Ann De Craemer, English editor at TehranReview, travelled through Iran in June 2009, following the track of the famous Trans-Iranian Railway. She has written a book about her journey which will be presented to the public today. Title of her book is Duizend-en-een dromen. Een reis langs de Trans-Iraanse Spoorlijn (Thousand-and-one dreams. A journey along the Trans-Iranian Railway).

If the US truly stands for freedom in the world, Obama’s critics say, then the President should surely have made his outrage clear. Perhaps he should have. But what would that have achieved, besides making Americans feel more righteous? The US government, with all its military might, has no authority in Iran, and can do little to influence the politics there.

A specter is haunting Iran. Is this specter the promise of a somewhat democratic and free political system and a more tolerant social order, or is it a descent into a lasting and enduring totalitarian one?

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a good friend of Gandhi one of the most influential tolerant Muslims, has left a deep impact on the idea of pluralism in Islam. He will not only be remembered in the history of India for the role he played in the national liberation movement of the country, but will also be considered as a Muslim leader who stood for a dialogue among Muslims and Hindus. He fully recognized the humanist element in religion.

What is Hezbollah? What is its organic connection to Iran? What role has it played in the recent events? What is the kind of bond it has with the Iranian regime? Answering such questions might give a better understanding of the nature of this organization and its relation to Iran.

Women like Shirin Ebadi, Shirin Neshat, Shadi Sadr, Neda Agha Soltan and Azar Nafisi have become symbols of the worldwide struggle for women’s rights and emancipation. On this International Women’s Day, they deserve more than ever to be honored.

Early this morning, Jafar Panahi has been arrested by Tehran security forces. A dark day for him and his relatives, but TehranReview wants to send a signal of hope with an article from Ann De Craemer about his movie Badkonake Sefid.

There are some people who think the protesters are going to succeed and set everything right. The extremists in the government say that they have actually dealt with the problem, and it is over now. At this point, no one can predict a definite future.

Iran undoubtedly has one of the most dynamic civil societies and women’s rights movements in the Middle East. From the 1990s onward, the Iranian civil society has been marked by the vitality of debates on social, civil, cultural, economic and political dimensions of women’s citizenship

In an interview Dr. Hamid-Reza Jalayipour (sociologist & university professor, Tehran) has made an analysis of the behavior of the Iranian Regime and the opposing ‘Green Movement’

Tehran is the heartbeat of Iran. It is the place where an invisible hand keeps making new sketches for the future. It is a patchwork where all forces and thoughts of Iranian society meet; all differences in ethnicity, religion, intellectual movements, ideology and lifestyle.

To cut a long story short: it was Hafez who brought me to where I am today. I was madly in love, and that is a feeling no poet has described more compellingly than Shams ادامه مطلب…

Which other 20th century regimes can Tehran be (partially) compared with, and what are the historical precedents that Iranian insurgents should keep in mind today

The unfortunate reality is that Iranian politics has been shaped and practiced for over centuries within a culture of violence that too often rewards unjust and criminal behaviors