This reader provides crucial political and religious texts that cover the past one hundred years of Iranian history. It introduces the chief issues preoccupying the minds of the most prominent thinkers of modern Iran. Many of these writings have become indispensable texts for students of Middle East studies, religious studies and Islamic studies, while others are difficult to find or have never appeared before in English. Each article is preceded by an introduction discussing its significance and placing each writer in historical context. It includes chapters on Sufism in modern Iran and on...
This reader provides crucial political and religious texts that cover the past one hundred years of Iranian history. It introduces the chief issues pr...
This book reveals the history of Iran through its cinema as Sadr uses the films themselves to tell the story of shifting political, economic and social situations. The book covers the broad spectrum of Iran's cinema, offering vivid descriptions of key films and recurring themes and tropes, such as the preponderance of images of childhood, and what these reveal about Iranian society. It includes films throughout the 20th century with special emphasis on recent films influenced by September 11, from Mohsen Makhmalbaf's astonishing Kandahar to Saddiq Barmak's angry work Osama.
This book reveals the history of Iran through its cinema as Sadr uses the films themselves to tell the story of shifting political, economic and socia...
Zill al-Sultan was the notorious Qajar prince who ruled Isfahan, Iran's former capital during the Safavid era, as governor from 1874 to 1907. He is remembered as a Qajar anti-hero -- even a villain -- to this day, based largely on his apparent exercise of absolute power and pursuit of intrigue to further his own political interests. But late 19th-century Iran was a complex place: the Anglo-Russian great power rivalry, the assertive Shi'ite militancy of leading clerics, the growing power of the merchant classes, the entrenched and jealously guarded control of the landowners and tribal leaders,...
Zill al-Sultan was the notorious Qajar prince who ruled Isfahan, Iran's former capital during the Safavid era, as governor from 1874 to 1907. He is re...
Under the Safavids (1501-1736 CE) Persia adopted Shi'ism as its official religion. Rula Abisaab explains how and why this specific brand of Shi'ism--urban and legally-based--was brought to the region by leading Arab 'Ulama from Ottoman Syria, and changed the face of the region until this day. These emigre scholars furnished distinct sources of legitimacy for the Safavid monarchs, and an ideological defense against the Ottomans. Just as important at the time was a conscious and vivid process of Persianization both at the state level and in society. Converting Persia is vital reading for...
Under the Safavids (1501-1736 CE) Persia adopted Shi'ism as its official religion. Rula Abisaab explains how and why this specific brand of Shi'ism--u...
Since the revolution in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has permitted very few Western scholars to conduct research in the country. Here Julia Huang provides a remarkable account of local tribal Iranian life, depicting a community largely beyond the scope and reach of foreign travellers and the Western media. The Qashqa'i nomads are migrant pastoralists--Huang documents their difficult livelihoods and lifestyles, their society and culture, and explains how this Turkic-speaking group relates to the wider Iranian society and the Islamic Republic. Focusing on a small group of women, she...
Since the revolution in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has permitted very few Western scholars to conduct research in the country. Here Julia H...
The state of women in Islamic societies is the subject of much interest and heated debate, even as representations in the media rely on inadequate information and misperceptions. Becoming Visible in Iran disputes the widespread stereotypes about Muslim women prevalent in the West, providing a vivid account of young women in contemporary Iran. Beginning at home, women are infusing dramatic change by challenging the patriarchal conceptions of their fathers, brothers, uncles and others within the intimate sphere of family and home. Empowered by education, they transport the power of...
The state of women in Islamic societies is the subject of much interest and heated debate, even as representations in the media rely on inadequate ...
What are the myths and stories that penetrate a society's everyday practices? What are the un-questioned 'truths' that hold the keys to understanding both the concept of self-perception and group identity? Here, Erika Friedl highlights the role of the fairy tale and folklore in the creation, transmission and manipulation of regional and national identities. Having carried out anthropological research in Iran since 1965, Friedl is uniquely placed to analyze the ways in which the folklore and fairy tales - both the stories themselves and the telling of the stories - have an impact on the idea...
What are the myths and stories that penetrate a society's everyday practices? What are the un-questioned 'truths' that hold the keys to understanding ...
Rumor and speculation in Iran have been rife for generations that the BBC has had a hand in every political upheaval in the country. In this vein the BBC has become a notable element in the complex and tortured narrative of Anglo-Iranian relations. The BBC Persian Service was initially developed in 1940 to prepare and broadcast British war-time propaganda. And it has since been seen by many in Iran as an integral part of British policy-making in the region. Thirty years ago, the Shah of Iran regarded the BBC Persian Service radio as his 'enemy number one' and held it responsible for promoting...
Rumor and speculation in Iran have been rife for generations that the BBC has had a hand in every political upheaval in the country. In this vein the ...
Passed into law over a decade before the Revolution, the Family Protection Law quickly drew the ire of the conservative clergy and the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979. In fact, it was one of the first laws to be rescinded following the revolution. The law was hardly a surprising target, however, since women's status in Iran was then - and continues now to be - a central concern of Iranian political leaders, media commentators, and international observers alike. Taking up the issue of women's status in a modern context, Marianne Boe offers a nuanced view of how women's rights activist assert their...
Passed into law over a decade before the Revolution, the Family Protection Law quickly drew the ire of the conservative clergy and the Ayatollah Khome...
Iran is a country which, despite its extensive coverage in the media, is often regarded as 'mysterious', 'exotic' and 'other-worldly'. This attitude often stems from a focus on the rhetoric of controversial figures in Iranian politics, rather than looking at the everyday lives of Iranians themselves. Clarissa de Waal uses her training as an anthropologist to examine the experiences of individuals, with a focus of the province of Fars in southwest Iran. This serves to highlight contemporary Iran outside of the capital, which so often dominates western understanding of the country. Using a wide...
Iran is a country which, despite its extensive coverage in the media, is often regarded as 'mysterious', 'exotic' and 'other-worldly'. This attitude o...
