Iran 47

“The Fiction of Life”.

Conversation with Azar Nafisi (1). by Elizabeth Wasserman (2) In 1979, Azar Nafisi returned to her native Iran after a seventeen-year absence. From the moment she stepped off the plane, she found herself in a place that was dark and unfamiliar. The cheerful and cosmopolitan Tehran airport that she remembered from her youth, with its terraced restaurant […].

Intellectual Autobiography.

Interview with Abdolkarim Soroush. Sadri: I would like to ask you for an account of your intellectual development. I am certainly interested in whether you distinguish any turning points, watersheds, or distinct periods in the evolution of your thought. Soroush: In the name of God the compassionate, the merciful, thank you for giving me this opportunity […].

Travel.

Interview with Abdolkarim Soroush. April 1997 – Following his return to UK from the United States and shortly before he left London for Tehran to end a twelve-month absence from the country, Dr Soroush spoke to SERAJ in an exclusive interview. Here is a summarised translation of this conversation. Dr. Soroush, over the last few months, you have travelle […].

Upbeat on democracy in Iran.

Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate, visited Indonesia last week. In her presentations she came across as a person who spoke out for what she believed in — the people’s fight for freedom, rooted in her conviction that this is the basic message of her religion, Islam. Ebadi’s conviction has brought her to odds with both authorities and acti […].

Back to Iran.

I don’t like posting full articles or interviews unless that their reading is highly significant to Iranians and to the lay observer of Iranian affairs. That being said this is an interview published in the New Scientist concerning Soroush’s decision to return to Iran after a six year hiatus. For those of you who don’t know much about Soroush, he’s conside […].

Emerging Civil Society in Iran

In recent years the issue of civil society has taken on new salience among students of international affairs. The emergence of civil society as a vehicle for democratization in Eastern Europe and Latin America has led to increasing scholarly attention to the role of non-state actors in promoting political and economic reform In recent years the issue of […].

OXFAM, le Tsunami et l’aide occidentale.

Washington :Adam Ould Abah- Islamonline.net-01-01-04- Traduit de l’arabe par l’ITRI. L’organisation internationale d’aide et de développement OXFAM, a averti que les aides promises par les gouvernements occidentaux aux victimes du Tsunami en Asie, risquent de ne pas leur parvenir dans leur intégralité, parce que ces pays ont l’habitude de ne pas honorer […].