[Documentary] Regarding Ali: The memories, and thoughts of Dr. Ali Shariati

This loving film is a good introduction to a personality who challenged static vested religion and whose contributions call out to our political hungers and still speak to our times and situations.

Ali Shariati (1933-1977) was an Iranian Political, religious thinker who enlivened the religious intellectual and justice seeking natures of his people suffering under the Shah. He was assassinated in the UK before the Iranian Revolution  in 1979.

For several years he would inspire and move student audiences with lectures at a progressive religious institution called Hussainiye Ershad in Tehran. His appeal transcended sector and class, and unsurprisingly he suffered the censure of the Shah's Government and was apparently disapproved of by Khomeini.

Many of his writings are translated and available online, for example on Hajj. He also wrote on and at the Islam/Marxism interface. It would have been interesting to see what he made of the country that emerged after his martyrdom.

The documentary is in 2 parts, total running time 77 mins.

Non Aligned Movement Summit kicks of in Tehran, far more significant than the Olympics.

Most of the countries of the world imagine and work towards freedom and autonomy from the deathgrip of superpowers. At some level anyway. We do not see it more often because they are afraid.

The Non Aligned Movement (NAM) convenes in Tehran this week is what promises to be a gathering pregnant with decolonial possibilities. Held every 3 years, to mark the rotation of the organisation leadership, its fascinating that Iran are carrying the baton from that very different Egypt which held it's NAM summit in 2009, and will hand it over the Venezuela in 2015.

The next week will see a great deal of activity that we should follow carefully, and I wish I could be there. As PressTV was shunted of the UK airwaves a few months ago, and the western stance is hostile, insulting and disregarding decolonial actors, geeks and dreamers will have to try a little bit harder to know whats going on.  The NAM News Network have provided the following link for the latest news from the summit. The clip below features opening remarks from the Foreign Secretary of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi and a practical account of the relevance of the NAM space today from the Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Mohammed Quayes. 

Formed in 1961 as an international institution to enable countries of the world to resist falling into the US-Soviet polarity, NAM holds relevance today as a way of creating unity between countries at the bum end of the United Nation's (in)security Council, resisting neoliberal western (NATO) hegemony and a space to simply be and develop positions outside the bullying US-Euro-Zionist political nexus.

Imagine that formative meeting in Belgrade, with Tito (Yugoslavia), Nasser (Egypt), Nkrumah (Ghana), Nehru (India) and Sukarno (Indonesia). What have we (un)learnt since?



It is reported that 150 countries will have representation at the summit, from top tier leaderships, to foreign ministers to less senior/serious delegations. It is worth watching the short video interview with author of The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World Vijay Prashad, where he mulls over the significance of the event simply taking place.

Egypt's President Mursi is due to attend, unlike Turkey who despite recent awesomnesses on the international front are having a frosty time with Iran given their involvement in Syria and maybe even something to do with NATO. We hope that they do find a way to get there. Even the Saudis are sending a deputy Foreign Minister.

Hasina and Zardari, PMs of Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively will attend too, along with UN Sec Gen Ban Ki Moon. Tunisia is sending its foreign minister, as is North Korea. The Palestinians are disunited ( appears that Abbas has won over Haniyeh). And of course the ALBA countries will be in there too.

The summit is awkward and intriguing depending on your politics. Unsurprisingly, Israel and its allies (ally?) have been acting to delegitimise the event and prevent UN attendance. And Iran itself is not feild of cornflowers.  Prof Hamid Dabashi, author of Brown Skin White Masks, has an interesting analysis of this summit's interaction with Iranian politics, from Mosadegh to Mousavi.

The symbolic power of the concept still rings loud, with Non-Alignment 2.0 currently doing the rounds of Indian foreign/security policy circles. (yikes)

To temporarily conclude, its heartening that more and more country groups are demonstrating disobedience to the terrorism and intimidation of the western powers. Decolonial Duas for this gathering, and its outcomes, tangible or otherwise. For updates, intrigues and explorations, you can follow the summit on the NAM News Network's pages.

The Real Iranian Question

Why has not Iran souped up its oil refining capacity in the many years that it has had to do so?

Given so many years of sanctions, the imbalance between overseas mojo projection and internal custodianship of key internal challenges is more stark than ever. It seems very irresponsible from my armchair. Semi-autonomous technological development in the majority world is difficult at the best of times, you need long term political support, financial allies and technical expertise. Will, skill and the ability to foot the bill. Yet look at the technological direction.

Though of course, I don't know even have a smidgeon of the full picture in front of me. Perhaps its easier to make longish range surface to surface missiles of questionable accuracy than the surface to air variety that might have protected Iraq and Afghanistan. Perhaps pre-existing sanctions, and nefarious skullduggery that has complemented them, have indeed thwarted Iranian refinery making attempts.

But come on guys. WILL. Who battled so hard against drugs coming in through Afghanistan for so long? Who united Islamic and Leftist Mojo? albeit so breifly. Who has resisted the economic patsy urge to sell out for so long?

There is another question that I have. Are the US and EU still powerful enough to bribe, convince and scare the rest of the world, the majority world, to make Iran suffer for the security of Israel?

Iranian University Chancellors ask Bollinger 10 questions

Here is the response of the Iranian academic leadership to Mr Lee Bollinger ungraceful remarks to their President. I recommend basking for a while because these moments are rare. I am wishful too, hopefully without envy, of the independance on display there.

President Ahmedinejad goes the Columbia

He was preceded by remarks from the president of the educational establishment doing his bit to promote understanding and good will. NOT

The politically embattled chap ended with the following kind touch,

"I am only a professor, who is also a university president, and today I feel all the weight of the modern civilized world yearning to express the revulsion at what you stand for. I only wish I could do better."

The President of Iran's contribution can be read here.

He covers islamic philosophy of science! From the words on the page you can tell he has a tough mind, undiverted by naff and distrating international vocabulary of righteous virtue that us in the west have been fed on, and that us in the east tend to parrot with zeal. He has his own moral vernacular of the manners of treating ones guest, the respect accorded to women etc. I think this migh have something to do with not being colonised in the way that the other Asiatic hordes were. Its like listening to a confident Turk!

For me this event is not about same-sex attraction or human rights bitching or further research into the despicable treatment and mass murder of the Jews in europe. Unfortunately these are the lenses (UN propelled.. bless) through which more and more people see the world. Each to his own lens so long as it doesnt become an axe, besides I wouldn't know where to start wrt to consoling a Holocaust survivor who has enemized Iran and views its leader as todays Hitler.

It's about the politics of knowledge and some countrys preventing others from certain pools of knowledge, from building stocks of autonomous expertise and political gumption. Iraq was not frozen then destroyed not because of baathist philosophy, the kurds, the shias, it was because they had some resolution behind their own alignment of brains, money and national interest.

Another telling part to this event is that the president has not been allowed to pay his respects at the Ground Zero site in New York. So many people have already made up their minds it is sad.

The Chief Advisor of Bangladesh is due to speak at Colombia this friday. I hope he has some good chops, though to be honest he wont be up against nearly as much hostility, even if embittered Awami League workers attend.