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Geopolitical Legitimacy Contestation Of The 2026 Iran War In Al-Jazeera: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Doni Firdaus, Fahmy Lukman

Journal of Middle East and Islamic Studies

This study investigates the discursive strategies and geopolitical legitimacy contestation surrounding the 2026 conflict between Iran, the United States, and Israel, as reported by Al-Jazeera Arabic. Utilizing Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework-comprising textual analysis, discourse practice, and sociocultural practice-the research decodes how media language constructs power relations and ideological hegemony. The data is sourced from ten purposively sampled Al-Jazeera reports, spanning multiple journalistic genres, published between February and March 2026. The findings reveal a significant discursive shift in Al-Jazeera's editorial framing. Textually, the use of symmetric prepositions such as "بين" (between) and the juxtaposition of …

Geopolitical Transformation In The Post-October 7 Middle East (2023–2025): Power Shifts Vs. Structural Shifts, Nael Shama

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay investigates the geopolitical shifts that unfolded in the Middle East from October 2023 to the end of 2025, stimulated by the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent events it triggered. These included military confrontations between Israel and each of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. The essay demonstrates that these developments have reshaped power positions and alliances in the Middle East, leading to a more complex and unpredictable geopolitical landscape. It sketches out the new regional balance of …

Understanding The Role Of Drug Offenses And The Death Penalty In Iran, Cyrus Zarganj

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Since the 1979 revolution, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been governed by Islamic laws devised by Shia Muslim clerics, significantly influencing the nation's legal framework in both criminal and civil contexts. The death penalty in Iran covers a broad spectrum of offenses, many of which would not be considered capital crimes or even crimes globally. This extensive application of the death penalty is an instrument of social control during periods of political tension, indicating a direct relationship between the regime's stability and the enforcement of extreme punitive measures. Despite some reduction in the visibility of executions due to international …

An Exhibition And Protest Of Executions In Iran, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

An exhibition and protest of executions in Iran was held in Washington, D.C. in June 2025. Portraits of 2000 men and women who were killed or executed in Iran since the 1980s were displayed on the National Mall in front of the Capitol. The Iranian Resistance estimates that 30,000 activists were massacred in one period in 1988. Executions of prisoners have continued steadily, making Iran the world’s leading executioner of men and women. In recent years, there has been a sharp escalation in the number of executions of prisoners. A United Nations Special Rapporteur reported that over 800 persons were …

In The Land Of Brothers, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of In the Land of Brothers (2024), directed by Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi.

Towards A Post-Imperial And Global Ir?: Revisiting Khatami’S Dialogue Among Civilisations, Shabnam Holliday, Edward Wastnidge

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

This article argues that Dialogue among Civilisations can be put forward as a crucial contribution to debates addressing IR’s Eurocentrism. It highlights the blurring of West/non-West, domestic/international, and imperial/post-imperial bifurcations. This is evident in three ways. First, Dialogue among Civilisations needs to be appreciated in Iran’s wider historical context and its multifaceted intellectual heritages. This demonstrates that the idea of the West as distinctly different from the East is problematic because of engagement between Iran and the so-called West. Second, Khatami’s intellectual endeavours are based on a simultaneous engagement with Western political thought, Islamic philosophy, and the idea of Ancient …

Review Of Shia Islam And Politics: Iran, Iraq, And Lebanon, Christopher Anzalone

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Hubungan Iran-Amerika Serikat Masa Pemerintahan Hassan Rouhani (Telaah Perjanjian Jcpoa), Ayu Maulida Alkholid, Firmanda Taufiq

Journal of Middle East and Islamic Studies

Relations between Iran and the United States show fluctuating dynamics. The historical relationship and cooperation between the two countries represents how the process works. In fact, during the reign of Shah Reza Pahlavi, Iran-US relations looked good and established important cooperation in several sectors. The political constellation of Iran that continues to intertwine makes the US also respond and issue various policies, including the issue of the nuclear development program. The program during the reign of Hassan Rouhani was also one of the priority policies. Until, the JCPOA agreement was formed between Iran and the P5+1 group countries (US, UK, …

Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Yalda, A Night for Forgiveness (2019) directed by Massoud Bakhshi.

