An Iranian Icon on Today's Protests
Reza Aslan, a contributor to the Daily Beast, is assistant professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside and senior fellow at the Orfalea Center on Global and International Studies at UC Santa Barbara. He is the author of the bestseller No god but God and How to Win a Cosmic War.
A decade before the massive demonstrations of the last month, a young Iranian became a symbol of student protests-and spent years in prison for it. Ahmad Batebi, now 32 and living in Washington, talks to The Daily Beast's Reza Aslan on the 10th anniversary of the uprising known as 18 Tir.
9 Shocking News Videos from This Week
The Daily Beast Video curates the most essential and entertaining video, and brings you original and exclusive productions from our talented contributors.
Watch clips from a week rife with upsetting news, from the violence in Tehran, to the deaths of three American pop-culture idols, to a gubernatorial scandal.
Use Islam to End the Iranian Regime
Nazee Moinian is a consultant on Iran who most recently worked at the Council of Foreign Relations on the Middle East and a graduate at SIPA at Columbia University.
Thirty years ago, Iranians used Islam as a catalyst to overthrow the shah. Nazee Moinian, who lived through that revolution, on how the protesters on the streets of Tehran can use religion to bring down the current leadership.
Afghanistan's Got Talent
Caryn James is a cultural critic for The Daily Beast. She also contributes to Marie Claire and The New York Times Book Review. She was a film critic, chief television critic and critic-at-large for The New York Times, and an editor at the Times Book Review. She is the author of the novels Glorie and What Caroline Knew. As a film commentator, she has been a guest on Charlie Rose, Today, CBS Sunday Morning and MSNBC.
Three new films depicting a hidden side of Islam debut this week. From transsexuals in Iran to the stoning of an adultress, to Afghanistan's version of American Idol. Caryn James says they are as thrilling as they are relevant.
Neda: Cautionary Tale or Inspiration?
Azadeh Moaveni has reported on Iran for Time magazine and other publications since 1999. She is the author of Lipstick Jihad, the co-author of Shirin Ebadi’s memoir Iran Awakening, and most recently, Honeymoon in Tehran.
Neda's death has inspired many women to fight, though it has left others despondent. Either way, women in Iran have been practicing for this struggle for years, says Azadeh Moaveni.
How Neda Divided My Family
The writer, who uses a pseudonym for his own safety, is a university student in Iran.
Not everyone believes the shocking video of a woman shot in Tehran. Telmah Parsa writes from Iran on why many Iranians-including his mother-refuse to accept the horrific video tells the whole truth.
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Peter Beinart, senior political writer for The Daily Beast, is a professor of journalism and political science at City University of New York and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation.
Gerald Posner is The Daily Beast's Chief Investigative Reporter. He's the award-winning author of 10 investigative nonfiction bestsellers, ranging from political assassinations, to Nazi war criminals, to 9/11, to terrorism. His latest book, Miami Babylon: Crime, Wealth and Power—A Dispatch from the Beach, was published in October. He lives in Miami Beach with his wife, the author Trisha Posner.
Martin Jacques is the cofounder of the UK think tank Demos, writes a regular column for The Guardian, and is a visiting research fellow at the London School of Economics Asia Research Centre. His new book, When China Rules the World, is available now.
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