Volume 14 - Number 5 October – November 2018 £4

THIS ISSUE: IRAN ● Sanctions are back ● The struggle for the rule of law in Iran ● Iran’s environment amidst economic uncertainty ● In cannabis veritas ● Recreating the Citadel ● ‘For everything there is a season…’● Postcard from Iran ● The Ferdowsi Library ● A new chapter ● PLUS Reviews and events in London Volume 14 - Number 5 October – November 2018 £4

TTHISHIS ISSUEISSUE: IIRANRAN ● SSanctionsanctions areare backback ● TThehe sstruggletruggle forfor thethe rruleule ofof lawlaw inin IranIran ● IIran’sran’s environmentenvironment amidstamidst economiceconomic uncertaintyuncertainty ● IInn ccannabisannabis veritasveritas ● RRecreatingecreating thethe CCitadelitadel ● ‘‘ForFor everythingeverything therethere isis a season…’season…’● PPostcardostcard fromfrom IranIran ● TThehe FerdowsiFerdowsi LibraryLibrary ● A nnewew chapterchapter ● PPLUSLUS RReviewseviews andand eventsevents inin LondonLondon

Ali Nassir, Untitled, 2013, gouache on cardboard, 80 x 63 About the London Middle East Institute (LMEI) cm. Courtesy of the artist Th e London Middle East Institute (LMEI) draws upon the resources of London and SOAS to provide teaching, training, research, publication, consultancy, outreach and other services related to the Middle East. It serves as a neutral forum for Middle East studies broadly defi ned and helps to create links between Volume 14 – Number 5 individuals and institutions with academic, commercial, diplomatic, media or other specialisations. October–November 2018 With its own professional staff of Middle East experts, the LMEI is further strengthened by its academic membership – the largest concentration of Middle East expertise in any institution in Europe. Th e LMEI also Editorial Board has access to the SOAS Library, which houses over 150,000 volumes dealing with all aspects of the Middle East. LMEI’s Advisory Council is the driving force behind the Institute’s fundraising programme, for which Dr Orkideh Behrouzan SOAS it takes primary responsibility. It seeks support for the LMEI generally and for specifi c components of its Dr Hadi Enayat programme of activities. AKU LMEI is a Registered Charity in the UK wholly owned by SOAS, University of London (Charity Ms Narguess Farzad SOAS Registration Number: 1103017). Mrs Nevsal Hughes Association of European Journalists Professor George Joff é Mission Statement: Cambridge University Dr Ceyda Karamursel SOAS Th e aim of the LMEI, through education and research, is to promote knowledge of all aspects of the Middle Mrs Margaret Obank East including its complexities, problems, achievements and assets, both among the general public and with Banipal Publishing those who have a special interest in the region. In this task it builds on two essential assets. First, it is based in Ms Janet Rady London, a city which has unrivalled contemporary and historical connections and communications with the Janet Rady Fine Art Middle East including political, social, cultural, commercial and educational aspects. Secondly, the LMEI is Mr Barnaby Rogerson at SOAS, the only tertiary educational institution in the world whose explicit purpose is to provide education Dr Sarah Stewart SOAS and scholarship on the whole Middle East from prehistory until today. Dr Shelagh Weir Independent Researcher Professor Sami Zubaida Birkbeck College LMEI Staff : SSubscriptions:ubscriptions: Editor Megan Wang Director Dr Hassan Hakimian To subscribe to Th e Middle East in London, please visit: Listings Executive Offi cer Louise Hosking www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/affi liation/ or contact the Vincenzo Paci Events and Magazine Coordinator Vincenzo Paci LMEI offi ce. Designer Administrative Assistant Aki Elborzi Shahla Geramipour Letters to the Editor:

Th e Middle East in London is published fi ve times a year by the London Middle Please send your letters to the editor at East Institute at SOAS Disclaimer: the LMEI address provided (see left panel) Publisher and or email [email protected] Editorial Offi ce Opinions and views expressed in the Middle East in London are, unless otherwise stated, personal Th e London Middle East Institute SOAS views of authors and do not refl ect the views of their University of London MBI Al Jaber Building, organisations nor those of the LMEI and the MEL's 21 Russell Square, London WC1B 5EA Editorial Board. Although all advertising in the United Kingdom magazine is carefully vetted prior to publication, the T: +44 (0)20 7898 4330 LMEI does not accept responsibility for the accuracy E: [email protected] www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/ of claims made by advertisers. ISSN 1743-7598 Contents

4 18 EDITORIAL Th e Ferdowsi Library Mohammad Emami 5 INSIGHT 19 LMEI Board of Trustees Sanctions are back – with a A new chapter

Baroness Valerie Amos (Chair) vengeance Sarah Stewart Director, SOAS Hassan Hakimian Dr Orkideh Behrouzan, SOAS 20 Professor Stephen Hopgood, SOAS 7 REVIEWS Dr Lina Khatib, Chatham House IRAN BOOKS Dr Dina Matar, SOAS Dr Hanan Morsy Th e struggle for the rule of law Bountiful Empire: A History of African Development Bank in Iran Ottoman Cuisine Professor Scott Redford, SOAS Hadi Enayat Nevsâl Hughes Mr James Watt CVO 9 21 Iran’s environment amidst BOOKS IN BRIEF economic uncertainty LMEI Advisory Council Shirin Hakim 25 IN MEMORIAM Lady Barbara Judge (Chair) 11 Leonard Lewisohn Professor Muhammad A. S. Abdel Haleem In cannabis veritas Ehsan Yarshater H E Khalid Al-Duwaisan GVCO Ambassador, Embassy of the State of Kuwait Maziyar Ghiabi Mrs Haifa Al Kaylani 26 Arab International Women’s Forum Dr Khalid Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa 13 EVENTS IN LONDON President, University College of Bahrain Recreating the Citadel Professor Tony Allan King’s College and SOAS Vali Mahlouji Dr Alanoud Alsharekh Senior Fellow for Regional Politics, IISS

Mr Farad Azima 15 NetScientifi c Plc ‘For everything there is a Dr Noel Brehony MENAS Associates Ltd. season…’ Professor Magdy Ishak Hanna Narguess Farzad British Egyptian Society HE Mr Rami Mortada Ambassador, Embassy of Lebanon 16 Postcard from Iran Th omas Helm

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 3 EEDITORIALDITORIAL

DDearear RReadereader

One of the entrances to the Tehran Bazaar, May 2016. Photograph by George Collie Narguess Farzad, SOAS ran has rarely been absent from the Protection of the environment, Oxford; and the establishment of a newly- headlines in the past forty years but considered a ‘public duty’ under article endowed Institute of Zoroastrian Studies at Iits recent prominence in the media is 50 of the Iranian constitution, cannot be SOAS. beginning to break previous records. It is addressed in isolation from the country’s For those who love poetry, and as appropriate, therefore, that this issue of Th e economic strategies. In her article, Shirin preparations are made to celebrate the 200th Middle East in London be devoted to Iran Hakim weighs the options that policy- anniversary of the publication of Johann and the challenges it faces, while not losing makers face. Wolfgang von Goethe’s West-Östlicher sight of what is going on in other spheres An issue of immense importance in Divan, I introduce one of the forthcoming such as arts and culture. today’s Iran is the problem of drug abuse publications aimed at looking anew at the Th e US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear and its frightening impact on society. While lyrical conversation between the renowned deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of recounting the history of the consumption 19th-century German poet and the 14th- Action) and the re-imposition of extensive of narcotics in Iran, Maziyar Ghiabi looks at century Hafi z of Shiraz. sanctions against Iran has assumed centre current attitudes to the use of cannabis and It is always a joy to see one’s homeland stage in Donald Trump’s strategy to increase the ongoing debates around changing the and its idiosyncrasies through the curious the country’s political isolation and bring legal status of this drug in Iran. and fresh eyes of the young who visit the about economic destabilisation. In Insight, Away from the hardships caused by country for the fi rst time. Th omas Helm’s Hassan Hakimian evaluates the return of sanctions, competing conceptions of ‘Postcard from Iran’ captures nuisances that the sanctions regime and assesses its chance legality, environmental sustainability and hardened travellers may take for granted. of ‘success’ in this round. He warns that the intoxication, Vali Mahlouji, Mohammad And fi nally, to paraphrase TS Eliot, Trump doctrine of pushing one’s foes to the Emami and Sarah Stewart introduce us to August and September were ‘the cruellest brink – hoping they will blink fi rst – has three pertinent initiatives strengthening months’. Late this summer we mourned the entered uncharted territory in Iran. Iranian studies: a curatorial and educational loss of several highly esteemed scholars and Th e concept of legality as seen in the platform that investigates the hidden, friends of Persian studies. Alan Williams’ ‘In eyes of the law is explored in Hadi Enayat’s banned or destroyed artistic and cultural Memoriam’ piece bids a poignant farewell article on the obstacles to the reform of material that plays a signifi cant role in Iran’s to two of the most respected amongst them: Iran’s judicial system and the curtailment of social history; a thriving library of Persian Leonard Lewisohn and Ehsan Yarshater. the independence of the Bar Association. and Iranian studies at Wadham College,

4 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 IINSIGHTNSIGHT The ‘success’ of the latest bout of US sanctions on Iran hinges on third party responses and domestic conditions in Iran. Hassan Hakimian explains

SSanctionsanctions aarere bbackack – withwith a vvengeanceengeance

President Donald J Trump signs an executive order entitled ‘Reimposing Certain Sanctions with Respect to Iran’ on 6 August 2018. Offi cial White House Photo by Shealah Craighead

‘ he Iran sanctions have offi cially Although the announcement did not nuclear table in the last round contrasts been cast’ tweeted President take many by surprise, the irony was not with the US swimming against the tide of TTrump three months aft er lost on one key observer, Wendy Sherman international opinion. Disappointment, if he signed an executive order in May – the senior US negotiator of the JCPOA not disbelief, was quick to come, not least announcing the US withdrawal from the – who quipped recently that she had from other counterparts to the JCPOA – Iran nuclear deal. He went on to boast the always expected ‘the greatest challenge to the countries of the EU, Russia and China return of ‘the most biting sanctions ever the deal’s success would be violations by – who swift ly reaffi rmed their strong imposed’, as if sounding the death-knell of Iran, not the political machinations of the commitment to it. the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of president of the United States.’ By contrast, US offi cials have reiterated Action (JCPOA), signed in 2015 between Iran and the US indeed seem to have the Trump administration’s determination Iran and the P5+1 group of countries. reversed roles now: Iran’s isolation at the to permanently rein in Iran’s ‘nuclear ambitions’, limit its ballistic missiles programme and scale down its regional Iran and the US seem to have reversed roles now: Iran’s infl uence. By the fi nal stage, which isolation at the nuclear table in the last round contrasts with kicks in on 4 November, curiously coinciding with the 39th anniversary of the US swimming against the tide of international opinion the US hostage-taking in the American

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 5 Embassy in Tehran in 1979, the aim of the Iran’s hardliners, it seems, have been off ered a new sanctions is to reduce Iran’s oil exports ‘down to zero’. lifeline and can now claim their disregard for the Given the fraught and long history of nuclear deal was justifi ed from the start economic sanctions in Iran, the question looming now is whether this time they are more likely to be eff ective – whether in dynamics gave way to the reformist banking its hopes for ‘success’. changing the regime or its behaviour. administration of Hassan Rouhani. For months, Iranian cities have been Th e last time Iran’s oil exports were So what is diff erent this time? rocked by widespread protests ostensibly reduced to negligible levels through an Th ough promising to be even more against harshening economic conditions. extensive economic boycott was in the biting, there are clear diff erences. For a Th ese outbursts have weakened Iran’s mid-20th century, when the oil industry start, the sanctions regime is not backed reformers by undermining their was nationalised by Iran’s popular Prime by UN Security Council resolutions and monopoly on hope. Hardliners, it seems, Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh. Th e thus lacks international legitimacy. Th is have been off ered a new lifeline and can backlash, a successful blockade of Iran’s means Iran’s isolation will be far less now claim their disregard for the nuclear oil by major powers led by Britain, complete with her key trading partners, deal was justifi ed from the start. Th e turned out to be arguably a textbook such as China and Turkey, already economic impact has been widely felt ‘success’ story in the history of sanctions. announcing that they will abide by ‘legal’ already, with the Iranian currency going It brought the industry to a virtual sanctions only. into free fall since speculations about the standstill, destabilised the economy and To be eff ective though, the sanctions de US nuclear withdrawal kicked in. Th e deprived the nationalist government of facto – and not de jure – status will decide spectre of infl ation is now back. badly needed funds and domestic energy. the outcome. Th is is especially true of Ultimately for sanctions to be Th is paved the way for the infamous the European fi rms, for whom the battle ‘successful’ from the US perspective, they US-instigated coup, which restored the for secondary sanctions will ultimately must succeed in either bringing about a Shah to power in 1953. Such has been the be decided in the boardrooms and in regime change in Iran or a change in its hangover from these tumultuous years cognisance of their shareholders’ interests behaviour. Historically though sanctions that it took half a century for Madeleine rather than the political machinations of have a less than convincing record of Albright, the US Secretary of State, their home governments. Th is explains achieving regime change (as in Cuba, to acknowledge in 2000 that the coup the signifi cant stream of exits from Iran’s Myanmar and Zimbabwe). was a clear ‘setback for Iran’s political markets already announced by large fi rms. Can they pave the way for a negotiated development’ and a basis for ‘why A reminder that in an interconnected settlement? Th is is yet to be seen, but one many Iranians continue to resent this world where the US economic sway thing is clear: the ‘Trump doctrine’ of intervention by America’. extends far and deep across the globe, it pushing one’s foes to the brink in the hope Such remorse, if it can be considered is hard even for European giants such as that they will blink fi rst is in unchartered that, did not, however, close the door Airbus and airlines, energy companies waters in Iran. on more Iran sanctions. Under Obama, and banks to risk the ire of the US and as a key element of his strategy for Treasury. Whether we consider the deal An earlier version of this article was ‘engaging with Iran’ during 2010-15, bruised or buried, the ultimate success of published by the Project Syndicate the EU and US unilateral sanctions had sanctions is, therefore, likely to depend on website mixed results. Under these comprehensive how others behave – just as much as on sanctions – also described as ‘the most Iran’s responses. crippling sanctions in the history of But domestic conditions also play a key sanctions’ by Joe Biden, the US Vice role, and this is where the US seems to be President – oil exports contracted by two thirds, sinking to below one million barrels a day. Th e wider macro impact was equally harsh with stagfl ation setting in: infl ation reached a height of 35 per cent in 2013 and GDP contracted by nearly 6 per cent in 2012. Unsurprisingly, the ordinary folk bore the brunt. Th ere was widespread private sector failure and growing unemployment. Ironically perhaps, and contrary to the sanctions’ principal objectives, these years saw the Hassan Hakimian is Director of the economic and political hold of the public London Middle East Institute and a Reader sector and parastatals strengthened. in the Department of Economics at SOAS. Meanwhile, Iran insisted on its sovereign He is President of the International Iranian rights to continue with a peaceful nuclear Economic Association (IIEA) and Series programme. Th ings, however, changed Editor for the ‘Routledge Political Economy aft er 2013, when Iran’s internal political of the Middle East’

6 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 IIRANRAN

Hadi Enayat outlines the shifting conceptions of legality from the Constitutional Revolution to the present day TThehe sstruggletruggle fforor tthehe rruleule ooff llawaw iinn IIranran Commons, CC BY 2.0 © Hamed Saber, ‘Flickr: Members of Tehran Council and Sohrab’s Mother’ Wikimedia

Members of the Tehran Islamic City Council listen to family members of those people arrested, disappeared and/or killed during the 2009 election aftermath. Photograph by Hamed Saber