2020 Children's Story Cards, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Arif: "I like being in school again."

Norina: "We laugh a lot but I also worry."

Nooda: "I came on a boat. It was a big boat!"

Madina: "I just want to live in a safe place..."

Shurangez: "Sometimes we didn't feel safe at school."

Alex: "I'm from Nigeria. Coming to Italy was very difficult-very, very difficult, a real struggle."

Danial: "I want to be a useful person and follow my dreams."

Firoz: "I am 13 years old and I am worried about my family."

Ali: "Ali lived in Afghanistan. One day while walking to school a bomb exploded near …

Islam & Interfaith Dialogue: Innovative Diplomacy Between The United States And Islamic Republic Of Iran, Kristyn Rohrer

Honors Student Research

This meta-communicative study provides an analysis of global interfaith dialogue as it pertains to peace and conflict, with a primary focus on Islam. The Islamic Republic of Iran and United States have a complicated history. Their diplomatic relationship is rife with manipulation, radicalism, and a disregard for human dignity. Currently, the US is imposing hundreds of sanctions and restrictions on Iran, from nuclear energy to medicine, as a result of President Trump’s decision to back out of the Iran Deal. However, other forms of dialogue are affecting positive relations between the two countries. Interfaith dialogue between North American Mennonites and …

The Qur'anic Epic In Iranian Cinema (Farsi), Nacim Pak-Shiraz

Journal of Religion & Film

The representation of religious figures in Islam has become particularly controversial in recent years. The creation of religious films has, therefore, turned into a highly sensitive undertaking. Iranian cinema is one of the very few in the Muslim world to have employed this new medium in imagining and narrating stories of revered religious figures. In this article I examine the complex socio-political context of Iran to study the relatively late emergence of the epic genre in Iranian cinema. I then study the recent creation and development of ‘Qur’anic Films’ within Iranian cinema with specific reference to Kingdom of Solomon (Mulk-i …

Implementation Of 5s Methodology In Public Libraries: Readiness Assessment, Zahra Bahadorpoor, Masoumeh Tajafari, Azam Sanatjoo

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The main aim of this study is to investigate the readiness rate for implementing the 5S methodology in one of the greatest ancient public libraries in Iran and the Islamic world. The other objectives of this study are to determine the necessity and possibility of the 5S implementation in this library. The target population included all librarians, 110 people, working in the library departments who are in direct contact with users, out of whom 86 ones were selected randomly. After holding a training workshop on 5S, required data was collected by a self-made questionnaire. The research findings show that the …

Active Resistors: The Women Of Post-Revolution Iran, Sofia E. Mouritsen

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

In this paper, I challenge the notion that Muslim or Middle Eastern women are passive acceptors of discrimination. After examining how Iranian women resisted governmental discrimination following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, I consider a number of factors that may have led to the reversal of some of these discriminatory policies in the 1990’s. How much of an effect did women’s demands for equality have on the government’s decisions? This question of effectiveness introduces a longtime debate between Islamic feminists, who advocate for working with the theocratic government and using Islam to frame their demands for equality, and secular feminists, who …

What All Americans Should Know About Islamic Feminism, Caroline M. Bosworth

Student Publications

The concept of Islamic feminism depicts the history of Muslim women seeking gender equality on the basis of religion. Through rooting gender equality in the texts and practices of the Qur'an, Muslim women demand acknowledgement in society based on Islamic teachings. A common theme persists in American society, which perpetuates the misconception that Muslim women lack agency. In reality, numerous Muslim women have actively worked to ensure their rightful place alongside men in society, which is evident in the cases of both Egypt and Iran.

