Olei Hagardom: Between official and popular memory

This article examines the interaction between official memory and popular memory through the case study of Olei Hagardom – Jewish underground fighters executed by the British in Mandatory Palestine. Studies of collective memory usually maintain that the ruling elite, with its control of state resources, dominates collective memory formation. However, the case of Olei Hargardom demonstrates the potentially limited power of institutional commemoration and exclusion in a democratic society. David Ben-Gurion and his government's attempt to exclude these right-wing heroes from the national pantheon had limited impact. Menachem Begin's persistent, partisan political efforts to include them were only partially successful. Ultimately, Olei Hargardom became entrenched in Israeli collective memory as a result of apolitical literary works, popular culture, and the establishment of a site of memory by spontaneous, grassroots efforts.     

Reviews

Selected Onomastic Writings, Rüdiger Schmitt, edited by Winfried Breidbach and Philip Huyse, New York: Bibliotheca Persica Press, 2000, ISBN: 0–933273–42–8, 303pp., $48.00 (Mostly in German).

Hamid al‐Din al‐Kirmani: Isma'ili Thought in the Age of al‐Hakim, Paul E. Walker, London: I.B Tauris and the Institute of Ismaili Studies, 1999, ISBN 1 85043 321 3, xiv + 168pp., £25.00.

Intellectual Traditions in Islam, ed. Farhad Daftary, London and New York: I. B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2000, ISBN 1–86064–435‐X, xvii + 252 pp.

The Persian Presence in the Islamic World, ed. Richard G. Hovannisian and George Sabagh, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, ISBN: 0–521–59185–6 (hb), 267 pp.

La Science dans le monde Iranien à I'époque islamique, Études réunies et présentées par ? Vesel, H. Beikbaghban et B. Thierry de Crussol des Epesse, Teheran: Institut Français de Recherche en Iran, Bibliothèque Iranienne 50, 1998, xxiv + 430pp, including general index, list of illustrations, and Persian table of contents.

Geschichte der Stadt Qom im Mittelalter (650–1350): politische und wirtschaftliche Aspekte, Andreas Drechsler, Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1999, Islamkundliche Untersuchungen, Bd. 224, ISSN: 0939–1940, ISBN 3–87997–276–1, 377 pp.

Al‐Khayyam Mathématicien, R. Rashed et B. Vahabzadeh, Paris: Librairie Scientifique et Technique, Albert Blanchard, 1999, ISBN 2–85367–210–7, x + 429 pp., incl. Arabic text, French translation, commentaries, appendices, indices, and glossary.

Omar Khayyam the Mathematician, R. Rashed & B. Vahabzadeh, New York: Bibliotheca Persica Press, 2000, Persian Heritage Series, No. 40, ISBN 0–933273–46–0, x + 268, including English translation, appendices, indices.

Historical Writing During the Reign of Shah ^cAbbas: Ideology, Imitation and Legitimacy in Safavid Chronicles, Sholeh A. Quinn, Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2000, ISBN 0–87480–643–7, (hardcover) 197 pp., 4 tables, 2 appendices, index, $32.50.

The Chronicle of Abraham of Crete, Abraham of Crete, annotated and trans. by George Bournoutian, Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, 1998, vi + 202 pp., including maps, glossary, bibliography, and index, cloth $26.95.

History of the Wars (1721–1738), Abraham of Erevan, annotated and trans, by George Bournoutian, Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, 1999, viii+112 pp., including maps, bibliography, and index, paperback $19.95.

Education, Religion, and the Discourse of Cultural Reform in Qajar Iran, Monica M. Ringer, Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, Inc., 2001, ISBN: 1–56859–131–4 (pb), 310 pp.

Die globale kapitalistische Expansion und Iran. Eine Studie der Iranischen Politischen Ökonomie (1500–1980), Mehdi Parvizi Amineh, Münster, Hamburg, and London: Lit Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3–8258–4440–0 (hb), DM 89.80, ISBN 3–8258–4439–0, (pb), DM 48.80, 684 pp., appendices, bibliography, index.

The CIA Documents & the Overthrow of Dr. Musaddiq of Iran, ed. Gholam‐reza Vatandoust, Tehran: RASA Publications, 2000.

Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah, Baqer Moin, London: Tauris Publishers, 1999, New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000, ISBN: 0–312–26490–9, 352 pp., $27.95

Women, Work, & Islamism: Ideology & Resistance in Iran, Maryam Poya, London & New York: Zed Books, 1999, ISBN: 1–85649‐ 681–3.

