Iran
Iran's 'Holy Spider' Spins a Deadly Web
The film's ending reveals its primary theme: that reality is structured by a fiction, which is the condition of the possibility for misogyny to exist. The underlying structure of the society being depicted is one of absurdity, allowing contradictions to abound.
Sharing the Spoils
Nobody is under the illusion that the hatred and rivalry between Tehran and Riyadh will meaningfully abate, though it might result in some relief for the long-suffering populations living in their proxy battlefields. But whatever peace has been brokered had nothing to do with America and its waned regional influence. The Saudis and the Iranians are poised uncomfortably to share the Middle East again, but on China’s terms.
How Two Months at an Iranian Seminary Changed My Life
I was in this isolated and authoritarian institution because I had been invited by the Iranian government as part of a delegation of Latin American religious students. I’ve written this under a pseudonym as I’m still wary, even scared, of the possible repercussions. The experience shook me to my core, reshaping not only my fundamental political values but also my spiritual beliefs.
The Kurdish Roots of a Global Slogan
My friends and I were high school students when we protested against Iran’s regime years ago. We established the Woman and Life ("Jin Jiyan") Committee to fight for our Kurdish and women's rights. Today’s "Woman, Life, Liberty" slogan was the reason I was exiled from Iran in 2004.
The Cognitive Dissonance of the Islamic Republic
Despite vulnerability to invasion and conquest, Persian self-image has remained stable across millennia. The conquests of Alexander the Great, the Arabs and the Mongols wiped out the indigenous political and cultural order nearly everywhere — except in Iran. But the Islamic Republic is a jarring aberration in the country’s history.
The Dubious Roots of Religious Police in Islam
In any society, certain things have to be coercively “commanded,” such as honesty in trade, or “forbidden,” such as theft, murder or oppression. These are literally maaruf, in terms of being “known” to all humanity as common sense. But how people believe in God and worship him are matters of their own conscience, which should be left to their private minds to freely determine.
What Iran’s Drones in Ukraine Mean for the Future of War
Aside from geopolitical fruits and any currency or barter provided by Russia, which might include military or nuclear technologies, the Iranian supply of drones to Russia will also provide a rich learning environment that may inform future Iranian design and employment of drones.