Criticism
Critiques were voiced in the western press and by Khomeini and his followers – Khomeini called it the "Devil's Festival.". Expenses were said to be as high as $200 million, while the Ministry of the Court placed the cost at $17 million; Ansari, one of the organizers, puts it at $22 million. The actual figure is difficult to calculate exactly and is a partisan issue. The defenders of the activities point out other benefits such as the opening of 3,200 schools, improvements in infrastructure, and the positive effect on Iran's international public relations.
Read more about this topic: 2,500 Year Celebration Of The Persian Empire
Famous quotes containing the word criticism:
“I hold with the old-fashioned criticism that Browning is not really a poet, that he has all the gifts but the one needful and the pearls without the string; rather one should say raw nuggets and rough diamonds.”
—Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889)
“The greater the decrease in the social significance of an art form, the sharper the distinction between criticism and enjoyment by the public. The conventional is uncritically enjoyed, and the truly new is criticized with aversion.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)