10. The Ayatollah Begs to Differ
Jul. 27th, 2009 11:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
osprey_archerHooman Majd’s The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran is a exploration of modern Iran – mainly the political system but also the society. The book aims to answer the questions “Do Iranians support the Islamic Republic? And if so, why?”, a task that it completes handily.
Majd answers the question: “Most of them support the Islamic Republic (in the sense of not wanting to overthrow it) because they see it as their legitimate government.” This doesn’t mean that there aren’t a lot of Iranians that would like some reform of the government, but their starting position is not “Let’s overthrow the Islamic Republic!” but “Let’s elect someone new.”
Since the Ahmadinejad’s fiercely contested and possibly fraudulent reelection earlier this year it’s possible that this attitude has changed. This is the problem with current affairs books: they get outdated so quickly.
But whether or not the book is a bit outdated, it’s totally fascinating. The information is good – Majd’s family has ties to the ruling elite, and his access is clearly excellent – and Majd is an engaging writer. He does have an unfortunate fondness for labyrinthine sentences, and occasionally his point gets lost under the weight of all the dependent clauses, but the book is still eminently readable.
Majd answers the question: “Most of them support the Islamic Republic (in the sense of not wanting to overthrow it) because they see it as their legitimate government.” This doesn’t mean that there aren’t a lot of Iranians that would like some reform of the government, but their starting position is not “Let’s overthrow the Islamic Republic!” but “Let’s elect someone new.”
Since the Ahmadinejad’s fiercely contested and possibly fraudulent reelection earlier this year it’s possible that this attitude has changed. This is the problem with current affairs books: they get outdated so quickly.
But whether or not the book is a bit outdated, it’s totally fascinating. The information is good – Majd’s family has ties to the ruling elite, and his access is clearly excellent – and Majd is an engaging writer. He does have an unfortunate fondness for labyrinthine sentences, and occasionally his point gets lost under the weight of all the dependent clauses, but the book is still eminently readable.
