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A Wedding in the Ahmadinejad Family
In what sounds like "My Big Fat Iranian Wedding," President Ahmadinejad's new daughter-in-law and her relatives learned quickly that it's not easy to be part of Iran's first family.
We all know that Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is an extremist politician. He knows it, and is in fact proud of it. He sees radical conservatism as part of his character, and speaking his mind, no matter who he offends, as part of his job. This is why Ahmadinejad has repeatedly denied the Holocaust, despite the fact that it offended the world’s Jewish population. This is also why he cast doubts on the US version of September 11, despite the fact that many Iranians sent messages of condolence to American people on that sad occasion, as means of sympathizing with them in their hour of pain.
What we don’t know is that the same Ahmadinejad prides himself on being a good father. This is something he talked about during his electioneering campaign prior to the 2005 presidential race. On a number of occasions he talked about his daughter, who is an electrical engineer, his son Mahdi who is a Civil Engineer (like his father), and his younger son Alireza, who is an internet addict, and a mechanical engineering student.
On 15th of April, the proud father had a good reason to celebrate as Mahdi, his oldest son and second child got married in the holy city of Mashhad. It was the second marriage in the Ahmadinejad family. The first was that of his daughter who got married in August 2006. That time Ahmadinejad barely made the wedding, as he was on a trip to Malaysia until hours before.
The bride, whose first name wasn’t mentioned in the Iranian press, is the daughter of Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, the head of Iran’s Tourism and Cultural Heritage Organization, and one of Ahmadinejad’s deputies.
Mr Mashai wanted the ceremony to be held in a traditional wedding hall with the usual festivities. However, according to Farda news, Ahmadinejad refused. Being a believer in the concept of Sadeh Zisti, meaning ‘simple living’ Ahmadinejad insisted on a very basic religious ceremony. All in all, 45 guests were invited. 25 women and 20 men. In accordance to strict Islamic tradition, men and women were separated. The ladies were placed in Mr Mashai’s house, while the men were moved to his neighbour’s house.
If the pictures from the wedding are to be believed, then one has to sincerely hope for the bride’s sake that she embraced these Spartan choices, and were not forced out of her dream wedding by a dictatorial father-in-law.
A banana, orange, apple, and a piece cake as food for the entire evening, without any dinner, is not the typical way many Iranian couples like to celebrate their special night. Iranian weddings, even those belonging to the poor are usually big blowouts where guests are treated with plenty of food. In some parts of Iran, such as the Lorestan province, weddings can even last up to a week, with lunch and dinner served to all guests.
Despite its simplicity, the wedding was not completely uneventful.
Two days before the event, the 51-year-old Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had a sudden, noticeable drop in his blood pressure. Taking no chances, his entourage summoned medics, who told him to cut down on his workload.
Meanwhile, the day after the wedding, the bride’s father, Esfandiar Rahim Mashai a high-profile official in the city of Mashhad, had troubles of his own – a political demonstration.
In what must have been an embarrassing gesture, religious officials, and even groups who support Ahmadinejad called for his resignation. The saga started with a complaint from the city’s Friday prayers Imam who had earlier said that Mashai had done very little to improve the tourism infrastructure of Mashhad. As part of his reply, which infuriated the demonstrators, Mashai had said to the Imam that he will be judged by the lord on judgement day, irrelevant of whether he is a clergy or not. So far, despite the demonstrator’s calls, the father of the bride has still not resigned.
This is not the first time that calls have been made for Meshai’s resignation. In 2006, he was part of an Iranian tourism delegation to Turkey, which was filmed in a ceremony where alcoholic drinks were served, while a scantly clad dancer was dancing in the middle of the room. While calling it “an enemy plot”, Meshai told a reporter that he had no plans to resign, as his positions were “the same as the president”, and that he could best serve his boss by staying in his job.
Who knows? Maybe part of the reason why Ahmadinejad keeps protecting Meshai is that, despite his conservative image, he enjoys the colorful tales of his trip to Turkey, and the entertainment he received there. Either that, or Ahmadinejad thinks that he is good at his job. Or maybe, you just don’t mess around when it comes to family.
Meir Javedanfar is the co-author with Yossi Melman of The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the State of Iran. He runs Middle East Economic and Political Analysis (MEEPAS).
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17 Comments
1. Saltherring:I’m surprised a segment of the ceremony didn’t include launching a few rockets into Baghdad, or perhaps strapping bombs onto several of the guests and sending them into oblivion. After all, every wedding requires entertainment.
There was, however, one bit of truth spoken by Meshai in the article, that he will be judged on judgement day. And I’m betting the devil will throw another bucket of coal into the lake of fire as a welcome to Iranian government officials.
Apr 20, 2008 - 7:34 am 2. Fuzztone:Yeah I’ll bet he’s real proud of his daughter. Of course if he were to see her sharing a coffee somewhere with a man unknown to him who was Christian or a Jew he’d probably slash her throat with a dull kitchen knife. But what the hey, different cultures different values.
Apr 20, 2008 - 12:49 pm 3. Independent Liberal » Here Comes the Bride:[...] All dressed in, um, a black chador? [...]
Apr 21, 2008 - 5:49 am 4. Sramatoon:What is the POINT of this article?
This site has now become a part-time Iranian tabloid??
Let’s get serious here folks.
War may be imminent and you are publishing sapce-headed gossip?
At least TMZ makes money shoveling melarky to our doors every night.
Apr 21, 2008 - 1:41 pm 5. AJ:The point is to show you how misogynistic Islam is toward women—and yet, the lefty feminists here and in Eurabia could care less….hypocrisy to the core.
