Iranian Americans

Iranian Americans
ایرانی آمریکایی
Total population
c. 470,341 (2011 ACS[1])
Regions with significant populations
California, New York, New Jersey,[2] Texas, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Illinois[3]
Languages

American English, Persian

Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, and other languages of Iran. (see Languages of Iran).
Religion
Muslim: 31%, Atheist/Realist/Humanist: 11%, Agnostic: 8%, Baha’i: 7%, Jewish: 5%, Protestant: 5%, Roman Catholic: 2%, Zoroastrian: 2%, "Other": 15%, and "No response": 15%.[4]

Iranian Americans or Persian Americans, are Americans of Iranian ancestry or people possessing Iranian and American dual citizenship. Iranian Americans are among the highest-educated people in the United States.[5][6] They have historically excelled in business, academia, the sciences, arts, and entertainment – but have traditionally shied away from participating in American politics and other civic activities.[7]

Terminology

Iranian-American is used interchangeably with Persian-American,[8][9][10][11] partially due to the fact[12] that Iran was officially called Persia prior to 1935; as well as the fact that "Iran" and "Persia" have been used interchangeably since classic times.[13] There is a tendency among Iranian-Americans to categorize themselves as "Persian" rather than "Iranian", mainly to disassociate themselves from the Iranian government and the negativity associated with it, and also to distinguish themselves as being of Persian ethnicity, which is around 65% of Iran's population.[8][14] Majority of Iranian-Americans are of Persian-speaking backgrounds, however there is also a significant number of non-Persian Iranians within the Iranian-American community,[14][15] leading some scholars to believe that the label "Iranian" is more inclusive, since the label "Persian" excludes non-Persian minorities from Iran.[14] The Collins English Dictionary uses a variety of similar and overlapping definitions for the terms "Persian" and "Iranian".[16][17]

History

Early history

Persian Objects at Metropolitan Art Museum of New York

One of the very first recorded Iranians to visit North America was Martin the Armenian, an Iranian tobacco grower who settled in Jamestown, Virginia in 1618.[18][19] Mirza Mohammad Ali, who is also known as Hajj Sayyah is another Iranian who came to North America in the 1800s. He was inspired to travel around the world due to the contradiction between the democratic ideals he read about around the world and how his fellow Iranians were treated by their leaders. He began his travel as a 23-year-old looking for knowledge and to gain perspective on the lives of others to bring back with him to help Iran progress. His stay in the United States lasted 10 years, and took him across the country from New York to San Francisco. He also met with powerful people like Ulysses S. Grant. Hajj Sayyah was the first Iranian to become an American Citizen on May 26, 1875. He was imprisoned upon his return to Iran for making a stand against the living conditions in Iran. He looked to the United States to protect him but to no avail.[20] During the peak period of immigration to the United States (1842-1903), only 130 Iranian nationals were known to have immigrated.[21]

First phase of emigration

Cover of PAR, one of the Persian intellectual magazines in the US in the 1980s

The first wave of Iranian migration to the United States occurred between 1950 and 1979,[22] or alternatively 1977.[21] The United States was an attractive destination for students, for American universities offered some of the best programs in engineering and in other fields and were anxious to attract students from foreign countries.[22] Iranian students, most of whom had learned English as a second language in Iran, were highly desirable as new students in the United States colleges and universities.[22] By the mid-1970s, nearly half of all Iranian students who studied abroad did so in the United States.[22] By 1975, Institute of International Education's annual foreign student census figures listed Iranian students as the largest group of foreign students in the United States, amounting a total of 9% of all foreign students in the country.[22] As the Iranian economy continued to rise steadily in the 70s, it enabled many more Iranians to travel abroad freely.[22] As reported by Bozorgmehr and Sabagh, consequently, the number of Iranian visitors to the United States also increased considerably, from 35,088 in 1975 to 98,018 in 1977.[23][22] During the 1977–78 academic year, of about 100,000 Iranian students abroad, 36,220 were enrolled in American institutions of higher learning. During the consecutive 1978–79 academic year, on the eve of the revolution, the number of Iranian students enrolled in American institutions rose to 45,340, and in 1979–80 the number reached a peak of 51,310: at that time, according to the Institute of International Education, more students from Iran were enrolled in American universities than from any other foreign country.[21] It is notable to mention that the pattern of Iranian migration during this phase did not involve "chain migration", but rather individuals and not whole families.[21] Due to Iran's increasing demand for high-level manpower in the years prior to 1979, the majority of students were intending to return home after graduation to work, including those who had received financial aid in exchange to serve the government or industry upon graduation. Due to the drastic events that followed very soon afterwards (1979 Revolution), matters changed however, and the many thousands of Iranians became a community of nonreturnee professionals.[21] At the same time, these extensive numbers of visitors and students that had been or still were in the United States, unintentionally became the basis for the cultural, economic and social networks that would enable large-scale immigration in the years that followed.[22]