The Intertwining Of History And Heritage In Islamic Contexts, Shahzad Bashir

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

This chapter argues that Islamic history should be imagined as an ever-expanding web of overlapping and competing discourses about the past. Islam’s transhistorical presence is an illusion that is borne of the historiographical process. Clusters of evidence we can identify pertaining to Islam are traceable to moments with their own distinctive senses of past, present, and future. Consequently, what is to be regarded as Islamic heritage depends fundamentally on the frame within which it was produced. Moreover, scholarly appreciation of heritage is itself a value-laden enterprise that participates in the creation of Islamic meanings. I advocate that we pay utmost …

Samadi & Sabroo, Samadi, Sabroo, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Samadi was a member of the Kurdistan Freedom Party. He joined at the age of 17 andhas been a member for 22 years. This party sought an independent Kurdistan andfought with the invader countries. Samadi lived at the Oinofyat Refugee Camp inGreece at the time of this interview. His daughter was killed by ISIS in 2014 whiledefending Kurdistan. After her death, his family was threatened by the Salafi group.They left to save their lives. Samedi says that the Salafi group rapes and kills children in the name of religion. He says he is a fighter and he is not afraid …

Morena, Morena, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Morena has two children and a husband, and she is currently pregnant. Her life in Afghanistan felt normal, and she was able to study there until she had to flee. Her father in law was a truck driver for an American company and he had to surrender several vehicles to the Taliban. They robbed his vehicle and threatened violence. Because of this danger, Morena and her family fled. Their eight-month journey included rejection in Turkey and Iran multiple times and many struggles with smugglers and police. They eventually made it to a camp in Greece.

Because Morena is pregnant, they …

Pamir And Rahila, Pamir, Rahila, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Pamir is from Afghanistan. He is a Hazarah, an ethnic minority group in Afghanistan. The Taliban hates his people. Nearly every member of his family has bullet wounds and war scars. His father was shot during the Mujahedin War and still has bullets in his leg. His older brother is blind in one eye and is still in Iran. His other brother was shot in the head and killed somewhere between the age of thirteen and fifteen. They escaped to Iran from Afghanistan, but the police caught Pamir and took him to a camp. They told him he could either …

Walid & Rahima, Walid, Rahima, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Walid worked as a police officer inBaghlan County,Afghanistan, where hedid many operations with NATO and US forces. Walid was responsible for recordingoperations and distributing copies to the media. Being part of the operations was dangerous, and Walid lost many of his friendsto the Taliban.Theyevenskinned afriend for cooperating with the government. The violenceled him to say, “The terrorists have no religion.” The Taliban began entering homes and killing government officials,and paid assassinations happened in public. Walidknew he was in danger.After losing a dear friend, Walid knew then that he had lost all he was willing to lose.He fled to Pakistan where …

Tabish, Tabish, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Tabish is from Afghanistan. He fled the country because he had enemies there. He was shot multiple times during a Taliban raid, resulting in a broken leg and damaged hand. The bullets had to be pulled out with a stick. He and his family fled Afghanistan to Iran where the police threatened to arrest him for not having the legal papers to work. His family escaped to Turkey but were soon deported back to Iran. They eventually made it through after walking on foot for seven hours at the Turkish border. After spending five hours on the water on the …

Sangar & Nasira, Sangar, Nasira, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Sangar and his family are from Iran but are originally Turkish. In Iran they faced a psychological war and many problems that stemmed from discrimination. He points out how many are oppressed or discriminated against, but he and his family were singled out for their ethnicity. There was no hope for a bright future, and they decided to flee the country for the benefit of their children.

