Columnists

Ramin Jahanbegloo

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

Volodymyr Zelenskyy will always be remembered as a democratic hero

Sat, Apr 02, 2022

Ramin Jahanbegloo writes: Today, his greatness is in defending democracy, its values, and its future

Ebrahim Raisi’s election represents a return to ideological moorings of 1979 Iranian revolution

Wed, Jun 30, 2021

Ramin Jahanbegloo writes: The new president knows well that he will not be able to restore the regime’s popular legitimacy, but he will try to deliver tangible improvement in governance in order to prevent the ship from sinking.

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.

Columnists

Ramin Jahanbegloo

Volodymyr Zelenskyy will always be remembered as a democratic hero

Ebrahim Raisi’s election represents a return to ideological moorings of 1979 Iranian revolution

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Last Encyclopaedic Mind

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

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

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

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

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

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

Summer of Love 2.0

Tom & Jerry in West Asia

Reading Gandhi in Tehran

Iranian delusion and the American war machine

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

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

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

The young are talking back

In Good Faith: The rights side of 70

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