Borders: More Than Lines
How do boundaries shape nations and identities? Beyond physical barriers, borders influence culture, politics, and human connections, profoundly impacting global dynamics and interactions.
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Iran and Middle East
Into Iran’s significant role in the region, focusing on human rights, the labour movement, and the fight for democracy. These efforts are pivotal in shaping a just and equitable Middle East.
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Book Review
Into notable works, highlighting themes of human rights, the labor movement, and the fight for democracy. These reviews illuminate pivotal struggles and inspire informed readers.
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Unveiling Iran
Culture, Politics, and People
The spirit of the Iranian people remains strong. They continue to fight for their rights, culture, and place in the world.
Women
Women are the backbone of society, driving change and progress. Fight for equality and freedom demonstrate strength and resilience, shaping a better future for everyone.
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Labour
The ongoing worker movement for rights and fair conditions is vital for socio-political change. This struggle is essential for creating a just society where everyone can thrive and succeed.
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Society
Iranian society is diverse and vibrant, blending ancient traditions with modern influences. Despite challenges, the people’s resilience and rich cultural heritage continue to inspire and endure through time.
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History
Iran’s modern history is marked by significant events: the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Iran-Iraq War, and ongoing political reforms. These events shape its complex and evolving identity today.
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The Racism of Anti-Racists: Bourdieu, Said, and Inverted Orientalism
There’s a kind of violence that doesn’t wear a uniform, doesn’t raise its voice, and doesn’t need to spill blood to be effective. It speaks in well-published books, sits on academic panels, tweets in solidarity, and signs petitions. It insists on cultural understanding. It warns against Western arrogance. It tells you that criticizing a regime might play into the hands of imperialism. It smiles at you, calls you comrade, and tells you to be careful. It is what Pierre Bourdieu in another context once called ‘the racism of the intelligentsia’. This racism doesn’t announce itself. It doesn’t use slurs or…
FNT Podcast
Join me every two weeks as we delve into various aspects of socio-political issues, with the goal of cultivating a more profound comprehension of our world. Together, striving to bring lucidity to the complexities of our collective existence.
Recent Journal Posts
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A Theology of Rebellion: A Muslim Woman’s Revolt from Within
What happens when a Muslim woman says no to the forced hijab? What if that woman is not a secular activist or a Western journalist, but a religious scholar, a poet, and a former member of the Iranian Islamic parliament? This article introduces a Persian-language book by Sedigheh Vasmaghi, a theologian, poet, and former Iranian parliamentarian who publicly removed her hijab in protest against the Islamic Republic. Her memoir, Why I Rebelled Against Hijab, is both a personal and political text that speaks from within the Islamic tradition—against the misuse of religion for authoritarian control.
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After Armed Struggle: Kurdish Nationalism at the Crossroads
This article has been written by Siavash Daneshvar, an Iranian communist activist and political analyst. Daneshvar was imprisoned in the early years following the 1979 Iranian revolution for communist activities and organizing labor protests. After his release, he joined the Communist Party of Iran, continuing his struggle in the liberated areas of Kurdistan. Following the party’s decision to end armed struggle, he moved to Europe and joined the Worker-communist Party of Iran in 1991. Since then, he has actively opposed the Islamic Republic and continues to advocate for workers’ rights and socialism. The text discusses Abdullah Öcalan’s recent message advocating…
They say we know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Wilde said that. He was talking about economists, but he might as well have been talking about us now. So I’ll ask you plain: what’s your currency? What do you believe in, when the lights go out and the crowd disappears?
Some folks hang their hopes on profit. Others wrap it all up in God. But value—real value—doesn’t sit still. It moves. It bends. It breaks and builds again. It ain’t born in banks or pulpits. It’s born in struggle, in conversation, in the breath between one person and another.
We built this paper because we had to. Because knowledge—shared, raw, unpolished—has value in this mess we live in. It’s not much, maybe. But it’s ours. And maybe, just maybe, if we keep speaking, keep writing, keep refusing to sell our souls for comfort—we’ll make something worth more than money.
Culture, too, has to answer for itself. It can be a mirror or a weapon. We choose the weapon. We choose to shape a new kind of currency—one that fights against the hunger they’ve forced into us, the lies they’ve dressed up in law, the fascism they sell in the name of order.
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The Fire Next Time by Siyavash Shahabi is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
