The Iran beyond the popular imagination

With the streets of Tehran erupting in protests over the results of the country’s recent presidential elections, and the world media devoting reams of newsprint to deciphering the unfolding crisis, the influential yet enigmatic Islamic Republic is once again at the centre of global attention. DNA presents a selection of the top ten books on modern day Iran, and its culture and politics.

The Ayatollah Begs To Differ: The Paradox Of Modern Iran by Hooman Majd
The book takes a critical, yet affectionate look at Iranian politics and culture. In this part-memoir, part-travelogue, part-cultural criticism, Majd, son of an Iranian diplomat and grandson of an eminent ayatollah, describes the Iranian paradox of superiority-inferiority: pride in a rich cultural history hardened by a sense of shame at their third-world status, and anger at the treatment meted out to them by foreign powers.

Tehran Blues: Youth Culture In Iran by Kaveh Basmenji
Two decades after their parents rose up against the excesses of the Shah, increasing numbers of young Iranians are risking jail for things like wearing makeup, slow-dancing at parties, and holding hands with members of the opposite sex. Basmenji argues that youth are in revolt for want of greater personal freedom.

Lipstick Jihad by Azadeh Moaveni
Time reporter Moaveni, the American-born child of Iranian exiles, spent two years working in Tehran. She was on a personal search “to figure out my relationship” to Iran. Neither her adolescent ethnic identity conundrums nor her idyllic memories of a childhood visit prepared her for the realities she confronted as she navigated Iran, learning its rules, restrictions and taboos.

The Soul Of Iran: A Nation’s Journey To Freedom by Afshin Molavi
This book gives you a version of Iran that is different from the ones put forward by the US, Iran, and the media. Iran thundered onto the world stage in 1979. Today, that revolution seems to have gone astray, a popular democracy movement is challenging theocratic authority. Molavi weaves together threads of historical insight, political analysis, cultural observation, and the daily realities of life.

The Shia Revival: How Conflicts Within Islam Will Shape The Future by Vali Nasr
One of the least remarked-upon aspects of the war in Iraq has been how conflict and instability in that country have shaken the delicate balance of power between the Sunnis and Shi’as throughout the region. This book explains the economic, political, and ethnic differences that underlie the ideological differences between Shi’as and Sunnis.

Modern Iran: Roots And Results Of Revolution by Nikki R Keddie
This book traces the history of Iran to the present day, and also analyses the political, cultural, and social changes of the past quarter century. Keddie provides insightful commentary on the Iraq war, the Gulf War, and the effects of 9/11 on Iran’s relationship with the US.

Being Modern In Iran by Fariba Adelkhah
Modernity has not been banished from Iran, nor have the effects of globalisation passed it by, argues anthropologist Adelkhah in this book. Drawing on her extensive ethnographic fieldwork and an encyclopaedic knowledge of contemporary Iranian politics and culture, anthropologist Fariba Adelkhah probes modernity in the Islamic Republic.

Inside Iran by Mark Edwards Harris
This photographic volume on Iran is the first of its kind on contemporary Iran. A handful of photos are of the Iran of popular imagination: oil refineries dotting a desert landscape, women draped in head-to-toe black. But a majority of the photos are of a different Iran — of children playing, workers commuting. His images of daily life offer a look at a society caught between two poles — ancient and modern, commercial and spiritual, serene and intense, political and personal.

Young And Defiant In Tehran by Shahram Khosravi
Much of the focus of the Islamic regime has been on ways to protect Iranian youth from moral hazards and a cultural invasion from the West. This book looks at how young Tehranis struggle for identity and the right to self-expression. Focusing on places such as malls and coffee shops, Khosravi examines how young Tehranis defy official culture and parental dominance in their everyday life.

Targeting Iran by David Barsamian
To many Americans, Iran’s history began with the 1979 hostage crisis. For Iranians, the pivotal date is 1953, when a CIA-inspired coup killed their fledgling democracy and installed the Shah as a puppet ruler. This pivotal difference in worldviews, argues Barsamian, is what has led Iran and the US to the brink of war.