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Loading... The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iranby Hooman Majd
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. I want to give this five stars, if only because it gave me a rudimentary understanding of Shia Islam and post-revolutionary Iran. But his style, oh, his style. This man loves his tangents. I was only able to finish when I decided to skip anything in parentheses -- and believe me, there's a gazillion parenthetical asides which are intended to be illustrative, but are really distracting. Another GoodReads reviewer, James Wood, wrote an excellent parody. I can't figure out how to link to it, though.Style issues aside, I do recommend this. Gave me a little insight into why I found Azar Nafisi's [b:Things I've Been Silent About|2910034|Things I've Been Silent About|Azar Nafisi|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41cPvctXN8L._SL75_.jpg|2888480] so unsatisfying. Nafisi's Iran is a very small slice of the Iranian experience, specifically, her life as an academic and member of the secular elite. That's exactly as it should be, considering it's a personal memoir. But a reader like me, without a broader understanding of modern Iranian history, feels unmoored without context. [b:The Ayatollah Begs to Differ|3488337|The Ayatollah Begs to Differ The Paradox of Modern Iran|Hooman Majd|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51LqcYCDkFL._SL75_.jpg|3529761] is awash in context! (  ) catalogthis | Nov 24, 2009 |  Hooman Majd's book is the best one that I have found on modern Iran. I have lived in Iran, myself, and have followed Iran and Iranians for many years. You will find many superficial books written by people (some of them even Iranians) who have had only passing acquaintance with Persian life and culture. This one offers a thoughtful and perceptive view of how Iranian society operates and what modern-day Iranians think about their government, society, and the world at large. Interestingly, Majd has recently written (not in this book, but in a magazine article) his view that the current Green Revolution will pass away and soon be forgotten. I am not so sure about that, myself. But Majd does have a close acquaintanceship with most of the reformist figures in Iran today, so his opinion must be taken seriously. (  ) mkp | Aug 24, 2009 | Majd uses Iranian myths, tales and phrases to structure his presentation of modern-day Iran and the many paradoxes of its people. Majd grew up in the West, and his in-between status as someone familiar with both cultures helps him explain things like the Iranian practice of ta-arouf, or extreme politeness, without belittling those he’s describing. His biggest challenge, though, and the focus of the book, is to illuminate why Ahmadinejad was overwhelmingly elected President by the popular vote in 2005. As Majd is careful to note, many liberal and wealthy Iranians think freedom means women can go without the veil, while for many Iranians, freedom means a full belly, and the ability to live. This is a timely book that examines Ahmadinejad’s 2005 election just as his one this year has caused such uproar. The book was tremendously helpful in breaking down many of the media’s reductive portrayals (such as Ahmadinejad as villain) and showing how complex and intriguing the realities are. ( ) Girl_Detective | Aug 6, 2009 | Majd is an Iranian-American journalist and grandson of a celebrated Ayatollah, and uses his ties to the Islamic Republic and its culture and history to skillfully elucidate the politics both inside the government and clergy and from a street-level perspective. Subtitled "The Paradox of Modern Iran," this is book that delivers insight into the politics of the Iranian government and citizens in relation to history, culture, and of course the United States and other Middle Eastern nations - and does so in a humorous, conversations manner. Equal parts political primer and travelogue, of especial interest are sections that examine the Iranian concepts of ta' arouf (a mix of elaborate etiquette ritual and backhanded one-upmanship) and haq (a concept of individual and national rights, as in the right to cheap gasoline, or nuclear power). Majd explains that these concepts are what drive the Iranian political character and are a main reason why the United States has so systematically failed to understand Iranian motives or make any meaningful advances in foreign policy with the Islamic Republic. Other points of interest in this book include a look at the essential ideals and practices of Shiism, political and social differences between moderates and hard-liners (and the Western media's misguided notion that any Iranians outside of those self-exiled from last Shah's regime would even consider a non-Islamic state as "progressive"), the party scene and high drug-use rate in Iran, and a discussion of the level of repression in a religious theocracy (which Majd tends to downplay a bit much). It's a pity that this book came out in 2008, prior to the recent highly-publicized elections and subsequent mass protests at President Ahmadinejad's reelection - Majd's insight into those events would be interesting - fortunately, his analysis can be found in magazines such as Newsweek, The New Yorker, and a number of major newspapers such as the New York Times and LA Times. All in all, a highly readable exploration of a little-understood and fascinating nation and its culture. Fairly frequent profanity, explicit descriptions of drug use and sexual mores, and some descriptions of extreme violence. chosler | Aug 3, 2009 | Hooman Majd gives an insightful look into the Iranian culture that is closely linked with Shiasm through his personal experience as a journalist and an Iranian. It can be a little dry reading, but is definitely interesting and makes one feel smarter afterwards. kategreer | Jul 13, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
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A revealing look at Iran by an American journalist with an insider’s access behind Persian walls
The grandson of an eminent ayatollah and the son of an Iranian diplomat, now an American citizen, Hooman Majd is, in a way, both 100 percent Iranian and 100 percent American, combining an insider’s knowledge of how Iran works with a remarkable ability to explain its history and its quirks to Western readers. In The Ayatollah Begs to Differ, he paints a portrait of a country that is fiercely proud of its Persian heritage, mystified by its outsider status, and scornful of the idea that the United States can dictate how it should interact with the community of nations.
With wit, style, and an unusual ability to get past the typical sound bite on Iran, Majd reveals the paradoxes inherent in the Iranian character which have baffled Americans for more than thirty years. Meeting with sartorially challenged government officials in the presidential palace; smoking opium with an addicted cleric, his family, and friends; drinking fine whiskey at parties in fashionable North Tehran; and gingerly self-flagellating in a celebration of Ashura, Majd takes readers on a rare tour of Iran and shares insights shaped by his complex heritage. He considers Iran as a Muslim country, as a Shiite country, and, perhaps above all, as a Persian one. Majd shows that as Shiites marked by an inferiority complex, and Persians marked by a superiority complex, Iranians are fiercely devoted to protecting their rights, a factor that has contributed to their intransigence over their nuclear programs. He points to the importance of the Persian view of privacy, arguing that the stability of the current regime owes much to the freedom Iranians have to behave as they wish behind “Persian walls.” And with wry affection, Majd describes the Persian concept of ta’arouf, an exaggerated form of polite self-deprecation that may explain some of Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s more bizarre public moments.
With unforgettable portraits of Iranians, from government figures to women cab drivers to reform-minded Ayatollahs, Majd brings to life a country that is deeply religious yet highly cosmopolitan, authoritarian yet with democratic and reformist traditions—an Iran that is a more nuanced nemesis to the United States than it is typically portrayed to be.
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:01 -0400)
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