the publication of a cartoon depicting religious figures, the paper's founder company said Monday.
The head of the municipal company Volgograd Inform, Konstantin Karkachev, said that as of February 21, Gorodskye Vesti newspaper would be banned from publishing. ..."

Pakistan
Wahhabist maddras world center
Pakistan Islamists target "Bush and Mush" on cartoons
By Raja Asghar - Reuters
Feb. 20, 2006

"ISLAMABAD, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Pakistani Islamists vowed on Monday to broaden a campaign against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad to target the Pakistani and U.S. presidents.

But they failed in an attempt to have parliament debate how the authorities have tried to clamp down on the unrest..."

Iran
Positioning itself for the control of the Islamic anger and fanatism, a prized power switch.
Iran Official: End Cartoon Riots
Fox. AP
Feb 20, 2006

Iranian Urges End to Violence Over Drawings
By CONSTANT BRAND
Feb. 20, 2006.
Globe and Mail

Interesting commentaries

YOUR HONEY OR YOUR LYIN' EYES?
The myth of a vibrant "moderate Islam."
By Andrew C. McCarthy
NRO
Feb. 20, 2006
Benador Associated

"So here we are again, a dazed planet brushing ourselves off and surveying the wreckage from the worst spree of Islam-inspired rioting, bombing, murder, and mayhem since ... well, since the last one. And the one before that... Here."

Must also read Because They Hate
By Brigitte Gabriel
FrontPageMagazine.com
Feb. 20, 2006

Selected excerpts from Brigitte Gabriel's speech delivered at the Intelligence Summit in Washington DC, February 18, 2006.

"We gather here today to share information and knowledge. Intelligence is not merely cold hard data about numerical strength or armament or disposition of military forces. The most important element of intelligence has to be understanding the mindset and intention of the enemy. The West has been wallowing in a state of ignorance and denial for thirty years as Muslim extremist perpetrated evil against innocent victims in the name of Allah.

I was ten years old when my home exploded around me, burying me under the rubble and leaving me to drink my blood to survive, as the perpetrators shouted “Allah Akbar!” My only crime was that I was a Christian living in a Christian town. At 10 years old, I learned the meaning of the word "infidel."

Brigitte Gabriel - Expert on the Middle East conflict and lectures nationally and internationally on the subject. She's the former news anchor of World News for Middle East television and the founder of AmericanCongressforTruth.com.

Islam’s Torture of Lebanon
By Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com
August 11, 2005

"Frontpage Interview guest today is Brigitte Gabriel, a survivor of Islam's Jihad against Lebanese Christians..."


Photo source for map of South West Asia Ablongman.com

"In a free state, tongues too should be free"

Supporting artists for freedom
Don't touch my freedom AFD
No Prophet - Vision 3 Search

"In a free state, tongues too should be free." Erasmus, The Education of a Christian Prince (1516).

Western Dhimmitude

February 07, 2006
By Cox and Forkum

"NOTE: The Danish cartoons and caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed can be seen at MohammedCartoons.com. Our other related cartoons are: Image Problem and A Right to Blasphemy.

CNN continues to add a caveat to its coverage of the Cartoon Jihad: "CNN has chosen to not show the cartoons out of respect for Islam." You can see the admission at the end of this story: More deaths as riots spread... " All here.

"The principle of free thought is not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought we hate." US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in United States v. Schwimmer (1929).Bonfire of the Pieties
By Amir Taheri
Wall Street Journal
February 8, 2006

Benador Associates

"The Muslim Fury," one newspaper headline screamed. "The rage of Islam sweeps Europe," said another. "The clash of civilizations is coming," warned one commentator. All this refers to the row provoked by the publication of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper four months ago. Since then a number of demonstrations have been held, mostly -- though not exclusively -- in the West, and Scandinavian embassies and consulates have been besieged.

But how representative of Islam are all those demonstrators? The "rage machine" was set in motion when the Muslim Brotherhood -- a political, not a religious, organization -- called on sympathizers in the Middle East and Europe to take the field. A fatwa was issued by Yussuf al-Qaradawi, a Brotherhood sheikh with his own program on al-Jazeera. Not to be left behind, the Brotherhood's rivals, Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Liberation Party) and the Movement of the Exiles (Ghuraba), joined the fray. Believing that there might be something in it for themselves, the Syrian Baathist leaders abandoned their party's 60-year-old secular pretensions and organized attacks on the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus and Beirut... " Read it here.

Amir Normandi - Self-worth & human desire for all women

Amir Normandi and MG give us a wonderful interview No Veil Is Required.

Kat in the MidWest very kindly shared her clear insights and thoughful observations.



