Ayatollah Morteza Motahhari (مرتضی مطهری; February 3, 1920 – May 1, 1979) was an Iranian scholar, cleric, University lecturer, and politician.

Motahhari is considered among the important influences on the ideologies of the Islamic Republic, and was a co-founder of Hosseiniye Ershad and the Combatant Clergy Association (Jāme'e-ye Rowhāniyat-e Mobārez). Motahhari was a disciple of Ayatollah Khomeini during the Shah's reign and formed the Council of Revolution of Iran at Khomeini's request. He was chairman of the council at the time of his assassination.

His life and works

Morteza Motahhari wrote several books on Islam, Iran, and historical topics. His emphasis was on teaching rather than writing. However, after his death, some of his students worked on writing these lectures and manage them in order to publish them as books. As of mid-2008, the "Sadra Publishings] has published more than 60 books of Motahari and about 30 books written about Motahari or quoted from his speeches. Some of them are described below.

Morteza Motahhari opposed what he called groups who "depend on other schools, especially materialistic schools" but who present these "foreign ideas with Islamic emblems". In a June 1977 article he wrote to warn "all great Islamic authorities" of the danger of "these external influential ideas under the pretext and banner of Islam." It is thought he was referring to the People's Mujahideen of Iran and the Furqan Group (Guruh-i Furqan).

On May 1, 1979 Morteza Motahhari was assassinated by gunshot by a member of the later group after leaving a late meeting at the house of Yadollah Sahabi. Ordibehesht 12 (1 or 2 May), the Persian date on which Morteza Motahhari was assassinated, is celebrated as "Teachers Day" in Iran.

Morteza Motahhari is the father in law of Iran's former secretary of National Security Council Ali Larijani. It was by Motahhari's advice that Larijani switched from Computer Science to western philosophy for graduate school.

In honor of Morteza Motahhari, a major street in Tehran (Takhte Tavoos--Peacock Throne in English) was named after him upon his death shortly after the Iranian revolution in 1979. Morteza Motahhari Street connects Sohrevardi Street and Vali Asr Street, two major streets in Tehran.

Awards

List of Publications

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Category:Iranian ayatollahs Category:Iranian writers Category:Muslim philosophers Category:Iranian philosophers Category:People from Mashhad Category:1920 births Category:1979 deaths Category:Assassinated Iranian politicians Category:Deaths by firearm in Iran Category:People murdered in Iran Category:Iranian terrorism victims Category:Murdered educators Category:Combatant Clergy Association politicians

Bahman Mofid (Born 1942 , Tehran) is an Iranian actor.

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Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:Iranian actors Category:People from Tehran

Mortezâ Varzi (December 30, 1922 – January 3, 2004) was an Iranian musician and kamancheh player.

Biography

When young, he lived across the street from Gholam Hossein Banan, the greatest Persian traditional singer of the day, who also helped him learn about Persian poetry, and how to fit the poetry to the music.

After finishing college with a degree in economics, Mr. Varzi was employed by the Iranian government, traveling throughout the world, conducting official business in Japan, the Philippines, India, China, the UK, and the United States.During his official duties, he represented the Iranian government at forums such as the CENTO Symposium on Decentralization of Government.

He undertook post-graduate studies in Finance and Personnel Management in the United States, and in Public Administration in the UK.

Later, after attaining high office at the Iranian State Railroad and at the Iranian Ministry of the Interior (where his posts included Governor of the Province of Sari, Director of Planning and Studies, Director General of Plans and Studies, Director General of Organization and Method, Consultant to the Minister of the Interior, and Executive Director of the Iran Municipal Association), he spent his free time collecting Iranian musical recordings, and researching Persian classical and folkloric music.

In 1970, Mr. Varzi took up residence in the United States, promoting Persian music and culture, and instructing both Iranians and Americans in the Persian classical musical repertoire. To this end, he founded the non-profit Institute of Persian Performing Arts in 1985. He was also the founder of the Bâhâri (with Peggy Caton, Robyn Friend, Massoud Modirian, and Neil Siegel) and Oshâgh (with Kazem Alemi, Mr. Tehrani, and Reza Torshizi) musical ensembles. In 1986, he was recognized by the United States National Endowment for the Arts as a master teacher and performer.

He had hundreds of students – learning kamancheh, setar, tar (lute), radif (Persian repertoire), Persian singing, Persian classical poetry – who came to study with him from all over the world. He also provided many opportunities for his students to meet and work with other masters of Persian music.

His translations of the poetry of Hafez, created and interpreted in collaboration with his long-time friend and student Margaret Caton, were published by Mazda in 2008.

Ostad Varzi died in Tehran, Iran, on 3 January 2004 (13th of Dey Maahe 1382), shortly after his 81st birthday. Read an appreciation of Ostad Morteza Varzi at by one of his students.

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Mams Taylor is a London native musician & Mixed Martial Arts fighter currently residing in Los Angeles, California.

Taylor's debut album, Persona Non Grata, features collaborations from Joel Madden of Good Charlotte, Robbie Williams, Travis Barker, Dave Navarro, Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach, Yung Joc, and T-Pain. Mams Taylor has taken on odd jobs from Rose Seller to Nightclub Bouncer on his way to connecting with Hollywood royalty. Production collaborations on the album include Scott Storch, DJ Tiesto, and self-produced tracks. In the process of creating his first album, Taylor also worked with musical heavy weights such Snoop Dogg, Bobby Valentino, The Game, Lil Kim, Fat Joe, Billy Idol, and legendary producer Rodney Jerkins.

Taylor's first music video, entitled "L.A. Girls", received over 400,000 hits on YouTube and featured an all star cast including Mila Kunis, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Carmen Electra, Kelly Carlson, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, and Joel Madden. The video was shot by Constellation Jones and released in early 2008.

Taylor is also the pioneer of the new genre of music Runk, which is the fusion of "rap" and "punk". Taylor began experimenting with the runk sound in opposition to those who wanted to restrict his music to any one type or genre. Taylor says that runk is more than just a sound but also an attitude and way of life.

Taylor currently donates his time and a portion of his profits to London Based "Kids Company" and Los Angeles based "A Place Called Home". Both charities help enhance the lives of children. Mams is planning to donate a portion of all profits from his album Persona Non Grata to these organizations.

In 2004, Taylor moved to Los Angeles where he currently resides, and makes frequent trips to his native London.

United For Neda

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