Subjects Archives: Culture

  “Zionism has nothing to do with the teachings of Judaism.  Zionism is a political ideology and quite different from Judaism.  Therefore we as Jewish people condemn Zionists.” — Rahmatollah Rafiei, head of the Jewish community in Iran This video was released by Press TV on 3 September 2010. | Print  

  “God is not angry.  He is pleased with the revolution.” Produced by TatuyTv, a community media collective based in Mérida, Venezuela, in August 2010.  For more information about TatuyTv, visit <www.tatuytelevision.blogspot.com>. | Print  

  Rupert James is a co-founder of the Human Eye Corporation. | Print  

  The best thing is to ignore the parameters of discussion that are being presented to you, and to shift those parameters. . . . That is the heart of the struggle for us in the United States where the story is already framed, and they are just trying to discuss things within the parameters. […]

  Marzieh Vafamehr is an Iranian actress and filmmaker.  Crossed Out is a documentary film about Shahrnush Parsipur, the author of Women without Men, Touba and the Meaning of Night, and Men from Various Civilizations.  Music by Mohsen Namjoo.  This film was released in 2008. | Print  

  Rouzbeh Rashidi, born in Tehran in 1980, is an independent Iranian filmmaker.  He has been making films since 2000 when he founded the Experimental Film Society in Tehran, devoted to avant-garde, experimental, and low-budget filmmaking.  He is currently based in Dublin.  Strand (Iran-Ireland: Experimental Film Society, 2009) was shot in Iran in 2008.  For […]

  A1one is a street artist based in Tehran, Iran.  For more information about A1one, visit <www.kolahstudio.com/a1one>.  For more information about KolahStudio, go to <www.kolahstudio.com>.  See, also, A1one, “Dead Soldierz.” | Print  

  Sayat Nova Sergei Parajanov (9 January 1924 – 20 July 20 1990) was a Soviet Armenian filmmaker. | Print  

  “This is the story of Sahar, an Iranian girl, and her personal choice to continue wearing the hijab after moving to the United States.” Produced by Reel Grrls, an organization supporting young women who are beginning filmmakers.  2008. | Print  

  Leïla Sebbar, The Seine Was Red. Paris, October 1961: A Novel (translated by Mildred Mortimer).  Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2008.  xxiv + 116pp.  $17.95 U.S. (pb).  ISBN 10-0253-2202-38. The official French obfuscation of the police violence against Algerians in Paris in October 1961 has inspired long-term personal and collective memory retrieval that […]

  These are original poster designs by EDUdebtorsunion.org.  They are all formatted for print on standard 8 1/2″ x 11″ letter paper.  Please print and display anywhere you think this information would be relevant, provocative, or necessary! Some ideas of placement: Within Universities: Financial Aid Office, Bursar’s Office, Cashiers’ Windows, Student Unions Within the City: […]

  We are a group of German Jews who want to send a ship with not only daily necessities but also musical instruments to Gaza.  We are acquiring a ship, loading it up in Germany, and then picking up passengers (Jewish and non-Jewish, German and non-German) at a Mediterranean port. Among the goods to be […]

  Brodwyn M. Fischer.  A Poverty of Rights: Citizenship and Inequality in Twentieth-Century Rio de Janeiro.  Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2008.  xx + 464 pp.  $65.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8047-5290-9. From the 1920s to the 1950s, largely under the impetus of reforms associated with Getúlio Vargas (president, 1930-45, 1951-54), the Brazilian state expanded significantly and extended […]

  Ousama Hamdan is the top Hamas leader in Lebanon and a member of the Hamas politburo. Manuela Paraipan: How do you see European engagement in the area and what do you think are the main challenges for the international community in dealing with the region? Ousama Hamdan: Most of the time, Europeans support American […]

  Shabnam Hashmi is one of India’s leading social activists.  She heads the New Delhi-based human rights group ANHAD.  In this interview, she discusses various aspects of Muslim leadership in contemporary India. Q: Indian Muslims often complain that they lack effective and sincere leaders.  Why is this so? A: When India gained independence, the Indian […]

  Anti-Immigrant Law Ethnic Studies Ban More videos and cartoons by Politic Vic may be viewed at <www.politicvic.com>.  See, also, Julianne Hing, “AZ to Teachers: Take Your Accents and Ethnic Studies Outta Here” (RaceWire, 30 April 2010); Julianne Hing, “Arizona’s Gov. Brewer Signs Ethnic Studies Ban Into Law” (RaceWire, 12 May 2010); Dave Zirin, “New […]

  Hisham B. Sharabi Memorial Lecture, Palestine Center, Washington, D.C., 29 April 2010 It is a great honor to be here at the Palestine Center to give the Sharabi Memorial Lecture.  I would like to thank Yousef Munnayer, the executive director of the Jerusalem Fund, for inviting me, and all of you for coming out […]

  What you need to earn every month to buy a house, in euros: 10634 What you actually earn every month, in euros: 1063 How many years it will take to pay off the mortgage: 106 How many times a month you will be able to go out to dinner . . . To see […]

I was immensely saddened to hear of Fred Halliday‘s untimely passage.  I knew Fred since 1978 when through a New Left Review friend, Robin Blackburn, I met him at his London home on my way to revolutionary Iran, temporarily forfeiting my US education for the sake of the greater cause.  Fred was putting the final touches on his seminal book on Iran, Iran: Dictatorship and Development, which had the distinct flaw of depicting the Shah’s regime as “strong,” rather belatedly adding a final chapter to account for the unexpected whirlwind “populist” revolution that did not lend itself easily to Fred’s conventional Marxian class analysis.

  There is an embarrassing giddiness in the religious studies world today.  With our new mantra in hand — the new “salience” of religion — we, both scholars of religion and other self-appointed spokespersons for religion, feel licensed to instruct the world on the importance of religion.  We are suddenly relevant again.  Or so we […]