Sussan Deyhim and U2By Catherine Batruni

Since June 12th, 2009, the day of the fateful Iranian elections, the protestors on the streets of Tehran have seen an enormous outpouring of support from people all over the world. Even a simple changing of a Facebook profile picture to a "Where Is My Vote?" image was a meaningful sign of solidarity for the Iranians fighting for their freedom and civil rights.

Most notably, renowned celebrities have taken time to voice their feelings of unity with the people of Iran. On July 2nd, 2009, the band U2 performed in Barcelona and honored Iranian protestors with their beloved song "Sunday Bloody Sunday." The song is about British troops who shot and killed civil rights marchers in Ireland and has frequently appeared in online tribute videos to Neda Agha Soltan, a young Iranian female who was killed in Tehran when she was shot in the chest. During the concert, the song begins with a vocal piece based on the Rumi poem Beshno Az Ney by Iranian-born singer Sussan Deyhim. As "Sunday Bloody Sunday" opened, the overhead screens turned a bright shade of green as Persian script began to scroll. The script begins with "Listen listen listen."

Sussan Deyhim is an Iranian-American composer, vocalist, and performer born in Tehran. Her career began when she joined Iran's Pars National Ballet Company and appeared in weekly concerts on Iranian television. She moved to New York in 1980 and has done ground breaking solo work as well as wide-ranging collaborations with Ornette Coleman, Bobby McFerrin, Peter Gabriel, Eve Ensler, Bill Laswell, Jan Kaczmarek, Maurice Bejart, Shirin Neshat, Sophie Calle and her long time collaborator Richard Horowitz among others. Deyhim's music remains true to the spirit of her ancient heritage while pointing to the future with a very personal and poetic dramatic sensibility. It is a unique fusion of East and West, merging Persian and extended vocal techniques and digital processing "Imbued with a sense of ritual and the unknown," (The Village Voice).

U2 was not the only famous musical group to create music for Iran. Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and Andy performed and video recorded "Stand By Me" in both English and Persian. In the video there is a hand-written Persian sign that translates to "We are one." Andy, born Andranik Madadian, is a legendary singer born in Iran to Armenian-Iranian parents and was considered to be an important figure in Iranian pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. Andy is also known as the "King of Pop" in Iran. He currently resides in Los Angeles.

Already extremely well-known for her social activism for civil human rights and the environment, Joan Baez recorded a video of herself singing "We Shall Overcome," the song that became the key anthem of the American civil rights movement. Akin to Bon Jovi and Andy, Baez also sang the tune in both English and Persian, with a very emotional emphasis on the lyrics "We'll walk hand in hand, we'll walk hand in hand, we'll walk hand in hand. Deep in my heart I do believe that we shall overcome someday."

Another singer recognized for his humanitarian efforts, hip hop artist Wyclef Jean, posted a video of himself on the internet performing an "emergency concert for the people of Iran." Jean sits at his piano and plays an impassioned but subdued melody as he cries out over and over again for equal rights and justice. He also wears a green sweatshirt and green cap, sporting the color of choice of the Iranian opposition.

On July 25th, Levantine Cultural Center in partnership with Amnesty International and in conjunction with a global day of events in cities around the world coordinated by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, presents Voices for Neda, Words & Music for Freedom and Human Rights in Iran. Among the many American and Iranian performers scheduled to appear thus-far are Nazanin Boniadi, Sussan Deyhim, Richard Horowitz, Maz Jobrani and many more to be announced daily. To support or attend "Voices for Neda," please call Levantine Cultural Center, 310.657.5511.

Catherine Batruni is associate editor at the Levantine Review.