6,000 books and dissertations will be displayed during the exhibit.

TEHRAN, Feb. 13--An exhibition on the Holy Prophet of Islam (PBUH) will be held here in the Creativity Division of the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults from March 8-16.
According to Fars, Ali Dejakam, academic secretary of the event said at a news conference on the exhibit that extremist views about the personality of the prophet have always undermined his status as a model for mankind.
On the one hand, some people introduce him as a celestial figure that the public do not allow themselves to model their lives on his lifestyle while, on the other, some identify him only as a human albeit a genius.
Both the attitudes are like the two cutting edges of a pair scissors which casts shadow on his being as a model, he said.
Emphasizing that the society is in pressing need of models such as Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Dejakam also said, “We should introduce him to the world more than ever.
“In meetings held by the Scientific-Research Committee of Headquarters for Commemorating the Year of Holy Prophet, we reached the conclusion that the public should be made familiar with various aspects of the prophet’s personality by organizing exhibit featuring different sections.“
The exhibit will be sponsored by the ministries of culture and Islamic guidance; science, research and technology as well as health and medical education in addition to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Art University and Tehran Municipality.
Commenting on the agenda of the event, he said that some 6,000 books and dissertations will go on public display concurrent with the exhibit.
Superior music works featuring the Holy Prophet (PBUH) including the ’Symphony of the Prophet’ will also be performed at the exhibit, he concluded.

Culture Minister Saffar Harandi

YAZD, Feb. 13--Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Mohammad Hossein Safar-Harandi has said that digital libraries will be set up in all provinces by March 2008, ISNA reported.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony for Yazd province’s Cultural and Artistic Research Center, he also said that the human community is moving toward modern technology.
“We should adopt a rational approach, which aims to impart knowledge and recognition, so as to be able to move from traditionalism to modernism,“ he said.
The minister further stated that the ministry will do its best to take effective steps in the field of culture by promoting modern
technology.
Observing that artists and men of culture play a crucial role in promoting knowledge, he noted, “We deem it our duty to extend serious support for them, especially the researchers.“
Referring to the fact the ninth government deems serving the people as a great blessing, Safar-Harandi also said that it is trying to solve problems by offering services to the public.
Meanwhile, he said at a meeting of the provincial Public Culture Council that the ministry attaches special value to the council.
The council in the cities should be promoted through new approaches, he said.
Pointing to the sensitive and significant mission of the Council of Public Culture, the minister added that it should seek and present new approaches in the field of culture.
One of the duties of the council is to help preserve genuine Islamic culture, Safar-Harandi said, noting that the field of culture is the field of prudence and patience.

TEHRAN, Feb. 13--A proposal has been made for the formation of a coordination council for fixing the prices of handwritten copies in Tehran and other cities, CHN reported.
Given a huge gap in the pricing of manuscripts by libraries as well as the other centers for buying them, establishment of a coordinating council seems necessary.
Announcing this, head of the Handwritten Department of Libraries, Museums and Documents Organization (affiliated to Astan-e Qods Razavi Foundation), Seyyed Mohammad Reza Fazel-Hashemi said that such copies are sold even at lower prices in other cities than the capital.
Perhaps, one of the reasons for the distrust of owners of the copies is lack of coordination in pricing.
Fazel-Hashemi, who also doubles as an expert on handwritten copies, also stated that to win the confidence of the inheritors of manuscripts, prices of the copies should be fixed in a coordinated manner, which is only possible through formation of a council.
Stressing the council should include experts on pricing from libraries and the centers buying such materials, he said that inclusion of different experts in the council will bring about conditions for exchange of views.
Expressing pessimism about the formation of the council, he also said that since each library purchases manuscripts according to its financial conditions, it seems unlikely that small libraries will abide by the decisions of the council.

TEHRAN, Feb. 13--Noted Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darvish has been awarded the 2007 International Struga Poetry Festival prize. He competed with poets from Mexico, Turkey, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Macedonia competed for the award, ISNA reported.
Darvish is one of the most famous contemporary poets of the Arab world and is considered a representative of the Palestinians through his poetry which mainly deals with banishment, migration and statelessness of the people of the lost land of Palestine.
Darvish who has worked for more than five decades as poet has 30 books in both poetry and prose to his credit.
Struga Poetry Festival is one of the oldest and most accredited poetry festivals of the world that is usually held in Macedonia.
A documentary film titled ’Journey to Palestine’ was recently screened at a commemoration ceremony for Darvish in Tehran.

Feasibility studies on the projects are not yet complete.

TEHRAN, Feb. 13--Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) has sought 30 billion rials from the budget for the fiscal year March 2007-2008 to implement two developments projects of constructing a sacred defense museum and protecting sacred defense monuments.
However, feasibility studies on the two projects, which concern the Sacred Defense Era (Iraqi-imposed war of 1980-1988), are not yet complete, CHN reported.
Majlis Cultural Commission and Majlis Research Center had earlier opposed the allocation of the fund for sacred defense projects on grounds that feasibility studies are incomplete.
This is the second consecutive year that the implementation of the projects has been delayed.
Since the feasibility studies of the projects have been long overdue, the Majlis Cultural Commission is likely to reject the funds sought in the budget for them.

TEHRAN, Feb. 13--Islamic Republic of Iran is the first and only foreign country to be allocated a special and permanent pavilion at Sonargaon Museum in Bangladesh.
Quoting Islamic Culture and Communications Organization, IRNA reported that given the importance of the historical and cultural venue as well as the significance of Iranian culture and civilization in the complex, officials of the museum agreed to devote a permanent 40 sq.m. pavilion to Iran.
The pavilion, which opened on February 8, concurrent with 28th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, includes 30 tableaux featuring historical and religious monuments in Iran as well as natural landscapes, tableaux of calligraphy highlighting Qur’anic verses, four tableaux of local costumes and various handicrafts.
Sonargaon or ’Golden Village’ is located 26 kilometers from Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh.
The historical site is considered the first capital of the country. Historical monuments in Sonargaon include tomb of Sultan Ghiaseddin, tomb of Shah Abdel-Ala as well as a mosque.

TEHRAN, Feb. 13--Following earth-removal operations to construct a six-storey commercial building in front of the historical monument of Moshir-od Dowleh Pirnia on Lalehzar Street, Pirnia Alley of Tehran, inhabitants of the district and advocates of cultural heritage have called on Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) and Tehran Municipality to revoke the permit for construction of the complex.
Head of ICHHTO’s Technical Office Mehdi Memarzadeh told ISNA that the organization has not approved any construction activities in the vicinity of the Pirnia House.
He further said that there are 2,000 hectares in central Tehran that have special regulations on construction operations.
Before undertaking building activities near the monuments registered on national heritage list, one should seek the view of the organization, he noted.
As to the other areas, he said, constructing arcades and apartments which are more than three stories high is prohibited unless it is approved by the Municipality’s Article 100 Commission.
This is while, head of the commission’s secretariat has announced that no permit has been issued for the construction of parking and arcade in Tehran during the last six months.
Therefore, operations underway near Pirnia House are void of legality. Pirnia House is one of the treasured structures from the early Pahlavi era.