Islam and Gender: The Religious Debate in Contemporary Iran, Ziba Mir‐Hosseini, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999, Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics, ISBN 0–691–01004–8, xxiv + 305 pp., cloth, $55.00, paper, $18.95.

Religious Minorities in Iran, Eliz Sanasarian, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000, xviii + 229 pp., tables, photographs, $59.95 (cloth).

Fathers and Sons: Stories from the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, [Abolqasem] Firdawsi, translated from the Persian by Dick Davis, Washington, DC: Mage Publishers, 2000, 310 pp.

Literarische Verwendung persischer Termini und Redewendungen im Werke Sadeq Hedayats: ein Kompendium, Fakhrezzaman Schirazi‐Mahmoudian, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, Iranica, Bd. 4,1999, 981 pp., DM 176.

Histoire du cinema Iranien. 1900–1999, Mamad Haghighat and Frédéric Sabouraud, Paris: Cinéma du Réel, Bibliotheque Publique d'Information et Centre Georges Pompidou, 1999, ISBN: 2–84246–041–3, 247 pp

A Study of European, Persian and Arabic Loans in Standard Sorani, Jafar Hasanpoor, Uppsala: Uppsala University, 1999, Reports on Asian and African Studies (RAAS), 1, ISBN 91–506–1353–7, ISSN 1404–0743, 176 pp.

Amoo Norooz and Other Persian Stories, ed. Ahmad K. Jabbari, Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2000, ISBN: 1–56859–065–2, (hardcover), 108 pp., illustrations.     

Book reviews

Modern Iran: The Dialectics of Continuity and Change. Edited by Michael E. Bonine and Nikki R. Keddie. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1981. x, 464 pp. $34.00.

IRANIAN SOCIETY. An Anthology of Writings by Jalal Al‐e Ahmad. Compiled and Edited by Michael C. Hillmann. Lexington, Kentucky: Mazda Publishers, 1982. 157 pp.

Modern Persian Short Stories. Trans. Minoo S. Southgate. Washington, D.C.: Three Continents Press, 1980. xvi + 228 pp.

Moderne Erzähler der Welt—Iran (Modern Storytellers of the World—Iran). Selected and edited by Faramarz Behzad, Johann Christoph Burgel, Gottfried Herrmann. Volume LVII Series on Cultural Encounters of the Institute for Foreign Relations, Stuttgart. Tubingen and Basel: Horst Erdmann Publishers for International Cultural Exchange, 1978.

La poésie persane après la seconde guerre mondiale. By Franciszek Machalski. Krakow: Polish Academy of Sciences, 1980. 133 pp.

Ja‐ye Khali‐ye Soluch. By Mahmud Dowlatabadi. Tehran: Agah, 1979. 497 pp.

History of Persian Literature from the Beginning of the Islamic Period to the Present Day. With contributions by George Morrison, Julian Baldick, and (Mohammad Reza) Sha‐fi'i Kadkani. Edited by George Morrison. Leiden‐Koln: E. J. Brill, 1981. 226 pp.     

The Unstable People of a Tumultuous Land: Persia Through the Eyes and Feet of Hajji Baba of Isfahan

For the English interested in Persia in the nineteenth century, James Morier's Adventures of Hajji Baba of Isfahan was a crucial text, as it also was for Iranians who read its groundbreaking Persian translation almost half a century later. The text provided a persuasive understanding of Persia that has endured in the western imagination. This paper begins with the framing narrative and shows how the frame story sets the stage for a convincing literary portrait of Persia and Persians. Then it analyzes the image of Persia constructed in this book through the characterization of Hajji Baba as representative of Persians, and the geopolitical portrayal of the country that emerges from the account of his travels.     

Investigation of the Optimum Height of Railway Embankments during Earthquake Based on Their Stability in Liquefaction

One of the most reported problems in the railway embankments is loss of their overall stability and major settlements due to liquefaction. Although several studies have been made on the stabilization of embankments, the effects of the influencing parameters on the stability of embankments during liquefaction have not been sufficiently investigated. The series of two dimensional plane strain finite element (FE) models were developed using multi yield surface plasticity model namely Prevost. The results were represented and discussed in terms of foundation excess pore pressure, embankment settlements and their failure modes. By analyzing the results, the optimum height of embankment which minimizes the settlement and failure cracks was derived.     