‘ ustice’ (edalat) has long been central separation of powers, civil and political Th e system could be characterised, in to Iranian political culture, from the rights and property rights) and étatiste terms of the categories outlined above, Jancient Persian theory of the ‘circle of (legal positivism, executive domination of as ‘étatiste-liberal’. Th e Pahlavi state justice’ (da’ir-e adlieh) to the demands for the judiciary and military courts). By the was, by and large, a ‘rule by law’ state a ‘house of justice’ (edalatkhaneh) during late Pahlavi period the étatiste conception (authoritarian legalism rather than liberal the Constitutional Revolution of 1906 had won the day and the Islamic and ‘rule of law’) that consisted of a dual and fi nally the centrality of social justice liberal conceptions were marginalised system of justice in which there were (edalat-e ejtemai) to the ideology of the though never completely nullifi ed. A military courts for political dissidents Islamic Republic. Th e Constitutional modern legal system based largely on (and sometimes disappearances) and Revolution of 1906 triggered a process the French model was established in the ordinary civil and criminal courts for of institutional transformation and country, and, despite all its defects, it was everybody else. In the former, politics secularisation that witnessed the one of the greatest long-term legacies of trumped law; in the latter, law generally emergence of new concepts and practices the constitutional movement. ruled and due process was largely of government, law and citizenship. Th is process was driven by a struggle between three competing though not mutually Th e Constitutional Revolution of 1906 triggered a process of exclusive conceptions of legality and institutional transformation and secularisation…driven by the social classes behind them: Islamic (with its emphasis on clericalism and a struggle between three competing conceptions of legality: the sharia), liberal (with its emphasis on Islamic, liberal and étatiste

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 7 Th ough explicit reference to punishments like stoning have been the Green Movement and its leaders in the 2009 post-election uprising, removed, the revisions to the penal code (2013) employ a great manifested in the show trials which deal of sophistry and vaguely worded articles to retain and even followed, the use of torture and rape in the course of interrogation, and enhance many of the negative features of the old code the deaths of young protestors in the notorious Kahrizak prison. At the respected. Penal law was secularised the judge, a move which seriously height of the protests in June 2009 new whilst the civil code was largely based on compromised the neutrality of the judge regulations were introduced which in Shi‘i fi qh – the provisions of which were in legal proceedings. In practice what eff ect nullifi ed a 1955 law, introduced reformed over time to give women more emerged from these changes is a judicial under Mohammad Mossadegh, which rights in the area of family law. Moreover, system that lacks independence and is guaranteed independence for the Bar an independent legal profession was characterised by extreme arbitrariness. Association. Although these regulations established which formed the liberal- Th e (selective) enforcement of brutal were later suspended, they were replaced nationalist backbone of opposition to the hodud punishments (mainly in the fi rst by a new bill of attorney-ship, which, Pahlavi state. decade aft er the Revolution and more if passed, could transform the Bar Aft er the 1979 Revolution Ayatollah sporadically since then), the use of Association into a branch of the judiciary, Khomeini denounced the secular torture in interrogations and the erosion thereby removing its independence and legal system of the Pahlavis as taghuti of independent legal representation are eliminating one of the few remaining due (‘satanic’) and pledged his commitment legacies of these changes. process safeguards in the legal system. to a distinctly Islamic conception of Calls for judicial reform emerged Another recent development is a legality on which the new order should be under the Khatami presidency (1999- revision of the penal code (2013), based. He declared the Persian New Year 2005), during which the discourse of originally commissioned by Shahroudi 1982 the ‘year of the rule of law’ (sale- liberal legality (albeit in an Islamic due, in part at least, to growing hokumat-e qanun), maintaining that ‘all idiom) reappeared. Khatami criticised the international criticism of the provisions of the Prophets since the beginning of the Islamic Republic for failing to honour its the old law. Th e revised code was touted world have come for the establishment own constitution, especially in the area by the government as an improvement of the law and Islam has come for the of rights, and promised to establish the on the older version and one that broadly establishment of the law’. Despite this rule of law. His attempts ultimately failed complies with international human rights nod to Islamic legality the conception and ironically, the key instrument in his standards. Th ough explicit reference of legality instituted under the Islamic failure was the judiciary, which shut down to punishments like stoning have been Republic is best characterised as ‘étatiste- reformist newspapers, jailed reformists removed, the new code employs a great Islamic’. Khomeini’s concept of ‘rule of and cracked down on protestors. deal of sophistry and vaguely worded the jurist’ (velayat-e faqih) was enshrined Nevertheless, pressure from Iranian civil articles to retain and even enhance many in the new constitution and the sharia society as well as numerous international of the negative features of the old code. was transformed from a jurist’s law into human rights reports prompted the For example, judges are allowed to refer the law of the state. Th is was confi rmed government to restore the offi ce of to non-codifi ed law in the form of Shi‘i and extended in 1989 when Khomeini prosecutor and make other mild attempts jurisprudence (which prescribes stoning declared that the power of an Islamic at reform in the early 2000s during for adultery) to issue their verdicts and government should not be constrained Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi’s tenure as the code widens the ambit of crimes like by the sharia, rather the law should serve Head of the Judiciary. ‘sowing corruption on earth’ (mofsed fi ’l the interests of the state. Since then, Th e situation deteriorated again, arz) and ‘warring with God’ (moharebeh) the judiciary and the legal system have however, with the crackdown on – for which the punishment is death. been a central component in preserving Reform of the judicial system is likely the Islamic system as well as a vital to come eventually in Iran, but it will instrument in defending the ‘deep state’ probably be consequent on deeper in Iran. political reforms. Khomeini’s declarations paved the way for the codifi cation of the Law of Islamic Punishments in 1982 which enshrined punishments such as amputation and stoning for the various hodud crimes derived from Shi‘i jurisprudence, such as adultery, apostasy and homosexuality. Steps were also taken to Islamicise the judiciary, culminating in 1991 in the abolition of the offi ce of public prosecutor Hadi Enayat is a Visiting Lecturer at and a reversion to the traditional sharia the Institute for the Study of Muslim court model in which the functions of Civilisations, Aga Khan University, London the judge, prosecutor and investigator and a member of Th e Middle East in were combined in the person of London’s Editorial Board

8 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 IIRANRAN Iran’s natural environment and its economy are interdependent. Shirin Hakim explains how recognising this interdependence could help the country cope with its environmental crisis IIran’sran’s eenvironmentnvironment aamidstmidst eeconomicconomic uuncertaintyncertainty

Air pollution in north west Tehran. Phogoraph by

© Ali Khara © Ali Khara

s an arid and semi-arid region with access to pathways like the Strait with Iran for fear of secondary sanctions. in the Middle East, Iran has of Hormuz and the Caspian Sea, where Furthermore, the Iranian Rial has been Ahistorically coped with its limited energy resources could fl ow to Europe depreciating to reach a historical low in water resources in ingenious ways. and beyond. Th is geographical position recent months. Nearly three years ago, Nonetheless, over the course of the last should theoretically allow the country when the nuclear deal was signed, it was few decades, transformations in Iran’s to leverage a vast array of world energy anticipated that sanctions relief would demographics, recurrent droughts, the sources. But in practice, Iran’s long- allow Iran to engage in a much-needed mismanagement of local resources, standing economic reliance on its oil exchange of knowledge, capital and climate change and economic sanctions resources has made its economy highly technology that would ultimately benefi t have curtailed Iran’s ability to properly vulnerable to external shocks from its environment, but with the passing of sustain its natural environment. international markets. each day such prospects seem more and Home to the second largest natural gas Iran entered a new phase of economic more illusory. reserves and fourth largest reserves of uncertainty following the United States’ Today, Iran is home to a host of crude oil, Iran’s economy is dominated by decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran environmental problems. Water scarcity the hydrocarbon, agriculture and services nuclear deal in May of this year. Many has entered a critical phase due partially sectors, with considerable manufacturing international fi rms, including Total, to decades of isolation, mismanagement and fi nancial services. Furthermore, Shell, and Peugeot, have consequently of local resources and the consequences Iran has a prime geopolitical location, pulled out of billion-dollar negotiations of prolonged drought. Th e nation’s agricultural sector depends on outmoded technologies and knowledge, both of Iran’s agricultural sector uses roughly 92 per cent of the country’s which impede Iran’s ability to eff ectively water but accounts for a mere 10 per cent of the economy manage its transforming landscape.

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 9 Furthermore, Iran’s cities recurrently In order to salvage the prospects of sustainable growth in Iran, rank amongst the world’s top ten most polluted due to the use of poor quality the relationships and trade-off s between Iran’s economy and petroleum and heavy industrial activity. environment must be fully recognised Dust and sandstorms have become more frequent in recent years, further contributing to issues of air pollution. of agricultural land and promoted a and municipalities in Tehran have been Heft y energy subsidies have promoted signifi cant rise in domestic agricultural working from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Th ese the overconsumption of water and energy output, all while discounting the pressure eff orts are small strides towards mitigating amongst the public. Moreover, Iran is in self-suffi ciency schemes place on Iran’s an environmental future that seems bleak. the midst of signifi cant biodiversity loss, already scarce water resources. In order to sustainably develop its land degradation, water pollution and Th e current situation is beset with aging water systems and crucial oil desertifi cation. indicators of socio-economic drought, sector, it is essential that Iran obtain Demographic issues further complicate a phenomenon that is the result of the necessary technology and fi nancial Iran’s economic and environmental accelerated development culminating support. However, in light of the snapback trajectory: population growth has in a demand for water that far exceeds of United States sanctions, accessing placed pressure on the country’s already the innate water resources of the land foreign capital and improving local troubled labour market, limited water leading to ‘water bankruptcy’. In order infrastructure will become incredibly resources and excessive local energy use. for Iran to sustain its growing population diffi cult. If the situation does not improve, Unemployment has consistently remained and its associated water demand, it must Iran’s agricultural productivity will decline over 10 per cent for the past decade. work to establish an equilibrium between signifi cantly over time. Th is will have Many Iranians, including farmers, have its supply and demand. Th is can only stark implications on the relative price of migrated to larger cities to fi nd work and be accomplished by valuing policies food, impacting the careers of farmers and better standards of living. Today, more that support long-term environmental livelihoods of the general public. than 70 per cent of Iran’s population advantages just as much as those that In order to salvage the prospects resides in urban areas, placing greater induce short-term economic gains, of sustainable growth in Iran, the ecosystem stress on its cities. Such something that has largely been ignored relationships and trade-off s between problems challenge the nation’s future in the past. Iran’s economy and environment must be development, contribute to the high As Iran experiences one of its driest fully recognised. Natural resources and levels of pollution in its central cities and years to date, the dynamics between the their viability are crucial assets and their highlight the interplay between economic environment and economy are becoming quality helps determine the productivity and environmental realities in Iran. of much greater importance. Protests of the economy. Th us, the economy and Th is interplay is perhaps most in the southwestern Iranian province of environment must be viewed as mutually appropriately presented in the example Khuzestan erupted over a lack of potable inclusive entities. Increased education of Iran’s water crisis. Iran’s poor water water. Policymakers have introduced and accountability amongst the general endowments, compounded by recurrent new strategies to tackle the obstacles, public, greater budgetary allocations to droughts and the anthropogenic including banning the cultivation of environmental eff orts, increasing the price manipulation of water resources by way water intensive crops – such as rice – in of water and energy, addressing Iran’s of over-tapping surface and groundwater all provinces of Iran excluding Gilan and spatial distribution issues and promoting through an extensive system of hydraulic Mazandaran. Th ey have also changed as much exchange of capital and infrastructure and deep wells, have working schedules in some cities to knowledge as possible with international contributed to the situation. Average lessen electricity use during peak hours; stakeholders within the confi nes of the domestic water usage is roughly 70 since 7 July government offi cials, banks economic sanctions are some of the per cent greater than the international fundamental actions that can improve the average, due in part to cheap water challenges Iran faces today. pricing. However, Iran’s agricultural sector is largely to blame for this shortage, as it uses roughly 92 per cent of the country’s water but accounts for a mere 10 per cent of the economy. Following the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988, achieving self-suffi ciency in agricultural production, namely in staple crops such as wheat, has been viewed as a means to eff ectively safeguard the nation from foreign pressure and to support the economic development of its rural populace. Th is Shirin Hakim is a PhD candidate in aim has encouraged the adoption of Environmental Policy at the Centre for intensive farming methods that involve Environmental Policy at the Imperial greater amounts of water per unit College London

10 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 IIRANRAN

Maziyar Ghiabi on Iranians’ taste for hashish and weed from Zoroastrian times to the present day IInn ccannabisannabis vveritaseritas © Blondinrikard Fröberg, Flickr, CC BY 2.0

Sculpture of Avicenna in a park in Tehran, Iran. Photograph by Blondinrikard Fröberg

ranians are curious experimenters. with drug use, to invigorate, maintain the world’s highest in Iran. At times, In fi lms, poetry and sculpture and or arouse sexual stimuli. People manage people hooked on a substance, for Iin government and politics, this has pleasure, pain, productivity and instance opium, treat their dependency been a hallmark of their encounter with psyche by calibrating substances such by shift ing to another substance, in modernity. Th ey are also curious tasters as cannabis, opium, amphetamines, many cases alcohol. Consumption is a in matters of consumption, especially methamphetamines, and of course defi ning element of our times, inasmuch drug consumption. Over the last hundred alcohol. A feature of modern life chronic consumerism is the engine of our years and, for that matter, throughout around the globe, Iranians seem to have politico-economics. Th is rule applies to the last two millennia, people living on developed a special affi nity with ‘chemical illicit drugs too. the Iranian plateau have taken up a taste calibration’ through drug use. Th ere is a substance that has been part for intoxicant, stimulant, narcotic and Th is is a tricky aff air which risks of Iranians’ history of consumption since psychoactive substances. becoming a physical or psychological times immemorial: cannabis. Indeed, the place of drugs in people’s dependency, and it is no coincidence Soum, sama, giyah-e javidan (‘the lives is one of substance. Being young that rates of drug consumption and eternal herb’), giyah-e moqaddas in Iran – as elsewhere – implies an dependence (‘addiction’) are among (‘sacred herb’), khadar (‘green’), kimiyah encounter with intoxication, in person or through social observation. Workers consume drugs to perform for longer Many made good use of cannabis in healing the body and the soul. hours and more eff ectively. Students use stimulants to concentrate more. In Th e Canon, Avicenna prescribes it as an analgesic for headaches, Others mediate their sexual experience a remedy for fl atulence, ear problems, dandruff and epilepsy

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 11 Smoking tells a lot about which class people belong to. Th e Iranian society. Once a widespread plant growing freely in gardens and orchards, urban middle class privilege weed smoking…Intellectuals, artists cannabis is now a valuable commodity. In and traditional lower classes smoke hashish, the residue the 1980s and 1990s, giving a bag of weed to a friend as a gift was not uncommon. which has historically been the drug of choice in Iran Today’s economy prevents this; prices have spiked and bags of weed are highly (‘alchemy’), qanaf (‘hemp’), zomorod-e Mount Bibi Shahr Banu in Tehran’s South valuable goods. giyahi (‘emerald herb’) are among the and cook and distribute the abgusht-e With such a history of consumption, many potential expressions given to hashish, ‘the hashish stew’. one might forget the state’s approach cannabis alone on the plateau. More Today, living in a city means to cannabis. Th e cannabis plant is legal popular names are hashish, the Arabic encountering cannabis in a variety of if used to obtain hemp seeds for food. word for ‘grass’, bang, an Avestan term situations. Flaneurs, and increasingly However, consumption of cannabis indicating whole cannabis residue, or fl aneuses, wander in parks and alleys products for intoxication is punished the Persian word for ‘grass’, ‘alaf. Today, followed by the piquant smell of weed. by law. From a practical viewpoint, Iranians adopt modern global equivalents, When smokers consider outdoor puff s too law enforcers demonstrate a degree perhaps to the detriment of poiesis: risky, they opt for the modern equivalent of toleration, being more attentive to marijuana, sabz, jay, charas and gol of the fl anerie; they smoke in their cars, harder drugs such as heroin and meth. (‘fl ower’). But shahdaneh, ‘the royal seed’, driving up and down the highways of Successive governments called for a soft er is the established form in Iranian culture Tehran. Procurement follows the rules approach to traditional, soft er drugs to refer to hemp and cannabis. of global capitalism; home-to-home (opium, cannabis) in order to discourage Its use dates back to the roots of Iranian delivery is the preferred business model heroin and methamphetamine use, which culture. Zoroastrian priests used the for the middle class, with delivery being pose a serious threat to public health. seeds and fl owers in their rituals before guaranteed in a short time by ‘Deliveroos’ Offi cials have put forth proposals of drug the coming of Islam. In Pahlavi literature, of a diff erent type. regulation in the past two years, including it is said, Ohrmazd (aka Ahura Mazda) Smoking tells a lot about which class a plan to introduce medical cannabis. sedates the sacrifi cial cow with mang, a people belong to. Th e urban middle class Several religious authorities (marja‘) possible reference to cannabis, to kill the privilege weed smoking, known as gol or have seconded these proposals, holding pain of slaughter. In the fi rst centuries jay, following global consumption trends that Islamic jurisprudence allows all that aft er the Islamic conquest in the 7th visible in Europe and North America. is benefi cial to the health of believers, if century, references to cannabis disappear Intellectuals, artists and traditional lower proven scientifi cally. from Iranians’ lives. But starting from the classes smoke hashish, the residue which Political and ethical changes go hand 13th century, aft er the Mongols’ conquests, has historically been the drug of choice in in hand with the changing perception cannabis fi nds its place back in popular Iran. Both deriving from cannabis, many of cannabis in society. Although culture. weed users believe hashish comes from a cannabis has an ancient place in Many made good use of cannabis in diff erent plant and causes strong physical Iranian society, since the early 1900s healing the body and the soul. In Th e dependency. Th ey despise hashish users modern governments have insisted on Canon, Avicenna prescribes it as an as dirty and old-fashioned, enlivening the an uncompromising condemnation analgesic for headaches, a remedy for old trope of the bangi (‘stoner’) popular in of cannabis consumption. It is only in fl atulence, ear problems, dandruff and the early 20th century. the last decade that new generations of epilepsy, the latter having resonance Th e popularity of cannabis increased Iranians, in tune with global debates in contemporary medicine too. Th e dramatically over the last decade, around the herb, have begun to give new doctor philosopher advised to ‘take it refl ecting the place it has occupied in consideration to both its ills and benefi ts. occasionally as the Sufi s do’. It might not take too long before the Besides healing various illnesses, Islamic Republic follows Canada and hashish, the cannabis residue obtained Uruguay in legalising cannabis. from drying the hemp stems, was the gateway to extra-sensorial perceptions. For example, the Qalandars, known for their heterodox ideas and lifestyle, praised hashish consumption together with wine binging as a distinctive philosophy of life. Th ose indulging in its smoke called Maziyar Ghiabi is a Lecturer in Modern the wooden pipe the nafi r-e vahdat, ‘the Iranian History at the University of Oxford trumpet of unity’, vahdat standing for and Titular Lecturer at Wadham College. unity with god. If not smoked, those His fi rst book, Drug Politics: Managing seeking divine ecstasy mixed it in a Disorder in the Islamic Republic of Iran yogurt drink known as dugh-e vahdat. will be published by Cambridge University Up until today, on the eve of Imam Ali’s Press in 2019. Maziyar edited the Th ird martyrdom on the 21st of Ramadan, World Quarterly special issue on ‘Drugs, dervishes gather on the summit of the Politics and Society in the Global South’

