A superstitious reading of the world based on religion may be harmless at a private level, yet employed as a political tool it can have more sinister implications. As this fascinating book by Ali Rahnema, a distinguished Iranian intellectual, relates, superstition and mystical beliefs have endured a[...]

To the outside world, Shi'ism has become identified with the tradition or sunnah of those ruling elite within the Islamic Republic since they are considered as the spokespersons of an Iran tightly identified with Shi'ism. Radical and uncompromising, the prominent Shi'i jurist and reformist Shari'at [...]