Second phase

Hooman Bakhtiar, Voice of America Persian Service producer, 2016

The second phase of Iranian migration began immediately before and after the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the overthrow of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi,[21] and became significant in the early 1980s.[21] As Prof. Ronald H. Bayor adds, "The 1979 Revolution and the 1980–88 war with Iraq transformed Iran's class structure, politically, socially, and economically."[24] The revolution drastically changed the pattern and nature of Iranian emigration to the United States, while the Iran-Iraq War that ensued closely afterwards, was also another factor that forced many of the best-educated and most wealthy families into exile in the United States and other countries.Once basically an issue of Brain drain during the Pahlavi period, it was now predominantly an involunatary emigration of a relatively large number of middle- and upper-class families, including the movement of a considerable amount of wealth (in liquidated assets).[24] During and after the revolution, most students did not return to Iran, and those who did, were gradually purged from the newly established Islamic Republic. Many students who graduated abroad after the revolution also did not return, due to ruling clergy's repression. As a result, the educated elite who left Iran after the revolution and the new graduates in the United States who chose not to return home created a large pool of highly educated and skilled Iranian professionals in the United States.Over 1.5 million Iranians have chosen to leave Iran for other countries due to Islamic government's authoritarian practices.[25]

A further notable aspect of the migration of this phase, is that members of religious and ethnic minorities were starting to become disproportionally representated, most notably Bahai'is, Jews, Armenians, and Assyrians.[26] According to the 1980 US Census, there were 123,000 Americans of Iranian ancestry at that time.[27] Between 1980 and 1990, the number of foreign-born people from Iran in the United States increased by 74 percent.[28]

Contemporary period

Max Amini, Persian American stand-up comedian

The third phase of Iranian immigration started in 1995 and continues to the present.[29] According to the 2000 US Census, there were 283,225 Iranian-born people in the US.[30] According to the same 2000 US Census, there were 385,488 Americans of Iranian ancestry at that time.[31] The 2011 American Community Survey (ACS) estimate found 470,341 Americans with full or partial Iranian ancestry.[1] However, most experts believe that this is a problem of underrepresenting due to the fact that "many community members have been reluctant in identifying themselves as such because of the problems between Iran and the United States in the past two decades."[32] Higher estimations of 1,000,000 and higher are given by many Iranian and non-Iranian organisations, media and scholars. Kenneth Katzman, specialist in Middle Eastern affairs and part of the Congressional Research Service, estimates their number at over 1000,000 (published December 2015).[33] Professors Paul Harvey and Edward Blum of the University of Colorado and the University of San Diego estimate their number at 1,000,000 (published 2012),[34] as well as Al-Jazeera.[35] According the PAAIA (Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans), estimates range from 500,000 to 1,000,000,[36][37] numbers backed up by Prof. Ronald H. Bayor of the Georgia Institute of Technology as well.[38] The Atlantic stated that there are an estimated 1,500,000 Iranians in the United States in 2012.[39] The Iranian interest section in Washington, D.C. claimed to hold passport information for approximately 900,000 Iranians in the US, in 2003.[32][40]

Today, the United States contains the highest number of Iranians outside of Iran. The Iranian-American community has produced individuals notable in many fields, including medicine, engineering, and business.

Demographics

Although Iranians have lived in the United States in relatively small numbers since the 1930s, a large number of Iranian-Americans immigrated to the United States after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Data on this group is well documented with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). According to the 2000 US Census, there were 385,488 Americans of Iranian ancestry at that time.[31] In the 2011 ACS, the number of Americans of full or partial Iranian ancestry amounted c. 470,341.[1]

Population

Federal data on Iranian Americans is not derived from the question of race in the Decennial Census, but rather from question of ancestry, which is collected through the annual American Community Survey (ACS). Data on Iranian ancestry from the annual ACS is available on the Census Bureau’s American Factfinder website.[41]

As mentioned priorly above, most experts believe that the underrepresented number of Iranian Americans in the ACS is a problem due to the fact that "many community members have been reluctant in identifying themselves as such because of the problems between Iran and the United States in the past two decades."[32] Higher estimations of 1,000,000 and higher are given by many Iranian and non-Iranian organisations, media and scholars. Kenneth Katzman, specialist in Middle Eastern affairs and part of the Congressional Research Service, estimates their number at over 1,000,000 (published December 2015).[33] Historians Paul Harvey and Edward Blum estimate their number at 1,000,000 (published 2012),[34] as well as Al-Jazeera.[35] According the PAAIA (Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans), estimates range from 500,000 to 1,000,000,[36] numbers backed up by Prof. Ronald H. Bayor of the Georgia Institute of Technology as well.[42] The Atlantic stated that there are an estimated 1,500,000 Iranians in the United States in 2012.[39] The Iranian interest section in Washington D.C. claimed to hold passport information for approximately 900,000 Iranians in the US, in 2003.[32][40]

According to research done by the Iranian Studies Group, an independent academic organization, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Iranian Americans are most likely far more numerous in the United States than census data indicate. The group estimates that the number of Iranian Americans may have topped 691,000 in 2004—more than twice the figure of 338,000 cited in the 2000 U.S. census.[5][43]

