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Iran’s
Civil Green Movement and the Role of the Clergy
Speaker: Mr. Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari
Iran’s civil Green Movement has been
supported by people of differing social and political
backgrounds. In particular, the support of several
religious leaders has surprised many. Why have some
members of the clergy chosen to join the movement while
others support the government? What role do the Shiite
clergy play in shaping Iran’s social and political future?
Mr. Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari is a researcher,
journalist, cleric, director of the Ali Shariati Research
Center, and contributing editor of the now-banned newspaper
Iran-e Farda (The Iran of Tomorrow). Eshkevari
trained as a clergyman in the religious and cultural center
of Qom and has devoted much of his life to study and
writing. He has published extensively in scientific,
religious and intellectual journals, and has been an
acclaimed contributor to the Great Encyclopedia of Islam and
editor of the Encyclopedia of Shiite.
He has translated several books, and his own
publications include A Hundred Years of Iranian History
1879-1979 (Qom 1974), Justice in the Monotheistic
Worldview (Qom 1975), Broken Idols: An Analysis of
the Foundations of Twentieth Century Civilization (Qom
1977), A Review of the Study of Creation: Issues in
Islamic Anthropology (Tehran 1997), Religious
Revivalism: Analysis and Criticism of the Contemporary
Islamic Movement: Interviews with ten political-cultural
figures (Tehran, first edition 1998, second edition
1999), Wisdom in the Feast of Religion (Tehran 2000),
and In memory of the Days: Political Approaches of the
Reformist Movement in Iran (Tehran 2000.
Though an active supporter of the 1979
Revolution, Eshkevari became an outspoken and influential
critic of the ruling theocracy in Iran. He served four years
in prison after having been convicted in the Special Court
for the Clergy for a number of charges including "declaring
war on God,
spreading lies, and insulting Islamic
sanctities." As a result of his conviction, he was
de-frocked. Eshkevari
is also an Honorary Member of the Canadian, Danish, English,
and Ghanaian PEN Centers.
For more information about his
background please check the following links:
Islam and democracy in Iran: Eshkevari and the quest for
reform
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yousefi_Eshkevari
http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/422
http://www.payvand.com/news/05/feb/1057.html
http://www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/writersinexile/hojjatoleslamhasanyousefieshke/ |
