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Interviews

Interviews

Professor caught up in travel ban returns, compares Trump to Iranian leaders

The Chronicle By Adam Beyer | Monday, February 20, 2017 A Duke professor affected by President Donald Trump’s travel ban has returned to his family in North Carolina. Mohsen Kadivar, a research professor of Islamic studies originally from Iran, had been living in Berlin as part of a fellowship program. Although he originally planned to stay until July, he decided to return to Duke last week after several federal courts put Trump’s executive order on hold. Although he was thankful for a safe return, he said it was a disappointing to…
kadivarad33
2017/02/20
Interviews

His fellowship cut short by travel ban, Iranian dissident returns to US

Religion News Service By Yonat Shimron | February 17, 2017 Mohsen Kadivar and his wife, Zahra “Nikoo” Roodi, embrace at the door of their Chapel Hill, N.C., home on Feb. 16, 2017. Kadivar had to cut short a Berlin fellowship because of President Trump's travel ban. RNS photo by Yonat Shimron CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (RNS) Iranian dissident Mohsen Kadivar and his wife, Zahra “Nikoo” Roodi, have seen it all before. Late Thursday (Feb. 16), the couple embraced after Kadivar’s hasty return from Berlin, where last month he had begun what…
kadivarad33
2017/02/18
Interviews

Travel abroad discouraged by NC universities after Trump ban

The News & Observer International students and faculty at North Carolina colleges and universities are being advised not to leave U.S. soil, as higher education leaders try to ease fears about President Donald Trump’s 90-day travel ban for people from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Since the executive order was signed Friday, university presidents have tried to reassure international scholars and students that they are welcome and valued members of the community. Campus staffs have been flooded with inquiries from citizens of the seven countries about what they should do. Mohsen…
kadivarad33
2017/02/02
Interviews

Abroad but not alone: Religious studies professor Mohsen Kadivar describes being affected by Trump’s executive order

The Chronicle Mohsen Kadivar—a research professor of religious studies originally from Iran and now a United States permanent resident—was in Berlin, Germany for a fellowship when news broke of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning immigration of foreign nationals from seven countries, Iran included. Kadivar, who is also an Iranian dissident, spoke to The Chronicle about the confusion surrounding the order and his reaction to protests stateside.   The Chronicle: Could you describe the situation that’s going on there and what you’re doing in Germany?   Mohsen Kadivar: The situation changes every…
kadivarad33
2017/01/31
Interviews

Trump immigration order leaves U.S. colleges scrambling for answers

 PBS Newshour An executive order issued by Donald Trump on Friday to halt entry to the U.S. for people from seven predominantly Muslim countries has left colleges and universities racing to figure out how their students and employees will be affected. On Saturday, an official told the Associated Press that the policy would also apply to green card holders who come from those countries. But in an apparent reversal on Sunday morning, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the policy “doesn’t affect…
kadivarad33
2017/01/31
Interviews

Iranian academics scared and stranded by Trump travel ban

 REUTERS. Duke University professor and Iranian dissident Mohsen Kadivar left his home in North Carolina 10 days ago to attend a fellowship program in Germany. Now, stranded in Berlin as a result of new U.S. immigration rules, the longstanding critic of Iran's ruling clerical establishment does not know whether or when he can rejoin his wife and two children in the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily banned travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. He said the…
kadivarad33
2017/01/31
Interviews

Iran may legalize vigilantes to combat ‘corruption and filth’

A group of Principlist MPs in the Iranian parliament submitted a proposal for a parliamentary act that would legalize the undertaking of "enjoining good and forbidding wrong." This act, proposed on June 23, could curtail personal freedoms by legalizing the act of any individual wishing to intrude into the private lives of others. Summary⎙ Print A new law proposed by Iranian conservatives would offer legal protection to ordinary citizens who desire to interfere in the public lives of citizens. Author A Correspondent in IranPosted July 13, 2014 "Enjoining good and forbidding wrong" is a ritual Islamic act, which means a…
kadivarad33
2014/07/18
Interviews

Christian-Muslim Dialogue: My Conversation with Islamic Scholar Mohsen Kadivar

Although he is known by many as a political dissident, Islamic scholar Mohsen Kadivar emphasized to me over lunch recently, “I never wanted to get involved in politics. I just wanted to be a scholar of religion.” But when the intelligence service in his home country of Iran killed at least four dissidents accused with apostasy and claimed a fatwa of unknown religious authority to justify the killings, Kadivar objected. In articles he wrote and speeches he delivered at a mosque to several thousands of believers during the holy nights…
kadivarad33
2012/02/01