According to extrapolated U.S. Census data and other independent surveys done by Iranian-Americans themselves in 2009, there were an estimated one million Iranian-Americans living in the U.S.,[7] with the largest concentration—about 72,000 people—living around Los Angeles.[7][44] For this reason, the L.A. area with its Iranian American residents is sometimes referred to as "Tehrangeles" or "Irangeles" among Iranian-Americans.[45] Regarding Iranian-Americans of Armenian origin, the 1980 US Census put the number of Armenians living in Los Angeles at 52,400, of which 71.9% were foreign born: 14.7% in Iran, 14.3% in the USSR, 11.5% in Lebanon, 9.7% in Turkey, 11.7% in other Middle Eastern countries (Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, etc.), and the rest in other parts of the world.[46] Beverly Hills and Irvine both have large communities of Iranian Americans; 26% of the total population of Beverly Hills is Iranian Jewish, making it the city's largest religious community.[3][47][48]

Half of the nation's Iranians reside in the state of California alone.[49] Other large communities include New York/New Jersey, which have 9.1% of the U.S.' Iranian population, followed by Washington, D.C./Maryland/Virginia (8.3%) and Texas (6.7%).[50][3]

Approximately 6,000-10,000 Iranian Americans reside in the city of Chicago, while up to 30,000 reside in the Chicago metropolitan area.[51]

Religion

Nearly as many Iranian Americans identify as irreligious as Muslim, and a full one-fifth are Christians, Jews, Baha’is, or Zoroastrians.[52] Additionally, there are also some Iranian Mandaeans, but they are very small in number.

A 2012 national telephone survey of a sample of 400 Iranian-Americans, commissioned by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans and conducted by Zogby Research Services, asked the respondents what their religions were. The responses broke down as follows: Muslim: 31%, atheist/realist/humanist: 11%, agnostic: 8%, Baha’i: 7%, Jewish: 5%, Protestant: 5%, Roman Catholic: 2%, Zoroastrian: 2%, "Other": 15%, and "No response": 15%.[4] The survey had a cooperation rate of 31.2%.[4] The margin of error for the results was +/- 5 percentage points, with higher margins of error in sub-groups.[4] Prominently, the number of Muslims decreased from 42% in 2008 to 31% in 2012.[4][53]

According to Harvard University professor Robert D. Putnam, the average Iranian is slightly less religious than the average American.[54] Iranian-Americans are distancing themselves from Islam, having accepted the negative characteristics associated with the religion.[55] This is due to Islam being imposed on the Iranians through war and invasion, equating to authoritarianism, brutality and corruption.[55] In the book, Social Movements in 20th Century Iran: Culture, Ideology, and Mobilizing Frameworks, author Stephen C. Poulson adds that Western ideas are making Iranians irreligious.[56]

There are religious and ethnolinguistic differences among the Muslim, Jewish, Baha'i, Zoroastrian, Christian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Kurdish, and Assyrian groups.[57] Calculating the percentage of Christian Iranian-Americans is difficult because most Iranian Christians are of Armenian or Assyrian origin, and, apart from identifying as Iranian, a number amongst them also strongly self-identifies as Armenian or Assyrian, rather than as (or apart from) Iranian.[58][22]

Ethnicity

The majority of Iranian-Americans are ethnic Persians, with sizeable ethnic minorities being Iranian Azerbaijanis, Iranian Armenians, Iranian Jews, Iranian Kurds, Iranian Assyrians, and others.[59]

According to Hakimzadeh and Dixon, members of religious and ethnic minorities such as Bahai'is, Jews, Armenians, and Assyrians were disproportionately represented amongst the early exiles of the 1978–79 revolution.[60]

Citizenship

Nearly all Iranian-Americans are either citizens (81%) or permanent residents (15%) of the United States (2008 survey).[61] Iranian-Americans regard their culture and heritage as an important component of their day-to-day life and their overall identity within the United States.[62]

Assimilation

Four benchmarks are generally used traditionally to measure assimilation: language proficiency, intermarriage, spatial concentration, and socio-economic status. Per these criteria, one can determine with a significant degree of confidence that the Iranian American community has made significant strides in successfully assimilating to a new culture and way of living.[22] According to a survey commissioned by the PAAIA in 2008, only 21 percent of Iranian Americans reported interacting mostly with other Iranian Americans outside of their workplace, demonstrating that most of them have successfully integrated into United States society.[22]

Intermarriage rate is very high among Iranian Americans.[22] It has been estimated that nearly 50 percent of Iranian Americans who married between 1995 and 2007 married non-Iranian Americans.[22] Research has furthermore indicated that Iranian Americans who are Muslim are more open to intermarry than those who are members of religious or ethnic minorities, such as Jews and Armenians.[22] Regarding language profiency in the United States amongst its immigrant groups, the first generation principally speaks their native language, the second generation is in both of their parents' languages, and the third generation typically speaks only English, while maintaining knowledge of some isolated words and phrases from their ancestral tongue.[22] The Iranian American community follows this pattern.[22]

