From an Iranian teenager

It seems that most of the parents have pretty young children, and are much more well-equipped than the generation that raised me and my friends. They are also not in shell-shock from the revolution due to the passage of time.

I was glad to see your page for raising bi-cultural children. I am probably one of the very earliest of half-Iranian half-American born. My dad came here in 1947 from Iran, met and married my mom and I was born in 1951. My mom was first generation Croatian/Slovakian. I can tell you in retrospect it wasn't easy. I feel that if my dad took the time to teach me his language and his culture it would have been so much easier for me to answer the question 'Who am I' or to say with certainty, 'I am half-Persian'. It makes me sad still to know I am half-Persian but never to feel it. I think learning Farsi would have made me feel more complete.

From an Iranian college student

Dear members of Madar Pedar, first I want to give you my warm appreciation and respect for putting together an organization such as this, for it shows your concern about preserving our beautiful heritage.

I want to reply to two of the discussions, 1) Religion 2)Culture.

I'm 17 years old, living in USA. I was born in Tehran/Iran, but came here at age 4. So it's fair to say I've been exposed to American culture a great deal. But to tell you the truth, I'm shocked to hear some of these comments on this site, "implying" the shame and unwillingness of some Iranian parents to teach our culture to the next generation.

I've been to Iran only twice after leaving, but that was enough for me to see the liveliness and happiness of Iranians, which is amazingly unique to people who have seen many cultures like myself; the rich aryan and persian history we have, but it seems the youth's knowledge of history is only that there was a revolution some time led by an "evil" man, because that's all you parents teach them! The strong will of our nation; what other nation IN HISTORY has stood for what they believe in the way we did and still do? And our truly beautiful country in terms of nature and architecture which is unique among the scenic world. So is this what you parents are ashamed of teaching your children that you are thinking about other alternatives such as the "iranian-american" child or purely the american child in some cases? If your children show resistance, they have all right to do so since the American Meida has portrayed such a negative image of Iran, but it is your responsibility as Iranian parents to teach your kids what Iran really stands for, and that they are Iranians wherever in the world they are.

About Religion, religion is not to be forced upon anyone through parents or governemnt or any institution. Religion has to be supported by faith and most importantly SCIENCE. In other words, when you look around the world, you see the reflection of the Creator in his creation, just the same way you see the reflection of a writer in his books and the reflection of a artist in his painting. When you see a book, do you need to VISUALLY and PHYSICALLY see the author to be convinced that someone wrote this book? Or would you be convinced by the great amount of information, knowledge, research, and effort that has gone into the writing of this book? Just the same way, true faith is that you don't visually see the Creator, but when you see this wondrous, scientifically organized creation, you know that someone must have created it.

Islam is a part of our culture, no doubt about it. If you don't believe in Islam, you should atleast be fair enough to teach your children about an important aspect of their culture. But Islam truly is a beautiful religion and you should let your children's impression of Islam be from you or someone who knows, rather than the nasty American media.

Islam is not a nationality, as say some religously-uneduacted Iranians who associate Islam with "Arabs" And certainly the current regime in Iran does not portray the true Islam. Politics is a game of crime, corruption, and mostly "self-interest" These are exactly what Islam speaks against.

As an Iranian-pious Muslim-((& Nationalist)) I truly hope that the young generation will draw from our beautiful culture, religion, language, and overall our rich heritage, while working towards a more open-minded way of thinking and looking at the world, and I BEG the parents to teach their children WHO they are.

TO ALL THE YOUNG PEOPLE OUT THERE; come on Guys -&Girls- we are Iranians, we have our own prestigous heritage, we don't need to submit ourselves to the trends and the people of American media and culture!! Let's go back and build Iran with our hands, hearts, minds.:)

From an Iranian visitor in Emirates

SALAM

MAN FEKR MIKONAM IN YEK CHIZEH ADDIYEH MA PICHIDASH MIKONIM

WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT:WE DON,T LIVE TWICE!

you suck

salam man ham as khanevadeham dooram, narahat nabash hamvatan faghat saai kon esm iran va esm khanevadehat ra zendeh negah dari ghorbanat .

madar:cheraghe roshane afkare man.

pedar:omide afkare roshane man.