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PERSIANS
Yeagley’s interest in Iran began precisely on November 11, 1979. The American hostage crisis at the American Embassy in Tehran called the world’s attention to Iran. Like most Americans, Yeagley didn’t even know where Iran was. He did not know the basic fact that modern Iran was actually Persia.
Shameful as such ignorance was in a Yale graduate student, Yeagley was not alone. Nevertheless, Yeagley’s reaction to the “Death to America” chant was not so typical. “I felt something quite different,” Yeagley recalls. Despite he maniacal crowds of Tehran, Yeagley could say, “There was something deep and great about these people.”
Yeagley was impressed that they could muster the strength to dare what they did. It was a unique moment. Also, Yeagley was struck by the rigors of Islamic social standards. “The hejob (the robe) that all the women wore,” Yeagley said, “was an incredible cultural accomplishment.”
As a Christian ministerial student, Yeagley was always concerned about the free-wheeling immorality in America, and the blatant sexual aggressions in the advertising industry. It seemed to Yeagley that the Iranian culture had one up on America when it came to at least visible morality standards. He saw in Iran something quite akin to the original American Puritan standards of 17th century New England.
In the very year, 1979, Yeagley wrote his first serious short story, “Alam I Sugrah,” (The World of Earth), a fantasy of superimposed historical periods. It involves an 8th century Islamic cleric narrator, a early 20th century English officer stationed in Shiraz, a medieval Islamic woman “caught in adultery,” and a 17th century Puritan cleric. They all meet together in Times Square, New York, in the 1960’s, when public pornography was at its worst. The outcome of the story is the girl’s sincere repentance and spiritual restoration. This story was published nearly twenty years later, in Persian Heritage (Winter 1997-98).
From that point, 1979, Yeagley recognized the special sense of morality held in Islam. “I know this is too much for most Westerners to swallow,” Yeagley admits, “but the brazen sexual assertions of modern society are just not Christian. At least Islam shows equally aggressive concern about it. When I was in Iran, I never saw nude or partially nude women on magazine covers, on store windows, on Iranian TV, and certainly not on the public street. I thought this was incredible. It was the first such visually ‘sex-free’ social experience I’d ever had. It was a great relief to my conscience as a Christian.”
In the ‘80’s, Yeagley found great fascination in the life of Iran’s deposed Empress, Farah Diba Pahlavi. He spent a great deal of time looking into Iranin-Persian history, and undertook a great poetry project. In three years, he completed “Jahan-dideh,” (worldly-wise one), probably the only true epic poetry in English written in the 20th century. It is a collection of seven separate epics, each dealing with Persian history, Iranian history, and all metaphorically centered on the life of the Shahbanou. It involves all the nuances of modernity, psychology, and philosophy, yet ensconced in the language of swash-buckling English romanticism. The psychic energy, however, pushes the metaphors to the point of the mystical, and therefore the poetry in certain passages may properly be likened to Persian poetry. “I’d love to see it published in Neshabur,” says Yeagley. Neshabur, in eastern Iran, is the shrine of some of the greatest poets in Persian history, Omar Kayyam being the most famous.
From the late ‘80’s to the late ‘90’s Yeagley’s preoccupation with piano and composition left his Iranian interests dormant. It was not until 1997 that Yeagley decided to revise all his short stories and then rediscovered his Iranian story. Since 1997, Yeagley has continued to pursue his interest in Iran and Iranian people. He has made many Iranian friends among the American-Iranian community. In 1999, Yeagley was invited to Iran for a two week lecture tour. He spoke at the University of Tehran, and at the University of Masshad. Yeagley talked about American culture, its major achievements and major faults, and encouraged Iranian students to seek the best values for their country.
Yeagley began writing academic studies on ancient Persian-Jewish relations. Yeagley discovered that Jews were in western Iran as early as 722 BCE. From these studies Yeagley came to the conclusion that the best guide for modern Iranian political and social policy is the ancient Persian policies. “The Achaemenid emperors were Zionists,” Yeagley says plainly. “They were the greatest emperors in the world, and at the peak of Persian power, there was no Arabic-based aversion toward Jews or toward Jews living in Palestine with an independent religion and nation.”
In May, 2000, Yeagley presented his first paper at the international Iranian Studies Conference, held in Bethesda, Maryland. “Zoroaster and the Jews,” was the title of that paper. “David & Darius” was the second paper he presented, May 2002. These papers Yeagley hopes to see published soon, in American-Iranian journals.
“It would work like magic,” Yeagley says. “You don’t have to love the Jews, but just treat them with respect and kindness.” Yeagley believes that history shows such a course of action always results in ‘blessings’ on those who are kind to Jews. “I expect Iranians to eventually see this, since they have such an incredible history of magic and the supernatural.” Yeagley cites the Magi, for instance, who, according to the New Testament, came all the way from Persia to bestow gifts on the baby Jesus, “king of the Jews.”
Yeagley has published articles on Iran, in Front Page Magazine (www.frontpagemagazine.com), and also on Iranian internet, like Iran Free Press (www.irnavagate.com). His views are perhaps unusual, but have a solid base in history. “It is only the abuse or misinterpretation of the Koran that keeps Islamic leaders from seeing this responsibility to Jews.” Yeagley calls for Iranian mullahs to distinguish themselves from the Arabic leaders. “There is no justification for Iranian aversion to the state of Israel,” says Yeagley. “This is all the result of popular Arabic tradition. It’s ancient tradition, but, it’s always been mistaken. Age does not make error truth.” Yeagley believes Iranian people deserve much better than to inherit a foreign hatred, and a blood feud which is none of their concern. “Iran should lead out in Islamic reform and bless Israel. Iran could change the world overnight.”
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