Socioeconomics

Occupations and income

The Small Business Administration (SBA) conducted a study that found Iranian immigrants among the top 20 immigrant groups with the highest rate of business ownership, contributing substantially to the U.S. economy. According to the report, there were 33,570 active and contributing Iranian American business owners in the U.S., with a 21.5% business ownership rate. The study also found that the total net business income generated by Iranian Americans was $2.56 billion.[63] Almost one in three Iranian American households have annual incomes of more than $100K (compared to one in five for the overall U.S. population).[64] Ali Mostasahri a founding member of the Iranian Studies Group, offers a reason for the relative success of Iranian-Americans compared to other immigrants. He believes that unlike many other immigrants who left their home countries because of economic hardships, Iranians left due to social or religious reasons like the 1979 revolution.[43] About 50 percent of all working Iranian Americans are in professional and managerial occupations, greater than any other group in the United States (Bayor, 2011).[65]

Education

As further stipulated by Prof. Ronald H. Bayor, from the very beginning, Iranian immigrants differed from other arrivals by their highly educational and professional achievements.[65] According to Census 2000, 50.9 percent of Iranian immigrants have attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 28.0 percent national average.[5] According to the latest census data available, more than one in four Iranian-Americans holds a master's or doctoral degree, the highest rate among 67 ethnic groups studied.[6]

A 1990 University of California, Los Angeles study showed that by education and occupation, native-born and Iranian-Americans of Armenian origin "tend to have the highest socioeconomic status... while those from Turkey have the lowest", although Turkish Armenians boast the highest rate of self-employment.[66] In 1988, The New York Times article claimed that Middle Eastern Armenians, which includes Armenians from Iran, prefer to settle in Glendale, California, while Armenian immigrants from the Soviet Union were attracted to Hollywood, Los Angeles.[67]

A study regarding Americans of Armenian descent showed that Armenians from Iran (Iranian-Armenians) are known for fast integration into American society;[68] for example, only 31% of Armenian Americans born in Iran claim not to speak English well,[69] while those Armenians from other nations were shown to have less steady successes of integration.

Physicians

The earliest Iranian professionals in the U.S. before the 1979 revolution were the physicians. They were mostly young temporary trainees who worked as medical interns or residents. Some established themselves to continue practice beyond the residency stage. Their motives to extend their stay in the United States were more geared towards professional reasons than economics. Researcher from Johns Hopkins University in 1974 reported in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) that in 1971 the number of Iranian physicians in the U.S. was 1,625.[70]

In 2013, another report was published in Archive of Iranian Medicine (AIM) that post revolution the number of Iranian Medical School graduates in the United States had grown to 5,045. Later, those who migrated to the U.S. after the 1979 revolution were mostly experienced physicians who came with their families and intent to stay permanently. As of 2013, there are a 5,050 Iranian Medical School Graduates in the United States.[71]

Prior to revolution the 1,626 physicians migrated to the United States were 15% of all medical graduates of Iranian medical school graduates while the 5,045 medical graduates who migrated post Islamic Revolution represent only 5% of total Iranian Medical Graduates. This is not indicative of the entire United States, merely of the areas in which most of the Iranian American population is concentrated.[72]

Politics

Most important issues to the Iranian-American community

Though Iranian-Americans have historically excelled in business, academia and the sciences, they have traditionally shied away from participating in American politics or other civic activities.[7]

Iranian-Americans don't seem to engage in American Politics, the fact that only 10 percent of Iranian-Americans voted in the 2004 election according to surveys in large American cities is evidence of this. The group that published this information urged Iranian-Americans to come together and vote in order to make a difference in how the United States foreign policy operates with regards to Iran.[73]

An August 2008 Zogby International poll, commissioned by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, found that approximately one half of Iranian Americans identified themselves as registered Democrats, in contrast to one in eight as Republicans and one in four as independents (2008).[61]

The same poll indicates that more than half of Iranian Americans cite domestic U.S. issues, including issues that are not unique to Iranian Americans, as the most important to them. In contrast, one quarter of Iranian Americans cite foreign policy issues involving U.S.-Iran relations and less than one in ten cite the internal affairs of Iran as being of greatest importance to them.[61]

From 1980 to 2004, more than one out of every four Iranian immigrants was a refugee or asylee.[5] The PAAIA/Zogby poll also cites that almost three-quarters of Iranian Americans believe the promotion of human rights and democracy in Iran is the most important issue relating to U.S.-Iran relations. About the same percentage, however, believe diplomacy is the foreign policy approach towards Iran that would be in the best interest of the United States. 84% support establishing U.S. Interest Section in Iran.[61] Nearly all Iranian Americans surveyed oppose any U.S. military attack against Iran.[74]

Ties to Iran

According to a survey conducted in 2009, more than six in ten Iranian Americans have immediate family members in Iran, and almost three in ten communicate with their families or friends in Iran at least several times a week. An additional four in ten communicate with their families or friends in Iran at least several times a month. This study indicates an unusually close relationship between Iranian Americans and Iranians.[74]

