Zadrozeh Ahmadeh Kasravi,
Ahmad Kasravi was in my opinion one of the greatest minds of Iran in the 20th century. He was born to a religious Muslim family in Azarbayejan and through his open mind and inquisitive nature went far beyond most Iranians of his time and even now. Sadly he was murdered by an Islamic fanatic one of Nawab Safavi’s followers by orders from Ayatollahs Boroujerdi and Ayatollah Sadr. This robbed Iranians of one of the most far seeing minds and left us with the likes of Shariati and Al Ahmad. If people had listened to Kasravri instead of Shariati Iran would not be where it is now. In fact we may have freed ourselves from the chains of superstition on which the Mullahs and Ayatollahs feed and live.
In his life Kasravi was honest to a fault. His absolute honesty and insistence on telling it as he saw it made him many enemies. But he never compromised his integrity. He wrote many books critical of what he found to be faults that were keeping Iran back. It is interesting to read them and then watch the current debates on Islam; Quoran; Bahaism; Sufi gari and so on. Much of the current day debate both in the West; the East and on IC is name calling; threats of book burning and plain out stupid. One big problem in the current debate is lack of knowledge and lack of respect. People react emotionally based on flawed information and propaganda. In these times what is needed is real critical thinking. Thankfully Kasravi provides us with very intelligent yet respectful and knowledgeable criticisms of all of these religions and factions. I am not going to repeat Kasravi’s arguments. However I like to encourage people to read his books. In the context of religions read his book on Islam; Shia and Bahaism. On spirituality his book “Varjavand Bonyad” is a masterpiece which I recommend to all regardless of their current beliefs: all you need is an open mind and a working knowledge of written Persian.
It is impossible to say enough good things about this man. A true manifestation of what an Iranian can really achieve. His life embodies both the greatness of human mind as well as the traditional response of the dim witted and frightened Islamists.
I am not qualified to write much more about such a great man. However I would like to encourage all to read his books.
Here are some links:
http://www.kasravi.info/
http://www.iranchamber.com/personalities/akasravi/…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_Kasravi
http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Authors/Kasra…
PS,
I request that you all post here and condemn his murder. Fadayyan Islam and their moral allies today may have succeeded in murdering Kasravi but they will never silence the voice of reason. We shall persevere until light shines on the lies which hold Iranians prisoner in ignorance and all darkness is vanquished.