12 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 IIRANRAN

Vali Mahlouji explains how photographs taken of the inhabitants of a red-light district in Tehran from 1975 to 1977 tell stories of lives lived in the margins, before they were censored and erased

RRecreatingecreating tthehe CCitadelitadel © Kaveh Golestan Estate, Courtesy Archaeology of the Final Decade © Kaveh Golestan Estate, Courtesy

Kaveh Golestan, Untitled (Prostitute series), 1975-77, Citadel of Shahr-e No, Tehran

o heed the call of the German of artefacts and cultural objects that project in 2010, recovering data and philosopher Walter Benjamin have been deemed sites of collective selected material culture (historical Tfor ‘brushing history against the trauma is core to this process. Relying documents, artefacts and individual grain’, Archaeology of the Final Decade on archaeological forensics to locate recollections) to expose and analyse (AOTFD) has committed to constructive cultural meanings, AOTFD uncovers, the social and political landscape of the re-readings of (art) history from the reintegrates and reconciles such artefacts, Shahr-e No district. AOTFD’s point of point of view of the defeated, the victims. counteracting the damages of censorship departure was the excavation of a series AOTFD is committed to combatting and systematic erasures and fi lling in of photographs, Prostitute, produced the tainted nature of history transmitted gaps in history and art history. Recreating by the documentary photographer from victor to victor and memorialising the Citadel is one such undertaking Kaveh Golestan between 1975 and 1977. those who were subject to violent that focusses on the intersections of art, Prostitute was purchased by Tate Modern erasure. Culture is not a communal society, law and religion during 1960-80s and placed on view in August 2017, space of harmonious existence, it is a Iran. marking the fi rst time a room in Tate’s confl ict-fi lled fi eld of negotiations; art Th e AOTFD project Recreating the permanent collection was dedicated to an itself must be situated in this crossfi re to Citadel reactivates the site of the now Iranian artist for a period of a year. realise its historical meaning. Th is means erased red-light ghetto of Tehran, the Prostitute constitutes the last extant focussing on the dark spots of art history former urban neighbourhood of the visual document of Shahr-e No and – especially those which have remained Citadel of Shahr-e No (‘New Town’), as its inhabitants. Golestan captured obscure or been deliberately erased – to a micro-ecology of trauma, to shed light approximately 200 images from which refl ect on traumatic moments and to on the present condition. We began the he produced 61 gelatin silver prints with make sense of present experiences. Connecting to the past has to be an Culture is not a communal space of harmonious existence, empathic process, in particular when the focus of attention constitutes a site it is a confl ict-fi lled fi eld of negotiations; art itself must be of historical trauma. Identifi cation situated in this crossfi re to realise its historical meaning

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 13 the conscientious understanding that No traces of the Shahr-e No district or the physical scars photography is the only civic refuge at the disposal of the marginalised. A of its violated landscape remain. Today, what the compelling document, the series remains visitor sees is an empty stretch of nature aesthetically powerful; it is one of the strongest studies of femaleness produced photographically in Iran. AOTFD’s boosting state and public notions of social by photojournalists, including Abbas, recirculation of these photographs, welfare. Th e humanising shift towards the late Magnum photographer, and unseen since 1978, constitutes a the inclusion of prostitutes within the the documentary fi lmmaker and subversive act of remembrance in community was driven by the founding of photographer Kamran Shirdel. An contradiction to the offi cial sanctions the Women’s Organisation of Iran and the undisclosed number of residents were of revolutionary aesthetics and rhetoric School of Social Work. trapped; several women burned to death that have dictated the post-revolutionary during the blaze (though no offi cial landscape since the 1980s. [1960-70s] Discourses of Natural Rights records of victims exist). Th e following is a brief historical survey Focussing on those robbed of Broadsheet newspapers covered the of the site of the Citadel of Shahr-e No, citizenship and socially excluded, fi re in detail. Ettela’at’s headlines on the organised and thematically classifi ed by a distinct artistic trajectory can be following day declared: Vast Preparations AOTFD. observed, especially in fi lms by Ahmad for the Moment of the Imam’s [Khomeini’s] Faroughi, Ebrahim Golestan, Forough Arrival; next to it: West and South of [1920-50s] A Paradigmatic Site Farrokhzad and Kamran Shirdel in the Tehran in Flames of Fire. Th e areas burnt During Iran’s 20th century, the body 1960s-1970s. To a lesser or greater degree were listed: Shahr-e No, the famous of the prostitute and the space of these works investigated the radical cabaret Shokoufeh No, two beer factories, prostitution constituted powerful sites implications of the discourse of natural tens of liquor stores. Th e events signifi ed of projection of social and political rights as defi ned by the plights of women, a violent cleansing and purifi cation of discourses. Th is intensifi ed during the the poor, labourers, abandoned children, stigmatised individuals, marginal groups democratic, legislative and economic the mentally ill and inmates. Th e artistic and urban spaces of popular culture. transformations of the early/mid- lens was the conduit for the marginalised 20th century. Uneasy ambivalence to interact with the mainstream, to [12 July 1979] A Marker of characterised the relationship between overcome public denial about the truth Revolutionary Terror offi cial state policies and prostitution of their experiences. It constructed a On 12 July 1979 the daily newspaper between the 1920s and 1979. While the relational dialectic between the image of Kayhan reported that three of the Citadel state became increasingly concerned with the impoverished, forgotten, forbidden residents were executed by Islamic social welfare, it contended with negative from sight and metropolitan citizenry. revolutionary fi ring squads. AOTFD’s medicalising (focussing on prostitution research reveals that this practice as a major cause of the spread of various [29 January 1979] Critical Shift – remained extremely rare prior to 1979. diseases), moral and religious projections Torched Earth Only three cases of women sentenced to onto the body of the prostitute and the A violent historical shift was observed death by the modern Iranian judiciary site of prostitution. on 29 January 1979, three days before could be unearthed during the 20th Early feminists articulated a discourse the arrival of the Islamist revolutionary century prior to 1979. around the exploitation and degradation leader Ayatollah Khomeini. Th e of the female body in defence of the Citadel of Shahr-e No was set on fi re by [1980–Today] Spectre of Memory prostitutes’ human rights, though they mobs. No individual or group claimed Within a year of the fi re, the entire condemned their bodies as contaminated responsibility. Th e event was documented neighbourhood was bulldozed and the space as immoral. Medicalising (deterritorialised). In keeping with approaches were advanced by abolitionists authoritarian politics of erasure, the and those in favour of exclusion or space was subsequently reorganised into demolition of the urban district. a natural reserve and transformed into a park with a lake (reterritorialised). No [1960s] Emancipation, Compassion, traces of the district or the physical scars Community of its violated landscape remain. Today, By the mid-20th century, Shahr-e what the visitor sees is an empty stretch of No became a signifi cant site for the nature – shrubbery, trees, geese fl oating projection of compassion and social on the water surface of the lake. conscientiousness. Modern notions of citizenship, social justice and individual rights expanded and informed more humanitarian approaches. By the early Vali Mahlouji is a London-based Curator, 1960s, women’s emancipation and Founder of Archaeology of the Final progressive legislative changes in gender Decade, Advisor to the British Museum and family laws instigated a shift in and Bahman Mohassess Estate and attitude towards Shahr-e No, in turn Director of Kaveh Golestan Estate

14 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 IIRANRAN

Narguess Farzad reports on a new literary venture to mark the bicentenary of Goethe’s West-Eastern Divan ‘‘ForFor everythingeverything ttherehere iiss a sseason…’eason…’ ‘ ll that is best in the great poets of all countries is not what is national Ain them, but what is universal’, so began Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s assessment of what makes for a great poet. Th e prominent 19th-century American poet then continues: ‘Th eir roots are in their native soil; but their branches wave in the unpatriotic air, that speaks the same language unto men, and their leaves shine with the illimitable light that pervades all lands’. Th e description above could have © Andrew Butko, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Commons, CC BY-SA Wikimedia Andrew Butko, © been tailor-made to defi ne Shams ud-Din Hafez of Shiraz (1325-1390) and Johann Left: Gingko leaf. By Andrew Butko Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), the Right: West-Östlicher Divan. Courtesy of Gingko Library two literary giants of Persian and German culture respectively, whose appeal and three is Uschk Nameh-Buch der Liebe, spaces and forums that facilitate better infl uence went well beyond the boundaries in which love, longing and passion are understanding between the West and the of their homelands. discussed. Middle East and North Africa. In a long and varied career, interrupted To mark and celebrate the 200th Reza Mohammadi from Afghanistan, by stints as a lawmaker and military anniversary of the publication of Goethe’s Hafez Moussavi and Fatemeh Shams from observer, Goethe had concluded that West-Eastern Divan, Th e Gingko Library Iran are the three Persian-speaking poets discovery and understanding of a new has commissioned A New Divan to bring who are amongst the 12 ‘Eastern’ poets in culture was best achieved through studying together 24 leading poets – 12 from the A New Divan. its religion or literature. ‘East’ and 12 from the ‘West’ – to engage On my daily commute to SOAS I oft en Already celebrated as a dramatist and in a lyrical conversation that is inspired pass a beautiful row of Ginkgo Biloba trees the author of highly regarded novels, and by the culture of the ‘Other’. Th e new whose leaves are the recognisable symbol more crucially one of the catalysts for the poems will appear next to their English associated with Goethe’s Hafez inspired Romanticism movement, Goethe was versions, which have been translated in poem he wrote for a beloved friend: drawn to the literatures and religions of collaboration with well-known English- Th e leaf of this Eastern tree, the East in the latter decades of his life; language poets. A New Divan is due for entrusted to my garden, through existing translations he studied publication in 2019. reveals secrets of signifi cance. Zoroastrianism, Islam, and Persian poetry. Th e poems in A New Divan, while a Is it a living being Goethe’s journey from Latin to Persian reminder of the universality of poetry, In itself in two divided? culture led him to the poetry of Hafez, who aim to reignite the dialogue that Johann Or Two who decided they shall be as was soon to become his Persian poetic- Wolfgang Goethe started with the 14th- One? twin. His fascination with the Shirazi century Persian poet Hafez. Do my songs not show you master of ghazal, who Goethe described as Dr Barbara Schwepcke, the co-founder Th at I am One, and Two? a poet ‘who has no peer’, and his interest of Gingko, hopes that A New Divan and in fusing the philosophies and religions events in the United Kingdom, Germany Narguess Farzad is the new Chair of the of the West and the East culminated and elsewhere in Europe and the Middle Centre for Iranian Studies and Senior Fellow in the composition of a cycle of lyrical East that have been planned around the in Persian at the School of Languages, poetry, imbued with a central motive of bicentenary of the West-Eastern Divan Cultures and Linguistics, SOAS love, entitled West-Östlicher Divan or the will be a reminder of the importance of West-Eastern Divan. West-Eastern Divan, which was published in 1819, is comprised Th e poems in A New Divan, while a reminder of the universality of twelve books, with each book bearing a double-title: fi rst in Persian and then in of poetry, aim to reignite the dialogue that Johann Wolfgang German. For example, the title of book Goethe started with the 14th-century Persian poet Hafez

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 15 IIRANRAN A quiet campus, black market money exchanges, an ‘urban hellhole’ and an unfi nished goodbye, Thomas Helm off ers a snapshot of his time spent as a student in Iran PPostcardostcard ffromrom IIranran © Thomas Helm

‘Old and new at Persepolis’, Iran (2018). Photograph by Thomas Helm

wo years ago, SOAS began sending the vast majority of foreign students are Th e fact that Mashhad is a centre of Persian language students to from Iraq and Afghanistan. modern Shia Islamic pilgrimage makes TFerdowsi University of Mashhad, My fl ight landed in Mashhad it diff erent from the other great cities of a leading university in Iran and the airport, which gives the newcomer an Iran. When I visited other places, like country’s most international campus. I unambiguous welcome to the Islamic Isfahan and Shiraz, I was always struck by was part of this year’s cohort. Apart from Republic: huge banners with the portraits the mixture of the secular and religious. It the odd self-organised European student, of Ayatollahs Khomeini and Khamenei. made the lack of secular cultural heritage in Mashhad all the more stark. Moreover, My fl ight landed in Mashhad airport, which gives the newcomer it seemed that the government has plans to guard the religious purity of Mashhad. an unambiguous welcome to the Islamic Republic: huge banners I regularly passed a decommissioned with the portraits of Ayatollahs Khomeini and Khamenei Armenian church on my way to exchange

