I gave an online talk to the `Inekas [Reflection] Study Group of scholars in Iran on a chapter of my book, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.. They have kindly put it up at YouTube, so I am mirroring it here. YouTube provides a computer-generated transcript. I asked Open AI’s ChatGPT to […]
Archives for December 2025
“Into this Universe:” Heidegger and FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:29
One recurrent theme in the unconventional quatrains that were later gathered under the rubric of the The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is surprise at having come into being unasked, and at being sentenced to non-being at the end of this bewildering life. This sentiment to my mind is a sign of medieval Persian secularism. The […]
“Identity is never fixed:” Interview with Iranian-American Artist Soraya Sharghi
Written byOmid Memarian Soraya Sharghi, ‘Rising with the Song of Nymphs,’ 2021. Acrylic on canvas, 152,4 x 236,2 cm (60 x 93 in). Photo courtesy of the artist. ( GlobalVoices.org ) – In her most recent exhibition, “Sculpture and Painting,” presented at 24 Avenue Matignon in Paris during Art Basel’s October 2025 week, Iranian-American artist […]
Rumi and Shakespeare: On Forgiveness and Reconciliation
This essay first appeared at Renovatio, a humanities publication of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, Ca. Thanks to Hamza Yusuf and Safir Ahmad. NB the hyperlinks in the footnotes don’t work, but the numbers are accurate and notes are at the end. Jalaluddin Rumi (d. 1273) has sometimes been called “the Shakespeare of the East.” The […]
One Year After Assad’s Fall: Iran’s Strategic Collapse In Syria
By Iliya Jazaeri and Kian Sharifi ( RFE/ RL ) – One year after Assad’s fall, Iran grapples with the collapse of its key regional ally. Tehran lost up to 50 billion dollars invested over a decade, its Mediterranean access, and supply routes to Hezbollah. Iran seeks to rebuild influence, but is there a way back?” […]
The Transatlantic Rift over Gaza’s Future
Europe wants to reduce the suffering in Gaza. The U.S. is focused on security. By Imran Khalid | ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – The fragile ceasefire in Gaza, now in its seventh week, has done little to calm the political tempests surrounding it. What was meant to be a pause in hostilities has […]
Israel is Sinking into the Abyss of Netanyahu’s Dictatorship
Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – It appears unlikely that the Israeli Justice Ministry will approve a pardon for Israeli PM Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, related to his criminal charges for blackmail, corruption and breach of public trust. But Israeli President Isaac Herzog is under pressure to use his standing to override that likely […]
“With them the seed of Wisdom:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:28
Quatrain no. 28 in the first edition of Edward FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám continues riffing on stanza 121 in the Bodleian manuscript. XXVIII. With them the Seed of Wisdom did I sow, And with my own hand labour’d it to grow : And this was all the Harvest that I reap’d- “I came […]
Trump as Nero: The Bible Condemns Rich Predators, Not Poor Trans Lovers
( Tomdispatch.com ) – As more of the Epstein files are released, reminding us of Donald Trump’s close association with Jeffrey Epstein and the young people he abused and trafficked, as well as the president’s ongoing array of misogynist insults and actions (like calling journalist Catherine Lucey “piggy” and name-calling Marjorie Taylor Greene to the point where […]
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