Jason Reza Jorjani, PhD, is a philosopher and author of Prometheus and Atlas, World State of Emergency, Lovers of Sophia, Novel Folklore: The Blind Owl of Sadegh Hedayat, and Iranian Leviathan: A Monumental History of Mithra’s Abode.
Here he discusses the process by which the earlier Mazdakite movement evolved, via Sufi mysticism, into Iranian Shiism. In fact, Shah Ismail Safavi, founder of the first Shiite Iranian dynasty, was himself the leader of a Sufi order. Under Safavi rule, Iranian art and architecture excelled. The great poets — Rumi and Hafez — wrote eloquently about the religion of love that superceded all of the established religions. These esoteric turns, while challenging religious orthodoxy, also became incorporated into Shiism.
Many viewers will know that Jason Reza Jorjani has suffered from libel and persecution as a result of his, generally misunderstood, political views. He is a brilliant scholar who has now been unfairly disgraced and is forced to fight a legal battle, while continuing his research and writing, without any regular employment. Therefore we have set up this “Go Fund Me” page in order to assist this worthy individual. Please visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-fund-jason-reza-jorjani039s-next-project and contribute generously.
(Recorded on July 8, 2019)
Published on October 20, 2019