Iranian-American photographer Amir Normandi took the Blogosphere
by storm in 2005, when his No Veil Is Required show at Harper College in Illinois was cancelled after a few Muslim students protested the inclusion of nudity in the exhibition.


Normandi, 57, who escaped Iran at the height of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and emigrated to the United States, has been captivated by the visual image his entire life, taking more than One Million photographs in his long career as a professional photographer, which he continues to this day, at his d'Last Studios in Chicago.

MG: Amir Normandi, Welcome to the In T View. Could provide a description of yourself?

Amir Normandi: I am just another person with fascination of my surroundings, but lucky to have access to still cameras, enabling me to capture scenes and acts of my life theater.

MG: Amir, you were born in the beautiful Iranian city of Rasht on the edge of the Caspian Sea. A nice place? Would like to return to it? Did growing up in Rasht have any influence on your life's work?

Amir Normandi: Yes, Rasht is a very beautiful city and I would love to go back there. Unfortunately I did not grow up in Rasht. But, I was brought up under the influence of Rasht culture in Tehran, culture of respect for humanity and their habitats.


MG: You left your native Iran in 1979 right at the time of Revolution. What was your main reason for leaving? And was it a perilous escape?

Amir Normandi: I left my native land after casting a no vote for the Islamic Republic Regime. I left after witnessing my euphoric nation being cheated by a group of Religious Merchants, Mercenaries, Opportunists, and Traitors whom aided the re-invasion of Iran by the Islamic Sword.

MG: Amir, you've commented in the past, that your Great-Grandfather was, "revered as a saint with (a) blood line linked to Prophet Mohammad..." Can you go in to more detail about who your great-grandfather was?

Amir Normandi: Allegedly he was a -- holy/wise and learned man -- great-grand child of Prophet Mohammad. The Forefathers Shrine ( Jaad-Khaneh) where my great, great grandfather is buried, was declared a domain of Holy Centers and Religious Foundations in 1970. Even the brook that passes through my ancestor's land and his grave site was named -Tahir Goorab- (Chaste grave side-water). One of the legends about him is that his sandals use to come together after he took them off after entering a home. The lays still visit his shrine on Thursdays' eve of Islamic Sabbath day Friday.

MG: Amir, you became somewhat of a cause celebre in the Blogosphere and Media in 2005 when Harper College cancelled your No Veil Is Required photo exhibition, after Muslim students complained that the photographs were offensive. Even if the photographs were "Offensive" to Muslims, should they as a very small minority, have had the power to force Harper College to curtail your exhibition?



Amir Normandi: No, they should not have or be given the power, nor should a large majority have the power, to silence any member of society because of that member's thinking and stands.

MG: Harper College's International Studies Coordinator Richard Johnson, who was responsible for bringing No Veil Is Required to Harper College and closing the exhibition down, claimed in a 2005 Chicago Reader article, that your post-exhibition actions -- such as issuing a press release and having Chicago televison stations show up at your forum -- were a "'huge puiblciity stunt...'" How do you respond to these charges?

Amir Normandi: No matter how they spin it, Harper College gave democracy and freedom of expression a black eye by shutting down the "No Veil is Required Exhibit" . Even with my extensive effort in publicizing that dark day in Harper's history, reporters Alex Perez of NBC-5 and Ben Bradly of ABC-7 failed to see beyond the lawyers line which was put out by Harper's spokesperson. What was amazing that NBC-5 put out an on line survey that polled over 600 visitor of their internet site and 72% of them disagreed with Harper's action is shutting down my exhibition. In short: No it was not a stunt; it was a civil act to show the ugly face of censorship.

MG: Why did you file a Censorship Lawsuit against Harper College for cancelling your exhibition and then decide to drop the case?

Amir Normandi: I did not file any lawsuit. The American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU) -- as an advocate of civil liberties -- wrote a letter of inquiry with regards to rules governing the display of art work inside the Harper's campus inline with the Illinois and the United States Freedom of Information Act. Since Harper hired a law firm that charged hundreds of dollars per hour to defend them instead of simply furnishing the data and being transparent, they went in to legal advisories mode by mailing irrelevant emails in duplicates and hiding themselves behind a different kind of veil. I did not want taxpayers money to be spent on defense of a grossly wrong decision.

MG: Was it necessarily a bad thing that your exhibit was cancelled, as it drew much more attention to your work and subject matter?

Amir Normandi: No, it was a good outcome in spite of Harper's misguided reaction in removing my exhibit.

MG: And what was the central theme of No Veil Is Required?

Amire Normandi: Self determination and defiance of gender-specific dress code.

MG: Amir, you are anti-Hejab or Hijab. Can you explain for those who don't know, what a hijab is, and why you're against it?

