
A friend recently sent me the above form, which dates from 1982 but nevertheless sums up attitudes that still prevail in Iran and elsewhere in the Islamic world. At the time he was working for a company that maintained an international directory of hotels. He sent forms to the hotels so that they could update their information.
From the Darius Persepolis Hotel in Iran he received this reply: a polite note informing him that in view of the Islamic Revolution the hotel was involved in plans for a new medical center, followed by an all-caps denunciation of America (partly in red ink), and then a resumption of politeness (“Your [sic] sincerely, M. Sohofi”).
It was kind of M. Sohofi not to let the jihad overwhelm his manners.