16 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 Trying to leave an Iranian’s home is a sensitive business. A the famous ‘torshi-tareh’, an herby risotto of sorts fl avoured with Seville oranges combination of woolly phrases can nudge the idea along, and and garlic, and tried to buy black market although your host might also want you to leave, you still caviar straight off the boats that source it from the Caspian. And there was Qom, have to parry elaborate ploys to keep you there a buzzing city defi ned by its sprawling seminaries, shrine and mosque. currency. From what I learned, Armenian getting money would only involve a trip My fi nal few weeks in Iran were Christians have had to relocate as the to an exchange, but as the price of the during Ramadan. I was hoping increased strict mayoralty views the presence of rial dropped the government capped the hardship and the intense heat would other religions in the city as a ‘distraction’. rate. With bureaux de change no longer make my departure easier, but this was Similarly, the Mashhadi Jews, a once a viable option we had to be taught how not to be. Th e aspect of ta’arof that I had infl uential minority, relocated to Tehran to navigate the black market – something always found most diffi cult to navigate or left the country entirely, despite Iran many Iranians have been relying on for was saying ‘goodbye’. Trying to leave an having the second largest Jewish minority years. Iranian’s home is a sensitive business. A in the Middle East. But it was not just We were introduced to the importance combination of woolly phrases can nudge the Islamic Republic that had a hand in of ta’arof, the custom of humbling oneself the idea along, and although your host erasing the city’s heritage; Mashhad’s with elaborate self-deprecation while might also want you to leave, you still old bazaar was razed and rebuilt during aggrandising your adversary (there is have to parry elaborate ploys to keep you the 1970s as part of the Shah’s eff orts to oft en a competitive edge to this). All sorts there. A host might start with the banal weaken the conservative, religious and of comical situations arise because of it: ‘Th omas Jaan, I could just make you a anti-West bazaari community. traffi c jams around doorways as multiple coff ee if you’re tired,’ then advance to Ferdowsi University conformed to people try to usher others in front of the harder to rebut, ‘You should just stay this atmosphere, with its huge, elaborate them, or a taxi driver’s refusal to take a here, it’s late tonight and you have missed facilities and faculties. And yet, the fare and the consequences of actually the last metro, surely!’, to the impossibly outdoor spaces and paths linking taking his word for it. generous ‘My dear, why on earth are you buildings were oft en disorganised and My fi rst trip to Tehran was for the eve spending 15 dollars on a hostel? We have unkempt. I had been told that much of of Nowruz. I had read about Tehran as a properties in Tehran that are far nicer the university’s building programme place of contradiction not oft en described than your shared room. Stay in them, for had to be halted aft er the introduction in positive terms but rather as an ‘urban free!’ of sanctions. Now what stands is a vast hellhole’. But I instantly warmed to the On my journey back to the UK through patch of land dotted with grand faculties city, and throughout my fi ve months I the Caucasus and Turkey, I realised I still alongside a large number of incomplete would oft en get the train from Mashhad had not mastered the Iranian goodbye; metal structures, gradually rusting just for the weekend to be somewhere that my hosts had outclassed me in the duel away. Th e university has almost 30,000 is so defi ned by its young people. Cafes that is ta’arof. I think this is the Iranian students, yet the campus never seemed were fantastic for socialising with other way: make guests feel so welcome and crowded. Th ere were almost no organised students and it was in Tehran that I made magnetised that the ‘goodbye’ is never gatherings or social occasions, apart some of my best friends. Th ere were other really permanent or complete, one fi nal from events held at the university’s many places that made a lasting impression victory to the masters of ta’arof. mosques on days of religious signifi cance too: the rose bud picking festival of and the odd faculty celebration where Golab Giri in Qamsar where we walked we were inevitably wheeled out as exotic through huge rose fi elds at 5:00am; Gilan Westerners for a promotional video. Near where we boated in the mangroves, ate silence on campus was commonplace. Exiting the main gates, past the religious guards of the university (oft en veterans of the Iran-Iraq War), you would step into the normality of daily city life: skater teens under the bridge of the metro station, families enjoying an early evening picnic on green spaces and the odd elderly man asleep on cardboard (we were told crystal meth or ‘shisha’ was endemic here). Th e people of Mashhad were friendly and willing to help foreigners in all issues that confronted us, like organising the immensely complicated custom taxes on foreign phones and, of course, changing money. Cash has to be taken into Iran, as international Th omas Helm is a fourth year student at bank transfers are impossible. At fi rst, SOAS studying Arabic and Persian

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 17 IIRANRAN

Mohammad Emami off ers a view of the library’s four decades of Iranian studies at Wadham College, Oxford TThehe FFerdowsierdowsi LLibraryibrary

the Bodleian library at the time, and the lithographs appeared in the library’s card catalogue together with the printed books. A comprehensive catalogue of the Persian and Arabic manuscripts was completed in February 2016 by Dr Ali Mir-Ansari, who worked on the project in Oxford and Tehran for several years. Th e catalogue, currently available only in print in Persian, is being translated into English at the library using a modern format and appearing gradually at fi hrist.org.uk, a website dedicated to the manuscripts from the Islamicate world which are available in British libraries. Th e main body of the library, however, © The Ferdowsi Library © is formed of a wide range of printed books published since the early 20th century, hen John Richardson, a graduate Britain then stocked. In the late 1960s and covering reference books on Persian of Wadham College, published his early 1970s, a donation from the Imperial language and literature and secondary Wtwo-volume, three-fold Persian- Organization for Social Services, which materials on many aspects of Iranian studies. Arabic-English dictionary in 1777, he would, was headed by Princess Ashraf, created a Th e Ferdowsi Library, run in collaboration most probably, not have expected that separate fund for the purchase of books with the Fellow Librarian, continues to Wadham would open a specialist section of about Persian history and culture, and a acquire new books published in Iran or the College library devoted to Persian and collection was then gradually built up in the elsewhere about Iran, which are then added Iranian studies precisely 200 years later. He years prior to the opening of the library. to Oxford University’s online catalogue (and did, however, give a copy of his recently In the course of time, special donations or therefore to copac.ac.uk) on a regular basis. published book to the college, which the purchases have enhanced the importance of Students and scholars of Oxford University new library inherited from the College’s the Persian library: the Iran Society asked in a relevant discipline can apply to join the collection of Old Books late in the 1970s. the library to house its valuable collection library, while other researchers may contact In 1977, when Th e Ferdowsi Library, of European travel literature; a number the library and arrange for an appointment then named Ashraf Pahlavi Library, was of books on pre-Islamic Iran and Sufi sm to visit. opened to the college’s students and scholars, belonging to Professor R. C. Zaehner News and updates on the Ferdowsi it was already very well prepared, and arrived; and some rare books and pamphlets Library are posted on a regular basis on its architecturally designed, to accommodate on modern Shi’ism were added aft er Iran’s webpage and Facebook group. Th e library this special section. Th e aim was to provide 1979 Revolution. will continue to expand its broad coverage of a general stock of secondary materials Well in advance of these, in 1972, a valuable new material across its disciplines that would be useful for undergraduates prominent Armenian collector from and build on the specialities it already has, reading Persian and Islamic history, Isfahan, Dr Caro Minasian, had bequeathed within the constraints of space and budget, whilst building up more specialist areas a signifi cant collection of just under 1,000 and through close cooperation with the of expertise in the period from the 16th Persian and Arabic manuscripts, together Bodleian Libraries and other specialist to the early 20th centuries. Th ere was also with many Islamic lithographs and early libraries in the University. an emphasis on Persian sources on local printed Armenian books. A card catalogue history and literature published in Iran’s of the Armenian books was created in 1981 Website: https://www.wadham.ox.ac.uk/ provincial centres that few other libraries in by David Barrett, a specialist librarian of about-wadham/library/persian-studies- section Th e aim was to provide a general stock of secondary materials Facebook Group: https://www.facebook. com/groups/Th e.Ferdowsi.Library/ that would be useful for undergraduates reading Persian and Dr Mohammad Emami is Persian Studies Islamic history, whilst building up more specialist areas of Section Coordinator at Wadham College, expertise in the period from the 16th to the early 20th centuries Oxford University

18 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 IIRANRAN

Sarah Stewart on the new Institute of Zoroastrian Studies at SOAS A newnew cchapterhapter

he 27th June 2018 saw the launch Zoroastrian texts in of the SOAS Shapoorji Pallonji Avestan and Pahlavi, a sudreh, kusti and TInstitute of Zoroastrian Studies silver ses, garas (SSPIZS), made possible by a generous embroidered with Chinese motifs and donation from a Parsi benefactor. Th is a replica of the Cyrus new initiative brought to fruition the cylinder on display at eff orts and dreams of all those who have the Institute worked hard to extend the tradition of Zoroastrian studies at SOAS and at the translations of texts have constrained the much-loved poetry and literature same time to broaden its reach. the study of the Yasna, and MUYA of classical Persia has pre-Islamic, that Zoroastrianism in Iran, ancient and addresses this by examining it both as a is to say Zoroastrian, roots. Modern modern, has long been the focus of ritual performance and as a text attested Persian was a direct descendent of scholarship at SOAS, celebrated in the in manuscripts. Research methods Pahlavi or Middle Persian, the language work of its leading academics such as are innovative and include fi lming of Zoroastrian Iran prior to the Arab Walter Bruno Henning, Mary Boyce and analysing the performance and conquest. and Philip Kreyenbroek. Th is rich vein teaching practices in priestly schools, the Zoroastrianism is of course a living fi nds contemporary expression in the creation of a suite of electronic tools for faith, but it is also a prime example, publications and research of Almut editing Avestan texts and a database of albeit a neglected one, of migration and Hintze, the Zartoshty Brothers Chair transcribed manuscripts. diaspora – a fi eld of increasing interest in Zoroastrianism and co-chair of the At the other end of the spectrum is a and importance today. In putting all Institute, whose analysis of the ancient study of contemporary Zoroastrianism in these elements together, we now have texts and languages has greatly added to Iran that maps the remaining community. an exciting opportunity substantially to our historical understanding. Its centrepiece is a collection of over three extend Zoroastrian studies beyond its Th e late John Hinnells brought hundred interviews – mainly in the Dari traditional academic focus. Zoroastrianism into the newly-created language still spoken by Zoroastrians in A large part of the SSPIZS donation Department of Religious Studies at many of the villages of the Yazdi plain. endows post-graduate scholarships. In SOAS, incorporating it formally into the Th ese are now part of a digital archive addition to the courses in Zoroastrianism curriculum. He thereby paved the way for in SOAS’s Institute for Endangered at SOAS, the Institute aims to set up the exciting expansion of the subject, and Languages. collaborative teaching initiatives with inferentially, the creation of the Institute. One of the aims of the Institute is other universities. We begin next year in Th e remit of the Institute is threefold: to expand the reach of the teaching September with a summer school as the research, teaching and outreach. of Zoroastrianism and thereby Norwegian Institute in Rome partnering Research projects include the multi- demonstrate its relevance to a wider the University of Bergen. Online learning media Yasna project (MUYA) directed by range of programmes. For example, will also provide new opportunities for Almut Hintze, which has brought both Zoroastrianism’s religious texts, orally students to take Diploma and Certifi cate post-graduate and post-doctoral students transmitted over centuries, should courses in Zoroastrianism from wherever to the Department and the Institute. be a paradigm case within the now they happen to be based. Th e Yasna exerts a lasting signifi cance well-established but still growing fi eld Visitors are welcome to drop in to the over our cultural heritage. Its system of orality and oral studies. Wherever newly refurbished SSPIZS where we have of thought has infl uenced post-exilic Zoroastrians live today, they live as a a showcase of some ancient manuscripts, Judaism, nascent Christianity and religious and/or an ethnic minority; beautiful garas and a replica of the Islam. As parts of it date back to the 2nd consequently, the study of Zoroastrianism Cyrus Cylinder, commissioned for the millennium BCE, it is also the oldest has much to contribute to the fi eld of SOAS Everlasting Flame exhibition and witness to Iranian languages. Outdated minority studies. More widely still, produced by the British Museum.

One of the aims of the Institute is to expand the reach of the Sarah Stewart is the SOAS Shapoorji Pallonji Senior Lecturer in Zoroastrian teaching of Zoroastrianism and thereby demonstrate Studies and Co-Chair of the SSPIZS its relevance to a wider range of programmes

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 19 RREVIEWS:EVIEWS: BOOKSBOOKS BBountifulountiful EEmpire:mpire: A HistoryHistory ooff OOttomanttoman CCuisineuisine

By Priscilla Mary Işın

Reaktion Books, May 2018, £30

Reviewed by Nevsâl Hughes

‘ ver the six centuries of the century. From the 18th century onwards the march. Military campaigns, hunting Ottoman Empire’s existence, from the Ottoman Empire’s fortunes waned; expeditions or summer excursions were O1299 until the dissolution of the the West started to infl uence the East. In accompanied by a baggage train of cooks, sultanate in 1922, food culture bound the culinary sphere, an early example of food supplies and utensils. people of diff erent classes and backgrounds European infl uence can be found in one In the chapter devoted to kitchen together, defi ning identity and serving of Grand Vizier İbrahim Paşa’s kitchen utensils and tableware we learn that symbolic functions in the social, religious, account books (dated 1723), which since eating and drinking from silver or political and military spheres.’ Th is is how contains an entry reading ‘eggs for pasta gold vessels was regarded as impious, food historian, Priscilla Mary Işın sums up makers’. By the end of the 18th century the even those who possessed such pieces her latest book, Bountiful Empire: A History term makarna (macaroni) had entered the sometimes avoided their use and used of Ottoman Cuisine. Turkish language and dried pasta made in copperware instead. Foreign visitors Th e book starts searching for the Cyprus, Venice and Crete was on sale in to rich households have remarked on culinary roots of Ottoman cuisine, which Istanbul. the high quality of Ottoman tinning of was prevalent from Central Asia to Trade between the West and the copper utensils, which employed pure tin Anatolia and bore traces of infl uence from Ottoman Empire infl uenced cooking rather than a mixture of tin and lead as in Turks, Abbasids, Seljuks and Byzantines. practices as well. Some exports were the Europe. Işın emphasises how Ottoman culinary result of fashions for Ottoman foodways in Etiquette, celebrations, food laws and infl uence extended beyond the boundaries Europe, like coff ee and concentrates used trade, water and sherbet, coff ee houses of the state, leaving linguistic traces like for making sherbet, which became popular and taverns are but some of the topics borek (börek) and kajmak (kaymak) in from the 16th century onwards. Luxury explored. Işın’s meticulous study shines Polish, pastrami (pastırma) in American Ottoman food exports included saff ron, here; she has researched more than six English, and kåldolmar (a compound word bottarga (dried mullet roe), smoked hundred primary and secondary sources, consisting of the Swedish word for cabbage tongue and pistachios. Speaking of luxury, ranging from archive documents to and the Turkish dolma) for stuff ed cabbage the Ottoman palace cuisine is explored endowment deeds and poetry. Over one in Swedish. A degree of Ottoman infl uence extensively in this book. Exotic new foods hundred illustrations, including beautiful on Safavid cuisine is indicated by recipes were oft en tried out early on at the palace miniatures make this book a pleasure to for baklava in a Persian cookbook written where innovation was highly sought aft er. look at as well. Işın says her aim has been during the reign of Shah Isma’il I, as well A major factor in Ottoman military to hold up a mirror to life in this large and as a recipe for dulma-ye kalam (stuff ed success was the effi cient organisation of complex empire through its food culture. cabbage) which is described in a 16th- food supplies, writes Işın. Being provided She certainly has accomplished it. century Safavid cookbook as ‘cooked by with food by the sultan was so central to the people of Rum [the Ottomans] and not the identity of the janissary corps that Nevsâl Hughes is an Author and Journalist well known in Iran’. company commanders were called çorbacı (formerly of the BBC World Service) and Ottoman cuisine infl uenced Central and (soup maker), a rank equivalent to colonel. a member of the Th e Middle East in Western Europe as a result of long standing Each company had a copper cauldron London's Editorial Board political and trade ties with Venice and engraved with its symbol that was carried the conquest of Hungary in the 16th at the head of the company when on

20 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 BBOOKSOOKS ININ BRIEFBRIEF PPostrevolutionaryostrevolutionary IIran:ran: A PoliticalPolitical HHandbookandbook By Mehrzad Boroujerdi and Kourosh Rahimkhani

Th e 1979 revolution fundamentally altered Iran’s political landscape as a generation of inexperienced clerics who did not hail from the ranks of the upper class came to power. Nearly four decades aft er the clergy became the state elite par excellence, there has been no empirical study of the recruitment, composition and circulation of the Iranian ruling members aft er 1979. Postrevolutionary Iran: A Political Handbook provides a comprehensive collection of data on political life in Iran, including coverage of 36 national elections, more than 400 legal and outlawed political organizations, and family ties among the elite. It provides biographical sketches of more than 2,300 political personalities ranging from cabinet ministers and parliament deputies to clerical, judicial, and military leaders, much of this information previously unavailable in English.

May 2018, Syracuse University Press, £66.55

TTripleriple AAxis:xis: IIran’sran’s RRelationselations wwithith RRussiaussia aandnd CChinahina By Dina Esfandiary and Ariane Tabatabai

Th e most signifi cant challenge to the post-Cold War international order is the growing power of ambitious states opposed to the West. Iran, Russia and China reject the universality of Western liberal values and consider the relative decline of Western economic hegemony an opportunity. Yet cooperation between them remains fragmentary. Th e end of Western sanctions and the Iranian nuclear deal; the Syrian confl ict; new institutions in Central and East Asia: in all these areas and beyond, the potential for unity or divergence is striking. In this study, Ariane Tabatabai and Dina Esfandiary address the substance of this ‘triple axis’ in the realms of energy, trade, and military security, arguing that interactions between the three will shape the world stage for decades to come.