As of 2013, U.S. laws require U.S. persons to obtain a license from OFAC to engage in transactions related to the sale of their personal property in Iran.[75] Similarly, US persons will need a license from OFAC to open a bank account or transfer money to Iran.[76]

Discrimination

According to the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, nearly half of Iranian-Americans surveyed in 2008 by Zogby International have experienced or personally know Iranian Americans who have experienced discrimination due to their ethnicity or country of origin. The most common types of discrimination reported are airport security check, social discrimination, racial profiling, employment or business discrimination and discrimination at the hands of immigration officials.[61]

In 2009 Martin Kramer, a Harvard professor, warned about the dangers of allowing Iranian Americans to get too close to power during the 2009 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference:[77]

Notable individuals

Business/technology: Iranian-Americans are among the most educated and successful communities in the U.S., according to a report by Iranian Studies group at MIT, Iranian-Americans have founded and/or participated in senior leadership positions of many major US companies, including many Fortune 500 companies such as GE, Intel, Citigroup, Verizon, Motorola, Google, and AT&T.[78] Pierre Omidyar, founder/CEO of eBay is of Iranian origin, as well as the founder of Bratz Isaac Larian. Hamid Biglari is Vice-Chairman of Citicorp.[79] Bob Miner was the co-founder of Oracle Corporation and the producer of Oracle's relational database management system.[80] In 2006, Anousheh Ansari, co-founder of the Ansari X Prize, became the first female tourist in space. Ansari is also the co-founder and former CEO of Prodea Systems Inc. and Telecom Technologies, Inc. Other well-known Iranian-American entrepreneurs include designer Bijan Pakzad, entrepreneur Sam Nazarian, business executive Hamid Akhavan, former CEO of Unify GmbH & Co. KG (formerly Siemens Enterprise Communications),[81] Omid Kordestani of Google, CEO of YouTube Salar Kamangar and Sina Tamaddon of Apple Inc., and Shahram Dabiri, Lead Producer for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft from 1999 to 2007.

Philanthropy: Many Iranian Americans are active philanthropists and leaders in improving their community. In 2006, the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center was the recipient of a 10 million dollar donation from an Iranian American couple based in Houston, Texas.[82][83] The University of Southern California was also the recipient of a 17 million dollar gift from an Iranian-American,[84] as was San Francisco State University which also received a 10 million dollar gift from an Iranian-American couple.,[85] and Chicago's Swedish Covenant Hospital ($4 million),[86] Portland State University ($8 million),[87] and UC Irvine ($30 million).[88][89]

Science/academia: Well-known Iranian Americans in science include Firouz Naderi director at NASA, Ali Javan inventor of the first gas laser, Maryam Mirzakhani the first female winner of the Fields Medal, Nima Arkani-Hamed a leading theoretical physicist, Gholam A. Peyman, the inventor of LASIK, Lotfi Asker Zadeh, Vartan Gregorian, Cumrun Vafa, Nouriel Roubini, Pardis Sabeti, Vahid Tarokh, George Bournoutian, and Rashid Massumi, M.D., a pioneer in the fields of electrophysiology and cardiology. Prominent Iranian Americans in American higher education include Rahmat Shoureshi, researcher, professor, and provost of New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) and Nariman Farvardin, president of Stevens Institute of Technology.

Media/entertainment: Well-known media personalities of America, of Iranian descent, include Christiane Amanpour of ABC News and CNN, Daron Malakian, member of rock band System of a Down,[90] Susie Gharib of Nightly Business Report, Asieh Namdar, Roya Hakakian, Yara Shahidi and Rudi Bakhtiar. There are several Iranian American actors, comedians and filmmakers, including the Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Shohreh Aghdashloo, actresses Catherine Bell, Sarah Shahi, Nadia Bjorlin, Nasim Pedrad, Desiree Akhavan, Sheila Vand, Necar Zadegan, Rosie Malek-Yonan, and Bahar Soomekh, comedians Max Amini and Maz Jobrani, filmmakers Bavand Karim and Kamshad Kooshan, actor Adrian Pasdar, producer Bob Yari, Farhad Safinia, author and performer Shahram Shiva, and Daryush Shokof. Well known music producers include Sharam Tayebi, who forms one half of the Grammy award-winning duo Deep Dish.

Sports: Professional tennis player Andre Agassi, NFL football players T.J. Houshmandzadeh, David Bakhtiari and Shar Pourdanesh, professional wrestlers Shawn Daivari and The Iron Sheik, professional mixed martial artist Amir Sadollah, and professional soccer players Sobhan Tadjalli, Alecko Eskandarian and Steven Beitashour.

