When I read "Reading Lolita in Tehran" — a marvellous book by Azar Nafisi, an Iranian author—in 2019, It reconfirmed my belief that a deep liberal streak runs through Iranian social and cultural life, despite a political revolution some 40 years back that transformed Iranian society into a hotbed of political Islam. Azar Nafisi was an Iranian professor of literature at Tehran University when the Revolution happened in Iran. She led a group of eight women who started a private reading of Lolita — a forbidden fictional work of Western literature — at her residence in Tehran, away from the dreadful and prying eyes of the Revolution's moral police. In her book, Nafisi describes the best pieces of Western fiction and how eight women who participated in the reading, linked their stories and struggle for freedom in a patriarchal society with the liberating experience of reading Lolita. Nafisi also describes her encounter with the moral police of the Revolution as part of her responsibility as a professor who used to teach Western literature to students at Tehran University — as some of them happened to be young Islamists who spearheaded the Revolution.
For me, Azar Nafisi was etched in my memories as a symbol of the cosmopolitanism of Iranian society and its long and rich history as a multicultural society going back more than 5,000 years that brought several religions, cultures and civilisations into contact with each other. This has produced a culture, a society and a language whose roots go deep into history. At present, the Iranian society proudly associates itself with Shia Islam. But even the religious clergy which rules Iran presently doesn't want to completely sever the Iranian society's links with the ancient civilisations, which left an imprint on the Iranian society, language and literature and could be rightly described as the envy of the world.
Though a stronghold of Shia Islam for the past six hundred years, its role in the development and growth of Sunni theology and religion is not at all insignificant. Abu Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghazali (Imam Al-Ghazali), an Eleventh-century Islamic theologian, was born in Persian lands and was a Persian speaker. Most of his books were written in the Persian language. His importance for Sunni theology has been noted by luminaries of Islamic historiography as the most influential thinker in Sunni Islam, who, through his superior intellect, fought and resisted the influence of Greek philosophy on Islamic theology. Even though he lived some 500 years after the advent of Islam, some historians describe him as one of the most influential scholars in the first 1,000 years of Islamic history.
This Iran, with a rich cultural and literary heritage, is today facing the threat of annihilation at the hands of global military powers who are armed to the teeth. In the post-Cold War environment, big and powerful military powers raining down bombs and fire on countries and societies which are military non-entities has become a norm. Iraq, Afghanistan and then Gaza indicate the persistence of these new norms in international relations. Still, the international system has miraculously not collapsed. But in the case Israel and Washington make a joint effort to annihilate the Iranian society as part of it, the international system will likely descend into anarchy.
Persian not only brought a rich cultural background and rich vocabulary for the new Islamic scholars in Iranian society, it assimilated its rich cultural background with the language of the new religion, Arabic. Now, throughout the world, when people speak of Islamic languages, they mention Persian alongside Arabic
But let's first turn to the story of the richness of Iranian cultural heritage. In Muslim societies, religions and religious literature are seldom examined on the touchstone of how language, the language of the society which hosts the religion, influences the production of religious literature. So, you will hardly find any literature narrating how rich Urdu or Persian languages produced high-quality religious literature in Iran, Pakistan and British India. The Persian language has a 5,000-year history, and the richness of Persian literature played no small part in forming the essence of Sunni and Shia theology. For instance, after the Muslim armies came out of the Arabian peninsula, they were confronted by educational institutions that were run by Nestorian Christians in Iranian lands and the Fertile Crescent, where Greek philosophy was being taught. The Iranian society was one of those rare societies that were militarily conquered by Muslim armies, and yet these societies didn't part company with their mother tongue, Persian. Persian not only brought a rich cultural background and rich vocabulary for the new Islamic scholars in Iranian society, it assimilated its rich cultural background with the language of the new religion, Arabic. Now, throughout the world, when people speak of Islamic languages, they mention Persian alongside Arabic.