They fled to Greece through Turkey and had many issues with human traffickers, robbery, a treacherous journey across the sea, and problems in Moria refugee camp where his wife couldn’t get the care …

Madina, Madina, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Madina is from Afghanistan where she had a good life as a hairdresser. She loved her business and was very well off. She faced a great deal of opposition and persecution since she was a woman who owned a business. She faced violence and threats often. Eventually they were forced to sell their possessions and flee with the help of traffickers and had a dangerous and painful journey. Multiple times they were turned away at borders in Greece, Turkey, and Iran. Madina now lives in Oinofyta refugee camp with her husband and 6 children. Her husband has a disability due …

Bahar And Zarrin, Bahar, Zarrin, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Bahar and Zarrin are friends living in Oinofyta Refugee Camp. They are both from Afghanistan but fled very different circumstances. Bahar lived in Iran with her husband until he passed, and she was rejected by her family. As a single woman she faced a life with little rights. Despite major health complications she fled to Greece in a boat. She now lives in the camp, struggling with repeated hospitalizations.

Zarrin left a life of comfort and privilege in Afghanistan and misses home greatly. Her husband was a wealthy businessman and Zarrin taught school. Thinking back on what they lost causes …

Nevin, Nevin, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Nevin is a civil engineer from Afghanistan who worked with an American company and local government. The Taliban threatened him and demanded he work for them instead and ultimately attacked him on his journey home. After this he began a dangerous journey to Europe full of smugglers, trafficking, encounters with police, poor living conditions and a trip across the Mediterranean in an overcrowded raft.

Nevin ultimately made it to Greece, where he lived in a camp for several months. He received medical care but faced new problems of closed borders and difficulty obtaining papers. He was transferred to a camp …

Hamed, Hamed, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Hamed and his family are from Afghanistan where he worked as a diplomat and interpreter for the U.S. Army after having studied international relations and diplomacy. As the situation with the Taliban worsened it became too dangerous for Hamed and his family to stay in Afghanistan. They began the difficult journey with the help of smugglers, first to Iran, then Turkey, and then to Greece in a dangerous, overfilled boat.

Hamed explains the despair and frustration faced by many refugees. They feel as though very little is actually done for refugees once they’re admitted, and explains they need more assistance. …

Zarrin, Zarrin, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

My name is Zarrin. I was an English teacher. In Afghanistan I had a big house and a garden. My husband was a rich man; he had lots of money. My children studied in a private school.All the time the Taliban was warning my husband, “Why does your wife go to school and teach children? If your wife goes to school, we’ll throw acid on her face and take your children.” They don’t like education —they don’t like women attending school.Zarrin left a life of comfort and privilege in Afghanistan and misses home greatly. Her husband was a wealthy businessman …

Assessing The Role Of The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Extraterritorial Activities In Attaining Iran’S Foreign Policy Goals, Hamza Demirel

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation aims at analyzing the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) extraterritorial activities in attaining Iran’s foreign policy goals. Based on observations and assessments from internal and external determinants, Iran’s foreign policy goals are defined as follows: regime survival, which is an indispensable goal of Iranian foreign policy, is above everything; state security and survival; projecting power and becoming the dominant power in the region.

The regime has deliberately supported several armed non-state actors to achieve the aforementioned goals, and as seen in the case studies, the IRGC has served as a node in providing a broad …

Zurvan, Zurvan, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Zurvan and his family had a good life in Afghanistan. He worked as a clerk in a spice shop. After doing business with a foreign company, the Taliban threatened him with death. To escape this threat, he and his family escaped to Iran and hired a smuggler to get them to Turkey. From there, they traveled to Greece in an overloaded boat. They have been living in a camp in Greece, stuck in limbo, ever since. Zurvan feels hopeless, like everyone in the camp is being treated in an inhumane manner. He also feels guilty for bringing his children into …

Emal, Emal, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Emal was a gate security guard in the Afghan army and a supplier for American forces at the airport. Before leaving Afghanistan, Emal was kidnapped by Daesh, beaten, thrown into a pile of bodies, and left for dead. He woke up weeks later in hospital with adent in his skull, brain damage, and mental/emotional problems. When he was able, Emal fled with his wife and six kids, but they travelled with smugglers in separate cars and got separated. Iran police deported his wife and children back to Afghanistan. Emal continued on and eventually made his way to Oinofyta refugee camp …