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IRAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY the Islamic Republic of Iran
IRAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Islamic Republic of Iran is a constitutional, theocratic republic in which Shia Muslim clergy and political leaders vetted by the clergy dominate the key power structures. Government legitimacy is based on the twin pillars of popular sovereignty--albeit restricted--and the rule of the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution. The current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was chosen by a directly elected body of religious leaders, the Assembly of Experts, in 1989. Khamenei’s writ dominates the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. He directly controls the armed forces and indirectly controls internal security forces, the judiciary, and other key institutions. The legislative branch is the popularly elected 290-seat Islamic Consultative Assembly, or Majlis. The unelected 12-member Guardian Council reviews all legislation the Majlis passes to ensure adherence to Islamic and constitutional principles; it also screens presidential and Majlis candidates for eligibility. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reelected president in June 2009 in a multiparty election that was generally considered neither free nor fair. There were numerous instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian control. Demonstrations by opposition groups, university students, and others increased during the first few months of the year, inspired in part by events of the Arab Spring. In February hundreds of protesters throughout the country staged rallies to show solidarity with protesters in Tunisia and Egypt. The government responded harshly to protesters and critics, arresting, torturing, and prosecuting them for their dissent. As part of its crackdown, the government increased its oppression of media and the arts, arresting and imprisoning dozens of journalists, bloggers, poets, actors, filmmakers, and artists throughout the year. -
Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari
Page 1 of 19 Witness Statement of Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari Witness Statement of Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari Name: Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari Place of Birth: Eshkevar, Iran Date of Birth: August 11, 1949 Occupation: Religious Scholar Interviewing Organization: Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) Date of Interview: April 25, 2014 Interviewer: IHRDC Staff This statement was prepared pursuant to an interview with Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari. It was approved by Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari on August 30, 2014 There are 89 paragraphs in the statement. The views and opinions of the witness expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. Page 2 of 19 Witness Statement of Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari Statement Background 1. My name is Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari. I was born on August 11, 1949 in Eshkevar, which is near Roodsar in Gilan Province. Before the Islamic Revolution, I studied at the Islamic Seminary in Qom for fifteen years. I was a cleric for many years. In 2000 I was incarcerated, tried in the Special Clerical Court, and permanently defrocked. 2. I have not been a member of the clergy for some 14 or 15 years. Before the Revolution I was an activist cleric, and I was arrested twice. 3. After the Revolution, I remained active and travelled the country in 1979-80 and gave public talks. I was Shahsavar and Ramsar’s first elected representative in the [first] Islamic Consultative Assembly [Majles].1 But then I left politics, and I taught at the Allameh Tabataba’i University for four or five years. However, following a talk I gave at Dr. -
Ideology and the Iranian Revolution1
Ideology and the Iranian Revolution1 Mehdi Shadmehr2 First Draft: May 2008. This Draft: Summer 2011 Comments are welcomed. 1I wish to thank Bing Powell, Charles Ragin, Mehran Kamrava, Bonnie Meguid, Gretchen Helmeke, and participants in the Comparative Politics Workshop at the University of Rochester for helpful suggestions and comments. 2Department of Economics, University of Miami, Jenkins Bldg., Coral Gables, FL 33146. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract Some theories of revolution deny an independent role for ideology in the making of rev- olutions, whereas others grant it an indispensable role. I investigate the role of ideology in the Iranian Revolution by focusing on two periods of Iranian history that witnessed popular uprising: the early 1960's and the late 1970's. While the former uprising was aborted, the latter led to the Iranian Revolution. Contrasting these periods, I argue that the structural and non-agency process factors underwent the same dynamic in both periods, and hence are not sufficient to explain the variation in outcome. I propose that the change in the oppo- sition's ideology accounts for this variation. To establish the causal link, I investigate this ideological change, tracing its role in the actors' decision-making processes. I argue that: (1) Khomeini's theory of Islamic state expanded the set of alternatives to the status quo theory of state, and changed the Islamic opposition's \calculus of protest"; (2) an ideological change is an intellectual innovation/shock, the timing of which is intrinsically uncertain. Therefore, integrating ideology to the theory enhances its explanatory power; (3) an ideological change can serve as an observable intermediate variable that mediates the effect of unobservable cumulative and/or threshold processes. -
