Stories Archive | Page 86 of 86

Analyses

The history of the Islamic Republic of Iran—established in 1979 following the revolution that overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi—is marked by a dense sequence of developments that have progressively altered its political and institutional configuration. These changes, however, have only sporadically been recognized by Western analyses, which have instead tended to perpetuate a more functional and instrumental stereotype based on the image of a monolithic, highly verticalized religious autocracy. While such a characterization was broadly accurate during the first decade of the Islamic Republic, it has undergone a profound transformation since 1989.

Sociology
”Haifa, my town, still a model for Middle East”
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Israeli writer Sami Michael with Daniele Castellani Perelli 27 October 2006
The recent Lebanon war didn’t change the soul of Haifa. "Muslims, Jews and Christians still live together in peace, and Hezbollah’s popularity is not growing among the Arabs" passionately explains Israeli writer Sami Michael, a symbol of the city. Born in Baghdad, he has lived in Haifa since 1949. He has received many international literary awards, including the Israel Prize for Literature and the President’s Prize. For his work for peace, he has been honoured by the UN-supported Society for International Development. Author of the novels All Men Are Equal, But Some Are More, Victoria and A Trumpet in the Wadi, he was against the war from the start, but he has always strongly criticized Hezbollah. And now he says: "There is no winner, there are only losers from both sides".
Religion
”The problem is not Islam. It’s politics”
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Hassan Hanafi with Giancarlo Bosetti 19 September 2006
"It’s because of political conservatism that our societies today are conservative, not because of Islam" according to Hassan Hanafi, Professor of Philosophy at Cairo University, representing a proud Arab and Muslim point of view. In this interview with Reset-Doc the Egyptian philosopher explains how Islam can (and should) be interpreted as a promoting factor for social change, liberalism and secularism: "Islam can be a plus to the Europeans" he asserts "And the Mediterranean can play a key role in going beyond Occidentalism and Orientalism". Hanafi is also a member of the scientific Committee of Reset-Dialogues on Civilizations.