IRAN

Four scenarios and a nightmare

All bets are off

by Volker Perthes
26-Jan-2010 (3 comments)
It is not possible to predict political developments in Iran, even over the short-term. It may be realistic to assume, though, that scenarios for Iran in 2010-11 will still be scenarios for the Islamic Republic of Iran – that, in other words, a replacement of the existing system by another is unlikely. True, changes within the Islamic Republic are to be expected. The precise depth and direction of such changes will depend on a variety of factors originating both within Iran and its external environment. A scenario is not a prediction; quite the contrary, it provides a picture or story of different possible outcomes>>>

IDEAS

Why does religion persist?

Human beings are genetically predisposed to be awestruck

by varjavand
26-Jan-2010 (33 comments)
Throughout the history of humankind, we cannot find any phenomenon more enduring and more ubiquitous than religion. It has been with us ever since we started living in communities. While scientific investigations have not provided conclusive evidence regarding the origin of religion, many researchers believe that human beings have a natural inclination for religion because of their genetic makeup. In other words, believing in religion is rooted in our genes. We are predisposed to be spiritual beings and religion is the outward manifestation of our spirituality>>>

IDEAS

معنویت و پاکدینی روشنفکرانه

آیا میتوانند بدیلهائی برای دین باشند؟

by Ahmad Sadri
26-Jan-2010 (one comment)
رویاروئی فکر روشنگری با جهانبینی دینی در سه جبهه بود. جنبه شناختی دیدگاه روشنگری کیهان شناسی جدیدی فارغ از پیشفرضهای متافیزیکی ارائه کرد، جنبه سیاسی آن به تفکیک دین از سایر حیطه ها منجمله سیاست انجامید و بالاخره در پهنه ذهنیت فکر روشنگر زیبائی شناسی و اخلاقی جدید را بارمغان آورد. این تقابل فقط در عالم فکر نبود. در عصر جدید با ظهور پروتستانتیزم و دولت- ملتها طومار سلطه کلیسای کاتولیک بر اروپا یکباره در هم پیچیده شد. >>>

CHANGE

وقتش رسيده

آيا قطار به انتهای تونل نزديک می شود؟

by Esmail Nooriala
24-Jan-2010 (10 comments)
دنيا بايد بداند که فقط يک نيرو در ايران می تواند حامل و زايندهء حکومتی بر اساس اعلاميه حقوق بشر و همهء کنوانسيون های بين المللی باشد و آن هم نيروئی سکولار است... ما نبايد ملتمسانه دنبال آن باشيم که رهبرانی همچون «او با ما» براستی «با ما» باشند و صدايمان را بشنوند. ما بايد آنها را مجبور کنيم که به صدای بخش سکولار جنبش سبز توجه کرده و دريابند که اين سبز گسترده بر سراسر ايران ـ که به زودی، با سرزدن بهار، همه چيز و همه جا را به رنگ خود در خواهد آورد ـ نه سبز سيدی است، نه سبز قمر بنی هاشم، و نه سبز اصلاح طلبان مذهبی؛ سبزی ملی است که نيازی به بند و بست های مخفی با آنان ندارد.>>>

IDEAS

The Green Wave

A fitting model of democracy for Iran

by Tina Ehrami
24-Jan-2010 (one comment)
Iran’s “Green Wave” received much international interest and support, both with the Iranian diasporas and the international community. Even certain foreign politicians, like the French president Nicolas Sarkozy, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the head of European foreign policy Javier Solana, showed their support to the Iranian people and condemned their oppressive regime. The interesting and different characteristic of this green movement is that it is not limited to a certain political group or a part of the population>>>

FOLLOW UP

Great danger lurking

1979 all over again, Part 2

by areyo barzan
22-Jan-2010 (2 comments)
If we do not address the issue of leadership properly and fail to develop a viable strategy to deal with it we could be sleep walking into another dictatorship and in 30 years time our children would have to go through this hell all over again. If the 1979 generation knew their history and learned from the mistakes and failures of 1941, they would not have made those fatal errors and as a result our people wouldn’t have been at this point today. Now if we make the same mistakes by not learning from their errors we could simply doom of children to another thirty years of the same>>>

INTELLECTUALS

نقد روشنفکری دینی

فکر مترقی از دین باید در قالب مناسک و نهاد ها رسوخ کند تا بتواند باقی بماند

by Ahmad Sadri
20-Jan-2010 (3 comments)
پاکدینی بنیاد گرایانه و نقد روشنفکری دینی هردو واکنشی به شرایط تفکر و زیست مدرن هستند. هر دو اینها بنام "پویا" نمودن دینی که ظاهراً متحجّر و آلوده به خرافات بود و برای نجات آن از هجو و هجا و حمله های بی محابای دین ستیزان تفسیر سنت ستیزی از دین ارائه داده اند. اما تفاوت ایندو گروه در اینست که بنیاد گرایان با تکیه به نهادهای منسجم و احساسات دینی صورتهای جدیدی از مناسک مذهبی آفریفته اند که تداوم اندیشه آنها را تضمین میکند. ولی روشنفکران دینی بنا بر اقتضای طبع خود از نهاد آفرینی و باز سازی مناسک سر باز زده اند>>>