Politics: The son of the late Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, lives in the United States, as well as several high-ranking officials in the Shah's administration such as Hushang Ansary and Jamshid Amouzegar. Goli Ameri is the Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, as well as the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs from 2008 to 2009, during which she was the highest-ranking Iranian-American public official in the United States. Beverly Hills elected its first Iranian-born Mayor, Jimmy Delshad, in 2007.[91][92] Bob Yousefian served as the mayor of Glendale, California from 2004-2005. In November 2011, Anna M. Kaplan was elected Councilwoman in the Town of North Hempstead, New York, becoming the first Iranian-American to be elected to a major municipal office in New York State.[93] Cyrus Amir-Mokri is the highest ranking Iranian-American official in government as of 2012, who was appointed as the Treasury Department Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions by President Obama.[94] Also, in November 2012, Cyrus Habib, from the 48th district in Washington State, became the first Iranian American elected as a state legislator. Alex Nowrasteh is a well-known political commentator, policy analyst, and economist.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "U.S. Census Bureau (2011 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates)" (PDF). Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Monsy Alvarado (March 20, 2014). "N.J. Iranians celebrate Persian New Year with music, dance in Englewood". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Soraya Fata; Raha Rafii (September 2003). "The Relative Concentration of Iranian Americans Across the United States: Iran Census Report" (PDF). National Iranian American Council. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "2012 NATIONAL PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY of IRANIAN AMERICANS regarding Potential Military Strike Against Iran" (PDF). paaia.org. 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Migration Information Source – Spotlight on the Iranian Foreign Born". Migrationinformation.org. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  6. 1 2 "Iranian-Americans Reported Among Most Highly Educated in U.S". Payvand.com. November 24, 2006. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Azadeh Ansari CNN (June 16, 2009). "Iranian-Americans cast ballots on Iran's future". CNN. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  8. 1 2 Maryam Daha (September 2011). "Contextual Factors Contributing to Ethnic Identity Development of Second-Generation Iranian American Adolescents". Journal of Adolescent Research (Sage journals) 26 (5): 543–569. Retrieved January 12, 2016. ... the majority of the participants self-identified themselves as Persian instead of Iranian, due to the stereotypes and negative portrayals of Iranians in the media and politics. Adolescents from Jewish and Baha’i faiths asserted their religious identity more than their ethnic identity. The fact Iranians use Persian interchangeably is nothing to do with current Iranian government because the name Iran was used before this period as well. Linguistically modern Persian is a branch of Old Persian in the family of Indo-European languages and that includes all the minorities as well more inclusively.
  9. ↑ Raymond M. Nakamura (2003). Iranian/Persian Americans - The flow of Iranian citizens into the United States began in 1979, during and after the Islamic Revolution. Health in America: A multicutral perspective. Kendal Hub.
  10. ↑ Mark Zanger. The American Ethnic Cook Book for Students. p. Excerpt pp-212-214: (Iranians) Most of the million Iranian-Americans have come to the United States since the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Shah and established an Islamic Republic in Iran.
  11. ↑ Racial and Ethnic Relations in America, Carl Leon Bankston,"Therefore, Turkish and Iranian (Persian) Americans, who are Muslims but not ethnically Arabs, are often mistakenly..",Salem Press, 2000
  12. ↑ Fereshteh Haeri Darya, "Second-generation Iranian-Americans: The relationship between ethnic identity, acculturation, and psychological well-being" Capella University, ProQuest, 2007 pp 3–4: "According to previous studies, the presence of heterogeneity is evident among Iranian immigrants (also known as Persians – Iran was known as Persia until 1935) who came from myriads of religious (Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Armenian, Assyrian, Baha'i and Zoroastrian), ethnic (Turk, Kurds, Baluchs, Lurs, Turkamans, Arabs, as well as tribes such as Ghasghaie, and Bakhtiari), linguistic/dialogic background (Persian, Azari, Gialki, Mazandarani, Kurdish, Arabic , and others). Cultural, religious and political, and various other differences among Iranians reflect their diverse social and interpersonal interactions. Some studies suggest that, despite the existence of subgroup within Iranian immigrants (e.g. various ethno-religious groups), their nationality as Iranians has been an important point of reference and identifiable source of their identification as a group across time and setting." proquest.umi.com
  13. ↑ Greater Iran: a 20th-century odyssey – Richard Nelson Frye – Google Books. Google Books. June 30, 2006. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  14. 1 2 3 Mehdi Bozorgmehr, The new Americans: a guide to immigration since 1965 // Mary C. Waters, Reed Ueda, Helen B. Marrow (eds.), Harvard University Press, 2007, p. 469
  15. ↑ Elizabeth Chacko, Contemporary ethnic geographies in America // Ines M. Miyares, Christopher A. Airriess (eds.), Rowman & Littlefield, 2007, pp. 325–326
