LEAK
Saudi Arabia urges US attack on Iran to stop nuclear programme, documents show
by Ian Black & Simon Tisdall
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has repeatedly urged the United States to attack Iran to destroy its nuclear programme, according to leaked US diplomatic cables that describe how other Arab allies have secretly agitated for military action against Tehran. The revelations, in secret memos from US embassies across the Middle East, expose behind-the-scenes pressures in the scramble to contain the Islamic Republic, which the US, Arab states and Israel suspect is close to acquiring nuclear weapons
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SHIFT
Ahmadinejad talks increasingly of Iran’s unique past, before the Arab invasion
Despite Iran’s emphasis on common Islamic values, long-harboured frictions with its Arab neighbours occasionally resurface. Some believe President Ahmadinejad’s administration is placing more emphasis on Iran’s ancient and unique heritage these days, marking a shift away from the previous stress on a Muslim sense of community with the Arab world. In the last few months, Ahmadinejad and his allies have used a variety of tactics to foster the perception that they are distancing themselves from the clerical establishment
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IDEAS
Never has Shiʿism witnessed such overwhelming criticism from Islamic thinkers and revisionists
In the dusk of the twentieth century, a mystical and quietist religion changed into a politico-revolutionary ideology that shook the world. How was this transformation brought about? Who were the men who transformed the faith into a weapon? What does the future hold for revolutionary Shiʿism? Martyrology and Messianism, the two main pillars of Shiʿism, can be traced back to two transformative events in the history of Islam: the killing of the Third Imam and the occultation of the Twelfth Imam
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STORY
It was our country and we missed it
The movie was wonderful, beautiful, heartbreaking. "The hell with this," my uncle said. "I'm tired of being moved to tears by American movies. When are they going to be moved to tears by Iranian movies? It's no good." He wiped his eyes. "I've had it. I've had it with their joys and sorrows and their music in the background. It is too beautiful. I do not have the room inside myself any more. I have seen too much."
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POETRY
It was a majestic afternoon.
There were Rudaki and I
Marzieh and Banan
along with a few American pupils
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POETRY
بعد از ظهر غریبی بود!
رودکی بود و من
مرضیه بود و بنان
همراه با چند دانشجوی ینگه دنیایی
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