Intellectual 16

Intellectuals’ responsibility in the collapse of the democratic process in Tunisia

Needless to say, there are in Tunisia, just like everywhere else, many historians, writers, and poets, filmmakers, who have never signed a single petition against torture or corruption, while considering themselves in private as democrats. Should we blame the collapse of the democratic process on them ? May be they have not to be blamed because they are not intellectuals at all.

La liberté d’expression et la responsabilité de l’intellectuel musulman

Le discours de la violence domine aujourd’hui notre société arabo-musulmane. L’Irak en est le meilleur exemple mais non l’unique. Le pouvoir y a été pris et exercé par la force aux plans interne et externe. La parodie électorale y a atteint des sommets inégalés, sans parler de l’asservissement des idées et des intellectuels. L’autocensure et la langue de b […].

آليات الحجب

النص يمارس حجباً مضاعفاً، إذ هو يحجب ذاته كما يحجب ما يتكلم عليه. مثال ذلك الخطاب الإلهي، أي القول بأن الله هو الحكم. فإن مثل هذا القول يحجب أولاً طبيعة السلطة أي ناسوتيتها. ويحجب ثانياً رغبة القائل به في ممارسة سلطته على من يتوجه إليهم بالخطاب. ويحجب ثالثاً ذاته وحجبها أي كون النص نفسه يمارس سلطته على السامع أو على القارئ. وهذا شأن الدعاة وذوي العقائ […].

فاعلية المفكِّر

مصمِّم الأزياء المبدع أكثر فاعلية من المثقف أو “المفكِّر” السعيُ إلى ضخامة الألقاب تعبيرٌ عن هشاشة الأفكار في العالم العربي قلما تُسمَّى المِهَنُ المعرفية والصناعات النظرية بأسمائها الحقيقية، خاصة عندما يتعلق الأمر بحقول ومجالات كالفلسفة والفقه واللاهوت وعلم الكلام والدراسات الإسلامية أو الدراسات الاستراتيجية والمستقبلية، فضلاً عن المشاريع الحضارية […].

Intellectual Autobiography.

Interview with Abdolkarim Soroush. Sadri: I would like to ask you for an account of your intellectual development. I am certainly interested in whether you distinguish any turning points, watersheds, or distinct periods in the evolution of your thought. Soroush: In the name of God the compassionate, the merciful, thank you for giving me this opportunity […].

Travel.

Interview with Abdolkarim Soroush. April 1997 – Following his return to UK from the United States and shortly before he left London for Tehran to end a twelve-month absence from the country, Dr Soroush spoke to SERAJ in an exclusive interview. Here is a summarised translation of this conversation. Dr. Soroush, over the last few months, you have travelle […].

My Encounter with Sartre.

Once the most celebrated intellectual, Jean-Paul Sartre had, until quite recently, almost faded from view. He was already being attacked for his ’blindness’ about the Soviet gulags shortly after his death in 1980, and even his humanist Existentialism was ridiculed for its optimism, voluntarism and sheer energetic reach. Once the most celebrated intellect […].

Intellectually Victorious, but Politically Defeated

A wave of hope carried the reformist Mohammed Khatami into the office of president. But since then resignation has spread among the Iranian people as well as among critical religious leaders. An inside report from Ghom by Navid Kermani Mohammed Mojtahed Shabestari is careful when he speaks or writes: although he knows precisely what the political implica […].