Restaurant Offers Slice of Middle East in L.A.
By Joshua Thaisen, published @Rudaw
LOS ANGELES — Tucked away in the northern suburbs of Los Angeles is the small Kurdish enclave of Agoura Hills. At the heart of this community is Niroj, an authentic Kurdish restaurant that celebrates the diverse flavors of the Levant.
The owner, Luqman Barwari, started the business with his wife Zuzan after the biotech company Amgen laid him off in 2011. After working for 13 years as a scientist, Luqman gambled everything on his dream to bring a little slice of Kurdistan to Los Angeles. The restaurant quickly became one of the highest rated ethnic restaurants in a city famous for its eclectic cuisine.
“Our philosophy is to make our customers feel the Levant in terms of both taste and ambiance. We believe that food is never simply a biological need — it is what unites humankind in its immense cultural diversity,” Barwari said.
“This restaurant is about more than great food — it is about creating dining pleasure and entertainment for the customers,” he added.
Luqman farms his own organic produce for the restaurant on his property. The love and care he has for food extends into the friendly hospitality he shows all his guests.
Niroj’s traditional setting evokes the nostalgia of simple pleasures found in home cooking. Spiced meats complement aromatic home made breads and traditional Middle Eastern mezze.
Meals are served “family style” on detailed copper and brass tables while belly dancers rhythmically captivate diners as they relax on low benches that are covered in colorful pillows, Kilims and rugs.
The warm, ambient light given off by overhanging lanterns completes the atmosphere. The authenticity of the food, ceremony and hospitality in Niroj makes it a lifeline of cultural identity among Kurds living in Los Angeles.
While sipping tea, both sensitive and lighthearted conversations flow freely between men and women, creating a safe atmosphere for people to discuss religion, politics, art and life.
Many Kurds in United States were forced to flee their countries because of cultural and political repression. Here, however, an outspoken Kurdish population has successfully cultivated forums of discussion that call attention to Kurdish matters.
“My family, along with hundreds of other Kurdish families from Iraq, became refugees in Iran as result of a war between the Kurds and Iraqi regime. The life, and condition of life was tough in Iran for refugees — especially as a Kurdish refugee — where our families were under constant observation of Iranian secrete service during the Shah regime,” Barwari said.
The Kurdish population in Los Angeles has a rich tradition of leading human rights campaigns for Kurds, and has a climate of highly outspoken political activism.
Amir Sharifi is a friend of Niroj and a leading Kurdish rights activist, professor and advocate for Kurdish culture in the United States. Born in Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan province in Iran, Sharifi was forced to assimilate into Iranian culture, having his Kurdish roots physically and linguistically stripped away.
“I associated the Kurdish language with fear — this was an identity that I could not freely express. Our language as a family was Kurdish, our customs, traditions, norms and expectation of everything was Kurdish. But outside the home I had to basically act as a Persian,” Sharifi said.
Since the birth of the Islamic Republic in 1979, Kurds in the United States have paid specific attention to the human rights violations of ethnic minorities in Iran. Los Angeles is home to over 500,000 Iranian Americans, and hosts the largest and most vocal Iranian opposition community in the world.
Recent discussion between the United States and Iran regarding Tehran’s nuclear agenda has prompted the world to take note of Iran’s affinity with violence.
“Kurds want to see human rights issues more heavily incorporated into nuclear discussions,” Sharifi said. “Kurds see these issues as inter-related; however it is UN foreign policy to separate the two. If Iran is following nuclear ambition for military purposes, there should not be a continuation of the internal coercive and repressive policies.”
“Let’s not forget it was the Islamic Republic of Iran that decapitated and viciously butchered Kurdish leaders and others. This is the same government that terrorized and slaughtered Americans. If we really want to look at what Iran is up to we have to look at the ways in which ethnic and religious minorities are being treated. Why would a peaceful, politically wise, prudent system go to such lengths to conceal its nuclear intentions?” he added.
Mala Ali Karim, a former Peshmerga fighter, said, “Iran is scared of many people; only Kurds persist to rise up against Iran. But Iran doesn’t believe in the Kurds’ right to independence. If Iran has a nuclear weapon they’re going to use it. It’s going to be very dangerous for the entire Middle East.”
The freedom of the Kurdish media has played a huge role in expanding coverage of Kurdish cultural affairs in the United States. Many Kurdish families tune into Kurdish TV and radio to remain connected to the homeland. Younger generations of Kurds in the west have embraced a greater pride in their cultural heritage, using the Internet and other forms of technology to express themselves openly and freely.
“This has been a great blessing to the revitalization of Kurdish identity, re-learning and re-socializing ones self into the identity… Kurdish cultural expression was forbidden outright and with the proliferation of electronic media the Kurds have a miraculous jewel in their hands to promote their cultural heritage and identity,” Sharifi said.
Kurds in the United States have overcome the hardships of political asylum and systematic discrimination to contribute significantly to American society.
Sharifi concluded, “We as a people insist on our distinctness. This distinctness is not a deficiency — it is a difference, a difference that doesn’t make us better or worse than other people. If we can remember this, the future belongs to us.”