KHERAD-DISSERTATION-2013.Pdf
Copyright by Nastaran Narges Kherad 2013 The Dissertation Committee for Nastaran Narges Kherad Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: RE-EXAMINING THE WORKS OF AHMAD MAHMUD: A FICTIONAL DEPICTION OF THE IRANIAN NATION IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY Committee: M.R. Ghanoonparvar, Supervisor Kamran Aghaie Kristen Brustad Elizabeth Richmond-Garza Faegheh Shirazi RE-EXAMINING THE WORKS OF AHMAD MAHMUD: A FICTIONAL DEPICTION OF THE IRANIAN NATION IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY by Nastaran Narges Kherad, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2013 Dedication Dedicated to my son, Manai Kherad-Aminpour, the joy of my life. May you grow with a passion for literature and poetry! And may you face life with an adventurous spirit and understanding of the diversity and complexity of humankind! Acknowledgements The completion of this dissertation could not have been possible without the ongoing support of my committee members. First and for most, I am grateful to Professor Ghanoonparvar, who believed in this project from the very beginning and encouraged me at every step of the way. I thank him for giving his time so generously whenever I needed and for reading, editing, and commenting on this dissertation, and also for sharing his tremendous knowledge of Persian literature. I am thankful to have the pleasure of knowing and working with Professor Kamaran Aghaei, whose seminars on religion I cherished the most. -
Patterns of Religion and Democracy in World of Muslims
Volume 3 Issue 1 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND June 2016 CULTURAL STUDIES ISSN 2356-5926 Patterns of Religion and Democracy in World of Muslims Parvizreza Mirlotfi Children and Adolescents Health Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Science, Zahedan, Iran Mohammad Edris Arbabshastan* Iranshahr University of Medical Sciences, Iranshahr, Iran *Corresponding Author Mahin Gholamian MA in political Sciences, graduated from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran Homa Shiranzaei Islamic Azad University, Baft Branch, Faculty of Humanities – Department of Social Sciences, Iran Abstract The coincidence of arriving the democracy and the familiarity of Muslims with the word of democracy, there has been attempted to define the relationship between Islam and democracy among Muslin scholars. The attempt to define the religion and its nature and to make the balance with the democracy leads to form different interpretations from this relationship. Various examples of the concept of religion and different and conflicting definitions of the democracy have caused that delivering a comprehensive definition of the relationship between democracy and religion to face some problems. Referring to Quran and tradition and assignment of scientific and moral instruction to religion are against the democracy ideals. The emphasis on individual freedoms, public participation in politics, attention to common good and above all the rule of people over people led to form the theoretical and practical conflicts between science and religion and between religion and politics among Muslim thinkers. This article has reviewed the philosophical thoughts of some thinkers of Islam and their views in order to explain the relationship between Islam and democracy and it has proved this hypothesis that the Islamic thinkers have different interpretations and perceptions in dealing with democracy; some perceptions are intrinsic, immutable and inherent and some other perceptions are extrinsic and mutable. -
A Case Study of Iran's Nuclear Deal
A Discourse Analysis of the Conflict Coverage in the Mainstream Media: A Case Study of Iran’s Nuclear Deal Amir Yoosofi Submitted to the Institute of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Communication and Media Studies Eastern Mediterranean University July 2016 Gazimağusa, North Cyprus Approval of the Institute of Graduate Studies and Research ______________________ Prof. Dr. Mustafa Tümer Acting Director I certify that this thesis satisfies the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Communication and Media Studies. ___________________________________________ Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ümit İnatçı Chair, Department of Communication and Media Studies We certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Communication and Media Studies. ______________________________ Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğrul İlter Supervisor Examining Committee 1. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hanife Aliefendioğlu _____________________________ 2. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğrul İlter ____________________________ 3. Asst. Prof. Yetin Arslan _____________________________ ABSTRACT In an attempt to examine the possibility of a constructive communication with a country like Iran, the intention of this thesis is to acquire a diverse perspective toward the current political and cultural struggles in the relationship between the country and the wider world. Studying the very recent Iranian nuclear deal, I am hoping that this study will provide creative alternative perspectives for more constructive conflict coverage in the future. Very often the conflict between Iran and the rest of the world has been reduced to simple binary oppositions such as dictatorship vs. -