July 2018, IB Tauris, £25.00

IIran’sran’s SStrategictrategic TThinking:hinking: TThehe EEvolutionvolution ooff IIran’sran’s FForeignoreign PPolicy,olicy, 11979-2018979-2018

By Nikolay Kozhanov

What are the ideological motives behind Iran’s foreign policy? Th is new book examines Tehran’s twin desires to protect national interests and to project real power. Factors determining Iran’s foreign policy include its role as a potential economic leader of the Middle East region, its key player status in the oil and gas market, its position as a centre of resistance against global Western domination, as well as US and Israel policy and Syria as a bridge to Lebanon and Palestine. Th is book emphasises primary sources, as well as interviews with EU, Russian and Middle East experts, supported by fi eld trips to Iran, Turkey and GCC countries. Political, economic, religious and cultural aspects of Iran’s infl uence abroad are covered. Th e fi nal chapter covers most recent events and implications of President Trump’s rejection of the JCPOA.

June 2018, Gerlach Press, £70.00

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 21 BBOOKSOOKS ININ BRIEFBRIEF TThehe MMilitaryilitary iinn PPost-ost- RRevolutionaryevolutionary IIran:ran: TThehe EEvolutionvolution aandnd RRolesoles ooff tthehe RRevolutionaryevolutionary GGuardsuards By Hesam Forozan Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, also known as the ‘Sepah’, has wielded considerable and increasing power in Iran in recent decades. Established in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini as a paramilitary organisation charged with protecting the nascent Islamic regime and countering the untrustworthy Imperial army, the Sepah has evolved into one of the most powerful political, ideological, military and economic players in Iran over recent years. Although established as a paramilitary organisation, the Sepah developed to have its own ministry, complex bureaucracy and diversifi ed functions, alongside its own network and personnel. Th is examines the position of the Sepah in Iranian state and society, explores the nature of the Sepah’s involvement in politics, and discusses the impact of the Sepah’s political rise on Iran’s economy and foreign policy.

January 2018, Routledge, £36.99 TThehe PPhoenixhoenix MMosqueosque aandnd tthehe PPersiansersians ooff MMedievaledieval HHangzhouangzhou Edited by George Lane

In the early 1250s, Mongke Khan sent his brothers Qubilai and Hulegu to consolidate his grip on power. Hulegu completed the conquest of Iran while Qubilai won the submission of the Song emperors of southern China in 1276 and peacefully occupied their capital, Hangzhou. Th e city enjoyed a revival as the cultural capital of a united China and was soon fi lled with traders, entrepreneurs and artisans from throughout the great Mongol Empire, including a prosperous, infl uential and seemingly welcome community of Persians. In 1281, one of their number, Ala al-Din, built the Phoenix Mosque in the heart of the city where it still stands today. Th is study of the mosque and the Ju-jing Yuan cemetery sheds light on an important and transformative period in Chinese history, and perhaps the most important period in Chinese Islamic history.

July 2018, Gingko Library, £50.00 JJavanmardi:avanmardi: TThehe EEthicsthics aandnd PPracticeractice ooff PPersianateersianate PPerfectionerfection

Edited by Lloyd Ridgeon

Javanmardi is one of those Persian terms that is frequently heard in discussions associated with Persian identity, and yet its precise meaning is diffi cult to comprehend. A number of equivalents have been off ered, including chivalry and manliness, and while these terms are not incorrect, javanmardi transcends them. Th e concept encompasses character traits of generosity, selfl essness, hospitality, bravery, courage, honesty, truthfulness and justice, and yet there are occasions when the exact opposite of these is required for one to be a javanmard. Th e essays in this volume represent the sheer range, infl uence and importance that the concept has had in creating Persianate identities since the medieval era and across a vast geographical domain.

September 2018, Gingko Library, £40.00

22 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 BBOOKSOOKS ININ BRIEFBRIEF TThehe RRuleule ooff VViolence:iolence: SSubjectivity,ubjectivity, MMemoryemory aandnd GGovernmentovernment iinn SSyriayria

By Salwa Ismail

Over much of its rule, the regime of Hafez al-Asad and his successor Bashar al-Asad deployed violence on a massive scale to maintain its grip on political power. In this book, Salwa Ismail examines the rationalities and mechanisms of governing through violence. In a detailed and compelling account, Ismail shows how the political prison and the massacre developed as apparatuses of government, shaping Syrians’ political subjectivities, defi ning their understanding of the terms of rule and structuring their relations and interactions with the regime and with one another. Examining ordinary citizens’ everyday life experiences and memories of violence across diverse sites, Th e Rule of Violence demonstrates how practices of violence, both in their routine and spectacular forms, fashioned Syrians’ aff ective life.

August 2018, Cambridge University Press, £19.99 AAngloArabia:ngloArabia: WWhyhy GGulfulf WealthWealth MattersMatters toto BritainBritain

By David Wearing

UK ties with Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf monarchies are under the spotlight as never before. Huge controversy surrounds Britain’s alliances with these deeply repressive regimes, and the UK’s key supporting role in the disastrous Saudi-led intervention in Yemen has lent added urgency to the debate. What lies behind the British government’s decision to place politics before principles in the Gulf? David Wearing argues that the Gulf Arab monarchies constitute the UK’s most important and lucrative alliances in the global south. Th ey are central both to the British government’s ambitions to retain its status in the world system, and to its post-Brexit economic strategy.

September 2018, Polity Press, £15.99 LLebanon:ebanon: A CountryCountry iinn FFragmentsragments

By Andrew Arsan

Lebanon seems a country in the grip of permanent crisis. In recent years it has suff ered blow aft er blow, from Rafi q Hariri’s assassination in 2005, to the 2006 July War, to the current Syrian confl ict – which has brought a million refugees streaming into the country. Th is is an account of Lebanon’s high politics – with its endless rows, walk-outs, machinations and foreign alliances –and the politics of everyday life: all the stresses and strains the country’s inhabitants face, from electricity black-outs and uncollected rubbish to stagnating wages and property bubbles. Andrew Arsan moves between parliament and the public squares where protesters gather, between luxury high-rises and refugee camps, and between expensive nightclubs and seafront promenades, providing a comprehensive view of Lebanon in the 21st century.

August 2018, Hurst Publishers, £25.00

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 23 BBOOKSOOKS ININ BRIEFBRIEF

CCopingoping wwithith UUncertainty:ncertainty: YYouthouth iinn tthehe MMiddleiddle EEastast aandnd NNorthorth AAfricafrica

Edited by Jörg Gertel and Ralf Hexel

Seven years aft er the Arab uprisings, the social situation has deteriorated across the Middle East and North Africa. Political, economic and personal insecurities have expanded while income from oil declined and tourist revenues have collapsed due to political instability. Against a backdrop of escalating armed confl icts and disintegrating state structures, many have been forced from their homes. Young people are oft en the ones hit hardest by the turmoil. How do they cope with these ongoing uncertainties? In this volume, an international interdisciplinary team of researchers assess a survey of 9,000 sixteen- to thirty- year-olds from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen, resulting in a comprehensive, in-depth study of young people in the MENA region.

August 2018, Saqi Books, £24.99

IIntonto tthehe HHandsands ooff tthehe SSoldiers:oldiers: FFreedomreedom aandnd CChaoshaos iinn EEgyptgypt aandnd tthehe MMiddleiddle EEastast By David D Kirkpatrick

Into the Hands of the Soldiers is a candid narrative of how and why the Arab Spring sparked, then failed, and the truth about America’s role in that failure and the subsequent military coup that put Sisi in power. In 2011, Egyptians of all sects, ages, and social classes shook off millennia of autocracy, then elected a Muslim Brother as president. Th e 2013 military coup replaced him with a new strongman, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. New York Times correspondent David D. Kirkpatrick arrived in Egypt with his family less than six months before the uprising fi rst broke out in 2011. Th is is a heartbreaking story with a simple message: the failings of decades of autocracy are the reason for the chaos we see today across the Arab world.

September 2018, Bloomsbury Circus, £25.00

NNotot fforor tthehe FFaintaint ooff HHeart:eart: LLessonsessons iinn CCourage,ourage, PPower,ower, aandnd PPersistenceersistence

By Wendy R Sherman

Few people have sat across from the Iranians and the North Koreans at the negotiating table. Wendy Sherman has done both. During her time as the lead US negotiator of the historic Iran nuclear deal and throughout her distinguished career, Wendy Sherman has amassed tremendous expertise in the most pressing foreign policy issues of our time. Not for the Faint of Heart takes readers inside the world of international diplomacy and into the mind of one of our most eff ective negotiators-oft en the only woman in the room. She shows why good work in her fi eld is so hard to do, and how we can learn to apply core skills of diplomacy to the challenges in our own lives.

September 2018, Public Aff airs, £20.00

24 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 IINN MMEMORIAMEMORIAM LLeonardeonard LLewisohnewisohn ((1953–2018)1953–2018) EEhsanhsan YYarshaterarshater ((1920–2018)1920–2018)

Alan Williams

Ehsan Yarshater (1920–2018) At the time of writing, the sad news of Professor Ehsan Yarshater’s death in California has reached us. Th e greatest scholar of Iranian studies in the past century, his achievements will last for generations to come. He had a lifetime connection with SOAS since meeting WB Henning in London in the early 1950s and subsequently studying with him at SOAS to achieve his (second) doctoral degree, awarded in 1960. Obituaries are Leonard Lewisohn Ehsan Yarshater appearing in every world newspaper and in academic journals, and moreover this magazine recently included a long essay ādeshān jāvedān – may their 1978/9 they returned to the USA where on the life and work of the great man in remembrance be eternal Lenny studied Arabic at UCLA, then did a its Centenary issue (Oct-Nov 2016), and Y doctorate at SOAS ‘A Critical Edition of the it is necessary here only to add that in a Leonard Lewisohn (1953–2018) Divan of Maghribi’ under the guidance of Festschrift (Brill, 1990) Professor Yarshater’s Dr Leonard Lewisohn, scholar and Turkhan Ganjei (1988). In this time he also erstwhile colleagues Mary Boyce and specialist in Persian poetry and Sufi sm, translated from Persian to English eleven Gernot Windfuhr wrote ‘He has already passed away suddenly and unexpectedly books of Javad Nurbakhsh, the Nimatollahi made profound contributions to Persian in Marin County near San Francisco, on Sufi teacher. scholarship and letters, and Iran and 6 August. His death has been a blow to Lenny worked as a researcher at the Iranian Studies owe him immense debts. countless people across the world familiar Ismaili Institute, London, then moved May he live to increase that indebtedness, with his many works. ‘Lenny’ as he was to a part-time position teaching Persian and to enjoy the satisfaction of large tasks to everyone who knew him personally, literature and Sufi sm at the University of fulfi lled and new knowledge continually was a deeply private and modest man. Exeter. Th is suited him as he was always gained.’ Unpretentious and self-eff acing, he lived committed to his prodigious industry of Th at was nearly 30 years ago, and his life in the spirituality of Sufi sm and its research publications (12 authored, co- Professor Yarshater continued to achieve poetry. authored and edited books, 65 articles). more than anyone could have hoped and Born in 1953 in New York into a family He also founded and edited the Mawlana expected in his retirement-that-never-was. that had once enjoyed great wealth Rumi Review, which will from now on be On 15 August 2018 Columbia University built by his grandfather, the merchant published by Brill of Leiden. received a $10 million gift from the Persian and celebrated philanthropist Leonard Th e iconoclastic Rumi and Hafez made Heritage Foundation to endow ‘Th e Ehsan Lewisohn, he received his school an indelible imprint on Lenny’s already Yarshater Center for Iranian Studies’. education at the best private schools in unconventional character. Lenny despised Th is must have pleased him very much North America. Something drew him to hypocrisy and pomposity. He ran four and, with this great living and working the spiritual life, and by 16 years of age he miles each day in the idyllic countryside memorial in place, he departed this life just found Reynold Nicholson’s translations around Eydon Northamptonshire, where over two weeks later. of Rumi’s Masnavi. Aft er studying art in he and Jane lived in a converted Wesleyan Barcelona and Connecticut where he met chapel – a small island of Persian beauty Alan Williams is Professor of Iranian Studies his wife and lifelong spiritual companion, and tranquillity and haven of hospitality and Comparative Religion at the University Jane, they hitch-hiked across Europe to the many friends they welcomed of Manchester. He holds a Leverhulme Trust 1971-3, and went to Iran in 1973, enrolling there. Lenny will be much missed by his Major Research Fellowship to complete the to study Persian language, literature and friends and colleagues everywhere, but six volumes of his ‘Text and Translation’ history at the University of Shiraz (at he has not left his place empty. We have edition of Rumi’s Masnavi (IB Tauris, early that time the Pahlavi University), whilst rich memories and a body of work of 2019) Lenny also taught English at the Iran- inspiration and aspiration for what Lenny America Society. Aft er the Revolution of loved most – the truth of Haqq.

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 25 LISTINGS EEventsvents iinn LLondonondon

HE EVENTS and Admission free. Pre-registration well as more widely on Islamic art tower. Th e town where the organisations listed below required E [email protected] and architecture, for SOAS, the workers and the population lived, Tare not necessarily endorsed British Academy, 10 Carlton Victoria & Albert Museum and the however, remains to be found. or supported by The Middle East in House Terrace, London SW1Y Courtauld Institute. Admission Th e exploration of the slopes of London. The accompanying texts 5AH. T 020 7969 5203 W www. free for Society Members plus the platform is gradually revealing and images are based primarily bips.ac.uk one guest. Pall Mall Room, Th e not only Achaemenid housing on information provided by the Army & Navy Club, 36-39 Pall but also unexpected evidence organisers and do not necessarily 7:00 pm | Diane Robertson-Bell, Mall, London SW1Y 5JN (Dress of later occupation of the site reflect the views of the compilers a nurse with MSF on MSF in code calls for gentlemen to wear during the Sasanian and Early or publishers. While every possible Yemen (Talk) Diane Robertson- jacket and tie). T 020 7235 5122 Islamic periods. Tickets: £10. Pre- effort is made to ascertain the Bell (Medecins Sans Frontieres). E [email protected] W www. registration required. Asia House, accuracy of these listings, readers Organised by: Th e British-Yemeni iransociety.org / www.therag. 63 New Cavendish Street, London are advised to seek confirmation Society in association with the co.uk W1G 7LP. T 020 3651 2121 E of all events using the contact London Middle East Institute, [email protected] W www. details provided for each event. SOAS (LMEI). Robertson-Bell Wednesday 3 October iranheritage.org/pasargadae Submitting entries and updates: of Medecins Sans Frontieres please send all updates and will give a talk on the work of 6:00 pm | Prospects for Islamist Th ursday 4 October submissions for entries related MSF in Yemen. She will give an Politics aft er the Arab Uprisings to future events via e-mail to introduction to MSF and then her (Panel Discussion) Courtney Freer 4:00 pm | Th e Gulf Moment [email protected] time in Aden. Diane Robertson- (LSE), Hendrik Kraetzschmar (Book Launch) Organised by: LSE Bell is a nurse and has worked (University of Leeds) Paola Rivetti Middle East Centre. Abdulkhaleq BM – British Museum, Great for MSF since 2011 and has done (Dublin City University), Craig Abdulla launches his latest book, Russell Street, London WC1B missions in Papua New Guinea, Larkin (King's College London). Th e Gulf Moment, which focuses 3DG South Sudan, Syria, Bangladesh Organised by: LSE Middle East on the emergence of the Six SOAS –SOAS, University of and Yemen. Admission free. Centre. What are the consequences Arab Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, London, Th ornhaugh Street, Khalili Lecture Th eatre, SOAS. T of the Arab uprisings for Islamist Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman Russell Square, London WC1H 020 7731 3260 E [email protected] actors and organisations across and the United Arab Emirates as 0XG W http://b-ys.org.uk/ the region? Have regime change, the new centre of power, activity LSE – London School of revolution, counter-revolution and creativity in the Arab World. Economics and Political Science, 7:30 pm | Yazz Ahmed (Concert) and reform worked to strengthen Chair: Courtney Freer (LSE). Houghton Street, London WC2 Th e Bahraini-British trumpet the power and infl uence of Admission free. Pre-registration 2AE and fl ugelhorn star Yazz Ahmed Islamists, or have they weakened required. Research Centres performs her revamped and them? Chair: Katerina Dalacoura Meeting Suite, LSE. T 020 7955 revitalised take on contemporary (LSE). Admission free. Pre- 7038 E m.r.perez-herrero@lse. OCTOBER EVENTS jazz at a live concert. Part of registration required. Research ac.uk W www.lse.ac.uk/middle- Women in Music at Southbank Centres Meeting Suite, LSE. T 020 east-centre/ Centre. Tickets: £15. Purcell 7955 7038 E m.r.perez-herrero@ Monday 1 October Room, Southbank Centre, lse.ac.uk W www.lse.ac.uk/ 6:00 pm | A Hellenistic Marble Belvedere Road, London SE1 middle-east-centre/ Statuette of a Maenad and the 6:00 pm | BIPS Persian Studies 8XX. T 020 3879 9555 W www. Cults of Dionysos and Kore Series Book Launch Celebration southbankcentre.co.uk 6:30 pm | Pasargadae, the capital at Samaria/Sebaste (Lecture) Organised by: Th e British Institute of Cyrus the Great (Lecture) John Herrmann (Museum Of of Persian Studies (BIPS). Event to Tuesday 2 October Rémy Boucharlat CNRS (Centre Fine Arts, Boston). Organised mark the recent publication of two National de la Recherche by: Anglo-Israel Archaeological titles in the BIPS Persian Studies 6:30 pm | Enigmatic Figures: Scientifi que). Organised by: Iran Society jointly with the Institute series: Th e Phoenix Mosque and Sculpture in Medieval Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF). of Archaeology, UCL. Followed the Persians of Medieval Hangzhou (Lecture) Melanie Gibson Today, the famous Royal Garden by refreshments. Admission free. and Javanmardi: the Ethics and (Gingko Library). Organised of Pasargadae is part of a large Lecture Th eatre G6, Ground Floor, Practice of Persianate Perfection. by: Th e Iran Society. Gibson is well-watered park, the Persian Institute of Archaeology, UCL, Join BIPS for drinks and canapés Executive Trustee of the Gingko "paradise" which includes well- 31–34 Gordon Square, London with speeches introducing both Library and Editor of the Gingko known monuments such as the WC1H OPY. T 020 8349 5754 E titles, an opportunity to talk to the Library Art Series. She lectures tomb of Cyrus, the hypostyle [email protected] W www. authors and purchase both titles. on Islamic ceramics and glass, as halls, and the Zendan-e Solaiman aias.org.uk

