Posted in Iran on Apr 19th, 2009 5 Comments »
by Rasmus Christian Elling.
After a turbulent start, the Iranian presidential election race has entered a new phase. Now, the presidential candidates are aiming their slogans and promises at Iran’s youth. But is it too little, too late to create a reformist momentum?
Over the last two weeks, Mir-Hossein Musavi – the candidate for which Khatami stepped [...]
Posted in Gaza, Iran, US on Jan 13th, 2009 No Comments »
by Rasmus Christian Elling.
Unfortunately, I haven’t had time in the new year to reflect on the most important topic in the discussion of the Middle East right now: the Israel-Hamas War in Gaza. Fortunately, other people have had time! I recommend the following pieces:
Daniel Luban criticizes the neoconservative and Israeli statements and narratives of Hamas [...]
Posted in Iran on Dec 7th, 2008 No Comments »
by Rasmus Christian Elling.
In connection with my piece on Saturday on the Iranian student movement, here are some updates on what’s happened so far in connection with Student Day:
Update #2
According to an eye witness report, around 3-4,000 students demonstrated in Tehran University. When security forces and plain clothed officers tried to prevent hundreds of students [...]
Posted in Iran on Dec 6th, 2008 1 Comment »
by Rasmus Christian Elling.
Today, it is Ruz-e dâneshju or ‘Student Day’ in Iran: it is time to reassess the status of and situation for the Iranian student movement.
Revolution, reformism, repression, revival
Since ‘modern’ universities were established in Iran in the 1920s and 30s, they have been key centers of political dissidence, arenas for ideological battles and [...]
Posted in Iran on Nov 30th, 2008 4 Comments »
A selective glance at Iran and Iranian media, November 30.
by Rasmus Christian Elling.
The dissident Ayatollah Seyyed Hosein Kazemeyni-Borujerdi has allegedly been beaten up and brought to an unknown location. Borujerdi has advocated the separation of religion and government. Here is some interesting footage from two years ago of Borujerdi, his followers and his opponents; here [...]
Posted in Lebanon, Syria on Nov 21st, 2008 No Comments »
by Sune Haugbolle.
Further to my previous post, my friend Hanin Ghaddar from Now Lebanon reports that SKeyes, the foundation for the defense of cultural and media freedom in the Arab Mashreq, which is part of the Samir Kassir foundation, hosted a press conference on Monday in Beirut where they called for the release of Michel Kilo, Mahmoud Issa [...]
Posted in Iran on Nov 21st, 2008 No Comments »
by Rasmus Christian Elling.
A selective glance at Iran and Iranian media, November 21.
The (in)famous Iranian weblog writer Hossein Derakhshan – who has caused a stir in ‘weblogistan’ ever since he (allegedly) started the first weblog in Persian – has apparently been arrested in Iran (more here). His critics – and they are many – tend [...]
Posted in Iran on Nov 20th, 2008 1 Comment »
by Rasmus Christian Elling.
The Iranian singer / rapper Tataloo has apparently been arrested.
The Hip Hop scene has been growing in Iran over the last seven years with rappers such as Hichkas and Pishro rising to fame amongst Iranian youth from the urban middle class, but also – as I have suggested in my earlier research [...]
Posted in Syria on Nov 18th, 2008 1 Comment »
by Sune Haugbolle.
What to think about the recent spout of European state visits to Damascus, and the Western attempt to engage Syria? First, let’s be realistic about the engagement: the many debates about what it would mean are moot, because it has in fact already happened, and there is little reason to believe that [...]
Posted in Iran, Iraq, US on Nov 18th, 2008 No Comments »
by Rasmus Christian Elling.
[Updated]
Admittedly, there are many confusing, contradictory and ambiguous signs of where US-Iran relations are heading right now. On the one hand, you have both oppositional and conservative pro-regime forces in Iran together with left-wing commentators in the US saying that nothing will change, and that it might even get worse as Obama [...]
