Two Iranians “most influential”

 

 

The two Iranians are Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi and Asghar Farhadi, writer-director of the Academy Award winning movie “A Separation.”

The essay on Khamenehi said “the fate of the world” may hinge on his decision whether to “make a deal with the international community or choose defiance.”  The essay, by Fareed Zakaria of CNN, concludes, “Given that he is also the Middle East’s longest serving dictator, one wonders whether he will also be Iran’s last Supreme Leader.”

The essay on Farhadi was written by Time’s chief movie critic, Richard Corliss.  While the airwaves have been filled with belligerent talk about Iran this primary season, Corliss said “one Iranian waged a counter-campaign of international understanding…. Farhadi became a de facto spokesman for a besieged people, and his movie the face of a complex modern society.”                                      Corliss called the film “both Iranian and universal.”

Time magazine’s concept of influence seems to be very fluid as people come and go from its list each year.

In 2009, it named Zahra Rahnavard, wife of opposition leader Mir-Hossain Musavi, as the third most influential person in the world, a ranking that raised many eyebrows in Iran.  (Since then, Time has ceased using number rankings.)

In 2010, Time named Rahnavard and Musavi, but as they have disappeared under house arrest, so they have disappeared from Time’s rankings.

In 2006, Time named President Ahmadi-nejad and Omid Kordestani, a vice president of Google who devised the advertising policy that has made the search engine pay big profits.

In 2005, the Iranian choices were Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who is resident in Najaf, and Abdolkarim Soroush, who is now living in exile in the United States, two major thinkers in Shia Islam.

In 2004, Time named Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, who has also since not reappeared.