Mojtaba Khamenei: The Shadow Man in Iran

At moments of major transformation within closed political systems, the real leaders do not always appear at the forefront. Rather, their influence is shaped in the “gray zones” that connect the ...

Egypt… “Noah’s Ark”

In times of calm, nations are measured by their strategic plans for development and prosperity in the service of their peoples. But in times of the “deluge of major tensions and wars,” they are ...

What After Khamenei’s Death? And When Will the Regime Collapse?

These are the two questions that Egyptian and European media outlets and journalists who contacted me over the past 24 hours have not stopped asking, persistently seeking a logical answer to them. ...

At five in the afternoon, Cairo time (71).. Islam and Freedom of Opinion and Expression (10)

The City-State… Pluralism Without Coercion? When Islam moved from the phase of preaching to the phase of statehood, the greatest challenge was: How can a community of diverse beliefs ...

At five in the afternoon, Cairo time (70).. Islam and Freedom of Opinion and Expression (9)

How Did the Prophet, Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him, Manage Disagreement? If the Qur’an established the methodology of dialogue, then the Prophetic biography provided the ...

At five in the afternoon, Cairo time (69).. Islam and Freedom of Opinion and Expression (8)

Ethics of Dialogue After the previous episodes established several major truths— that faith in Islam is a free act, that difference is an intended norm, and that repression arises ...

At five in the afternoon, Cairo time (68).. Islam and Freedom of Opinion and Expression (7)

The Legitimacy of Pluralism: If, in previous installments, we have clarified that faith in the Qur’anic conception is a free act—neither imposed nor extracted by force—then the next ...

At five in the afternoon, Cairo time (67).. Islam and Freedom of Opinion and Expression (6)

Why Did God Not Compel People to Believe? After a pivotal verse such as: ﴾ There is no compulsion in religion ﴿ (Al-Baqarah: 256) a question arises that is no ...

At five in the afternoon, Cairo time (66).. Islam and Freedom of Opinion and Expression (5)

“There is no compulsion in religion”… From the Question of Man to the Principle of Freedom After pausing in the previous article at the Qur’anic image of the human being — Is he a free, ...

At five in the afternoon, Cairo time (65).. Islam and Freedom of Opinion and Expression (4)

The Human Being in the Qur’an: A Free Creature… or a Determined One? After pausing in the first and second articles at the question of accusation and bad faith, and then at the ...

At five in the afternoon, Cairo time (64).. Islam and Freedom of Opinion and Expression (3)

Is the Problem in the Text… or in the Reading? When Interpretation Becomes Authority After the long debate over freedom of opinion in Islam, the most pressing—yet most ...

At five in the afternoon, Cairo time (63).. Islam and Freedom of Opinion and Expression (2)

At five in the afternoon, Cairo time (62).. Islam and Freedom of Opinion and Expression (1)

At five in the afternoon, Cairo time (61).. Iran: The End of the Rule of the Ayatollahs (2–2)

At five in the afternoon, Cairo time (60).. Iran: The End of the Rule of the Ayatollahs (1–2)