This document aims to counter negative stereotypes about Iran by providing examples of accomplished Iranians from various fields, including film directors, scientists, athletes, artists, Nobel Prize winners, and more. It shows that Iran has a rich cultural history and has made many contributions to society, in an effort to promote a more balanced view of the country beyond common stereotypes.

1. The Real
Iran

2. In recent years, the media has damaged Iran’s image
so badly that when people hear the name of Iran,
they only picture black chadors, terrorism, and
ayatollahs.
These stereotypes are being constructed to make it
easier for governments to attack Iran with public
approval.
That is why NoWar SA wishes to play a small but
essential role in breaking down these negative
stereotypes.

3. What do you know about the
real
Iran?

4. Abbas Kiarostami
An internationally
acclaimed film
director who has
received some 100
awards and has been
a member of the jury
at numerous festivals,
most notably the
president of the
Cannes Film Festival.

5. Abdol-Hossein Sardari
Iran’s charge d’affaires in
Paris who issued Iranian
passports to many non-
Iranian Jews, and saved the
lives of hundred of Jews
from the Nazis.

6. Abu-Rayhan Biruni
(973 – 1048)
Contributed greatly to
the fields of
mathematics,
philosophy, medicine,
and Science.

7. Ali Daei
The first male soccer
player who scored
100 goals in
international play.

8. Andre Agassi
The former World No. 1
Professional tennis player.

9. Anoushe Ansari
The world's first
female space
tourist.

10. Avicenna
(980 – 1037)
Persian physician,
philosopher, and
scientist. His “The
Canon of Medicine”
was a standard
medical text in many
European
universities for five
centuries.

11. Camila Batmanghelidjh
The founder of the
children's charity Kids
Company, which serves
in excess of 20,000
children a year.
The winner of the UK's
Women of the Year 2006
award.

12. Christiane Amanpour
The chief
international
correspondent for
CNN.

13. Cyrus the Great Cylinder
(539BC)
The first charter of Human Rights.
Abolished forced labour,
prohibited oppression and terror,
and guaranteed freedom of
settlement and religion.

14. Farabi
(870 – 950)
Widely regarded to be
second only to
Aristotle in
knowledge; alluded to
by his title of "the
Second Teacher"

15. Farshid Moussavi
World leader in
Architectural
Engineering.

16. Fariborz Sahba
Designer of the
“Lotus Temple” which,
in 2002, attracted
more than 50 million
visitors, making it the
most visited building
in the world.

17. Farzad Nazem
Chief Technical
Officer and Executive
Vice President of
Yahoo! Inc.

18. Firouz Naderi
The Associate
Director of NASA’s
Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL).

19. Freddie Mercury
The lead singer of
Queen.

20. Hossein Amanat
The architect of
Azadi Tower, the
symbol of Tehran.

21. Lily Afshar
Regarded as one of
the world’s best
female classical
guitarists.

22. Marjane Satrapi
Graphic novelist,
illustrator and children’s
book author.

23. Mina Bissell
A possible candidate
for a Nobel prize for
her 30 years of
scientific effort which
has become
increasingly
influential in the field
of cancer biology and
cancer therapeutics.

24. Nazanin Afshin-Jam
Miss World Canada
2003.

25. Omar Khayyam
(1048 – 1131)
Persian poet,
mathematician,
philosopher and
astronomer.
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26. Omid Djalili
The only Iranian
Comedian in the
world, which is
“technically three
more than Germany!”

27. Omid Kordestani
The Senior Vice
President for
Worldwide Sales and
Field Operations of
Google.

28. Parisa Khosravi
Senior Vice President
and Managing Editor,
International News
Gathering, CNN.

29. Pierre Omidyar
The founder/chairman
of the eBay auction
site.

30. Ramona Amiri
Miss World Canada
2005.

31. Razi
(865 – 925)
Celebrated chemist,
physicist and
philosopher,
discoverer of medical
applications for
alcohol.

32. Reza Badiyi
Director of episodes of Mission:
Impossible, Hawaii Five-O,
Mannix, The Six million Dollar
Man, Starsky and Hutch, The
Rockford Files, Police Squad!
Dr.Quinn, Medicine Woman,
Star Trek Deep Space Nine,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
Nikita and Sliders.

33. Rumi
(1207 – 1273)
Persian poet.
His followers, the
Whirling Dervishes,
believe in performing
their worship in the
form of dance and
music.

34. Saadi
(1184 – 1283)
One of his poems is used to
grace the entrance to the Hall of
Nations of the UN building in
New York:
“The children of Humanity are each
other’s limbs
That share an origin in their creator
When one limb passes its days in pain
The other limbs cannot remain easy.
You who feel no pain at the suffering of
others
It is not fitting you be called human.”

35. Samira Makhmalbaf
At age 27
considered to be one of the best directors
of contemporary world cinema.

36. Shahrdad Rohani
Best known for arranging
and conducting the
‘Yanni Live at the
Acropolis’ concert, the
most widely viewed
program ever shown on
Public Television in the
United States, and the
second best-selling music
video of all time

37. Shirin Ebadi
2003 Nobel Peace Prize Winner.

38. Shohreh Aghdashloo
2003 Academy Award
Nomination.

39. Shiraz Wine
Australia's most popular
red wine stems from
Shiraz – the city of
flowers, wine and poetry
in Iran – in the heart of an
ancient winemaking
region where the process
of wine making possibly
originated 7000 years
ago.

40. NoWar SA
says no to war on Iran
http://www.nowar-sa.net/