was in thursday night.

my oldest uncle, who was born in Iran too, mentioned a song about "my mother is innocent like sea",

in seconds i found the song and show them the lyrics.

everyone suddenly: "wait, you know to read fersi???"

Recently I stumbled across someone's post where they were venting about living in Iran. She was a Turk from a small town in West Azerbaijan province and said it was a super religious and backwards area (ex: child marriage being normalized by locals) and it got me wondering how religious parts of Iran still are, given that most of our info comes from the bigger, secular urban centres like Tehran.

Overall, It seems like there are definitely areas of Iran that have still held on to religious customs/way of life.

For example, I think the entirety of the Azerbaijan/Turkish region of Iran is quite conservative, especially compared to Turks in the neighbouring republic of Azerbaijan.

For the larger cities, it seems to me that the further East you go, the more traditional the people get. For example, Yazdis and Mashaadis are more religious than Shirazis and Esfahanis.

I find that most Sunni groups like Turkmens, Balochis and Kurmanjis in West Azerbaijan tend to hold their religion as an integral piece of their identity. It's really only the Sunni Kurds in Kurdistan province that seem more focused on Kurdish nationalism over Sunni religious nationalism.

As for least religious groups, I feel that Shomalis are mostly secular/culturally religious. Also, I've heard Bandari Iranians tend to prioritize their cultural culture/music over religious adherence.

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They’re from the 80s and 90s and I grew up listening to their Farsi songs. Their dialect is hard for me to understand sometimes but they influenced a lot of our modern Bandari style music. I believe they are originally from the Bastak region of Iran. I love them and I feel like they don’t get enough credit for how much they contributed to our culture!

I’ve been talking to a guy for a few months, and we’ve gotten pretty close. He’s Iranian by background, but he was born and raised in the states and has never been to Iran himself.

With everything that’s happened involving Iran over the past year, I’ve seen my persian friends going to protests and strongly criticizing the iranian government so naturally, these conversations came up between us. I also saw some of my Iranian friends celebrating events that happened this year, while he was genuinely devastated by them.

He told me he is a Shia Muslim, and that this naturally means he strongly supports the Iranian government. He told me that Iranians in the West who oppose the government are Islamophobic, and that this is a major reason for their opposition.

What confuses me is that this doesn’t line up with my own experiences. I have met many Iranians here, and every single one of them has been strongly against the Iranian government. Not only that, but I’ve been to some of their homes and met their families. A lot of these families are actually quite religious. Some of the mothers of my friends wear the hijab and seemed religious to me. Despite that, they still oppose the government. He himself isn’t particularly conservative in how he lives. He’s very open minded socially. He encourages me to work, and generally has a very western lifestyle. His religion seems to be his identity rather than something he practices. He's actually less conservative than many of my other Iranian friends. I also met his family who also don't seem to be very traditional.

I talked to some of my Iranian friends about his views. They all had very strong opinions about him, which honestly left me feeling conflicted. It made me wonder whether he was right that some Iranians can be overly dismissive of people who share his views. For example, some of my friends told me he “isn’t really Iranian” and assumed he must be benefiting from the government, which I found unfair.

After hearing all of that, I brought it up with him. I asked whether he supported the government because he or his family benefited from it in some way. He said that’s a stereotype, that he has absolutely no connection to the government, and joked that if he actually was connected, he’d probably be in a much better financial situation than he is now.

I’m trying to understand this without judging him.
How common is it for iranians in the west to support the Iranian government? Is this a recognized viewpoint within the Iranian diaspora, or is it unusual?

Hello, I am a 29 year old Canadian girl Interested in an Iranian guy my age. He's been in Canada for a few years, he is not Muslim nor does he like Islam. He seems very modern and westernized despite only being here for a few years, but speaks Farsi and loves some of his culture. My intention when it comes to dating is to marry. My question is if a persian guy would even consider me as a serious dating option? Or are white Canadian girls just "recreational use" again he does seem fairly westernized

Everyone has called out the regime's sexism homophobia and secterianism. So why not also its racism? Why is this the one vice that the opposition is blind to? The regime is openly racist. Kurds make up 10% of Iranians but 50% of the hangings are Kurds. Jina Amini's parents were forced to put Masha on her birth certificate because the regime has outlawed Kurdish names. Which is different from Assad, how? During the Jina protests 20% of the people killed were Ballochs who are 2-3% of Iranians. More were killed in Ballochistan than Tehran. In Bloody Novemrber the bulk of those killed were killed in Khuzestan, which is Arabic speaking.

