Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri
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The summer of 1988A dark chapter in Iranian history
In the summer of 1988, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a decree sentencing thousands of political prisoners to death. Monireh Baradaran was a left-wing activist in prison at the time and witnessed her cellmates being picked up for execution. Interview by Farhad Payar
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Political Islam and violenceA question of power
In his essay, the renowned Shia theologian and philosopher Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari considers the significance of political power and violence in Islamic systems of government
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Reforming IslamIslam′s path to modernity
The clash between secular human-rights standards and Muslim religious doctrine mirrors the broader conflict between Islam and the West. An emerging school of Muslim thought is, however, demonstrating just how compatible Islam can be with modern society. An essay by Mohammad Fazlhashemi, professor of Islamic theology at Uppsala University in Sweden
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State and religion in Iran"Shias tend to support the underdogs"
The Shia faith has always been a defining aspect of Iranian nationhood. In the twentieth century, the pro-Western regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi silenced critics and was eventually toppled by a popular revolution with strong religious dimensions in 1979. Tehran's stance has since been basically anti-Western, but that may now be changing. Maysam Behravesh, a political analyst with Tehran Bureau, assessed the nature of the Shia regime in an interview with Hans Dembowski
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Interview with Bahman NirumandThe Pasdaran Holds the Reins of Power
Many consider the Pasdaran, Iran's Revolutionary Guards, to be the real centre of power in Iran. In this interview with Shahram Ahadi, Bahman Nirumand talks about how the role of the Pasdaran in the Islamic Republic has changed in recent years and its possible influence on the presidential election
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Reformist Theologians in IranThe Search for Montazeri's Heirs
Three years since the death of the Shiite dissident, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, there is still no one in Iran who can assume his role as the spiritual authority of the reform movement. Many critical clerics have been silenced since the crushing of protests in 2009. Yet, there is increasing support for efforts to reform Islamic law in the country. By Urs Sartowicz
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Interview with Nader Hashemi''The War of Ideas in Iran Is Over''
The ideological support for the Iranian regime is waning – liberal and democratic ideas have triumphed within civil society, says political scientist Nader Hashemi in this interview with Lewis Gropp