My fascination with the Iranian society, literature and history is not limited to Azar Nafisi's works, nor is it restricted to ancient literature and languages. I remember growing up in a family where stories about beautiful Iranian princesses and compassionate Iranian Kings were narrated to the children at bedtime. I am also a great lover of Urdu poetry, including Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Mirza Ghalib, and Allama Iqbal — all three are greatly influenced by Persian Poetry. I am familiar with Iranian authors and intellectuals such as Ali Shariati — often dubbed by Western commentators as an intellectual of the 1979 Revolution. Shariati was a sociologist by training and achieved the feat of synthesising Shia Theology with radical ideals of Marxism and modern sociology. Shariati was found dead at a relative's residence in London in 1977, two years before the Revolution and his death was blamed on the Shah of Iran's intelligence apparatus. Shariati left an indelible imprint on the Iranian psyche with the Islamic message of social equality as its main theme.
When I was a university student in Lahore in the early 1990s, Shariati was deemed essential reading material for intellectually-minded students, and his books were a regular part of any debate involving Islam, Marxism and Revolution.
Shariati, however, was not the only Iranian intellectual influencing Pakistani minds on politics, ideology and Revolution — I will name two others including Hamid Inayat, a historian of Islamic political thought - both modern and ancient - and Hussein Nasr, a US-based Iranian scholar who would take you on a tour of the encounter between Islam and modernity in Muslim Lands. The foremost historian of Islamic political thought - both modern and medieval - was the Iranian-born Hamid Enayat, who informs his readers that in most of their history, Muslims have hardly treated political science as a separate subject, "Problems such as nature of the state, varieties of governments, qualifications of ruler, limitations on their powers and rights of the ruled were discussed as part of comprehensive treatises on jurisprudence and theology-securely within the unassailable walls of the Sharia" writes Hamid Enayat in his seminal work, Modern Islamic Political Thought.
"It was only under the trauma of European military, political, economic and cultural encroachments since the end of the eighteenth century that Muslim elites started to write separate works on specifically political topics".
Iran is a first-rate military power and could well defend itself. There is a possibility that the Iran and Israeli military equation could turn into a crude form of deterrence relations unless both sides listen to what Middle Eastern countries are telling them: to show restraint and de-escalate
Nasr, on the other hand, is an authority on comparing Islamic, Greek, and modern philosophy.
I am naming all these Iranian intellectuals to reinforce my point that the Iranian culture and society are extremely vibrant and fertile. However, I am not too familiar with the politics of this intellectual culture of Iranian society. For instance, I don't know whether Hussein Nasr is anti-revolution or pro-revolution. Whether Hamid Inayat endorsed the outcomes of the 1979 Revolution or whether he was opposed to religious clergy. Azar Nafisi, however, is clearly anti-Revolution. But one thing is sure: these people are all products of an Iranian society — a society which is facing a threat of annihilation at the hands of Israel and its American allies. Israelis are clearly threatening Iran to shut up or face a Gaza-like fate. No less furious threats have been hurled at Iran by Washington.
The Middle Eastern countries, however, have come out with their condemnation of Israeli air strikes on Iranian territory on Saturday night. Condemning the attacks, some Middle Eastern countries urged restraint and de-escalation. Iran is a first-rate military power and could well defend itself. There is a possibility that the Iran and Israeli military equation could turn into a crude form of deterrence relations unless both sides listen to what Middle Eastern countries are telling them: to show restraint and de-escalate. But what about those countries in the region which do not possess any substantial military power, like Gaza and Lebanon? Will they continue to be the subject of Israeli atrocities? Will the world only listen to those countries which can inflict military damage on Israel and the rest can go to hell? The world is fast turning into a jungle where the only currency is nuclear weapons and military power.
I know Iran to be a society identified by people like Azar Nafisi, Hamid Inayat, Hussein Nasr, and Ali Shariati and, if you go back into history, by people like Imam Al-Ghazali. Iranian history is a history of cultural and literary effervescence. The Iranian people, just like the people of Gaza, do not deserve iron and fire--just like the people of Israel do not deserve bombs, rockets and missiles. They deserve to continue their tradition of literary and cultural flowering in their lands in an atmosphere of peace. I am sure Iranian society will continue to produce people with the names I have mentioned in this piece in the future. An alternative to these people, in case of bombing and annihilation of the Iranian society, is too fearful to contemplate but overly well known. It is just that I do not wish to mention those names and create a bad taste in my mouth after the charming effect of Iranian cultural heritage.