Ramin Jahanbegloo

Ramin Jahanbegloo (Persian: رامین جهانبگلو‎, born 1956 in Tehran) is an Iranian philosopher and academic based in Canada.

Biography

Ramin Jahanbegloo was born in Tehran, Iran. He has a doctorate in philosophy from Sorbonne University in Paris, France where he lived for twenty years.[1] He was a post-doctorate fellow in Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. He is married to Azin Moalej and had a daughter named Afarin Jahanbegloo.

Academic and intellectual career

Jahanbegloo's intellectual activity focuses on fostering constructive dialogue between divergent cultures. He has written numerous books and articles in Persian, English and French on the subject of Western philosophy and modernity. In 1991 he published his book Conversations with Isaiah Berlin in French, which was translated into English and published the following year. The book records a series of interviews with the famous philosopher Isaiah Berlin, which cover intellectual questions ranging from the moral philosophy of Tolstoy to the meaning of liberalism. Between the years 1997-2001, he was an adjunct professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto in Canada.

In 2001, he served at the National Endowment for Democracy as a fellow at the a federally funded program, known as the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program[2]

Upon returning to Tehran, he was appointed head of the Contemporary Philosophy Department of the Cultural Research Center. In his efforts to promote dialogue, he has interviewed scholars and intellectuals from all over the world, among them George Steiner, Noam Chomsky, Ashis Nandy and the Dalai Lama. In recent years, he invited Richard Rorty, Timothy Garton Ash, Antonio Negri, and Michael Ignatieff and other Western intellectuals to Iran.[3]

Political detention

In late April 2006, on his way to an international conference in Brussels, Jahanbegloo was arrested by the Iranian authorities.[4]

On May 3, Iran judiciary branch officials confirmed that he was arrested and sent to Evin Prison. According to some sources, he was accused of spying.[5] The following day, a friend told CBC News that Jahanbegloo had been moved to a hospital.[6]Human Rights Watch expressed concern over Jahanbegloo being detained without charges and called for his immediate release.[7][8]

According to Canadian newspaper reports on May 6, Jahanbegloo's friends suspected that he was being tortured. Their fears increased in the wake of reports that Jahanbegloo had been examined twice at the medical clinic of Evin Prison, a detention facility for political prisoners.[9]

An Iranian newspaper, Jomhuri Eslami, accused Jahanbegloo of links to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and the Mossad. "He is considered as one of the key elements in the American plan for the smooth toppling" of the Islamic regime", the newspaper stated, further charging that he was being paid by the United States to conduct "cultural activities against Iran."

On May 13, the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), an Iranian human rights group headed by Iran's Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, voiced concern over the arrest and jailing of the prominent intellectual.[10][11]

On May 15, the Council of the European Union, following a meeting in Brussels, issued a press release expressing concerns about the detention of Jahanbegloo, including its underlying message that Iranians ought not to communicate or associate with Europeans:

"The Council is seriously concerned about the detention of the Iranian philosopher Dr. Ramin Jahanbegloo. The Council calls upon Iranian authorities not to penalize Iranian citizens for their contacts with Europeans, including embassies, universities and cultural institutes".[12][13][14]

On May 19, more than 400 prominent international figures, including Nobel laureates, scholars and human rights activists, in an open letter demanded Jahanbegloo's immediate release. Among the undersigned are Noam Chomsky, J.M. Coetzee, Shirin Ebadi, Umberto Eco, Jürgen Habermas, Timothy Garton Ash, Leszek Kołakowski, Antonio Negri, Richard Rorty, Krzysztof Zanussi, and Howard Zinn.[15][16]

On June 13, Reuters reported from Tehran that Jahanbegloo was barred from seeing a lawyer during his interrogations.[17]

On July 10, the Council of the European Union issued another press release reiterating its concerns about the detention of Jahanbegloo:

"The EU is particularly alarmed about the continuing detention of the respected Iranian academic Dr. Ramin Jahanbegloo, who is well known for his commitment to philosophical and moral principles, non-violence and dialogue."[18][19]

On August 30, 2006, Jahanbegloo was released from prison after four months of confinement.[20] His 2014 book Time Will Say Nothing: A Philosopher Survives an Iranian Prison included a narrative of his imprisonment and interrogation.[21]

