No.398 Inside Iran

March 2007
Inside Iran

　
Home of the mad mullahs, a President you can frighten your children with and nuclear weapons on the drawing board, if not actually in their bunkers: Iran sends shivers down Washington spines better than any other member of the 'Axis of Evil'. Are these Western stereotypes shameless attempts to prepare the ground for yet another war? Do they have any foundation in reality? The NI looks at Iran's rich history and culture, at human rights in a theocratic state and, above all, at what life is really like for ordinary Iranians.
　

No.398

Contents

2 The view from Iran
Chris Brazier argues for more understanding of Iran - and less confrontation.

6 Living in Iran
Assorted images of everyday life - all of them by Iranian photographers.

8 Signed with an X
Women's rights campaigner Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani reflects on a day spent knocking on doors.

10 Iran - THE FACTS

12 The Mirage
What do people in poorer districts think of Ahmadinejad? Ali Moazzami finds out.

14 Iran - a history
From Cyrus the Great, Omar Khayyam and the Shahs to Ayatollah Khomeini and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

17 The third generation
Iran is young, vibrant and diverse, despite the repression, as Nasrin Alavi explains.

20 Action/Information

21 Currents
The international round-up continues on Page 22-23 with news of the year-long blockade of Britain's nuclear base at Faslane and an Ethiopian invasion of Somalia that bears US fingerprints.
PLUS: Wordpower and Seriously...

24 Anti-slavery pioneers
A special four-page feature to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade. Clare Goff explains how late 18th-century activists pioneered many of the campaigning techniques used today, from logos to mass petitions, slogans to posters with shock value.
PLUS: The slave revolts in the Caribbean that pummelled the British and French armies into submission.
PLUS: Modern forms of slavery and how they can be opposed.

28 Mixed Media
MUSIC, BOOKS, FILM review

30 Southern Exposure
A child in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, as seen by Chilean photographer Julio Etchart, who has documented the toys children play with the world over.

31 View from Cochabamba
The US makes it difficult for Bolivians to gain visas, so why shouldn't Bolivian President Evo Morales make it equally hard for US visitors? Jim Shultz explores the visa quid pro quo.

32 Big Bad World
Old Gory, by Polyp.
PLUS: NI Prize Crossword

33 Making Waves
Interview with Indian homeless campaigner Sheela Patel.

34 Letters

36 Country Profile - Tajikistan

NI Japan

No.86

Contents

<This month's translation>

- The view from Iran (NI p2-5)

- Living in Iran (NI p6-7)

- Iran - THE FACTS (NI p10-11)

- Iran - a history (NI p14-16)

- Country Profile - Tajikistan (NI p36)

- Currents
--- Entire police force disamed (NI p22)
--- Big Bad World (NI p32)

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March 2007 Inside Iran
	Home of the mad mullahs, a President you can frighten your children with and nuclear weapons on the drawing board, if not actually in their bunkers: Iran sends shivers down Washington spines better than any other member of the 'Axis of Evil'. Are these Western stereotypes shameless attempts to prepare the ground for yet another war? Do they have any foundation in reality? The NI looks at Iran's rich history and culture, at human rights in a theocratic state and, above all, at what life is really like for ordinary Iranians.