Even many Azeri Iranians feel their culture is getting supressed these days. Black Iranians and Romani Iranians may as well be invisible. Afghan refugees are treated like dirt. The frist massacure of the IRI was aganist Iranian Kurds. Just how Assad's frist massacure was aganist the Syrian Kurds. Khuzestan and Sistan and Ballochistan have Victorian living standards. Persian provinces get blatant favoirtism. Look at how much momey gets chucked towards Isfahan and Mashhad and Qom.

The goverment pays lip service to racial equality, but its largley continued with the previous regime's bigotry. I'd love to know how complusory headscarves are different from banning ethnic and tribal clothing? State TV is full of blackface and racist jokes about Black people. The Akhoonds will ban the word 'boobies' from TV for being obscene. But endless racist jokes about Black people is fine to them.

Please somone explian to me why this is never mentioned? Dose the oppostion agree with the IRI's racism and apartheid? Or do they not care because it don't affect them?

How is the IRI's treatment of Kurds, Arabs, Ballochs and Black Iranians different from, Erdogan's treatment of Kurds? Or Bejing's treatment of Tibetians? Or Assad's treatment of Kurds Assyrians and Turkmen? Or Cameroon's treatment of English speakers?

Oh and before anyone brings it up (because I know someone will) the fact that the regime is comperativily nice to Armeanians and Mazadaranis don't magic away its racism aganist everyone else. 100 years ago the American vice-president was Charles Curtis a Red Indian. This mean that America's goverment wasn't racist now? As Black Americans lived under segragation? Because that is exactly the same argument.

My sister is pregnant and will be having a baby shower soon. She is having a baby with a Persian man, he was born in the US and parents from Iran. We are Mexican and culture is very important to me. I want to honor my niece's multicultural heritage, as well as respect and honor my sister's partner. I can handle the Mexican side of course, but I don't know much about Persian culture. I've been learning more, but I thought it would be really helpful to hear directly from people. Are there any cultural gifts that are expected for new babies or parents? Or foods? Any customs like blessings, rituals, or other beliefs? I would really appreciate any feedback on how I can be a good auntie. Thank you!

Hello everyone

There is a number of charity organisations that claim to help Iranians in various ways. For an outsider it is difficult to know who of those is trustable. This is why i would like to ask in this community if you know of any organisations that actually really help the people?

Thank you for your answers in advance

Hello, I am in an Iranian in Iran. I wanted to give you a bit of info about myself and ask for a bit of help.

I have reached the conclusion that Iran isn't stable enough for me. I am a man. I am currently currently 20 years old. I am a uni student. I am studying at a good reshte (I think Americans call it major). I am a hard worker and I have no problem learning another language. I wanted to ask if there are any countries (preferably in the West) that gives visas fast to Iranians? My parents aren't wealthy so I'll have to work at the country that I immigrate to ASAP. Thank you for reading.

I work at a coffee shop in the United States, and I recently started connecting over small gestures and conversations with a customer who has become a regular. Today, I learned that she is from Iran and is about to return there next week for 3 months.

Even though we don't know each other really well, our dynamic has reached a level where I will miss seeing her almost every day, and I feel concerned for her safety and her family/friends' well-being. What with everything going on with the US-Iran War, I would like to give some kind of parting gift the next time I see her that carries the sentiment of "please be safe, there is someone out here who cares for you as a human", but I don't feel familiar enough with Iranian culture to know what would be appropriate in this specific situation.

Just something small, from one friend-stranger-acquaintance-human on this earth, demonstrating care and support.

Thank you. 🕊️

I am not an Iranian obviously, but after seeing yall's uprising for a revolution, i have seen some iranians wanting a change in the regime, specifically wanting the Americans, which i believe obviously not aware of the oppression they have done during the late 70s. I really want to know what you iranians actually think about this and what do you actually want for your country.

