Iranians are a proud people, and they have plenty of good reasons for pride in Persia's long and sophisticated history. The Mullahs, who think of patriotism as "idolatry," try to play on pride in Iran's history --- going back thousands of years before Muslims conquered Iran. But the Mullahs also go out of their way to destroy symbols and archeological remains of Persian history. According to an AP story today, an Iranian Baha'i exile, Ehsan Yarshater,  has been working on an Encyclopedia Iranica for the past 30 years. Baha'is suffer persecution in Mullah-controlled Iran and everywhere else in the fundamentalist Islamist world. But Yarshater is dedicated to a definitive encyclopedia that "revels in Iran's greatness." According to the article, "The Christian concepts of heaven and hell originated in Iran. The Jewish holy Talmud is littered with Iranian words and ideas. And some Iranians cherish the Israeli city of Haifa as a sacred place....The Iranian...(Read Full Post)