Synopsis

Book Synopsis

One of Ghazal Omid’s newest books is about Iran. Her background and experience allows her to speak and write about Iran on a level few “experts” can relate to. In her first book, Living in Hell, she made us familiar with her life and the mountain of difficulties she had to climb; not only as a woman who earned her freedom and place in society but also the negative experiences of living through the Iranian Revolution, the hostage crisis, the eight year Iran/Iraq War, kidnapping by the Iranian secret police, escape and imprisonment, creating an awareness of diverse cultures.

Through Living in Hell, Ghazal opened a window to the heart of Iranian society and what it is really like to live under the current regime of Iran. Her second book, Iran and its Future, is another bold, truthful, well-researched book that tells it like it is. Ghazal says, “This book is a blue print for Iran and the people who are interested in its future.

She begins her book with an explanation of why we should care about Iran and Iranians or anyone in the Middle East. It helps us understand that all humans are united by commonalities, not divided by differences. Ghazal relates in her book “As I was fleeing Iran, a cab driver in Holland taught me a priceless lesson that beneath our differences in color, language and religion, we all are striving to do our best. Around the world, we get up in the morning worrying for the same reasons.”

The book focuses next on Iran’s political arena; at first on the current regime and then on the inevitable, imminent political upheaval. Iran and its Future is an analysis of what will happen to Iran if it becomes an atomic power, what will happen if we strike Iran, how we can, without a war, stop Iran from becoming nuclear and how we can possibly have a dialogue with the current Iranian regime.

The second half focuses on how we can aide the Iranian people; exhausted from carrying the burden for the past 27 years. Iran has lost more than 175,000 young people to this regime and wants change. It looks into different angles of what we can do without demonizing the Iranian people, who are constantly negatively portrayed on various networks. Ghazal says, “This book is based on an Iranian people’s wish list; saturated with questions e-mailed by thousands of Iranians asking for direction, for help in freeing themselves and for a leader. They don’t want war any more than we do. They want to know how they can use their sources and forces and how we can enable them to have a voice in their own destiny. They want to know that we are interested in bridging the gap between the United States and Iran. They want us to know that they don’t hate us.”

Ghazal also believes, “Governments do. People pay. Iranians are paying the price for Khomani’s personal animosity against the West.” She believes Iranians deserve to and must uproot the current regime themselves. She declares that, in her world, Freedom is earned, not given. As an Iranian activist and human rights advocate, she knows Iran inside out. She is adamant that Iranian women must have a voice in the future politics of Iran and confidant that they will. The object of the book is to help the United States understand what can and cannot work, recognize our similarities, minimize our differences and work with what we have.

Iran & its Future answers a series of burning questions that millions of people are asking every day: How can we stop Iran’s nuclear advance without going to war? Who can lead the Iranian people? What can the people of the United States do to help Iranians overcome the current regime? How can the Iranian people help themselves? What needs to happen next? How can we build a positive relationship with future regimes and leaders of Iran and the Middle East? Where did we go wrong in the Middle East? How can we get past the 444 hostages and become allies. How can we, and our allies, fix it?

At the end, she points out that the war against Terrorism is a war against ignorance. Terrorists and hardliners are from many different countries and faiths. We can only win this war if the people of the Middle East, particularly Iranians, can count on us to help them. Ghazal says her mission is to make people understand that despite our physical, cultural and religious differences, we can find common ground to work with each other. A peaceful Iran can make or break the fight against Terrorism.

As a Shiah religion expert, she can bring fresh ideas to the table. She ties Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan together because she recently returned from Dubai and knows for a fact that, despite US military presence, Al Qaeda is on the rise in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf. She adds, “This area is like a Triangle of Death for the United States. If USA wants to win the war against the insurgents they must solicit the support of religious leaders and fight ideology with ideology and bullet with bullet to succeed. Religious leaders must be urged to denounce the violence and issue a fatwa to deter or forcefully stop anyone from joining the terrorist groups.”

Ghazal has recently started a non-profit organization called Iran and its Future.org with the goal to educate and help Iranians build a better future. “I want my readers to understand my culture; the way politics works in the Middle East and how we perceive issues differently.”

When asked if her book will be a best seller, she smiled and says, “We will see but I am confident my book will be an interesting read. My readers have been asking me to write this book for a long time. They know I have a personal golden rule that if I am bored reading my own book, I won’t write it and risk boring others. It has to be interesting, honest and, most of all, accurate.”

Author of: Living in Hell , Iran & its Future, Islam 101, Poverty in Paradise
Human Rights and Women’s Rights Advocate, Shiah Religion Expert , Iran & Middle East Expert www.livinginhell.com and will also be available on www.ghazalomid.com .