Iranians in the U.S.

by MOHAMMAD MEHDI KHORRAMI, Ph.D

The 1979 Iranian Revolution resulted in one of the largest migrations in Iran's history. Among these émigrés many left Iran for political and religious reasons. Many others escaped the country to seek refuge from the eight-year Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). The largest number of these immigrants, refugees, or exiles chose the United States as their new home.

Iranians all over America and Europe celebrated Iran's 1998 World Cup victory over the U.S.

Photo by Nader Davoodi

According to official statistics, Iranians living in the United States "have six times as many doctoral degrees as Americans. The average Iranian family in the U.S. is almost 20% richer than the average American household." Despite these characteristics which are indicative of a successful community, the post-revolutionary image of Iranians in the U.S. has been a negative one. Political disagreements between the governments of Iran and the U.S. led to a "war of images" which replaced cultural interaction with cultural confrontation. For about two decades this war has had a negative influence on the relationship between Iranians and Americans in the U.S. But the situation is rapidly changing. One can think of many political and economic reasons responsible for this change, but probably the most important reason is the coming of age of a new Iranian-American generation.

Many of the "children of revolution" who came to the U.S. at a very early age are now young men and women whose mere existence proves that these societies can communicate. In order to negotiate an enduring identity they have had to bring together elements of these different cultures and go through a constant interior dialogue about various social differences. Having survived this process, each one of these men and women has now achieved a degree of richness, which draws on cultural possibilities of these two societies. This generation, this bridge between two seemingly different worlds, is the most convincing proof that Iran and America can live together.

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Mohammad Mehdi Khorrami, Ph.D. is a professor of Persian Literature and Language at New York University.

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To learn more about Iranians' exile and Iranian-American generation you can consult the following books and web sites:

Persis Karim & Mohammad Mehdi Khorrami (eds.), A World Between: Poems, Short Stories, and Essays by Iranian-Americans (New York: George Braziller, Inc. Fall 1998) (forthcoming).

 

Hamid Naficy, The Making of Exile Cultures: Iranian Television in Los Angeles (University of Minnesota Press) http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~media/Faculty/Naficy/index.html

 

Y.R. Kamalipour, " Portrayals of Iranians in U.S. Motion Pictures." In The U.S. Media and the Middle East: Image and Perception. (CT: Praeger)

 

Asghar Fathi, Editor, Iranian Refugees and Exiles Since Khomeini.

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