
I stand by the Imamzadeh Mohammad complex in Bastam and watch people go in and out. They kiss the chain at the gate or turn to a send a final prayer of thanks at they leave.
Iranians are so religious and so worldly at the same time. I am very curious about this. How real is it in their lives? Is it mostly about appearances?
There are the cynics here who swear that practically anyone who steps into a mosque is a hypocrite—"God hears me in my home! There's no need to put on show at the mosque," a friend exclaims—and there are those who say completely the opposite.
The bazaari so meticulously obeys the edicts to give to the poor-especially now, during the Ramadan—but also aims to cheat the hell out of every soul that steps into his shop and, as far as I can tell, won't think twice about the contradiction.
The next guy huffs and puffs about how Westerners are determined to destroy the Islamic revolution. Then he shakes my hand goodbye and there's a gold Rolex the size of small brick hanging on his wrist.
Are all these instances of hypocrisy? To me, that sounds way too superficial. I don't know enough and hopefully won't ever know enough to qualify to judge.
I'm just curious. What is it that religious people get out of religion? Why do they keep coming back for more?
I ask these questions often but it's hard to get decent answers. Fear, tradition, showmanship, the list goes on.
But I want deeper answers from the very religious themselves but it's hard to find a religious person who is also mature enough to sit down and discuss things frankly, without, a) try to convert me, b) misunderstand my motives, c) get offended.
It's sure fun to watch the contradictions, though.