September 2009 Special Edition Language, Culture and Identity in Asia
The Linguistics Journal – September 2009 The Linguistics Journal September 2009 Special Edition Language, Culture and Identity in Asia Editors: Francesco Cavallaro, Andrea Milde, & Peter Sercombe The Linguistics Journal – Special Edition Page 1 The Linguistics Journal – September 2009 The Linguistics Journal September 2009 Special Edition Language, Culture and Identity in Asia Editors: Francesco Cavallaro, Andrea Milde, & Peter Sercombe The Linguistics Journal: Special Edition Published by the Linguistics Journal Press Linguistics Journal Press A Division of Time Taylor International Ltd Trustnet Chambers P.O. Box 3444 Road Town, Tortola British Virgin Islands http://www.linguistics-journal.com © Linguistics Journal Press 2009 This E-book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of the Linguistics Journal Press. No unauthorized photocopying All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of The Linguistics Journal. [email protected] Editors: Francesco Cavallaro, Andrea Milde, & Peter Sercombe Senior Associate Editor: Katalin Egri Ku-Mesu Journal Production Editor: Benjamin Schmeiser ISSN 1738-1460 The Linguistics Journal – Special Edition Page 2 The Linguistics Journal – September 2009 Table of Contents Foreword by Francesco Cavallaro, Andrea Milde, & Peter Sercombe………………………...... 4 - 7 1. Will Baker……………………………………………………………………………………… 8 - 35 -Language, Culture and Identity through English as a Lingua Franca in Asia: Notes from the Field 2. Ruth M.H. Wong …………………………………………………………………………….. 36 - 62 -Identity Change: Overseas Students Returning to Hong Kong 3. Jules Winchester……………………………………..………………………………………… 63 - 81 -The Self Concept, Culture and Cultural Identity: An Examination of the Verbal Expression of the Self Concept in an Intercultural Context 4. -
Iranian Politics and Religious Modernism
Iranian Politics and Religious Modernism THE LIBERATION MOVEMENT OF IRAN UNDER THE SHAH AND KHOMEINI H. E. CHEHAB! ,. _,:...,~ ·::,~:-- . ,,.;:\.<;;:. I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd Publishers Lon_don Published by For my parents l.B.Tauris & Co Ltd 110 Gloucester Avenue London NW1 8JA Copyright © 1990 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Chehabi, Houchang E. Iranian politics and religious modernism: the liberation movement of Iran. t. Iran. Politics I. Title 320.955 ISBN 1-85043-198-1 Printed in the United States of America Iranian Polity in Comparative Perspective / 31 ide?logically t~e re~l or imagine.cl _local representatives of powers against N.llillll·ili·;in ,111 .1 1.:\·ligious Modernism which. , all Nahonahsts. were stnvmg·· communism, Bah a ,.ism, z·ionism. · is l·k.ir th.ii 111 tlH' old polities of the non-Western world National- 11 Lmz s observation that the "anti" character of fascism can be t b . .\·lii'H''''• 1111Hkrnism share many affinities. Both strive to make d d . 4 s e 11 un erstoo as anh-mternational and anticosmopolitans also a r t \Sill ,\Ill ,, ' I . N t' l. d . pp ies o tlw l\it1ntn· ,111 d 1h ndture. an equa.l .among equals: the one in the raman a 10na ism an religious modernism. Transnational move- . .• l si1\1t·n· tlll' sl'cond m the spmtual sphere. Religious modern- t'l' 1Ill1 •I · 1 ' . -
Shiism and Martyrdom: a Study of Istishhadi Phenomenon in Iran During the Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988
SHIISM AND MARTYRDOM: A STUDY OF ISTISHHADI PHENOMENON IN IRAN DURING THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR, 1980-1988 MEHDI SOLTANZADEH DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR 2013 UNIVERSITI MALAYA ORIGINAL LITERARY WORK DECLARATION Name of Candidate: Mehdi Soltanzadeh (I.C/Passport No: R19245432) Registration/Matric No: AHA060041 Name of Degree: Masters in Education Title of Project Paper/ Research Report/ Dissertation/ Thesis ("this Work"): Shiism and Martyrdom: A Study of Istishhadi Phenomenon in Iran During The Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988 I do solemnly and sincerely declare that: (1) I am the sole author/write of this Work; (2) This Work is original; (3) Any use of any work in which copyright exists was done by the way of fair dealing and for permitted purpose and any excerpt or extract from, or reference to or reproduction of any copyright work has been disclosed expressly and sufficiently and the title of the Work and its authorship have been acknowledged in this Work; (4) I do not have any actual knowledge nor do I ought reasonably to know that the making of this work constitutes an infringement of any copyright work; (5) I hereby assign all and every rights in the copyright to this Work to the University of Malaya ("UM"), who henceforth shall be owner of the copyright in this Work and that any reproduction or use in any form or by any means whatsoever is prohibited without the written consent of UM having been first had and obtained; (6) I am fully aware that if in the course of making this Work I have infringed any copyright whether intentionally or otherwise, I may be subject to legal action or any other action as may be determined by UM. -
