Main Street Business Owner Wins Award, Argues for Human Rights

When Iranian-American business owner Mojan Bagha was asked recently if he was living out the American dream, his answer was short and to the point.

“Yes," he replied. "The fact is still that if you work hard, you can achieve the American dream.” 

This October, his Ellicott City business, Main Street Oriental Rugs, was awarded the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland’s 2011 Torch Award for “marketplace excellence.”

“It’s quite an achievement,” Bagha explained.

According to the bureau’s website, his store was one of five local businesses to win such an award this year. The award recognizes businesses that demonstrate “high standards of honesty and integrity toward customers, employees, shareholders and their community.”

Bagha, talks about winning the award with a perceptible pride. From his tiny office in the back of his shop, he spoke with Patch recently about his passion for the Oriental rug business, which he says was born out of family tradition in his native country of Iran. He opened his shop in 1997.

“My family members taught me the business,” he says. “We look at it as an art form—people have been selling Oriental rugs for centuries around the world.”

A walk around Bagha’s shop, which is nestled into a quiet corner of Historic Main Street, is like taking a step into another world. The cramped space is a labyrinth of rugs—some of which are stacked several feet high in piles while some hang lithely from the store’s stone walls creating a mosaic of color.

In Iranian culture, Bagha says that owning an Oriental rug is like owning a treasure.

“Women are the weavers; they take the roll as artistic part of trade,” he said.

Bagha imports rugs from directly overseas from places such as Afghanistan, Turkey, India, Pakistan and Iran. He says he’s built relationships with sellers through travelling the world. Besides selling rugs, Bagha’s specializes in rug cleaning, restoration and repairs.

“I have worked very hard to get where I am,” the 53-year-old said. “I sell a good, quality product at a fair price.”

Bagha, who lives in Bethesda with his wife and six-year-old son, said that his role as a store-owner is two-fold. While he is foremost a service provider to the community, he also sees himself as an educator. And one of the topics he likes to discuss is Iran, a country that is constantly being portrayed on the news with relationship to terrorists and extremists.

One noticeable symbol of his dedication to educating the community about Iran is the sign outside his store, which asks the question “Can You Solve This?” in big blue lettering, accompanied by a scannable bar code.

Scan it with a mobile phone, and links pop up with information about an international movement promoted by followers of the Baha'i Faith to educate people about Iranian human rights issues.

“People that live there are also repressed as a result of the terrorism, they wish to have the same rights as Americans,” Bagha explained after busily searching the Internet for related links.

The campaign asserts that in Iran today, the denial of higher education is a reality as thousands of Iranians are barred from institutions because of different political, social or religious convictions rejected by the Islamic Republic.

Bagha, whose family is Baha'i, said his parents were both harassed and imprisoned in Iran because they subscribed to different religious beliefs.

“Today a number of Baha'i are in prison because they speak to fact that they want their kids to be educated,” he said, his voice full of passion. “My hope is that we’ll create a dialogue of peace with the United States and that all Iranians will have the freedom to send their children to school.”

He went on to say that he, too, has been a victim of discrimination. As an Iranian-American living in the post 9/11 world, it is not uncommon for people to perceive him in a negative light, he said.  

“When I open my mouth people put me in a certain category,” Bagha explained, before declaring, “Never categorize people; never make a preconceived notion—I believe in investigating the truth for myself…Stereotyping is dangerous.”

He went on to talk about the recession, noting that he too has been negatively affected by the tough economic climate. This year he had to lay off one of his employees, which means that most days he has to man the store on his own.

But that hasn’t stopped him from pushing his business agenda forward. One day he hopes to expand his store across state lines.

“I do consider myself a success,” he said.