Taxi Story - The Iranian Sunni

An eclectic series comprising conversations with Taxi drivers, initially composed when Sydney papers were complaining about the service provided by cab drivers. In most cases I am happy to say "forget the service, listen to the story." In this town, at least, most taxi drivers are foreigners and all seem to have a personal story that is rich and enlightening. Click on Taxi Story in the column on the right hand side to see the complete collection.

I never really liked the Shah but I made lots of noise about the Ayatollah. I did not want him running the country but to be honest I was not expecting him to come into power. Suddenly I found myself having to leave Iran for safety reasons. I think we actually say, for political reasons. I have some family in Iran even today so I have to be careful about what I say. Still. Sadly I don’t think I can ever travel back to Iran. It is hard to leave your roots and even though I have been here more than ten years now I would like to touch the ground where I was born. But I have my wife and children here and we are free to say what we think and worship how we want. I love that Shia, Sunni, Jew and Christian can live in one place and not fight. Even a follower of Isa (Jesus) can live next to a follower of the Prophet and not feel that they have to fight. Indeed, I am a Sunni and we can all live together in peace as God instructed us all to do. It’s just a shame that I had to come to the other side of the world to actually do that. I would prefer that I could do that in the land I was born.