Amir Normandi: Hejab is the general term for the compulsory dress code for women in Islamic societies. This Hejab is the same covering known as ABAYA in Saudi Arabia, Burqua in Afghanistan, and Chador in Iran. I am against forced Hejab which is a gender specific dress code and a tool for domination of women. It is almost always enforced by men and it is a segregation method which ends up making a woman a half human.

MG: If you portrayed Christian women in robes exhibiting some nudity would there have been any sort of outcry, and would Harper College have allegedly caved in like they did?

Amir Normandi: I do not have an answer to this Q, but that gives me an idea for future projects.

MG: Why is Academia so intimidated by Islam?

Amir Normandi: Academia is suffering from many phobias. It is not Islam-o-phobia only. I think as a matter of policy the academia needs to learn bravery and honesty from their student body, which have been inspiring through out recent history.

MG: Can you tell us why No Veil Is Required was dedicated to Zahra Kazemi and Theo Van Gogh?

Amir Normandi: Because they too have hoped with their images, giving the world another jolt in opening their eyes to the traditional oppression of women!

MG: What would you say was the most powerful image in your exhibition and why?

Amir Normandi: First, "No Veil is Required - Tahira." That image was inspred from the life story of "Tahira Qurat-al_an" whose (self) unveiling about 100 years ago caused a few hardliners to slit their own throat in Badakh-sh.

Second is "Defiance in Red Burqua" which sympathizes with the struggle of Afghani women and their home grown brand of Islam and the recent version imported by Saudi brand of Islam: WAHABI's courtesy of Osama Bin Laden.

Third is "Safe in Saudi Arabia" which tells the world that the Saudi's are holding the people inside and out side of their borders at gun-point!

MG: Did you think of vieling some Muslim men or placing them in burkhas, and entitling the image, "How Do You Like This?"

Amir Normandi: As a matter of fact I have and I will.

MG: There certainly is an element of Sexuality and Eroticism in the No Veil Is Required images. Was that purposely done on your part?

Amir Normandi: Yes, purposely and by design. For a show of defiance in response to those who consider women child bearers -incubator for men- and by denying women any sense of self-worth or human desire.

MG: In your introduction to No Veil Is Required, you state, "women's rights IS human rights, women's freedom is equality for everyone." You obviously see a linkage between veiling women and a loss of women's rights. Can you expound on this?

Amir Normandi: When you subjugate children with specific gender to a dress code when they reach the age of 7 and start segregating them, and then considering them (worth) half of the other gender by giving them half of inheritance rights, and half the restitution if they were dismembered by accident or because of a criminal act. Deny them divorce rights, child custody rights, travel rights, and many other inequalities that began with forced veiling. To me this is the most tangible form of gender apartheid and discrimination, which is a human rights issue.

MG: One of the criticisms levelled at No Veil is Required is that you didn't use Muslim women as models for the photographs. Why didn't you use Muslim women?

Amir Normandi: I have featured Muslim women in my photographs protesting the gender specific compulsory dress code, but the issue of gender apartheid goes beyond Islamic practice. In some place it is adopted by Islam from a region and proliferated by Muslims to other faiths, such as: Christian women in Jordan, Palestine, and other countries which suffer under the same
mistreatments.

MG: Do you worry that Radical Moslims will target your livelihood in the US because of the nature of your work?

Amir Normandi: I am not worried about radicals in USA - They are not here because they advncate a strong faith. They are here to get wealthy - this bunch usually talks, they only talk when they know their wealth is secured otherwise, they keep quiet.

MG: Have you been allegedly threatened by CAIR yet?

Amir Normandi: I have been threatened; but, I do not know their affiliations.

MG: Andres Serrano's controversial work Piss Christ was supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts - Do you think your No Veil Is Required should have been similarly entitled?

Amir Normandi: I need financial support for my campaign/projects; but I don't feel I am entitled to that.

MG: Amir, in a response to comments made about your exhibition, you are quoted as saying, "I believe most of the anger and rage in my region of the world is a direct result of oppression of women." Amir, the question to ask then is, "Why are Women being Oppressed in the Middle East?" Is it the misogynistic nature of Islam, for Islam is the prevailing religious and cultural force in your region of the world?

Amir Normandi: No, it is not Islam only; in my region there are Christians and followers of other faiths that oppress their women. I know Assyrian and Armenian Christians of my rdgion do oppress their women. I even know of cases of oppression in the United States.

MG: Do you personally know of any women who were mistreated by the Iranian authorities and can you tell us about them?

Amir Normandi: More than one. Fortunately, they are here in the USA or Europe. But, many, many are still in Iran like Shahrnoosh Parsi Pour, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Ezzat Goshehgir, among the well knows to name a few. But, I came to know quite a few more through my other job as an interpreter/translator for asylum seekers, which I served between 1981 to '90. I came in close contact with many victims who may volunteer to be the subject of my future projects.

