Young Iranians look westward for spiritual guidance
Like many of Iran's Shi'ite Muslims, Babak Moradi has a marja, a source of emulation to act as his spiritual guide throughout life.
But he did not choose some white-bearded ayatollah or high-ranking cleric.
He follows the lead of Jack Welch, former chief of General Electric.
'I read all his books and I read articles about him,' the 24-year-old industrial management student said.
'It's very important for me that he's old. But his attitude is very young. He's very creative. He's a manager. But first of all, he's a coach.'
Tired of the ageing clerics who run the country, many of Iran's young are buying up meditation and yoga tapes.
They have turned to self-help books and self-anointed gurus who promise success and happiness at pricey, well-attended seminars. And they are seeking new role models.
Maryam, a 22-year-old photographer, recently read the Farsi translation of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's autobiography.
'She was a normal girl and I wanted to know how a normal girl like me could be successful, too,' she said.
'She was not rich, she was not beautiful. But she became the wife of the president and one of the most successful senators in the US.'
Cultural observers said the self-help phenomenon is the result of Iranians' sense of isolation and misery in a clerical dictatorship with harsh, albeit loosening, social controls, and little political freedom.
'The people are in an environment where everything is closed off,' said Moniroo Ravanipour, a critically acclaimed writer.
Self-help books are the hottest sellers at the busy line of bookstores across Tehran University. Fifteen years ago, as Iran emerged from its dark years of war with Iraq and post-revolutionary excess, literature and poetry were the hottest sellers, booksellers said.
Seven years ago, as voters brought a band of reformists into power, political and history books were the rage.
Nowadays, one of the top sellers is a familiar American self-help guru.
'There are popular Iranian authors,' book store clerk Hossein Sadeghi said.
'But the hottest foreign writer is Anthony Robbins.'
Entrepreneurs take advantage of Iran's non-adherence to international copyright laws to turn out quick, unauthorised translations of famous western self-help books, including nearly a dozen of John Graves' Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus series.
Other gurus charge fans US$50 to $60 a session to attend workshops.
A new magazine called Success includes ads for dozens of them.
Iranians say they are in the market for spiritual advice. And many are not buying ruling clerics' calls to pray and embrace Islam.