The Twins Stanza,Y 30.3

The Gāthic stanza Y 30.3 has always been at the center of various interpretations and controversies in Western scholarship on Zoroastrianism. Those who believe they have discovered in the Gāthās a monotheistic religion armored with an ethical dualism have made this stanza one of the pillars of their thesis. The so-called Twins stanza shows, according to this view, that the good and evil primordial spirits exist as a result of their choice between Good and Evil, which preserves not only the absolute goodness of the supreme god but also his uniqueness. More recently Kellens and others following him have given a completely different reading of the stanza. According to their account, this stanza is a speculation on the hidden processes of ritual. What the poet expresses in Y 30.3 is not a dualism, ethical or otherwise, but a psychology of the process by which man makes his choice of ritual conduct. Aside from the question of coherence, one must ask whether these accounts are borne out by the text they claim as their basis. This article addresses these two questions.     

Storage Structures of the Late Early Bronze I in the Southern Levant and the Urbanisation Process

Nearing the end of the Early Bronze (EB) I period (3350–2950 bce) the southern Levant underwent a transition from a village-oriented to an urban-centred society. An outstanding phenomenon of this period throughout the region is the proliferation of rounded circular structures, usually interpreted as storage facilities, often found in proximity to domestic buildings. These imply increased food production of individual households and a greater need for storage of food surpluses. The agricultural prosperity and resulting surpluses suggested by these storage structures reflect the changes affecting local society and may have been one of the catalysts for urbanisation and the formation of ruling elites during this period.     

Reviews

Populism and Feminism in Iran: Women's Struggle in a Male‐Defined Revolutionary Movement ,Haideh Moghissi, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994, 217 pp., $59.95.

La Beauté menacée: anthropologie des maladies de la peau en Iran , Niloufar Jozani, Tehran: Institut Français de Recherche en Iran, 1994, 317 pp., illustrations, tables, Bibliography, Index.

Iranian Cities: Formation and Development ,Masoud Kheirabadi, Austin: University of Texas Press, 1991, xiv + 132 pp., illustrations, glossary, and appendixes.

Faith and Freedom ,ed. Mahnaz Afkhami, Syracuse: Syracuse Univ. Press, 1995.

Mongolia: The Legacy of Chinggis Khan ,Patricia Berger and Terese Tse Bartholomew, New York: Thames and Hudson, 1995, 340 pp., 310 illustrations, 237 in color, $60.00.

Mongol Jewelry ,Martha Boyer, Carlsberg Foundation's Nomad Research Project, New York: Thames and Hudson, 1995, 278 pp., 200 illustrations, 90 in color, $50.00.

Frühe iranische Moscheen vom Beginn des Islam bis zur Zeit sal?ūqischer Herrschaft ,Barbara Finster [Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Abteilung Tehran: Archäologische Mitteliungen aus Iran, Erganzungsband 19] Berlin: Dietrich Riemer, 1994, 319 pp., 1 map, 149 figures, 48 plates, Bibliography, Index.

Khomeini's Forgotten Sons: The Story of Iran's Boy Soldiers ,Ian Brown, London: Grey Seal Books, 1990, viii + 190 pp.

Dancing Barefoot on Broken Glass ,Leonardo Alishan, New York: Ashod Press, 1991, xvi + 77 pp., $7.50.

Persico‐Kurdica: Études d'ethnomusicologie, de dialectologie, d'histoire et de religion (parues dans les années 1964–1978), Mohammad Mokri, Louvain: Peeters, 1995, lv + 505 pp.

Padyavand ,ed. Amnon Netzer, Judeo‐Iranian and Jewish Studies Series, vol. 1, Costa Mesa, Calif.: Mazda Publishers, 1996, xxvi + 143 English + 367 Persian.

The Throne Carrier of God: The Life and Thought of ‘Ala'; ad‐Dawla as‐Simnani ,Jamal J. Elias, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995, xvi + 255 pp., $ 16.95.

The History of al‐Tabari ,vol. XXXIII: Storm and Stress along the Northern Frontiers of the ^cAbbasid Caliphate ,trans, and annot. C. E. Bosworth, SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies and Bibliotheca Persica, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991.

The Hidden Hand: Middle East Fears of Conspiracy ,Daniel Pipes, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996, xii + 404 pp.

The History of al‐Tabari , vol. XII: The Battle of al‐Qadisiyyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine , trans. Yohanan Friedmann, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992, xxii + 237 pp.

La Region d'Arak et de Hamadan: cartes et documents ethnographiques , Hélène Desmet‐Gregoire and Patrice Fontaine, with the collaboration of Mohammad ^cAli Ahmadian and Abolqasem Taheri, Studia Iranica, Cahier 6, association pour l'avancement des études iraniennes, Leuven: Teeters, 1988.

Myth and Mobilization in Revolutionary Iran: The Use of the Friday Congregational Sermon , Haggay Ram, Washington, D.C.: The American University Press, 1994, xiii + 250 pp., $59.00 cloth.