On June 29, 2009, commenting on post-election chaos, Iranian minister of intelligence said, "there is no practical possibility of a velvet revolution in Iran" though he accused United States and Britain of trying to orchestrate one. He disclosed that people such as Ramin Jahanbaglou and Haleh Esfandiari had been arrested in connection with such foreign assisted plots to instigate the Iranian intelligentia but due to legal complications, no prosecution could take place.[22]

Career after imprisonment

In 2006 and 2007 he was Rajni Kothari Professor of Democracy at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi, India.[23] In January, 2008 he returned to the University of Toronto as a professor of Political Science, Massey College Scholar-at-Risk, and Research Fellow at the Centre for Ethics at Trinity College. In 2009, he wrote a book, Talking Architecture: Raj Rewal In Conversation With Ramin Jahanbegloo. The book was inaugurated on 19 December 2009 in New Delhi, India. He also taught a series of nine online Persian-language lectures on nonviolence and nonviolent resistance for Tavaana: E-Learning Institute for Iranian Civil Society.[24] He currently works in O.P Jindal Global University, India as a Vice Dean and the head of the Center for Mahatma Gandhi Studies.

Awards

In October 2009 Jahanbegloo became the winner of the Peace Prize from the United Nations Association in Spain for his extensive academic works in promoting dialogue between cultures and his advocacy for non-violence.[25]

Works
  • Harmony and Exchange: Toward a Legoic Society (2017)
  • Talking Architecture: Raj Rewal In Conversation With Ramin Jahanbegloo (2009)
  • The Clash of Intolerances (2007)
  • Talking India: Conversations with Ashis Nandy (2006)
  • Iran: Between Tradition and Modernity (Global Encounters) (2004)
  • Gandhi: Aux sources de la non-violence: Thoreau, Ruskin, Tolstoi (Le temps et les mots)
  • Conversations with Isaiah Berlin (1991)

See also

References
  1. Sengupta, Somini (December 27, 2007). "An Iranian in India, Encouraging Dialogue". The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  2. Fellowship Programs - Past Fellows Archived 2008-04-15 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Reading Richard Rorty in Tehran by Samuel Thorpe, The Nation, 28 Feb. 2020, https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/reading-richard-rorty-in-tehran/ .
  4. "Iranian author arrested in Tehran". BBC News. May 3, 2006. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  5. "خبرگزاری فارس - جهانبگلو به دلايل امنيتي بازداشت شده است". Farsnews.com. 3 May 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  6. "Jailed Iranian-Canadian now in hospital, friend told - CBC News". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-05-06. Retrieved 2006-05-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-06. Retrieved 2006-05-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Friends fear detained Iranian-Canadian has been tortured". 14 June 2006. Archived from the original on 14 June 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  11. "Iran's Ebadi Voices Concern Over Detained Intellectual". Rferl.org. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  12. "BBCPersian.com". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  13. "Conclusions du Conseil sur l'Iran : (2728ème session du Conseil RELATIONS EXTERIEURES - Bruxelles" (PDF). Consilium.europa.eu. 15 May 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  14. "2728th Council Meeting : General Affairs and External Relations" (PDF). Consilium.europa.eu. 15 May 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  15. "BBC Persian". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  16. "Prominent world intellectuals call for Jahanbegloo's release at Ramin Jahanbegloo". 19 August 2006. Archived from the original on 19 August 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  17. "Top News - Reuters.co.ca". 21 June 2006. Archived from the original on 21 June 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  18. "Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the case of the Iranian academic Dr. Ramin Jahanbegloo" (PDF). Consilium.europa.eu. 10 July 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  19. "PRESS RELEASE : 2744th Council Meeting : General Affairs and External Relations" (PDF). Consilium.europa.eu. 18 July 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  20. "Ramin Jahanbegloo: a repressive release". Opendemocracy.net. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  21. "'I Am Not a Spy. I Am a Philosopher.'". Opendemocracy.net. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  22. "وزیر اطلاعات: به موسوی گفتم این مسیر به جایی نمی رسد". BBC News فارسی. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  23. "DANNY POSTEL : CONVERSATION WITH RAMIN JAHANBEGLOO : LOGOS 5.2 SPRING/SUMMER 2006". Logosjournal.com. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  24. "Nonviolence over the course of History". Tavaana. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  25. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-11-07. Retrieved 2009-11-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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