  16. ↑ "Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 11th Edition". Collinsdictionary.com. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Definition of "Persian"". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  18. ↑ Bakalian 1993, p. 33.
  19. ↑ Papazian, Dennis (2000). "Armenians in America". Journal of Eastern Christian Studies (University of Michigan-Dearborn) 52 (3-4): 311–347. doi:10.2143/JECS.52.3.565605. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  20. ↑ "The First Iranian American". Paaia. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bayor 2011, p. 1076.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Iranian Americans; immigration and assimilation" (PDF). PAAIA (Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans). Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  23. ↑ Bozorgmehr & Sabagh, p. 8
  24. 1 2 Bayor 2011, p. 1077.
  25. ↑ Torbat, Akbar E (Spring 2002). "The brain drain from Iran to the United States". Middle East Journal 56 (2): 272–295.
  26. ↑ Shirin Hakimzadeh and David Dixon, Migration Policy Institute. Spotlight on the Iranian Foreign Born Migration Information Source – Spotlight on the Iranian Foreign Born". Migrationinformation.org. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/spotlight-iranian-foreign-born/. Retrieved 2010-02-15. "The exiles were disproportionately members of religious and ethnic minorities, such as the Bahai'is, Jews, Armenians, and Assyrians. Also in the second wave were young men who fled military service and the Iran–Iraq war, followed by young women and families who came for educational and political reasons. "
  27. ↑ "1980 US Census; No 48. Population by Selected Ancestry Group and Region" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980. p. 42. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  28. ↑ "Migration Information Source – Spotlight on the Iranian Foreign Born". Migrationinformation.org. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  29. ↑ Bayor 2011, p. 1078.
  30. ↑ "Profile of Selected Demographic and Social Characteristics: 2000 Population Universe; People Born in Iran" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  31. 1 2 "Ancestry: 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  32. 1 2 3 4 Bahareh H. Lampert. Voices of New American Women: Visions of Home in the Middle Eastern Diasporic Imagination page 50. ProQuest, 2008. ISBN 978-0549635208
  33. 1 2 Katzman, Kenneth (29 December 2015). "Iran, Gulf Security, and U.S. P olicy" (PDF). Congressional Research Service (CRS Report). Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  34. 1 2 Paul Harvey, Edward Blum. The Columbia Guide to Religion in American History page 368. Columbia University Press, 14 feb. 2012. ISBN 978-0231140201
  35. 1 2 Reinl, James. "Iranian Americans bank on historic nuclear deal". Al-Jazeera. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  36. 1 2 Yeganeh, Torbati. "Iranian-Americans forge a rare bond to support nuclear deal". Reuters. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  37. ↑ "PAAIA - Demographics & Statistics". Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  38. ↑ Ronald H. Bayor. Multicultural America: An Encyclopedia of the Newest Americans ABC-CLIO, 2011 ISBN 978-0313357879. page 1080
  39. 1 2 Esfandiari, Golnaz. "The U.S. Election's Iranian-American Vote: What's It Look Like?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  40. 1 2 Fata, Soraya; Rafii, Raha, eds. (2003). "Strength in Numbers The Relative Concentration of Iranian Americans Across the United States" (PDF): 4. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  41. ↑ The Iranians Count Census Coalition Releases the Special Tabulation Results from the 2010 U.S. Census. Payvand.com.
  42. ↑ Ronald H. Bayor. Multicultural America: An Encyclopedia of the Newest Americans ABC-CLIO, 2011 ISBN 978-0313357879. page 1080
  43. 1 2 Phyllis McIntosh. "Iranian-Americans Reported Among Most Highly Educated in U.S.: Iranian-Americans also contribute substantially to the U.S. economy". State Department Bureau of International Information Programs. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  44. ↑ The Wall Street Journal, Iran's Political Crisis Fuels Expatriates' Fears, Hopes
  45. ↑ "Iranians at odds over talks with 'the Great Satan'". London: The Sunday Telegraph. June 4, 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  46. ↑ Bakalian 1993, p. 16.
  47. ↑ Universe: Total population more information 2006–2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. factfinder2.census.gov
  48. ↑ Los Angeles Times, Irvine embraces diversity at the polls, November 9, 2008.
  49. ↑ Amirani, Shoku. "Tehrangeles: How Iranians made part of LA their own". BBC. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  50. ↑ Iranian-Americans and the 2010 Census: Did We Shrink?, by Hossein Hosseini. Payvand.com.
  51. ↑ James S. Kessler (2005). "Iranians". Encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  52. ↑ Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia, Volume 1. Sage Publications. 2013.
  53. ↑ "Public Opinion Survey of Iranian Americans" (PDF). PAAIA. December 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2008.
  54. ↑ "Losing Our Religion: The Growth Of The 'Nones'". NPR. 13 January 2013.
  55. 1 2 "Disparaging Islam and the Iranian-American Identity: To Snuggle or to Struggle". payvand.com. 21 September 2009.
  56. ↑ Social Movements in 20th Century Iran: Culture, Ideology, and Mobilizing Frameworks. Lexington Books. 2005.
