Ma’ni Jahad : University of Tehran is my home / My personal interest is in classical Iranian literature

The University of Tehran, emphasizing the development of international relations and scientific diplomacy, has always given a special place to the presence and activities of international students. Therefore, Hedieh Mirzaei, the university's public relations expert, in a series of conversations with top international students, has investigated their concerns and the opportunities and challenges of international students' studies at University of Tehran .

Ma’ni Jahad, an international student of University of Tehran from Iraq who has been introduced as a top student based on his GPA, is studying Iranian music, master's degree at the College of Fine Arts.
This top international student received an associate degree in Oud playing from Baghdad Conservatory in 2005 and a bachelor of music degree from Baghdad University of Fine Arts in 2009. Due to his interest in Eastern music and the Middle East, he has been studying and investigating the music of different parts of the Middle East in the past, and in 2016, he was given the opportunity to study Iranian music and was able to study at the University of Tehran, which according to him is the oldest university in Iran and a scientific and practical hub.

Ma’ni Jahad , in response to a question about the field of study and the activities he has done in this field of art, he explained as follows: "I studied in the field of playing Iranian music and my specialty instrument is the Oud. It should be said that in the field of educational activities, two specialized meetings about the Oud have been held by the Music Institute under the name "Travel with the Iraqi Oud" and another in collaboration with the Kerman Music Association in the city of Kerman. We also held two specialized meetings in the field of Arab music and Iraqi music at Karaj University of Arts and University of Tehran, which have not been held until now due to the current situation and the spread of the Corona virus.
In the field of composing Iranian music, playing the Oud instrument and performing a concert in Avini Hall, Baghdad memories concert in Rudaki Hall in cooperation with the Iranian Music Association, Sinbad's Dream in cooperation with the Children's Ritual Culture and Art Institute, online activities have also been carried out.

In the other part of the interview, this music artist stated that he always believed in teamwork and the use of collective wisdom, and that he has used his maximum efforts to advance collective goals in his work and artistic activities, communicating with other foreign students at the University of Tehran. He didn't have much, but he managed to establish a friendly, positive and constructive relationship with many Iranian students. Also, from his point of view, in general, the educational and research system of University of Tehran  has always been good during his study period.

The student of College of Fine Arts stated that University of Tehran was his home and the members of College of Fine Arts were his family.
Ma’na Jahad mentioning the teachers from whom he learned the art of Iranian music, said: "I learned the art of Iranian music from great teachers such as Dariush Talai, Dariush Pirniakan, Homan Asaadi, Sasan Fatemi, Reza Parvizzadeh and Negar Boban, but I have received the greatest influence from Professor Dariush Talai and Dr. Homan Asaadi

This top international student, in the continuation of the discussion of other activities achieved in the field of his artistic works, has collaborated as a soloist with the groups of Amasi Al-Sharq, Al-Aud Al-Zhabi, Mounir Bashir Lal-Aud and the supervision of the Inana group and the performance of numerous solo and group concerts in the countries of Sweden, Syria, Jordan, France, Egypt, Iran, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon and Malaysia.
He also listed the release of an album together with Mounir Bashir's group of accompanists by the Ministry of Culture of Iraq under the title Manifestations of Oud and Tales of Oud and three solo albums of the direction of Samt, Shanashil Baghdadiyeh and Tekno Oud and the album Shawati al-Hab by the Ministry of Culture of Morocco among his other activities.

In response to asking you to express your opinion about the sentence "Music is the common language of nations", he said: "The topic I discussed in my thesis was in this field, and the title of my thesis was "Examination of the similarities and differences between Iraqi maqam and Iranian instrumental music".  I believe that music is the expressive language of the people in expressing the culture, civilization and society of any country. Our subject is the comparison of music in two countries, both of which are the most important countries in the Middle East. Due to the neighborhood, there are many affinities in the culture and social habits of these two countries, and this is an incentive to compare, analyze and recognize the commonalities and differences of the two cultures.
The student of the College of  Fine Arts continued: "In addition to the neighborhood and proximity of what I found in the music of Maqam al-Iraqi, some Persian words (such as my life, my friend, etc.) are used. Also, the names of some authorities such as (Sehgah, Panjgah, Chahargah, Rast, etc.) are Farsi, while the official language of the Iraqi people is Arabic. Also, some Arabic words are used in Iranian music. such as (Ashaq, Iraqi, Hijaz, Mughloub, Azal, etc.), this is where issues come to mind, where are the commonalities of these two cultures? Is it only in names or something more?

Concerning his familiarity with Persian literature and if Persian poetry has had impacts on his music learning , Ma’na Jahad ,also stated: "I grew up in a family that was fond of writing and literature and is one of the writers of famous novels in Iraq. For this reason, I have received a lot of influence from literature in the past, but my familiarity with Iranian literature was through acquaintance with several Iranian poets, writers and translators. My personal interest is in the classical literature of Iran, and in the meantime, I have been more influenced by the poems of Hafez and Saadi.
Ma’ na Jahad , the top international student of University of Tehran  said at the end: "With gratitude and appreciation for the kindness of the people of Iran, I did not feel alienated or lonely during my stay in this country."