Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
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40th anniversary of the death of Shia scholar Allameh Tabatabai
The modest scholar of Qom
Right up until his death, Allameh Tabatabai dedicated himself to the revival of Shia Islam’s intellectual traditions. But few in the West have even heard of this exceptional philosopher. A portrait by Marian Brehmer
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Obituary: Iran's first revolutionary president, Abolhassan Banisadr
Abolhassan Banisadr, who has died aged 88, was a thoughtful, French-educated, Islamic intellectual who accepted the presidency of Iran in 1980 despite his opposition to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s concept of the velayat-e faqih (“governorship of the Islamist jurist”) – effectively Islamic dictatorship.
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Life in the Islamic Republic, then and now
The softening of Sharia in Iran – four harams turn halal
On the face of it, the Iran of 2021 still bears considerable resemblance to the Islamic theocracy that was established following the overthrow of the Shah in 1979. Yet, although the enforcement of Sharia law continues to this day, the definition of what is permitted and what is forbidden has shifted over the years. By Mehdi Abadi
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Katajun Amirpur's "Khomeini" biography
Khomeini, the enigmatic Ayatollah
Recently published in German, Katajun Amirpur's new biography of Ayatollah Khomeini is a multi-faceted and knowledgeable portrait of the Iranian revolutionary leader that also offers some surprises. Marian Brehmer read the book for Qantara.de
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Raisi inherits an ancient civilisation
The striking continuity of Iran – Persia unchanged?
At the root of Iran’s current economic malaise, political disarray, and foreign policy confrontations lie various approaches that are powerfully historical and therefore problematic to deconstruct. Three pervasive tendencies in its political culture are scapegoating, political tribalism, and an obsolete interpretation of national sovereignty. By Mahmood Sariolghalam
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Elections in Iran
Khamenei shuts down opposition ahead of upcoming ballot
In the run up to Iran’s presidential election, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has sought to entrench his power. Alex Vatanka asks whether a sharp slump in voter turnout will reveal the extent of popular discontent
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Obituary: Iranian-German poet SAID
Shout your names
Among the authors writing in German who are not native speakers of the language, SAID, who was born in 1947, was among the most successful and the most unconventional. Highly politically engaged, he remained true to his position between cultures. He died on 15 May. By Stefan Weidner
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Power politics in Iran
Fallout from Mohammed Javad Zarif's political bombshell
An interview by Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif has provoked outrage in Iran. In it, Zarif criticised the Revolutionary Guards' destructive role in both the nuclear agreement and the Syrian war. Ali Sadrzadeh has the details
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Ava Farmehri's "Through the sad wood our corpses will hang"
Flashback to a childhood in Tehran
Iranian-Canadian author Ava Farmehri’s debut novel paints a bleak picture of growing up in Iran after the Islamic Revolution. The book is both a prison novel and a reflection on freedom. Gerrit Wustmann read it for Qantara.de
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The Persian poetry of mathematics
From Omar Khayyam to Mirzakhani – Iran’s beautiful minds
Presenting a more nuanced vision of their common homeland, Iran, to Western imaginations, kindred spirits Omar Khayyam and Maryam Mirzakhani stand out against the twenty-first century backdrop of anti-Iranian sentiment and Islamophobia. By Hamid Dabashi
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Charting the history of Iran sanctions
The Islamic Republic's never-ending labour pains
The Islamic Republic of Iran has been subject to sanctions ever since its creation in 1979. The more the regime has entrenched itself and expanded its power in the region, the more sophisticated the sanctions have become, effectively crippling the country. Will they ever end? Ali Sadrzadeh traces their history
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Book review: Kim Ghattas' "Black Wave"
The rivalry that completely transformed the Middle East
In "Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the rivalry that unraveled the Middle East", Dutch Lebanese journalist Kim Ghattas describes the past 40 years in the Middle East and North Africa as a struggle for hegemony between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Throughout the book, she focuses above all on the societal dimension of this rivalry. Daniel Walter read the book