Apr 22, 2008 - 8:03 am 6. Sramatoon:This article is rubbish, Sir. Pure gossip tabloid crap.
Let’s get serious here
Pajamas is going tabloid now?
Shameful.
Apr 22, 2008 - 10:36 pm 7. Saltherring:Sramatoon,
Rubbish? Or perhaps a glimpse into the barbaric, sub-human culture of fundmentalist Islam.
Apr 23, 2008 - 7:20 am 8. Nazish:Had u known the real Islam with an open heart & mind, u won’t have said such!!
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has been titled the top-most influential person in history BY THE NON-MUSLIMS..Islam has been spread far & wide after 9/11 attacks cuz people were curious to know about the TRUTH rather than criticizing & believing in hearsay, just go & read our holy books: the Quran, & then “THE PEAK OF ELOQUENCE” which has turned many people towards Islam!!
Dr K. S. RAMAKRISHNA RAO, an Indian Professor of Philosophy in his booklet,
“Muhammad, The Prophet of Islam”
calls him the “PERFECT MODEL FOR HUMAN LIFE.”
Prof. Ramakrishna Rao explains his point by saying:
“The personality of Muhammad, it is most difficult to get into the whole truth of it. Only a glimpse of it I can catch. What a dramatic succession of picturesque scenes! There is Muhammad, the Prophet. There is Muhammad, the Warrior; Muhammad, the Businessman; Muhammad, the Statesman; Muhammad, the Orator; Muhammad, the Reformer; Muhammad, the Refuge of Orphans; Muhammad, the Protector of Slaves; Muhammad, the Emancipator of Women; Muhammad, the Judge; Muhammad, the Saint. All in all these magnificent roles, in all these departments of human activities, he is alike a hero.”
Well, it has always been like that: whenever Islam had been suppressed, only then the truth came out & 1000s of people started coming towards it.
As it’s said:”It’s easy to wake up people who r asleep, but difficult to awake those who PRETEND to be asleep” If you’re really in search of truth, just go ahead & search it, as you’ll be answerable to God on the Day of Judgement!
U should learn the simplicity from people like Ahmedinejad & cut down your expenses on such entertainment & invest such money in organising the weddings of the needy!!
I’m quite certain that my reply wont be posted here as this is an anti-Islamic site, but the world is built on hope!!
May 7, 2008 - 12:52 am 9. Nazish:Just to add a little more on my comment, remember this:
May 7, 2008 - 12:56 am 10. MoralsandEthics:Many people hold the title of a Muslim, but everyone doesn’t PRACTICE Islam!!
Why is this article trying to show that women is supressed by Islam. Infact the wedding was of his own son but he stayed away from the extravange expenses. He practised & showed the people that marring is not a big taks & should not waste the money instead you can use the same in feeding/helping the needy people.
Do you know that due to so many clutral & customary thing in marriage a father is not getting ready to marry his children ? Because of all such unwanted thing a father gets involved in dept & extra ordinary task. He has just follwed the real path of Islam to be moderate.
Even you can read in the History that how simple the marriage ceremony of the daugther of H.Prophet(p.b.u.h) was done.
Islam alway teaches to think for every one & teaches the path of moderation.
MoralsandEthics
May 23, 2008 - 4:20 am 11. alibunyad:i pleased to see the lif of ahmdmdi
Jun 12, 2008 - 10:08 am 12. Imran:Even though I am against Ahmedinejad’s beliefs, I salute him for this bold step. The useless Arab rulers should take a clue out of the simplicity of one of the most important figures of world politics.
Aug 11, 2008 - 8:34 am 13. Sobia:Very very excellent Nazish, i feel proud on you. you have spoke the real truth. good very very good
Aug 23, 2008 - 6:09 am 14. Actuary0664:Nazish,
I commend you on your reply. Well put. I sincerely hope that the readers would take a moment do what she suggests about searching and researching the truth. If anything this article has shown a side of Ahmedinejad that should be commended that do not waste resources and wealth. I believe that most common folks would also agree that simplicity is to be commended regardless of political beliefs. We can debate the political beliefs in a civilized manner but should not prevent us from showing appreciation of a good deed.
Sep 7, 2008 - 5:53 pm 15. Actuary0664:Also,
Iran is not a dictatorship. Ahmedinejad is an elected official.
Wedding ceremony is hosted by bride’s family and if they have agreed to keep it simple then we should commend not condemn. There are plenty of heads of state that misuse the wealth of their nation so if one of them has NOT done that we should praise that. It is shameful that we have chosen this event that means a lot to the young couple, to belittle the father of the groom.
Sep 7, 2008 - 6:01 pm 16. Almas:Assalam
may i know how does this article show that islam is ‘misogynistic , barbaric, and sub-human’?. ?. ?.
how Ahmedinejad chooses his son’s marriage to be is his personal matter, besides, i think simplicity is the most beautiful thing. . . Whats wrong in being simple? ?
the comments only show a skewed vision that some people have bout Islam. . . And how little understanding capacity God has given them. . .
its like . . If a muslim says “we wont serve alcohol in our restaurant” , they’d say ‘its the misogynistic, barbaric, sub-human islam”. . .
if a muslim says “i wont have pork” , they’d say ‘its the misogynistic, barbaric, sub-human islam’
if a muslim says “no, i wont sell sex for money”, they’d say ‘its the misogynistic, barbaric, sub-human islam”
this attitude would be so hilarious, had it not been so infuriating. . .
Sep 17, 2008 - 3:24 am 17. black chador:Almas,
Feb 11, 2009 - 10:06 pmHow about the bride wishs? did anyone asked her what kind of wedding she would like to have? Oh, I forgot in Islam what a woman wants does not count. In Islam women are second class citizens.