The extensive Iranian propaganda machinery abroad has long been able to create an illusion of a semblance of Iranian “democracy” with an ostensible “power struggle” between two types of Islamists dubbed “reformists” and “hardliners”. The question that must be asked however is whether there has been any substantial policy difference when the two respective IslamistContinue reading “The Fiction of Iranian “Democracy””
Tag Archives: Islam
Median Jews are not Muslims
Islam is a religion with four branches, Sunni, Shia, Ibadi (in Oman) and Mutazili. There are four surviving schools (Arabic: madhhab) within Sunni Islamic jurisprudence (Arabic: fiqh). These are Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki and Shafi’i. In addition are there the heterodox Sunni Ahmadiyya who believe that the expected Mahdi (messiah) has already arrived. Ahmadiyya are neverthelessContinue reading “Median Jews are not Muslims”
Liberalization without Suppressing Religion
Secularism in Turkey and Iran during the 20th century was anti-religious in actively trying to limit the extent of religion in society. This led to a backlash in Islamists coming to power. The secularization policies of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi were in this sense clearly counterproductive. However, their respective heritage remains aliveContinue reading “Liberalization without Suppressing Religion”
Aliyah Organization 