Life

Meddling Mollahs

A change is coming over the country in regard to popular feeling towards priestly interference in personal and secular affairs. The claim to have control of the concerns of all men may now be said to be but the first flush of the fiery zeal of divinity students, fresh from the red-hot teachings of bigoted Moulla masters, who regret the loss of their old supremacy, and view with alarm the spread of Liberalism, which seems now to be establishing itself in Persia. There are now signs of the people resenting the arrogant assumption or power by the Moullas, and freeing themselves from their thraldom>>>

جمهوری اعدام

افزایش اعدام‌ها در سال‌های اخیر به روشنی هدف ارعاب را دنبال می‌کند. در سال ۲۰۰۹ تعداد اعدام‌‌ها به گزارش عفو بین‌الملل دست کم به ۳۸۸ تن رسیده است. این بزرگترین آمار اعدام سالیانه در یکی دو دهه اخیر است. و ‌چرا؟ چون در این سال، جمهوری اسلامی با بزرگترین چالش مردمی ایران تحت عنوان جنبش سبز روبرو بوده است. رژیم که در برابر یک جنبش مسالمت‌آمیز دموکراسی‌خواه قرار گرفته تنها راه مقابله با آن را سرکوب و آن هم از نوع خونین آن می‌شناسد>>>

Religion of Love

There has been a lot of historic debate about the religious affiliations of Shams-i Tabrizi and Mowlana Jallallud’in Rumi. Much of the conjecture about whether or not Shams-i Tabrizi or Rumi were Shi'a, Sunni, Shafe'i, Hannafi or Ismaili is just that, pure speculation. Shams-i Tabrizi did not belong to any specific denomination or sect, and if he did, nobody really knows; all scholars agree that history is not clear about the life and works of Shams-Tabrizi. The only text ascribed to him, "Maqalaat-e Shams" was compiled by others who attributed certain words to him, and they are not written in stone by Shams-i Tabrizi himself>>>

I am stronger than my fears

There are so many things in life that scare me. I am extremely afraid of heights, not a fan of diving, and also dislike small tight places. There are few more on my list that I won’t share but amongst them are also the fear of swimming in the ocean and speed. You might ask yourself how did I pick Triathlon as my favorite sport if I am afraid of swimming in the open water and speed. Well, I didn’t pick the sport. It picked me :o) Many years back a coworker mentioned his son-in-law was doing an Ironman event. At that time the word "Ironman" to me was the ultimate!>>>

Restoring Integrity

In this context, it is crucial for human-rights defenders and organisations to clearly define principles and core values that are non-negotiable. Our commitment to countering, among others, Islamophobia, racism, misogyny and xenophobia should at no time blur our recognition of the authoritarian, often fascist, social and political agendas of some of the groups that suffer human-rights abuse at the hands of the big powers. The broader issue of principle which we raise here, is one which concerns all of us as human-rights defenders from different parts of the world>>>

فریادی از زندان

اکثر اوقات شکنجه‌ها به صورت گروهی انجام می‌گرفت و در حالی که چشم بند و دست بند داشتم چند نفر با کابل، چماق، مشت و لگد و گاهی شلاق ضرباتی به سر و گردن و سایر اعضای بدنم می‌زدند. این کارها به منظور وادار ساختن من به نوشتن آن‌چه توسط بازجویان دیکته می‌شد و اجبار به بازی کردن نقش در مقابل دوربین طبق سناریو دلخواه و نوشته شده توسط آنان می‌بود. گاهی شکنجه‌ها توام با شوک الکتریکی بود که بسیار دردناک بوده و تا چند لحظه پس از آن امکان حرکت نداشتم>>>

Amanpour Attacked for Being Iranian

employees at ABC are well within their right to be miffed at the network’s decision to pay top dollar for a star like Amanpour at the same time they are scaling back and laying off long-time employees. But what cannot be countenanced is accusing her of bias based only on insinuations about her Iranian heritage. The attacks on Amanpour follow in a long line of Iranophobic attempts to keep qualified Iranian Americans out of the public sphere in America, and it should be called out for what it is: anti-Iranian bigotry>>>

سکس و علی شریعتی

علی شریعتی در بسیاری از نوشته و سخنرانی‌هایش انسان را پدیده‌ای دوگانه معرفی می‌كند كه از دو بخش كاملا نامتجانس و متضاد ساخته شده است. در دیدگاه فلسفی شریعتی، بخشی از شخصیت انسان از لجن، گل بدبو و حماء مسنون ساخته شده است كه بخش شیطانی، دنی، این دنیایی، حقیر، كثیف، لجن، حیوانی و دچار روزمرگی اوست>>>

Showcasing India for the World

The taxi ride to my hotel gave me my first look at the dense crowds that Mumbai is famous for. The sky was very dark. The city feared a storm so ferocious that, according to my driver, offices were ordered closed for the next day. A little note on my pillow in the hotel had this from Shakespeare: “A little sleep, per chance a dream.” The view from my window the next morning was like a dream. Several stories below me was the famous Gateway to India >>>