Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
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Interview with the Iranian writer Abbas Maroufi
″Self-censorship is the worst″
Abbas Maroufi, born in Tehran in 1957, was one of Iran's most respected writers when he was sentenced to prison and a flogging for 'offending the fundamental principles of Islam'. It was only thanks to the intervention of the German PEN Center and the intercession of Gunter Grass that he was able to leave Iran in 1996. He has lived in Germany ever since. Interview by Volker Kaminski
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Political Islam and violence
A question of power
In his essay, the renowned Shia theologian and philosopher Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari considers the significance of political power and violence in Islamic systems of government
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Cultural policy and architecture in Iran
Far from an Islamist Utopia
The Islamist hardliners in Iran see themselves as a bulwark against the cultural influence of the West; their goal is to create an authentically Islamic culture. But what does that mean for things like architecture? Aesthetic observations by Ulrich von Schwerin in Iran
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Reform Islam
Can Iran do democracy?
A great deal of thought has been devoted to the issue of democracy in the Arab world over the last few decades. Katajun Amirpur examines the discourse with specific reference to Iran and its unique political system
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Saudi Arabia and Iran
Defeat Islamic State - or become it
The dawn of 2016 has brought a new round of doomsday predictions that Saudi Arabia’s ruling Al Saud family cannot sustain its autocratic grip on power. The kingdom, pessimists argue, is caught in a perfect storm with economic problems, social challenges and foreign policy crises all converging at the same time. By James M. Dorsey
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Elections in Iran
Even Khomeini can be disqualified
The moderate cleric Hassan Khomeini has been excluded as a candidate for the Assembly of Experts in Iran, even though he is the grandson of the nation's founder. This example shows why it so difficult for the moderates and reformists to assert themselves against the country's conservative establishment. By Ulrich von Schwerin
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Reforming Islam
Islam′s path to modernity
The clash between secular human-rights standards and Muslim religious doctrine mirrors the broader conflict between Islam and the West. An emerging school of Muslim thought is, however, demonstrating just how compatible Islam can be with modern society. An essay by Mohammad Fazlhashemi, professor of Islamic theology at Uppsala University in Sweden
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Iran-Saudi conflict
The Middle East′s Cold War
The breach in diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia is a dangerous watershed in an already unstable, war-torn region. The rupture has its roots in a strategic rivalry that stretches across the Middle East, says Bernard Haykel, Middle East expert at Princeton University
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Sunni–Shia relations
Iran's futile bid for ecumenism within Islam
Although Saudi Arabia distances itself from groups like al-Qaida, its leaders share the terrorist organisation's mistrust of the Shias and fear the emergence of a "Shia Crescent" in the Middle East. But Iran has always seen itself not as a Shia but as an Islamic country and declares itself committed to a rapprochement between the different Islamic denominations. Ulrich von Schwerin analyses why Iran's attempts to further ecumenism within Islam have thus far been in vain
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The role of Qassem Soleimani in Iraq
Reining in the lion
Until recently, General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards "Quds" Force, was still being hailed as a military hero and man for the future. But more and more details are emerging concerning his destructive role in Iraq. By Ali Sadrzadeh
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US–Iranian relations
The end of Iran's Islamic Revolution
The nuclear deal reached in July by Iran and its international interlocutors marks an obvious turning point in the Islamic Republic's relations with the outside world, particularly with the United States. But why has it taken so much longer for the US to come to terms with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's revolution in Iran than it did with Mao Zedong's revolution in China, asks Said Amir Arjomand
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The Yemen conflict
The threat of a regional conflagration
It is not clear what Saudi Arabia hopes to achieve with the war in Yemen. In any case, the ongoing airstrikes are not going to solve any problems. On the contrary: many new ones are emerging, such as the strengthening of the al-Qaida network or a dangerous confrontation between Iran and Saudi Arabia. By Ali Sadrzadeh