  57. ↑ Nilou Mostofi (2003). "Who We Are: The Perplexity of Iranian-American Identity". The Sociological Quarterly 44 (4): 681–703. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  58. ↑ Mohsen Mobasher (September 1, 2006). "Cultural Trauma and Ethnic Identity Formation Among Iranian Immigrants in the United States". Abs.sagepub.com. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  59. ↑ "Iranian Studies Group at MIT, Iranian-American Community Survey Results, 2005". Web.mit.edu. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  60. ↑ By Shirin Hakimzadeh and David Dixon Migration Policy Institute -Spotlight on the Iranian Foreign Born Migration Information Source – Spotlight on the Iranian Foreign Born". Migrationinformation.org. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/spotlight-iranian-foreign-born/. Retrieved 2010-02-15. "The exiles were disproportionately members of religious and ethnic minorities, such as the Bahai'is, Jews, Armenians, and Assyrians. Also in the second wave were young men who fled military service and the Iran-Iraq war, followed by young women and families who came for educational and political reasons. "
  61. 1 2 3 4 5 "2008 National Survey of Iranian Americans" (PDF). PAAIA. December 2008. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  62. ↑ PAAIA Releases 2011 National Survey of Iranian Americans. Payvand.com (December 7, 2011).
  63. ↑ "SBA Report: Iranian-Americans with one of highest rates of immigrant-owned businesses". Payvand.com. November 22, 2006. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  64. ↑ Archived March 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  65. 1 2 Bayor 2011, p. 1081.
  66. ↑ Sabagh, Bozorgmehr & Der-Martirosian 1990, p. 9.
  67. ↑ Reinhold, Robert (21 March 1988). "Echoes From Armenia In Southern California". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  68. ↑ Parks, Lisa; Kumar, Shanti (2003). Planet TV: a global television reader. New York: New York University Press. p. 395. ISBN 978-0-8147-6692-7.
  69. ↑ Samkian 2007, p. 102.
  70. ↑ 39. Ronaghy HA, Williams KN, Baker TD, Emigration of Iranian Physicians to the United States, A Ten-Year Follow-up of Graduates of Shiraz Medical School. Pahlavi Med J. 1973; 4:174-193.
  71. ↑ Ronaghy HA, Shajari A, Islamic Revolution and Physician Migration Archive of Iranian Medicine 2013; 16: 10
  72. ↑ Ronaghy HA, Cahill K Baker TD, Physician Migration to the United States: One Country's Transfusion is Another Country's Hemorrhage. J Am Med Assoc. 1974: 227: 538-542
  73. ↑ McIntosh, Phyllis. "Iranian-Americans Reported Among Most Highly Educated in U.S.". IIP Digital. State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  74. 1 2 "PAAIA Releases 2009 National Survey of Iranian Americans". Payvand.com. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  75. ↑ Farhad R. Alavi (December 31, 2010). "How U.S. Laws Can Affect Your Personal Affairs in Iran". Payvand.com. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  76. ↑ Tyler Cullis (April 4, 2014). "Banks Targeting Iranian Americans - What Are Your Rights?". Payvand.com. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  77. ↑ Disney, Patrick (26 March 2010). "Amanpour is Being Attacked Because She's Iranian". Payvand News.
  78. ↑ "Iranian Studies Group at MIT". Isg-mit.org. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  79. ↑ "The Iranian Americans". Pbs Socal. 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  80. ↑ "30th Anniversary corporate document: 1970s Defying Conventional Wisdom" (PDF). Oracle Corporation. May 26, 2007. p. 1. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  81. ↑ "Leadership Team". November 1, 2013.
  82. ↑ "Profile of an Iranian-American philanthropist: Ali Saberioon". Payvand.com. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  83. ↑ "Title_ – M. D. Anderson Cancer Center". Mdanderson.org. April 22, 2009. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  84. ↑ Mankin, Eric (November 23, 2011). "Alum Gives $17M to USC Viterbi Dept". Usc.edu. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  85. ↑ "SF State News". Sfsu.edu. June 1, 2005. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  86. ↑ "Archive Pages". Iranian.com. April 9, 2007. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  87. ↑ "Visionary Alumnus Makes Investment". Portland State Maseeh College of Engineering & Computer Science. 2004. Archived from the original on August 26, 2007.
  88. ↑ "University of California, Irvine | The Paul Merage School of Business". Merage.uci.edu. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  89. ↑ "Archive Pages". Iranian.com. April 24, 2005. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  90. ↑ Gowing, Liam (March 2, 2006). "In later years he moved Memphis, Tennessee to pursue his music career. However this was unsuccessful. His son has got him covered: System of a Down's artist of choice is Vartan Malakian, the guitarist's dad". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  91. ↑ "Living in Tehrangeles: L.A.'s Iranian Community". NPR. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  92. ↑ Kasindorf, Martin (March 14, 2007). "Beverly Hills will have first Iranian-born mayor in USA". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  93. ↑ Zendrian, Alexandra (November 9, 2011). "Kaplan Wins North Hempstead Town Council Race – Port Washington, NY Patch". Portwashington.patch.com. Archived from the original on 2012-04-24. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  94. ↑ White House Hosts Iranian-American Community Leaders for Roundtable Discussion. Payvand.com.

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iranian Americans.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 19, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.