CONSUMERISM

I Scream, You Scream

... We all Scream for Ice Cream

by varjavand
18-Jan-2010 (4 comments)
A world full of differentiated products is like a kitchen cabinet stuffed with a variety of vitamins. Although, they are good for you, too much of them may be detrimental to your health. It seems people in rich countries like the United States have an endless craving for variation, from SUVs to electronics to even simple products like ice cream, yogurt, and not to mention, Beanie Babies. No matter how many different versions of a product are already in the market, it seems manufacturers always have newer ones coming and consumers have an insatiable desire to buy them>>>

HAITI

We need a different world

The reactive responses to crisis are no longer satisfying to impartial good citizens

by Azada
16-Jan-2010 (3 comments)
As, at the safety of our living rooms, we witness the story on magnitude of devastation in Haiti unfolds, it is also an opportunity for us to bring this crisis down at our personal level. I see this is as an opportunity to reflect on life, all aspects of it – our family, friends, country, world at large…and the fragility of it. How one can be a help? That is an immediate and constant question that perhaps no matter how we try to bury it behind forgotten minds – it does persist>>>

GREEN

Critical shift

U.S. policy must factor in changed landscape in Iran

by Trita Parsi & Muhammad Sahimi
13-Jan-2010 (8 comments)
The protests in Iran over the past few weeks have shown that the opposition in Iran is not going away. In fact, while the regime is shrinking, the opposition is growing and gaining momentum. For the West, this has significant implications. With nuclear diplomacy at a deadlock following internal Iranian divisions, the mass demonstrations underline the folly of a singular focus on nuclear matters in the midst of Iran’s historic upheavals. Almost seven months after the elections, the Green Movement continues to deprive Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of any sense of normalcy>>>

IDEAS

This Revolution Might Take a While

Maybe if push came to shove Khamenei could find someplace to hole up in

by DM
13-Jan-2010 (15 comments)
Since the disputed election there’s been a lot written about parallels between the unrest we see in Iran today and what happened in the late 1970s. The combination of massive street protests, and a government that resorts to violence to put down these protests, have led many to conclude that we are witnessing a reprise of that era. And perhaps we are, in some fashion. Certainly the current regime has suffered a grievous loss of legitimacy, and that does not bode well for its long-term survival. But I’d be surprised if this revolution proceeds with the same speed as the last>>>

REPONSE

The State of the Opposition is Strong

A response to the most infuriating op-ed of the new year

by Abbas Milani
11-Jan-2010 (43 comments)
In Wednesday’s New York Times, the Leveretts—Flynt and his wife Hillary Mann—were at it again. As the title of the piece suggests, they take on the mantle of prophets and predict: “Another Iranian Revolution? Not Likely.” They claim that they know that “much of Iranian society was upset by protesters using a sacred day to make a political statement.” They seem to have forgotten that the 1979 revolution was made precisely by using sacred days for political ends. They claim to know that the opposition in Iran “do[es] not represent anything close to a majority.” >>>

CRISIS

Mission impossible

Iran's exceptional crisis is not sustainable

by Kazem Alamdari
11-Jan-2010 (2 comments)
In the past thirty years, the power structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran has moved from populism to clientelism, and now to militarism. The triangle of power that includes Supreme Leader Khamenei, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is much more fragile as opposed to the previous power structures. Why? During the first decade’s populism, power rested in the hands of the unrivaled and charismatic leader Ayatollah Khomeini. Very few people, if any, could act against his will and his policies>>>

RELIGION

نقد خام دینخوئی

نقد دین کار تیراندازی زبر دست، ماهر، پر حوصله و مصمم است

by Ahmad Sadri
11-Jan-2010 (10 comments)
برخی منتقدین دین تصور میکنند دینداری یا باصطلاح یکی از آنها "دینخوئی" مستلزم تقلید و تکرار و تعطیل عقل است. علت چنین تصور باطلی جهل مرکب اینگونه منتقدان دین است که تئولوژی و تاریخ عقاید دینی را در خور مطالعه جدی نمیدانند و نقد بیرونی و ابزار عقل روشنگرانه قرن هجدهم با چاشنی کمی لودگی را برای تخطئه دین کافی میشمرند. نمونه این روش مشی کمدین موفق و مشهور به دین ستیزی آمریکائی "بیل مار" است که فیلمی بنام "ریلی جیلیس" دراثبات ابلهانه بودن دین و ساده لوحی دینداران ساخته است. در سراسر این فیلم اثری از یک محقق دین نیست>>>

IRAN

The Center of the Universe

Suspicion and arrogance toward the external world

by oktaby
09-Jan-2010 (80 comments)
"Iran cannot yet decide whether it is more Iranian or Moslem. Future Iranians need to cope with this dichotomy. Perhaps the reemergence of some degree of the nationalist, pre-Islamic legacy will moderate Iran's more zealous Shi'ite side." The future of Iran as we know it is in flux, this is critical time for Iranians to exert the most influence on what Iran of tomorrow will look and feel like. Understanding ourselves, our history, ideas and ideals will help us make better sense of the deluge of news, information, propaganda and emotions coming at us, and temper our views and responses>>>
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