26 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 6:30 pm | For the Love of Trust. Agnieszka Dobrowolska contact with the modern world (UN Support Mission in Libya). Humanity: the world tribunal returns to Leighton House under British occupation aft er the Organised by: LSE Middle East on Iraq (Panel Discussion) Lori following her talk as part of First World War. Admission free. Centre. Libya is a country on the Allen (SOAS), Ayça Çubukçu London Craft Week 2018. She Pre-registration required. Institute cusp. Th e failure of institutions (LSE), David Graeber (LSE), will speak on ARCHiNOS of Advanced Studies Common to deliver has led to clashes and Kimberly Hutchings (Queen Architecture’s restoration project Ground, Wilkins Building, UCL, outbursts of fi ghting but the Mary University), Tor Krever in the cemeteries of Cairo’s London WC1E 6BT. W www. country has so far held back (University of Warwick), Haifa City of the Dead. Tickets: £15 eventbrite.com from descending into all-out Zangana (Iraqi novelist, author (including drink on arrival). Pre- confl ict. Where will Libya head and political activist). Organised registration required. Leighton Tuesday 9 October next? Chair: Michael Mason (LSE by: Department of Sociology, House Museum, 12 Holland Park Middle East Centre). Admission LSE. Comprised of experts in Road, London W14 8LZ. T 020 5:30 pm | Panel Discussion on the free. Pre-registration required. anthropology, international law, 7471 9153 E [email protected]. Iranian Economy and Economic Research Centres Meeting Suite, sociology, political science, and uk W www.rbkc.gov.uk/subsites/ Sanctions Speakers TBC. LSE. T 020 7955 7038 E m.r.perez- literature, this panel will discuss museums/leightonhousemuseum/ Organised by: London Middle East [email protected] W www.lse. Ayça Çubukçu’s book, For the Love publicevents-1.aspx Institute, SOAS (LMEI) jointly ac.uk/middle-east-centre/ of Humanity: the World Tribunal with the International Iranian on Iraq, addressing challenges of Monday 8 October Economic Association (IIEA) and Wednesday 10 October forging global solidarity through the Centre for Iranian Studies, an anti-imperialist politics of 5:00 pm | Education in Egypt SOAS. Part of the LMEI's Tuesday Until Sunday 21 October | BFI human rights and international under British Occupation (Talk) Evening Lecture Programme on London Film Festival 2018 Th e law. Chair: Nigel Dodd (LSE). Critical Quarterly, Colin MacCabe the Contemporary Middle East. 62nd BFI London Film Festival Admission free. Old Th eatre, LSE. and Denise Riley invite you to Admission free. Khalili Lecture featuring a number of fi lms and T 020 7955 6043 E events@lse. Moustapha Safouan’s valediction Th eatre, SOAS. T 020 7898 4330 documentaries from the MENA ac.uk W www.lse.ac.uk/Events to the Anglophone world: A talk E [email protected] W www.soas. region across various venues in entitled "Education in Egypt ac.uk/lmei/events/ London. For more information W 6:30 pm | Alive in Cairo's City under British occupation", an https://whatson.bfi .org.uk/lff / of the Dead (Talk) Organised account of the ways that a country 6:00 pm | Libya: Mediterranean by: Leighton House Museum in kept for almost fi ve centuries Mega Wealth, Crisis and ISIS 7:00 pm | Iran in South collaboration with the Barakat under Ottoman domination made (Lecture) Anwar Darkazally Kensington: Collecting “Persian”

FRAGILE NATION, SHATTERED LAND The Modern History of Syria James Reilly

The Syrian state is less than 100 years old, born from the wreckage of World War I. Today it stands in ruins, shattered by brutal civil war. How did this happen? How did the lands that are today Syria survive incorporation with the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century and the trials and vicissitudes of the Sultan’s rule for four centuries, only to collapse into civil war in recent years?

James Reilly explores the fractious and formative periods of Ottoman, Egyptian and French rule in Syria, and the ways that these contributed to the contradictions and failings of the rule of the Assad family, and eventually to ongoing civil war. Charting Syria’s history over the last five centuries in their entirety for the first time, Reilly demonstrates the myriad historical, cultural, social, economic and political factors that bind Syrians together, as well as Hardback those that have torn them apart. October 2018 £25 | 9781784539610 ‘A certain, and immediate, classic. 312 pgs | 226 x 155 mm It is likely to be the best book www.ibtauris.com published on Syria for a long time’ Michael Provence, Professor of History, University of California, San Diego

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 27 LONDON MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE SOAS University of London

TUESDAY LECTURE PROGRAMME ON THE CONTEMPORARY MIDDLE EAST AUTUMN 2018 9 October *5:30pm start Panel Discussion on the Iranian Economy and Economic Sanctions Speakers TBC Organised jointly with the International Iranian Economic Association (IIEA) and the Centre for Iranian Studies 16 October Limited Statehood in Post-Revolutionary Tunisia Ruth Hanau Santini (Università "L'Orientale") Discussant: Charles Tripp (SOAS) 23 October *5:30pm start Fictions of Women in the Public Sphere Nasrin Rahimieh (University of California, Irvine) Part of the Yarshater Lecture Series in Persian Literature. Organised by the Centre for Iranian Studies, SOAS 30 October Mapping the Mediterranean by the Cartographers of Medieval Islamic Societies Cyrus Ala'i 6 November Reading Week 13 November *5:30pm start Gendering ‘Everyday Islam’ Pnina Werbner (Keele University) and Claudia Liebelt (University of Bayreuth) Organised jointly with the Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) 20 November *5:30pm start BRISMES Annual Lecture Shari'a, dissection and justice in modern Egypt Khalid Fahmy (University of Cambridge) Organised jointly with British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) 27 November Ethics as a Weapon of War: Militarism and Morality in Israel James Eastwood (Queen Mary, University of London) Organised jointly with the Centre for Palestine Studies, SOAS and the Centre for Jewish Studies, SOAS 4 December Cold War in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Struggle for Supremacy Dilip Hiro (author) 11 December Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacifi cation of Palestinian Resistance Tarq Baconi (European Council on Foreign Relations) Organised jointly with the Centre for Palestine Studies, SOAS TUESDAYS 5:45 PM Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS University of London, Russell Square WC1H 0XG Admission Free - All Welcome For further information contact: London Middle East Instutute, SOAS University of London, MBI Al Jaber Building, 21 Russell Square, London WC1B 5EA. T: 020 7898 4330 E [email protected] W: www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/

28 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 Art and Design for the V&A Aga Khan Centre, 10 Handyside 6:00 pm | Rentier Islamism: SOAS. First of four lectures on (Lecture) Moya Carey (Chester Street, King's Cross, London, N1C Th e Infl uence of the Muslim Post-Revolution Transformations Beatty Library, Dublin). Organised 4DN. T 020 7380 3800 E ismc. Brotherhood in the Gulf in Iranian Women’s Prose Fiction by: Islamic Art Circle at SOAS. [email protected] W www.aku. Monarchies (Book Launch) by Nasrin Rahimieh. Lecture to Lecture in Memory of Dr Javad edu/events/ Courtney Freer (LSE Middle be preceded by a reception at Golmohammadi, Former IAC East Centre) Organised by: LSE 6:00pm in the Paul Webley Wing Treasurer. Chair: Scott Redford Saturday 13 October Middle East Centre. Freer updates Cloister (Senate House). Focusing (SOAS). Admission free. Khalili traditional rentier state theory and on a selection of contemporary Lecture Th eatre, SOAS. T 0771 9:30 am | Arabic Pasts: Histories argues that political Islam serves prose fi ction penned by women, 408 7480 E rosalindhaddon@ and Historiographies (Two-Day as a prominent voice and tool to this presentation will explore their gmail.com W www.soas.ac.uk/art/ Workshop: Friday 12 - Saturday 13 promote more strictly political, representations of women’s self- islac/ October) See above event listing and oft en populist or reformist, confi guration in the nation. Part for details. views supported by many Gulf of the Yarshater Lecture Series in Th ursday 11 October citizens. Chair: Toby Dodge (LSE Persian Literature. Admission free. Monday 15 October Middle East Centre). Admission Khalili Lecture Th eatre, SOAS. 6:00 pm | Th e Study of Religions free. Pre-registration required. T 020 7898 4330 E vp6@soas. at SOAS and Beyond: An Event 7:00 pm | AngloArabia: Why Gulf Wolfson Lecture Th eatre, LSE. ac.uk W www.soas.ac.uk/lmei-cis/ in Memory of Professor John Wealth Matters to Britain (Panel T 020 7955 7038 E m.r.perez- events/ Russell Hinnells Organised by: Discussion/Book Launch) David [email protected] W www.lse. Th e SOAS Shapoorji Pallonji Wearing (Royal Holloway), Iona ac.uk/middle-east-centre/ Friday 19 October Institute of Zoroastrian Studies. Craig (New America Foundation), Followed by the opening of the Owen Jones (author). Organised 7:00 pm | Elias Khoury Reads 7:00 pm | Th e Politics of ‘Women exhibition Living Zoroastrianism by: London Middle East Institute, and Discusses ‘My Name is without Men’: Novel and Film (see Exhibitions) in the Foyle SOAS (LMEI). Talk by Wearing Adam’ (Book Launch) Organised (Lecture) Nasrin Rahimieh Gallery within the Brunei Gallery, on his new book, AngloArabia: by: Centre for Palestine Studies, (University of California, Irvine) SOAS and a Reception. Admission Why Gulf Wealth Matters To SOAS. Lebanese writer and public Organised by: Centre for Iranian free. Pre-registration required by Britain (Polity 2018), in which intellectual Elias Khoury is hosted Studies, SOAS. Second of four Friday 5 October. SOAS Atrium, he explores the complex and in a round table discussion on the lectures on Post-Revolution Paul Webley Wing (Senate House), intertwined structures of UK- release of his new novel Children Transformations in Iranian SOAS. E [email protected] W www. Gulf relations in key areas like of the Ghetto/My Name is Adam Women’s Prose Fiction by Nasrin soas.ac.uk/about/events/ trade and investment, arms sales in English translation--which Rahimieh. Shahrnush Parsipur’s and military cooperation, and is positioned as the 'impossible' novel, Women without Men, is 7:00 pm | Negative of a Group energy, and shines a light on the sequel to his renowned Gate of the arguably the most controversial Photograph (Poetry) Organised shocking lengths the British state Sun, and continues to explore the novel published aft er the 1979 by: Th e Mosaic Rooms. Join has gone to in order to support legacy of the Nakba on memory, revolution and has been adapted Persian poet Azita Ghahreman these regimes. Followed by a panel identity, and writing. Discussants: into a feature fi lm by Shirin and her poet-translator Maura discussion and an audience Q&A. Nora Parr (SOAS), Marle Neshat. Rahimieh examines the Dooley for an event celebrating Chair: Gilbert Achcar (SOAS). Hammond (SOAS). Admission fi lm’s amplifi cation of the novel’s her new collection Negative of Admission free. Brunei Gallery free. Brunei Gallery Lecture political undercurrents and their a Group Photograph. Azita and Lecture Th eatre, SOAS. T 020 Th eatre, SOAS. T 020 7898 4330 implications for understanding Maura will give a reading in 7898 4330 E [email protected] W E [email protected] W www.soas. gender relations in modern Iran. Persian and English, aft er which www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/events/ ac.uk/lmei-cps/events/ Part of the Yarshater Lecture they will be joined by their bridge Series in Persian Literature. translator Elhum Shakerifar for a Tuesday 16 October Th ursday 18 October Admission free. Khalili Lecture Q&A on the translation process. Th eatre, SOAS. T 020 7898 4330 Admission free. Th e Mosaic 5:45 pm | Limited Statehood 5:45 pm | Digital History: E [email protected] W www.soas. Rooms, A.M. Qattan Foundation, in Post-Revolutionary Tunisia Promoting the Middle East ac.uk/lmei-cis/events/ Tower House, 226 Cromwell Road, (Lecture) Ruth Hanau Santini (Lecture) Jan van der Crabben London SW5 0SW. T 020 7370 (Università "L'Orientale"). (Ancient History Encyclopedia) 7:00 pm | Sakbeh Civilisations 9990 E [email protected] W Organised by: London Middle and James Blake Wiener (Ancient Supper Club Organised by: https://mosaicrooms.org East Institute, SOAS (LMEI). History Encyclopedia). Organised Leighton House Museum Th e Arab Santini discusses her recently by: MBI Al Jaber Foundation. Part Hall was inspired by the twelft h Friday 12 October published book Limited Statehood of the MBI Al Jaber Foundation century interiors of La Zisa palace in Post-Revolutionary Tunisia: Lecture Series. Admission free. in Sicily. Th is evening will explore 9:30 am | Arabic Pasts: Histories Citizenship, Economy and Security Pre-registration required. MBI the fusion of Sicilian and Middle and Historiographies (Two-Day (Palgrave Pivot, 2018) in which Al Jaber Seminar Room, London Eastern infl uences, as expressed Workshop: Friday 12 - Saturday she explores the complexity of the Middle East Institute, SOAS, through food and song. Tickets: 13 October) Organised by: Aga only widely-acclaimed successful MBI Al Jaber Building, 21 Russell £58 (includes complimentary Khan University Institute for the democratic transition following Square, London WC1B 5EA. E drink on arrival, all food and Study of Muslim Civilisations. the Arab uprisings of 2010-2011 [email protected] W entertainment; drinks during the Exploratory workshop which will – the Tunisian one. Discussant: www.mbifoundation.com meal purchased from cash bar). aim to refl ect on methodologies, Charles Tripp, SOAS. Part of the Pre-booking required. Leighton research agendas, and case studies LMEI's Tuesday Evening Lecture 7:00 pm | From Pre to House Museum, 12 Holland Park for investigating history writing Programme on the Contemporary Post-Revolution Ideals of Road, London W14 8LZ. T 020 in Arabic in the Middle East and Middle East. Admission free. Womanhood (Lecture) Nasrin 7471 9153 E [email protected]. North Africa from the seventh Khalili Lecture Th eatre, SOAS. T Rahimieh (University of uk W www.rbkc.gov.uk/subsites/ century to the present. Admission 020 7898 4330 E [email protected] California, Irvine) Organised museums/leightonhousemuseum/ free. Pre-registration required. W www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/events/ by: Centre for Iranian Studies, publicevents-1.aspx