The Roots of Feminist Invocations in Post-Revolutionary Iran
THE ROOTS OF FEMINIST INVOCATIONS IN POST-REVOLUTIONARY IRAN Nina Ansary Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2013 © 2013 Nina Ansary All rights reserved ABSTRACT The Roots of Feminist Invocations in Post-Revolutionary Iran Nina Ansary Studies of the transformation of Iranian society after the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and its impact on the position of the Iranian woman have revealed that three and a half decades of efforts by the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) to institutionalize an archaic image of the ideal Muslim woman have produced results contrary to what was intended. The expansion of women’s education in post-revolutionary Iran identified as an unintended consequence of the revolution has been empowering women against the IRI’s misogynistic ideology. A feminist movement based on the evolution of female consciousness and an unprecedented solidarity among previously divided secular and religious women has emerged as another medium of resistance. This study augments the research in this field by examining modifications in the education system following the revolution. A critical content analysis of elementary school textbooks issued by the Pahlavi and the IRI assesses the way in which each regime sought to impart its gender ideology to young girls. The eradication of coeducation and institution of single-sex schooling at the pre- university level is investigated as a factor in combating the constraints imposed by patriarchal laws on the female population. The conclusion is offered that the IRI may have unwittingly undermined its own agenda for women in promulgating such seemingly outdated decrees. -
Iranian Revolution Ethicalmun IV Crisis
EthicalMUN IV Iranian Revolution Chairs: Ben Greer and Lucas Saidenberg Crisis Directors: Josh Sacca, Oliver Polksy, and Alex Power EthicalMUN IV Hello Delegates, We are delighted to welcome you to EthicalMUN IV, and we look forward Iva Knezevic to two full and exciting days of debate. The topic of this committee is the Iranian Co-Secretary General Revolution and we look forward to seeing your innovative solutions and directives Theo Dassin to solve this crisis. We hope that this topic will stimulate your creativity and make Co-Secretary General for an amazing weekend. We have five experienced chairs and crisis directors who are eagerly anticipating the conference. Please take the time to thoroughly read the Julie Johnson Chief of Staff background guide and conduct research of your own so that you can have the best position papers possible. This background guide is simply a starting point for your Olivia Pollack research, and more research is necessary to prepare for this committee. For those of Chief of Staff you who are new to Model UN, this committee is a crisis committee, meaning that Spencer Sussman there will constantly be new problems (provided by our lovely crisis directors: Josh Chief of Staff Sacca, Alex Power, and Oliver Polsky) that you must solve. We want every delegate to fully represent their positions while working together to come up with a solution for this Crisis. This committee will start in January of 1978 when tensions began to boil over and thousands of students took to the streets in protest against the Shah. Anything before this is set in stone, but anything after is all up to you. -
Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Iran
NATIONS UNIES UNITED NATIONS HAUT COMMISSARIAT HIGH COMMISSIONER POUR LES REFUGIES FOR REFUGEES BACKGROUND PAPER ON REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS FROM IRAN UNHCR CENTRE FOR DOCUMENTATION ON REFUGEES GENEVA, OCTOBER 1995 THIS INFORMATION PAPER WAS PREPARED IN THE COUNTRY INFORMATION UNIT OF THE CENTRE FOR DOCUMENTATION ON REFUGEES ON THE BASIS OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION, ANALYSIS AND COMMENT, AND IN COLLABORATION WITH THE UNHCR STATISTICS UNIT. ALL SOURCES ARE CITED. THIS PAPER IS NOT, AND DOES NOT PURPORT TO BE, FULLY EXHAUSTIVE WITH REGARD TO CONDITIONS IN THE COUNTRY SURVEYED, OR CONCLUSIVE AS TO THE MERITS OF ANY PARTICULAR CLAIM TO REFUGEE STATUS OR ASYLUM. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Asylum Seekers in Europe 3 1.1 Introduction 3 1.2 Overall Trends in Asylum Applications 3 1.3 Trends in Convention Status Recognition 4 1.4 Trends in Non-Convention Recognitions 4 1.5 Iranian Refugees and Asylum Seekers 4 1.6 Trends in Iranian Convention Status Recognitions 5 1.7 Trends in Iranians Allowed to Remain for Humanitarian Reasons 5 2. Iranians in Neighboring Countries 6 3. Internal Situation in Iran 6 3.1 Recent Developments 6 3.2 Iranian Security Forces 8 3.3 Political Parties 10 4. Human Rights Concerns 13 4.1 International and National Legal Framework 13 4.2 General Respect for Human Rights 14 4.3 The Situation of Ethnic Minorities 18 4.4 The Situation of Religious Minorities 21 4.5 The Situation of Women 25 Bibliography 27 2 1. REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS IN EUROPE 1.1 Introduction This section provides a statistical overview of refugees and asylum-seekers in Western Europe1 in general and of refugees and asylum-seekers from Iran in particular.