MG: Amir, The Middle East: Dictators, death, and despair, explosions, endless wars, poverty, subjugation and hostility towards women, honor killings, genital mutilation, suicide bombings, the fury of the Arab Street, pollution, human trafficking, ignorance, ignorance, ignorance...Should a two hundred-foot fence be built around the entire Middle East and anyone attempting to escape be shot? Should not we try to contain the Madness within before it affects us all?

Amir Normandi: The madness is affecting billions already. No walls my friend, walls and veils are to be brought down. We should demand openess and compel industrial democratic governments to stop aiding and abetting corrupt dictators in the region. We can not sell democracy; we need to expand democracy, not only to create a new market for industrial nations; we can do that for the sake of humanity. By promoting democracy all parties are bound to gain.

MG: Amir, are you worried about family members and friends back in Iran?


Amir Normandi Yes I am worried for my family and friends. Their wellbeing is one of my biggest concerns.

MG: If there's a regime change in Iran to a more democratic state, will you be returning to your homeland?

Amir Normandi: Yes, my friend, I want the right of return to my birth land. I have been in the States too long to let go. I have deep roots here; my adult children do not know any other city as home. Chicago is home now.

MG: Would you be in favor of an American attack against the Iranian nuclear facilties to prevent the current regime in Iran from developing a Nuclear Weapon?

Amir Normandi: I do not want the current regime of Iran to gain any additional power. As far as nuclear weapons, I would like to see every country's nuclear weapon de-activated. Bombing Iranian territory to punish the Islamic regime is NOT PRUDENT.

MG: Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" or alternatively moved to Europe or Alaska. What is the Iranian's regime fascination for Israel?

Amir Normandi: The Islamic Republic's platform has been anti US/Israel since its inception, for many contradictory reasons coming from US resentment. But, the Iranian people historically have shown respect and kindness toward followers of Moses and so are the followers of Islam, I do not know about this goon?

MG: And why does the existense of Israel burden the Islamic world so?

Amir Normandi: I do not have an answer for that, personally I am for live and let live and do not support any destruction.

MG: Most artists have voiced their opposition to the U.S. intervention in Iraq. Are you one of them?

Amir Normandi: Since mostly innocent people of Iraq along with the young soldiers of the Coalition Forces are paying the tolls with their lives, I could not have been supportive of the initial action. But now after this huge scarifies I want unwavering stand in installation of a secular government.


MG: Photography is your art, your love, and your life, an all encompassing mistress: Is this ever a burden to you?

Amir Normandi: No, never, I have never regretted becoming a photographer.

MG: Portraiture, Figure, Landscape, Abstraction, Sports, Surrealism, Post Modernism, New Wave: Is there a specific photographic genre that suits your being more than others?

Amir Normandi: Life pictography with a mission is my genre.

MG: Do you feel you can express everything you want to say through photography?

Amir Normandi: Yes, but there are only two minor obstacles, Money/Time;
otherwise, any thing can be expressed by photography.

MG: Is there an act of creation involved in taking a photograph?

Amir Normandi: In my projects the answer is a resounding YES. My frames are freeze shot of life as it happens or by re-enactment.

MG: Photographic Mission Impossible: In 2001, you smuggled out of Iran some 500 images taken by Iranian students, putting yourself at risk of imprisonment and torture by the Iranian authorities, since it is illegal to take photographs there without official permission. What possessed you to smuggle the images out of Iran?

Amir Normandi: For some reason I was very confident that I'll be fine. The only worry I had was losing the prints, negatives and CDs in transit to US. So, I did not think of the risks till I was taken in to the special interview room.

MG: And how did you react to criticism by local Iranians in your area that you put the Iranian students in Iran at risk?

Amir Normandi: The students were not at risk because we used measures to protect them. About the local Iranians, they ought to learn some gallantry from those students and perhaps instead of smuggling antiques and valuables out of Iran to add to their personal wealth, they could help in other similarendeavors for democracy in Iran.

MG: Where can we find out more information about your photography and you?

Amir Normandi: With the help of human right activist Diane Carriere a site is coming soon.

- MG says: The sites have arrived. Amir and Diane have collaborated on the following Blogs:

Amir's Bio

Amir's Human Rights
Portfolio & Statements

Amir's Links - Blog & Media Response
to Amir's Works - Photographs -

MG: Amir, if there's one thing you could do in your life that you haven't done already, what would it be?

Amir Normandi: To abolish borders and create a true world citizenship. And then work on the details later.

MG: Thanks Very Much Amir for a nice In T View and final question: Have you ever photographed a Ghost?

Amir Normandi: Not yet, but I'll be very interested.

In T View By MG
Layout & additional research: Diane - AFD