Prisoner of Tehran: A MemoirWhat would you give up to protect your loved ones? Your life? In her heartbreaking, triumphant, and elegantly written memoir, Prisoner of Tehran, Marina Nemat tells the heart-pounding story of her life as a young girl in Iran during the early days of Ayatollah Khomeini's brutal Islamic Revolution. In January 1982, Marina Nemat, then just sixteen years old, was arrested, tortured, and sentenced to death for political crimes. Until then, her life in Tehran had centered around school, summer parties at the lake, and her crush on Andre, the young man she had met at church. But when math and history were subordinated to the study of the Koran and political propaganda, Marina protested. Her teacher replied, "If you don't like it, leave." She did, and, to her surprise, other students followed. Soon she was arrested with hundreds of other youths who had dared to speak out, and they were taken to the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. Two guards interrogated her. One beat her into unconsciousness; the other, Ali, fell in love with her. Sentenced to death for refusing to give up the names of her friends, she was minutes from being executed when Ali, using his family connections to Ayatollah Khomeini, plucked her from the firing squad and had her sentence reduced to life in prison. But he exacted a shocking price for saving her life -- with a dizzying combination of terror and tenderness, he asked her to marry him and abandon her Christian faith for Islam. If she didn't, he would see to it that her family was harmed. She spent the next two years as a prisoner of the state, and of the man who held her life, and her family's lives, in his hands. Lyrical, passionate, and suffused throughout with grace and sensitivity, Marina Nemat's memoir is like no other. Her search for emotional redemption envelops her jailers, her husband and his family, and the country of her birth -- each of whom she grants the greatest gift of all: forgiveness. |
From inside the book
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Page 7
... had gone to the prison many times and had asked to see their children but had been denied. Evin had been a political prison since the time of the shah. The name brought fear to every heart: it equaled torture and 7. Marina. Nemat.
... had gone to the prison many times and had asked to see their children but had been denied. Evin had been a political prison since the time of the shah. The name brought fear to every heart: it equaled torture and 7. Marina. Nemat.
Page 8
... shah since the 1960s. After the success of the Islamic revolution, its members opposed Ayatollah Khomeini's unlimited power as the supreme leader of Iran and called him a dictator. As a result, the Islamic government declared their ...
... shah since the 1960s. After the success of the Islamic revolution, its members opposed Ayatollah Khomeini's unlimited power as the supreme leader of Iran and called him a dictator. As a result, the Islamic government declared their ...
Page 26
... shah and women didn't have to dress according to Islamic rules. Although the store was small, its shelves were stocked with many different goods: longgrain rice, spices, dried herbs, butter, milk, Tabriz cheese, candy, skipping ropes ...
... shah and women didn't have to dress according to Islamic rules. Although the store was small, its shelves were stocked with many different goods: longgrain rice, spices, dried herbs, butter, milk, Tabriz cheese, candy, skipping ropes ...
Page 28
... Shah and Rahzi Avenues in downtown Tehran, the capital of Iran and its largest city. There, above a small furniture store and a small restaurant, my father, Gholamreza Nicolai Moradi-Bakht, opened his dance studio. Since many American ...
... Shah and Rahzi Avenues in downtown Tehran, the capital of Iran and its largest city. There, above a small furniture store and a small restaurant, my father, Gholamreza Nicolai Moradi-Bakht, opened his dance studio. Since many American ...
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Prisoner of Tehran: One Woman's Story of Survival Inside a Torture Jail Marina Nemat No preview available - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
Akram Ali’s mother Allaho akbar Aram Arash arms arrested asked Ayatollah Ayatollah Khomeini baby beautiful bedroom believe blindfold brother Brother Ali called cell chador church close cottage couldn’t crying dark death didn’t want door Evin Evin prisoners eyes face father feel felt Ferdosi friends front girls Gita Grandma hair hallway Hamehd hands happened happy heard hejab hurt I’ve Iran Islamic Khanoom Khomeini kitchen knew Layla live looked Marina marry Mojahedin Mojahedin-e Khalgh Moosavi morning Muslim namaz never night o’clock okay opened parents prayer prison revolution revolutionary guards Sarah SAVAK screamed shah Shahrzad Sheida Sirus Sister Maryam sitting smiled soon stared stay stepped stood stop street talk Taraneh Tehran tell There’s things told took tried voice waiting walked walls wasn’t watched What’s window woman worry you’re Zahedan Zahra Kazemi
Popular passages
Page 82 - The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
Page vi - The Old Stoic Riches I hold in light esteem, And Love I laugh to scorn; And lust of fame was but a dream, That vanished with the morn: And if I pray, the only prayer That moves my lips for me Is, "Leave the heart that now I bear, And give me liberty!
Page 34 - Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, And blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God. Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Page 82 - The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. He guides me in right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage.
Page 39 - If one permits an infidel to continue in his role as a corrupter of the earth, his moral suffering will be all the worse. If one kills the infidel and thus stops him from perpetrating his misdeeds, his death will be a blessing to him.
Page 212 - He sat down on the edge of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees, his eyes focused on the wall.
Page 28 - Persepolis commemorating the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire.
Page 193 - He asked me how I was, and I told him I was fine. "You're a nice young man," he exclaimed instantly, his breath reeking of scotch and cigarettes.