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 29 Divides in Zoya Pirzad’s Works message: the failings of decades (Lecture) Nasrin Rahimieh of autocratic rule are the reason (University of California, Irvine) for the chaos we see today across Organised by: Centre for Iranian the Arab world. Chair: Toby Studies, SOAS. Th ird of four Dodge (LSE Middle East Centre). lectures on Post-Revolution Admission free. Pre-registration Transformations in Iranian required. Research Centres Women’s Prose Fiction by Nasrin Meeting Suite, LSE. T 020 7955 Rahimieh. In her works Zoya 7038 E m.r.perez-herrero@lse. Pirzad, renowned and award- ac.uk W www.lse.ac.uk/middle- winning Armenian Iranian east-centre/ writer, has addressed the divides that separate the members 6:30 pm | Ottoman Court Music of this minority community Recital Organised by: Leighton from their majority Muslim House Museum. Be transported compatriots. Rahimieh looks at by the wonderful music of Baha the representations of seemingly Yetkin and Alexandros Koustas, impossible relationships and as we explore the traditional marriages between Armenians and Turkish Makams and the rhythms Muslims and their ramifi cations of the Ottoman Court. Tickets: for Iranian discourses of national £12 full price/£9.50 students. formation. Part of the Yarshater Pre-booking required. Leighton Lecture Series in Persian House Museum, 12 Holland Park Literature. Admission free. Khalili Road, London W14 8LZ. T 020 Lecture Th eatre, SOAS. T 020 7471 9153 E [email protected]. 7898 4330 E [email protected] W uk W www.rbkc.gov.uk/subsites/ www.soas.ac.uk/lmei-cis/events/ museums/leightonhousemuseum/ publicevents-1.aspx Tuesday 23 October Wednesday 24 October 5:30 pm | Fictions of Women in the Public Sphere (Lecture) 7:00 pm | Middle Eastern Modern Nasrin Rahimieh (University of and Contemporary Art Auction California, Irvine) Organised Organised by: Christie’s. For the by: Centre for Iranian Studies, second time Christie’s London SOAS. Fourth of four lectures on will be hosting the Middle Eastern Post-Revolution Transformations Modern and Contemporary Art in Iranian Women’s Prose Fiction auction. Christie’s previews are all by Nasrin Rahimieh. . In the open to the public and the Middle wake of the 1979 revolution and Eastern paintings will be on view Parviz Tanavoli, A Memorial for Farhad, 1961, copper, 59×87×143. Modern the establishment of the Islamic as of Saturday 20 October until 3 Art in Iran and its Search for Cultural Authenticity (see November Events, Republic, the systematic attempts hours before the auction which Wednesday 14 November, p. 32) to constrain women’s role in public will include works by El-Gazzar, life have failed to prevent women Hamed Ewais, Mohammad Ehsai, from pursuing professional lives. and Marwan. Admission free. Saturday 20 October for the Future? (Lecture) Drawing on contemporary short Christie’s 8 King Street, St James's, Organised by: Council for British stories and novels by Iranian London SW1Y 6QT. T 020 7839 7:30 pm | Lena Chamamyan Research in the Levant (CBRL). women writers, this presentation 9060 W www.christies.com (Concert) Organised by: Marsm Dawn Chatty, author of ‘Syria: will focus on the literary & Breast Cancer Hope. Charity Th e Making and Unmaking of a representation of the paradoxes 8:00 pm | Emirati Poets in concert in support of Breast Refuge State' and Diana Darke, and ambiguities faced by women London (Reading) Emirati Cancer Hope with the award- author of Th e Merchant of Syria: in professional and public life. Part poets Nujoom Alghanem, Ali winning singer, song-writer and A History of Survival will each of the Yarshater Lecture Series in Al Shaali and Maryam Mahyoh multi-instrumentalist from Syria, give a presentation on their recent Persian Literature. Admission free. read their work in Arabic and Lena Chamamyan, who revives books. Together, these talks will Khalili Lecture Th eatre, SOAS. English at the National Poetry Syrian, Armenian and Bahraini explore Syria’s historical embrace T 020 7898 4330 E vp6@soas. Library. Part of London Literature folkloric songs with modern of refugees of all hues - Christian, ac.uk W www.soas.ac.uk/lmei-cis/ Festival. Admission free. Pre- styles. Tickets: £28-£95. Cadogan Muslim and Jewish and its impact events/ booking required. National Poetry Hall, 5 Sloane Terrace, Belgravia, on its people. Admission free. £10 Library, Level 5, Blue side, Royal London SW1X 9DQ. T 020 7730 donations per person towards 6:00 pm | Into the Hands of the Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, 4500 W http://marsm.co.uk/ CBRL's Post-Graduate Travel Soldiers: Freedom and Chaos in Belvedere Road, London SE1 event/lena-chamamyan/ / http:// Grants welcome. British Academy, Egypt and the Middle East (Book 8XX. T 020 3879 9555 W www. www.cadoganhall.com/event/ 10 Carton House Terrace, London Launch) David D Kirkpatrick southbankcentre.co.uk lena-chamamyan SW1Y 5AH. T 020 7969 5296 E (New York Times). Organised [email protected] W by: LSE Middle East Centre. Th ursday 25 October Monday 22 October http://cbrl.org.uk/ Kirkpatrick launches his fi rst book Into the Hands of the Soldiers, a 1:30 pm | Th e Nile and the Niger: 6:30 pm | Syria's People: Lessons 7:00 pm | Crossing Religious heart-breaking story with a simple a comparison of Africa's greatest

30 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 rivers and their surrounding Halifax), Andrew J Newman (CRP) Iraq and attempt to identify required. BP Lecture Th eatre, cultures (Lecture) Andrew Jaggs (University of Edinburgh), Sajjad those underlying drivers of confl ict BM. T 020 7323 8181 E tickets@ (University College London). Rizvi (University of Exeter), using CRP’s four key analytical britishmuseum.org W www. Organised by: BM. Jaggs Daniel J Sheffi eld (Princeton concepts – moral populism, the britishmuseum.org investigates schools of thought University). Organised by: political marketplace, public relating to Kemet (the state around Centre for Iranian Studies, the authority and ‘civicness’. Chair: Friday 2 November the ancient Pharaonic Nile, Department of Religions & Toby Dodge (LSE Middle East present-day Egypt and northern Philosophies, School of History, Centre). Admission free. Pre- 7:00 pm | Cairokee (Concert) Sudan). Part of Black History Religions & Philosophies, SOAS registration required. Wolfson Organised by: MARSM & the Month 2018. Admission free. Pre- and the Faculty of Asian and Lecture Th eatre, LSE. T 020 7955 Jazz Cafe. Articulating the many registration required. Stevenson Middle Eastern Studies, University 7038 E m.r.perez-herrero@lse. elements of contemporary Lecture Th eatre, BM. T 020 7323 of Cambridge. Sponsored by: ac.uk W www.lse.ac.uk/middle- Egyptian society that drive their 8181 E tickets@britishmuseum. Soudavar Memorial Foundation. east-centre/ generation, Cairokee's music org W www.britishmuseum.org Th e fourteenth programme in balances rock and spacious Th e Idea of Iran annual series. electronica with hints of pop 6:30 pm | Th e Pisa Griffi n and the Th e sixteenth and seventeenth EVENTS OUTSIDE and chaabi. Tickets: £30/£22.50. Mari-Cha Lion: Metalwork, Art, centuries saw the establishment LONDON Jazz Cafe, 5 Parkway, Camden, and Technology in the Medieval of the new Safavid regime in Iran, London NW1 7PG. T 020 7485 Islamicate Mediterranean What does the Idea of Iran mean 6834 W http://marsm.co.uk/ (Lecture) Anna Contadini at this period? Tickets: £20/£10/ Friday 5 October event/cairokee-2/ / https:// (SOAS). Organised by: Royal Students Free. Pre-registration thejazzcafelondon.com/event/ Asiatic Society. Contadini will required. Brunei Gallery Lecture 5:00 pm | Restating Orientalism - cairokee discuss subjects from her latest Th eatre, SOAS. T 020 7898 4330 A Critique of Modern Knowledge publication Th e Pisa Griffi n E [email protected] W www.soas. (Panel Discussion) Wael Hallaq Saturday 3 November and the Mari-Cha Lion; an ac.uk/lmei-cis/events/ (Columbia University), Sarah interdisciplinary study focusing Radcliff e (Geography), Khalid Time TBC | Justice in Palestine: on two unique bronze sculptures Tuesday 30 October Fahmy (FAMES).Organised Ending Apartheid, Achieving produced between the late eleventh by: King’s College, London in Freedom and Equality and the early twelft h century. 5:45 pm | Mapping the association with FAMES Faculty (Conference) Organised by: Th rough scientifi c, historical and Mediterranean by the of Asian and Middle Eastern Palestine Solidarity Campaign art historical analyses this lecture Cartographers of Medieval Studies, University of Cambridge (PSC). Speakers include Rebecca will explore the many issues Islamic Societies (Lecture) Cyrus (FAMES). Th e panel will discuss Vilkomerson (Jewish Voice for that surround them. Admission Alai. Organised by: London with Wael Hallaq's latest book Peace), Rima Khalaf (former free. Royal Asiatic Society, 14 Middle East Institute, SOAS Restating Orientalism - A Critique Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan Stephenson Way, London NW1 (LMEI). Islamic cartographers of Modern Knowledge in which and ESCWA), Virginia Tilley 2HD. T 020 7388 4539 E mb@ perceived the Mediterranean as a he re-evaluates and deepens the (Southern Illinois University), and royalasiaticsociety.org W https:// sea which unites all of its shores, critique of Orientalism in order Nadia Hijab (author, policy analyst royalasiaticsociety.org/ making them one geographical to deploy it for rethinking the and public speaker). Tickets: entity, contrary to the European foundations of the modern project. £18/£12 PSC Members & conc./£3 7:00 pm | Form & the Female perception of a sea which divides Convenor: Humeira Iqtidar (King’s Students. Resource for London, Fiction (Reading) Organised the world into three continents. College London). Admission free. 356 Holloway Road, London N7 by: Th e Mosaic Rooms. Author Th e map of Ma’mun, devised in Room 8&9, Faculty of Asian and 6PA. T 020 7700 6192 E lewis. Sabrina Mahfouz hosts an evening the early ninth century, represents Middle Eastern Studies, University [email protected] of theatre readings in Arabic and a major improvement in mapping of Cambridge. T 01223 335 106 E W www.palestinecampaign.org/ English and discusses the ways of that Sea. Towards the end of [email protected] W www.ames. events/apartheid-conference/ women-centred stories have been the fi ft eenth century Islamic cam.ac.uk created for the stage by Arab and cartography was increasingly Arab heritage artists across the infl uenced by new European Tuesday 6 November world. Admission free. Th e Mosaic traditions of mapmaking, and NOVEMBER EVENTS Rooms, A.M. Qattan Foundation, was rapidly losing its originality. 6:30pm | Archaeologists and Tower House, 226 Cromwell Road, Chair: Hassan Hakimian (LMEI). Treasure Hunters on the Tigris London SW5 0SW. T 020 7370 Part of the LMEI's Tuesday Th ursday 1 November (Lecture) Gül Pulhan. Organised 9990 E [email protected] W Evening Lecture Programme on by: British Institute at Ankara https://mosaicrooms.org the Contemporary Middle East. 1:30 pm | Defacing Power: (BIAA). Pulhan – who leads a Admission free. Khalili Lecture Mockery and Subversion in the salvage excavation in the area – Saturday 27 October Th eatre, SOAS. T 020 7898 4330 Middle East and North Africa will describe the eff orts of the E [email protected] W www.soas. (Lecture) Organised by: BM in Batman, Mardin and Diyarbakır 9:45 am | Th e Idea of Iran: ac.uk/lmei/events/ collaboration with the British regional archaeology museums to Th e Safavid Era (Symposium) Academy. Charles Tripp (SOAS). protect archaeological heritage by Gregory Aldous (University 6:30 pm | Understanding the Tripp examines how power has conducting scientifi c excavations, of Pittsburgh at Greensburg), Drivers of Confl ict in Iraq been caricatured throughout the producing exhibitions, raising Ali Anooshahr (University of (Presentation) Jessica Watkins regions' histories, with a focus awareness and undertaking California, Davis), Ferenc Csirkés (LSE Middle East Centre), Renad on modern and contemporary educational programmes for (Sabanci University), Negar Mansour (Chatham House). politics, and will investigate the children and adults. Tickets: Habibi (University of Geneva), Organised by: Organised by: LSE nature of political struggle and £10/BIAA members free. Pre- Rudolph Matthee (University Middle East Centre. Watkins and assess what eff ect humour has registration required. British of Delaware, Newark), Colin Mansour on the launch of the in challenging the status quo. Academy, 10 Carlton House Mitchell (Dalhousie University, Confl ict Research Programme Admission free. Pre-registration Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH.

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 31 T 020 7969 5204 E biaa@britac. Friday 9 November Tuesday 13 November of Göttingen) to coincide with ac.ukW https://biaa.ac.uk/ the publication of Voices from 9:00 am | Th e Qur'an: Text, 5:30 pm | Gendering ‘Everyday Zoroastrian Iran, Oral Texts and 6:45 pm | Return to Assyria: A Translation, and Culture, 2018 Islam’ (Panel Discussion) Pnina Testimony, by Sarah Stewart Photographic Journey by Richard (Two-Day Conference: Friday 9 - Werbner (Keele University), (SOAS) in collaboration with Wilding (Talk) Organised by: Saturday 10 November) Organised Claudia Liebelt (University Mandana Moavenāt. Admission Asia House Arts & Learning and by: Centre of Islamic Studies, of Bayreuth), Laura Ferrero free. Venue TBC. E sspi@soas. Gulan. Talk to coincide with the SOAS. Tenth SOAS Conference (University of Turin), Deniz ac.uk W www.soas.ac.uk/about/ opening of the British Museum on the Qur’an. Convenors: M Kandiyoti (SOAS University of events/ exhibition I am Ashurbanipal: king A S Abdel Haleem (SOAS) and London). Organised by: Council of the world, king of Assyria (see Mustafa Shah (SOAS). Tickets: for British Research in the Levant 6:45 pm | Modern Art in Iran Exhibitions). Wilding’s images See contact details below. Brunei (CBRL) in association with the and its Search for Cultural and commentary explore traces Gallery Lecture Th eatre, SOAS. E London Middle East Institute, Authenticity (Lecture) Hamid of the region’s ancient Assyrian [email protected] W SOAS (LMEI). Gendering Keshmirshekan (LMEI). civilisation, its religious and ethnic www.soas.ac.uk/islamicstudies/ 'Everyday Islam' was the theme of Organised by: Asia House Arts & diversity, history of persecution events/ a recent special issue of the journal Learning. As the art world refl ects and renewal, and the crisis caused Contemporary Levant - an issue a global trend towards exhibiting by the emergence of ISIS in 2014. 7:00 pm | Translation: a Second that set out to address the aspect and collecting contemporary art Tickets: £10/£8 conc.£5 Asia Act of Creation? (Lecture) Adonis, of gender in the recent debate on from Iran, Dr Keshmirshekan House Arts Members/Students the internationally renowned poet, 'everyday Islam' in scholarship, will speak on the rich and diverse free. Pre-registration required W philosopher and theoretician of particularly anthropology, of thriving modern art scene in www.eventbrite.co.uk Asia House, Arab poetics, gives this year’s Muslim societies. Th e panel, Iran from the 1960s to the 1970s. 63 New Cavendish Street, London Saif Ghobash Banipal Arabic which includes the editors of this Th e talk will provide an astute W1G 7LP. T 020 7307 5445 E Translation Prize Lecture at the issue, will introduce the theme and insight into the dynamic art scene [email protected] / info@ British Library. He will consider examples of research discussed in Iran at that time and review gulan.org.uk W https://asiahouse. the relationship of translation to therein. Chair: Michelle Obeid the artistic production of some org/ / www.gulan.org.uk human identity, how translation (University of Manchester). Part artists like Zenderoudi, Tanavoli, creates a universal cultural time of the LMEI's Tuesday Evening Pilaram, and Qandriz. Tickets: Wednesday 7 November of discovery, and explore how Lecture Programme on the £10/£8 conc.£5 Asia House Arts new life can be breathed into the Contemporary Middle East. Members/Students free. Pre- 6:30 pm | Th e Golha and linguistic destruction that is the Admission free. Khalili Lecture registration required W www. Golistan Programmes (Talk) translated poem. Followed by a Th eatre, SOAS. T 020 7898 4330 eventbrite.co.uk Asia House, 63 Jane Lewisohn (SOAS). Organised reception and bookstall. Tickets: E [email protected] W www.soas. New Cavendish Street, London by: Iran Heritage Foundation £12 (with conc.) Pre-registration ac.uk/lmei/events/ W1G 7LP. T 020 7307 5445 E (IHF).Th e Golha (‘Flowers of required W www.bl.uk/events/ [email protected] W https:// Persian Song and Music’) radio Th e Knowledge Centre, British 6:00 pm | Algeria and the Cold asiahouse.org/ programmes were broadcasted Library, 96 Euston Road, London War: International Relations on Iranian National Radio from NW1 2DB. W http://www.banipal. and the Struggle of Autonomy 7:00 pm | ART AND OIL: 1956 until 1979. Since 2005, Jane co.uk/ (Book Launch) Lakhdar Ghettas Calouste Gulbenkian and Lewisohn has been directing the (Cordoba Foundation of Geneva). his Collection of Islamic Art Golha Project and is now working Organised by: Organised by: (Lecture) Jessica Hallett (Calouste in collaboration with the Iran Saturday 10 November LSE Middle East Centre and the Gulbenkian Foundation Museum, Heritage Foundation to make this Society for Algerian Studies. Lisbon, Portugal). Organised Golha Archive and all the related 9:00 am | Th e Qur’an: Text, Lakhdar Ghettas' book off ers by: Islamic Art Circle at SOAS research concerning the Golha Translation, and Culture, 2018 an international history of US– Chair: Scott Redford (SOAS). Archive available online. Tickets: (Two-Day Conference: Friday 9 - Algerian relations at the height of Admission free. Khalili Lecture £10. Pre-registration required. Saturday 10 November) See above the Cold War. Based on materials Th eatre, SOAS. T 0771 408 7480 Asia House, 63 New Cavendish event listing for details. from recently opened archives, E [email protected] W Street, London W1G 7LP. T 020 this book sheds new light on the www.soas.ac.uk/art/islac/ 3651 2121 E astrid@iranheritage. Monday 12 November importance of Boumediene’s era in org W www.iranheritage.org/ Algeria. Chair: Robert Lowe (LSE golha 6:00 pm | Food and Alcohol Middle East Centre). Admission Th ursday 15 November in Iron Age Israel and Judah: free. Pre-registration required. Th ursday 8 November Archaeological Perspectives Research Centres Meeting Suite, 5:45 pm | Dragons Blood Island: (Lecture) Rebekah Welton LSE. T 020 7955 7038 E m.r.perez- Socotra and Our Search for 4:00 pm | Th e Citadel of Umm (University Of Exeter). Organised [email protected] W www.lse. Dragons (Lecture) Ella Al- Tawabin in Jordan Revealed by: Anglo-Israel Archaeological ac.uk/middle-east-centre/ Shamahi (National Geographic (Lecture) Alexandra Ariotti Society jointly with the Institute Explorer). Organised by: MBI Al (PEF Grants Scholar). Organsied of Archaeology, UCL and the Wednesday 14 November Jaber Foundation and the British by: Palestine Exploration Fund Institute of Jewish Studies, Foundation for the Study of (PRF) in association with the BM UCL. Followed by refreshments. Time TBC | Lecture by Philip Arabia (BFSA). Part of the MBI Al Department of the Middle East. Admission free. Lecture Th eatre Kreyenbroek & Book Launch: Jaber Foundation Lecture Series. Iain Browning Memorial Lecture. G6, Ground Floor, Institute of ‘Voices from Zoroastrian Iran, Admission free. Pre-registration Admission free. To register 020 Archaeology, UCL, 31–34 Gordon Oral Texts and Testimony’ required. MBI Al Jaber Seminar 7323 8181 BP Lecture Th eatre, Square, London WC1H OPY. T Organised by: Th e SOAS Room, London Middle East BM. T 020 7935 5379 E execsec@ 020 8349 5754 E secretary@aias. Shapoorji Pallonji Institute of Institute, SOAS, MBI Al Jaber pef.org.uk W www.pef.org.uk org.uk W www.aias.org.uk Zoroastrian Studies. Lecture by Building, 21 Russell Square, Philip Kreyenbroek (University London WC1B 5EA. E info@

