Nowrouz (5)

Welcome to our programme, Nowrouz, which literally means “a New Day”. Nowrouz is the Iranian New Year, which is celebrated each year on the first day of spring. In today’s programme, we look at the connection between Nowrouz and peace and friendship.

The festivity of Nowrouz has always been associated with peace, friendship, reconciliation, nature and spring, happiness and joy, since its inception, thousands of years ago. The message of Nowrouz has always been a message of peace and friendship. And in the culture of Nowrouz, there is absolutely no place for hatred and enmity. Nowrouz signifies the fact that Iranians of all ethnicities, religions and backgrounds, have a single cultural root, precisely because they all celebrate Nowrouz. Today, Nowrouz is celebrated from the eastern parts of China to the Balkans and parts of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, in lands that were influenced by Iranian culture and Persian language. Today, Nowrouz is officially celebrated in 12 countries, where it is a national holiday. These countries all celebrate Nowrouz on the same day, that is, the Spring of Vernal Equinox. This also signifies the power of Nowrouz to unite various countries, to bring them together. Nowrouz promotes convergence, peace and friendship between nations. Regeneration and renewal are also associated with Nowrouz. Renewal of course, means spiritual renewal, as well as new thoughts and ideas. Nowrouz is a great time to make a fresh start in life, a time of hope, a time of spiritual renewal, and perhaps a time for adopting new ideas and a new lifestyle. Nowrouz also has a single message – a message of peace and friendship. The fact that Nowrouz is celebrated in so many countries, either officially or unofficially, the fact that it coincides with spring, and the fact that it carries with it a message of peace and friendship have all combined to catch the attention of the United Nations. The UN has officially recognized Nowrouz as a festivity of Iranian origin. Also UNESCO or the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, has recognized Nowrouz as part of the world’s cultural heritage – a cultural event which promotes peace and friendship around the world.

There are also other aspects of Nowrouz which are worth mentioning; for example, showing respect towards the elders of your family, and in particular, your parents. This is why, of course, we visit family and relatives, particularly the elders of the family, during Nowrouz holidays. Other aspects of Nowrouz worth mentioning are showing kindness and goodness towards fellow human beings, and exhibiting high moral and ethical standards during Nowrouz. These are Islamic ethical values that have invigorated Nowrouz, which is a time for setting aside hatreds and enmities; and instead renewing friendships and showing kindness towards others. Thus, the “values of Nowrouz” are certainly compatible with promotion of peace and friendship around the world.

Iran is one of the oldest multi-cultural and multi-ethnic countries of the world. Many sub-cultures exist within the wider Iranian culture. Many ethnic groups live within Iran, such as Kurds, Lors, Fars, Baluchs, Azeris, Turkomans, Arabs, etc. These diverse ethnic groups have lived peacefully side-by-side for thousands of years. All of them have contributed a great deal, and are certainly a part of Iranian culture and civilization. All these ethnic groups, of course, celebrate Nowrouz, which is quintessentially Iranian. The United Nations has recognized Nowrouz as a festivity of Iranian origin. The UN has registered Nowrouz in the name of 12 countries, with the Islamic Republic of Iran as the leading member of this group. Iran’s leadership of this group means the International community has entrusted the overall management and leadership of International Nowrouz celebrations to the Islamic Republic. There are obligations attached to this responsibility. For example, Iran is obliged to promote “the message of Nowrouz” – a message of peace and friendship – around the world.

The head of Iran’s Nowrouz Policy-making Council, “Samie’ollah Husseini Makarem” says: “Iran’s responsibilities and obligations in relation to international Nowrouz celebrations have compelled us to make this year’s Nowrouz celebrations a bit different from previous years. In this year’s Nowrouz celebrations we want to promote “the dialogue of peace as an Iranian dialogue” and show the world that Nowrouz is linked to “the dialogue of peace”.

For the past four years, the “National Conference of Nowrouz, the Heritage of Peace” has been held in Iran. This year’s conference, like the ones before it, was held in Tehran, on 7th and 8th of March 2016, at the Research Centre for Culture and Tourism in the Iranian capital. The organizers of the conference included Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization, the anthropological research centre in Tehran, and the Research Centre for Culture and Tourism in Tehran. Ali Reza Hassanzadeh, one of the organizers of the conference, and the head of the anthropological research centre, had this to say: “The National Nowrouz Conference is intimately connected to peace and friendship, and we decided right from its inception, to call it the “National Conference of Nowrouz, the Heritage of Peace”.

In recent years, with the emergence of Western-funded and Western-armed terrorist groups, such as Daesh (also known as ISIL/ISIS), and other Takfiri terrorists like the an-Nusra Front, the Taliban, etc., who have wrought havoc in the region, it has become particularly important to promote peace and friendship throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Thus, by honouring and promoting Nowrouz, we can honour and promote peace in our region - something which Western-funded and trained Takfiri terrorists outfits are totally opposed to.

Seyyed Ahmad Moheet Tabatabaie, a senior advisor to the Head of Research Centre for Culture and Tourism in Tehran, says: “Peace of course, does not just mean the absence of war. Peace is a mentality, a way of thinking, Peace results from peaceful co-existence of people, side by side. Nowrouz is part of Iranian culture and is also part of Iran’s national identity. Nowrouz has enormous potential. It can be used to promote peace, friendship, and peaceful co-existence, not just in Iran, but around the world. Nowrouz is firmly rooted in Iranian intellectualism and culture.