Tag: freedom

The ‘Ayatollah’ opposing US imperialism, and Iran’s Islamic ‘regime’

Kadivar offers a rare insider critique of Iran: opposing US imperialism and Israeli aggression, while also challenging the authoritarianism of the Islamic Republic from within Shia theology itself. He traces his own journey – arrested under both the Shah and the Islamic Republic – and explains how the revolutionary promise of freedom, democracy, and justice was only partially realized. We explore how guardianship of the jurist reshaped Iran. This conversation takes a deep look into how power, religion, personalities, and competing visions of destiny have interacted to make Iran, Iran.

Islam & The Meaning of Life

The course explores how Islamic thought engages questions such as: What is the ultimate purpose of human existence? What is true happiness? How can human beings overcome alienation and find inner peace? How are faith and reason related in the search for meaning? What grounds moral obligations, justice, and human dignity? And how does belief in God shape the understanding of human destiny? The course approaches the meaning of life from three complementary perspectives within Islamic intellectual tradition: The Qur’anic perspective, the mystical perspective, and the philosophical and rational-theological perspective.

Iran at a Crossroads: Protests and Political Futures

The Islamic Republic bears direct responsibility for the bloodshed, and its Supreme Leader is the principal accused. Opponents of the Islamic Republic can be divided into two groups. The national opposition adheres to three core principles: non-intervention by foreign powers, rejection of domestic tyranny, and a peaceful, democratic transition away from the Islamic Republic. According to the second type of opposition, the Islamic Republic must be overthrown at any cost—even through foreign intervention, and internal armed conflict. A referendum on the constitution of the future system must be held.

Religion and Politics In Post-Revolutionary Iran

This course will narrate a fair and balanced critical and historical analysis, and is organized into five thematic sections: a brief overview of the relationship between religion and politics in Iran, an intellectual history of the Islamic Republic, examining the concept of the “sacred as secular” and exploring the dynamics of secularization within a theocratic system, the governance in the name of Islam, focusing on theology and theocratic rule in the Islamic Republic, and the revolt against theocracy: the Mahsa Movement and the feminist uprising against theocracy in Iran.

Statement on Palestine

The atrocities we have witnessed on and after October 7th did not happen in a vacuum. We condemn the brutal and inhumane attacks against civilian lives and call for an immediate ceasefire. The situation is a crime against humanity and an ethnic cleansing. The Duke University Faculty for Justice stands in solidarity with those fighting for anti-colonial liberation, including the freedom struggle in Palestine. Over two million people, nearly half of whom are children, have been entrapped in an open-air prison, given very little freedom of movement in and out.

In support of Protests in Iran

This is the fourth big protest since 2019 in Iran. Iranians are outraged with grievances that won’t soon go away. This is not only about freedom for women (especially their hair covering), but freedom for the country from the ruling of the minority over the majority, freedom of a style of life, against the mandatory style of life. The majority of Iranians support a democratic, secular regime. The government blocked all the ways of reforms. There’s no way for the people, except to come to the streets and protest.

Comparative Medieval Philosophy

Medieval philosophy is a prerequisite to understanding the theology of Abrahamic traditions, metaphysics, philosophical psychology, and political philosophy. We will focus on six top philosophers: Alfarabi, Avicenna, al-Ghazali, Averroes, Maimonides, and Thomas Aquinas. After discussing general information about two translation movements, these distinguished philosophers, their works, and their philosophical innovations through the translation of a few of their major works, we will focus on comparative studies on three important subjects: God, creation, and freedom in three Abrahamic traditions, focusing on Avicenna, Averroes, Maimonides, and Aquinas in detail.