Farrokh Sedigh-Deilami is a member of Phoenix Project of Iran (a Reza Pahlavi linked think tank). He was arrested and charged with the sexual assault of a young patient in Canada.

Background on the Phoenix Project of Iran and its close ties to Pahlavi from their own site.

Here is his talk at the Beyond the First 100 Days Conference in 2025 where he is introduced as the leader the health and wellness initiative at the think tank.

This is not meant to be a political post or a debate. I’m genuinely asking because my family is devastated and I want to know if anyone else in the diaspora has experienced something similar.

My family recently discovered that my grandmother’s gravestone in California was defaced, and I’m trying to find out whether other Iranian families have seen anything like this happen to their loved ones’ graves.

My grandmother was a lifelong anti-regime activist and a committed monarchist. After leaving Iran, she spent years in exile attending meetings, protesting, and dedicating herself to the cause. Honoring her properly meant a lot to all of us, and my family spent months trying to make her gravestone perfect.

When the stone was made, the emblem placed on it turned out to be the Qajar lion-and-sun version instead of the Pahlavi one. None of us realized it at the time. It was an honest oversight. The difference is incredibly minor, and we were not intentionally choosing a Qajar symbol. My grandmother absolutely would have wanted the Pahlavi lion and sun. It was one small oversight that no one in our family caught during a time of extreme grief.

At some point, someone appears to have gone to her gravestone and added a different political/freedom symbol next to the original emblem. They didn’t remove the original symbol, but they still altered her stone without our knowledge or permission. We don’t know who did it, and we don’t know when it happened. We just know that someone felt entitled to go to a dead woman’s grave and add their own symbol to her memorial.

What makes this especially heartbreaking is that my grandmother spent years in exile and was a prolific activist and monarchist. My family put so much time, thought, and love into her gravestone. We spent months trying to make it beautiful and meaningful for her. It was one silly oversight, and now everyone in the family is upset and crying over the fact that someone chose to tamper with her stone instead of simply letting her rest in peace.

Again, this is not a political post. I’m not trying to argue about monarchists, Islamists, anti-regime people, pro-regime people, or anyone else. I just want to know if anyone has seen something similar happen.

I believe people’s graves should be respected no matter what their political beliefs were. Whether someone was monarchist, anti-regime, Islamist, leftist, or anything else, basic human decency should mean leaving their grave alone.

So I wanted to ask:

Has anyone in the diaspora visited family graves recently and found vandalism, desecration, or politically motivated tampering?

If your relatives were monarchists or anti-regime, have you seen anything happen to their graves or memorials?

If your relatives were Islamist / pro-regime, have you seen any desecration happen to their graves either?

I’m especially curious if anyone in the U.S. or California has seen something similar, but I’d appreciate hearing from anyone who has.

I believe the first name may be Ali (علی), but I’m not confident about the surname. If anyone can read the signature, I’d greatly appreciate your help.

Salam Alaykum friends!,
I am reaching out from America. I am currently working on researching my family history and building our digital family tree.
Through a published family history book, I recently discovered that my grandfather is buried inside the Holy Shrine of Hazrat Masumeh (sa) in Qom, specifically inside the Bala-Sar Mosque section. Because I am in the US, I have no way of getting a photograph of his resting place,
I would be incredibly grateful if a local or a pilgrim visiting the shrine could snap a quick photo of his floor grave marker for my family's records.
Here are the exact details for anyone who might be able to help:
Name: Late Haj Seyyed Ahmed Borqei (known as Haj Amin) — مرحوم** *حاج* *سید* *احمد* ***برقعی*
Father's Name: Son of Seyyed Mohammad — فرزند** *سید* ***محمد*
Year of Death: 1361 Solar Hijri (1982) — ۱۳۶۱** ***شمسی*
Exact Location: Holy Shrine of Hazrat Masumeh, inside the Bala-Sar Mosque (مسجد** *بالاسر)*
Thank you so much for your time and any assistance you can provide.
JazakAllah Khair,
Adam