32 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 mbifoundation.com W www. (BRISMES) Annual Lecture. mbifoundation.com Part of the LMEI's Tuesday Evening Lecture Programme on Friday 16 November the Contemporary Middle East. Admission free. Khalili Lecture 10:30 am | Little Feet: Th eatre, SOAS. T 020 7898 4330 Ashurbanipal Exhibition E [email protected] W www.soas. Explorer (Workshop) Organised ac.uk/lmei/events/ by: BM. Explore the sounds, smells and sights of the royal court. Make 6:00 pm | Syria: Beyond the your own musical instrument to Endgame (Lecture) Martin take home, follow the musician Chulov (Th e Guardian). Organised and prepare to make some noise! by: Organised by: LSE Middle For under 5s and their parents and East Centre. With the battle for carers. Admission free. Room 30, Syrian soil near an end, the most BM. T 020 7323 8000 W www. brutal confl ict of modern times britishmuseum.org is becoming a fi ght for who gets to shape what emerges from the Sunday 18 November ruins. Th e next few years will test the modern borders of the region, 7:30 pm | Who Helped Jewish and further strain an ethnic Refugees Re-Settle? (Talk) sectarian balance that has neared Organised by: Spiro Ark, Harif, breaking point from Tartous to Bita Ghezelayagh, Lovers of Apadana, 70cm x 2.40m, handmade velvet/silk AJE (UK) and Central Synagogue. Qom. Chair: Michael Mason (LSE tread/old carpet fi gurines. Lovers of Apadana. (see Exhibitions p. 34) Liran Morav on the essential Middle East Centre). Admission role played by organisations and free. Pre-registration required. governments in the integration LSE. T 020 7955 7038 E m.r.perez- screen. Admission free. Khalili British Institute of Persian Studies of Jews from Arab countries in [email protected] W www.lse. Lecture Th eatre, SOAS. T 020 (BIPS). Guided by the story of France and the UK. Tickets: £10. ac.uk/middle-east-centre/ 7898 4330 E [email protected] W the Samanid vaqf from its alleged Central Synagogue, 36-40 Hallam www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/events/ origins in the ninth century to the Street, Marylebone, London Wednesday 21 November early twentieth century, Schwarz W1W 6NW. T 020 7794 4655 E Tuesday 27 November will investigate the interactions [email protected] W www. 8:00 pm | Faraj Suleiman Quartet between historiography, literature spiroark.org (Concert) Organised by: Marsm & 5:45 pm | Ethics as a Weapon of and documentation in the making Kings Place. Palestinian composer War: Militarism and Morality in of the image of the Samanids and Monday 19 November and pianist Faraj Suleiman with Israel (Lecture) James Eastwood explores the real-life consequences this quartet. Part of the EFG (Queen Mary University of of historical memory and their 6:30 pm | Hunger in the 1890s – London Jazz Festival. Tickets: London). Organised by: London implications for the study and a prelude to the Constitution? £16.50. Hall Two, Kings Place, 90 Middle East Institute, SOAS writing of Persian history. (Lecture) Stephanie Cronin. York Way, London N1 9AG. T 020 (LMEI) jointly with the Centre Admission free. Pre-registration Organised by: Th e Iran Society. 7520 1490 W http://marsm.co.uk/ for Palestine Studies, SOAS and required E [email protected] Admission free for Society event/farajsuleiman/ / https:// the Centre for Jewish Studies, British Academy, 10 Carlton Members plus one guest. Pall Mall www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/ SOAS. Lecture by James Eastwood House Terrace, London SW1Y Room, Th e Army & Navy Club, 36- jazz/faraj-suleiman-quartet/ on his book Ethics as a Weapon 5AH. T 020 7969 5203 W www. 39 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5JN of War: Militarism and Morality bips.ac.uk (Dress code calls for gentlemen Friday 23 November in Israel (Cambridge University to wear jacket and tie). T 020 Press, 2017). What role does ethics 7235 5122 E [email protected] 7:00 pm | Shooting a Revolution: play in modern-day warfare? Is it EXHIBITIONS W www.iransociety.org / www. Visual Media and Warfare in possible for ethics and militarism therag.co.uk Syria Organised by: London to exist hand-in-hand? Eastwood Middle East Institute, SOAS examines the Israeli military Until 5 October | 24 Hours on Tuesday 20 November (LMEI) and the Centre for Global and its claim to be 'the most Hamra Street A new video Media and Communications, moral army in the world'. Chair: installation by Lina Khatib in 5:30 pm | Shari’a, Dissection and SOAS. Donatelle Della Ratta Laleh Khalili (SOAS). Part of the collaboration with the Damascus- Justice in Modern Egypt (Lecture) (John Cabot University, Rome). LMEI's Tuesday Evening Lecture based heavy metal band Khaled Fahmy (University of Event to mark the publication of Programme on the Contemporary Maysaloon. Th e exhibition is a Cambridge). Organised by: Della Ratta’s new book Shooting Middle East. Admission free. comment on the prevailing sense BRISMES in association with the a Revolution: Visual Media Khalili Lecture Th eatre, SOAS. T of routinisation through which London Middle East Institute, and Warfare in Syria (Pluto 020 7898 4330 E [email protected] confl icts, especially in the Middle SOAS (LMEI). Lecture by Fahmy Press, London and New York, W www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/events/ East, are perceived. Over twenty describing the process of the 2018). Drawing on a decade of four continuous hours starting at introduction of modern medicine ethnographic research conducted Wednesday 28 November 5am, the artist sat on the pavement in early nineteenth-century Egypt in Syria and neighbouring of Beirut’s busiest street discreetly and how forensic medicine can be countries, Della Ratta examines 6:00 pm | What became of the shooting, every hour, a few a lens through which we can study how the networked age shapes Samanids? (Lecture) Florian minutes of daily life. Accompanied the implementation of shari'a in contemporary warfare, from Schwarz (Institute of Iranian by a short documentary by the a modern state context. British confl ict on the ground to the Studies at the Austrian Academy band Maysaloon, chronicling Society for Middle Eastern Studies performance of violence on the of Sciences). Organised by: their struggles and defi ance of

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 33 the Syrian war. Admission free. artist never seen before in the UK W www.rbkc.gov.uk/subsites/ plain, in central Turkey. Th uis P21 Gallery, 21-27 Chalton Street, and reveals Sadr’s dramatic artistic museums/leightonhousemuseum/ exhibition has been developed London NW1 1JD. T 020 7121 journey against the backdrop of publicevents-1.aspx to celebrate the 25th excavation 6190 E [email protected] W http:// bitter political events and her season of the Çatalhöyük Research p21.gallery struggles as a woman fi ghting for Friday 12 October Project. Known for its fascinating recognition on a male dominated cutting-edge archaeological Until 25 November | Jameel art scene. Curator's tour at 2:00pm Until 15 December | Living research methods, and laboratory Prize 5 Th e Jameel Prize is on Saturday 6 October. Admission Zoroastrianism A unique collaborations, Çatalhöyük is an international award for free. Th e Mosaic Rooms, A.M. interactive exhibition that engages presented through experiment- contemporary art and design Qattan Foundation, Tower House, the public in the Virtual Reality based display features including inspired by Islamic tradition. Th e 226 Cromwell Road, London SW5 (VR) experience of a three- 3D prints of fi nds, laser-scanned eight fi nalists in this fi ft h edition 0SW. T 020 7370 9990 E info@ thousand years old Zoroastrian overviews of excavation areas, have connections with countries mosaicrooms.org W https:// ritual in which the viewer will and immersive digital displays as diverse as Bangladesh, Iraq and mosaicrooms.org be immersed by means of VR that bring the 9000-year-old the USA. Th eir varied practices glasses. Originating in ancient Çatalhöyük settlement back to life. range from architecture and Saturday 6 October pre-Islamic Iran, the ritual was Admission free. Brunei Gallery, painting to fashion design and fi lmed by Chouette Films in SOAS. T 020 7898 4023/4026 E multi-media installation. Th is Until 5 December | Lovers of Mumbai 2017 with cutting edge [email protected] W www.soas. variety will show the richness of Apadana Th is new exhibition spherical video technology. ac.uk/gallery/ Islamic tradition as a source for showcases a brand new collection Visitors can also experience contemporary creativity, which by the artist Bita Ghezelavagh. contemporary Zoroastrian Iran Friday 19 October in turn will show how the Islamic Using traditional Iranian textiles via the digitized oral testimony of past can be relevant to our own Ghezelavagh explores the universal over 300 interviewees. Displays of 6:00 pm | Celebrating the Islamic times. Admission free. Th e Porter themes of love, war and everyday manuscripts, costumes, paintings world: gallery opening weekend Gallery, V&A, Cromwell Road, confl icts. Th is latest body of work and artefacts provide additional Celebrate the global diversity and London SW7 2RL. T 020 7942 showcases Ghezelayagh’s masterful information about this ancient breadth of Islamic cultures to 2000 E [email protected] W and inventive use of her trademark religion. Admission free. Foyle mark the opening of the Museum’s vam.ac.uk/jameelprize materials, velvet, silk, felt and Gallery, Brunei Gallery, SOAS. T newest gallery – the Albukhary carpet fragments. Artist Talks at 020 7898 4023/4026 E gallery@ Foundation Gallery of the Islamic Until 8 December | Behjat 6:30pm on Monday 12 November soas.ac.uk W www.soas.ac.uk/ world. Th e programme includes Sadr: Dusted Waters First UK and Friday 23 November. Tickets gallery/ talks, performances, music and exhibition dedicated to Behjat to enter the Museum: £9/£7 food and pop-up curator talks in Sadr (1924-2009), now regarded conc. include admission to the Until 15 December | Th e the gallery. Organised by: BM. as one of Iran’s most infl uential exhibition. Leighton House Curious Case of Çatalhöyük Admission free. Great Court and and radical visual artists. Th e Museum, 12 Holland Park Road, Th e UNESCO World Heritage galleries, BM. T 020 7323 8000 W exhibition brings together a London W14 8LZ. T 020 7471 site of Çatalhöyük is a Neolithic www.britishmuseum.org selection of masterpieces by the 9153 E [email protected] settlement, located in the Konya Saturday 20 October Samanid Mausoleum at Bukhara. What became of the Samanids? (see November Events, Wednesday 28 November, p. 33) 11:00 am | Celebrating the Islamic world: gallery opening weekend See above event listing for details. Th ursday 8 November

Until 24 February | I am Ashurbanipal King Ashurbanipal of Assyria (r. 669–c. 631 BC) was the most powerful man on earth. He described himself in inscriptions as ‘king of the world’, and his reign from the city of Nineveh (now in northern Iraq) marked the high point of the Assyrian empire, which stretched from the shores of the eastern Mediterranean to the mountains of western Iran. Th is major exhibition tells the story of Ashurbanipal through the BM's collection of Assyrian treasures and rare loans and come face to face with one of history’s greatest forgotten kings. Tickets: Various. BM. T 020 7323 8181 E tickets@ britishmuseum.org W www. britishmuseum.org

34 The Middle East in London October – November 2018 the Safavid Empire in 1501, by an anonymous Venetian artist ‘Ismail Sophy, Rex Persarum’, Uffi zzi Gallery, Florence. Portrait of Shah Ismail I Persia (1 The Idea of Iran: Safavid Era 487-1524), Founder of and Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Pre-registration required: W www.soas.ac.uk/lmei-cis/events/ide Admission: £20; Conc. & LMEI Affi The fourteenth programme in http://soudavar.org/ www.soas.ac.uk/lmei-cis/ www.ames.cam.ac Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG Convened by Sarah Stewart, SOAS University of London Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre, Department of Religions and Philosophies, SOAS Enquiries: T 020 7898 4330 E [email protected] Sponsored by: Soudavar Memorial Foundation and Charles Melville, University of Cambridge. SOAS University of London, Saturday 27 October 2018 Organised by: Centre for Iranian Studies, The Idea of Iran liates: £10; Students: Free. annual series. Cambridge a-of-iran/ .uk/

October – November 2018 The Middle East in London 35 Yarshater Lecture Series on Persian Literature Centre for Iranian Studies SOAS University of London

Four lectures on Post-Revolu on Transforma ons in Iranian Women’s Prose Fic on by Nasrin Rahimieh, University of California, Irvine

Thursday 18th, Friday 19th & Monday 22nd October 2018, 7.00pm - 8.30pm and Tuesday 23rd October 2018, 5.30pm - 7.00pm

Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS University of London Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG

Admission Free - All Welcome

Enquiries T: 020 7898 4330 E: [email protected] W: www.soas.ac.uk/lmei-cis/events/ 36 The Middle East in London October – November 2018