Columnists

Ramin Jahanbegloo

The writer is Noor-York Chair in Islamic Studies, York University, Toronto.

In life and work, Yukio Mishima sought to reconcile beauty and death

Tue, Nov 24, 2020

For Mishima, suicide was both an aesthetic and a heroic action. He considered true beauty as an erotic and sensual expression of death.

With rise of fanaticism, necessity of reading and re-inventing Voltaire is felt more than ever

Tue, Nov 10, 2020

Religions are not only about our beliefs but about what we do with our beliefs

Gandhi’s morality wasn’t denial of politics. His idealism was completed by realism

Fri, Oct 02, 2020

The Gandhian appeal to the ethical in politics was not only a way to seek Truth, but also of coming to know oneself in ever-greater depth. The Gandhian effort for non-violent politics was a cultivation of one’s capacity for ethical citizenship.

UAE-Israeli breakthrough must be seen in the context of moves to contain Iran

Tue, Sep 08, 2020

Though the normalisation agreement between the UAE and Israel has elicited a frenzy of media coverage, its impact on Iranian politics will depend on two other factors, which are the result of the presidential election in the United States and the outcome of Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial.

African-Americans remain divided between dreams of Martin Luther King & Malcolm X

Mon, Jun 15, 2020

Today, more than 50 years after Malcolm X’s assassination, the destiny of Black Americans remains divided between the two dreams of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.

Coronavirus outbreak could deepen turmoil, exacerbate Iran’s social strife

Wed, Apr 08, 2020

If the pandemic continues, the Iranian conservatives, represented by the clerics and the Revolutionary Guards, will have to open up spaces for dialogue and hold consultations with the country’s professional classes. The government has already failed to respond adequately by not paying heed to the opinions of experts.

Victory of hardliners in Iran’s elections diminishes hopes of rapprochement with the West

Wed, Feb 26, 2020

It goes without saying that the consolidation of power by Iranian hardliners will open a new chapter of illiberalism and state violence in Iranian politics.

The Last Encyclopaedic Mind

Sun, Feb 16, 2020

An original thinker, George Steiner’s mark on our intellectual scene is indelible.

New West Asia today is rife with small state, non-state actors pitted against each other

Tue, Feb 04, 2020

At the end of the day, even an ideologically-oriented country like Iran needs a breakthrough with the Donald Trump administration if regional calm is to be restored. Maybe this is the key to understanding the geopolitics of the new Middle East.

After Soleimani’s killing, Iran’s response could compound the turmoil in the region

Fri, Jan 10, 2020

The assassination has come at a time when the Iranian regime is facing unprecedented social unrest. It faces a huge legitimacy crisis because of the massacre of nearly a thousand people during the popular uprisings of November 2019.

New citizenship law goes against Gandhi’s idea of civic nationalism

Mon, Dec 30, 2019

Today, Indians have to choose between the Gandhian paradigm of civic nationalism or a second assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

Velvet Revolution embraced Gandhian ethics of responsibility, commitment to human dignity

Thu, Nov 28, 2019

Let us not forget that the strategies of non-violent resistance, dissent and non-cooperation suggested by Havel were presented by him as different ontological modes of living within truth. They became successful in 1989 by echoing an ethical dimension of politics in all of Eastern Europe.

How Gandhian idea of non-violence is shaping political struggle in Spain

Wed, Oct 02, 2019

As the Gandhian moment of Catalonia is showing the world, democracy is not only about institutions, law-making and carrying on governmental administration by means of popular suffrage and elected officers.

In Good Faith: Though controversial, Martin Heidegger offers clues to understanding modernity

Mon, Sep 23, 2019

His best known work, Being and Time (Sein und Zeit), although notoriously difficult and complex, is generally considered to be the most important philosophical work of the 20th century.

Summer of Love 2.0

Sat, Aug 17, 2019

The world needs another Woodstock and all that it stood for.

Tom & Jerry in West Asia

Mon, Jul 29, 2019

Like the iconic cartoon mouse, Iran is using brinkmanship, asymmetrical military tactics against the US

Reading Gandhi in Tehran

Mon, Jun 17, 2019

A decade later, the peaceful Green Movement continues to inspire Iranians worldwide.

Iranian delusion and the American war machine

Mon, May 20, 2019

The million-dollar question is: How can Iran defuse one of this era’s most serious crises?

Washington’s confrontation with Tehran over oil is unlikely to force a regime change

Thu, May 02, 2019

Iran has no way to impose economic sanctions on the US and its allies in the Middle East. But its militias and proxies can retaliate to any military provocation from the US or Israel.

Unless structural reforms are undertaken, Algeria could see a second Arab Spring

Tue, Apr 02, 2019

Now there is a strong feeling among the Algerians that even if the state is controlled by a few individuals, they have the power to bring down the government.

Resignation of Iran’s FM Javad Zarif is setback for reforms in the Islamic republic

Wed, Mar 06, 2019

The resignation of Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, is a setback for reforms in the Islamic republic

The young are talking back

Wed, Feb 13, 2019

Forty years after the Islamic Revolution, Iran’s regime is increasingly challenged by its people.

In Good Faith: The rights side of 70

Mon, Dec 17, 2018

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, holds lessons for a more equitable future.

Trump and the Iran boomerang

Thu, Nov 15, 2018

New US sanctions can hurt Iran. But they also risk alienating young Iranians from America