Celebrating Philosophy in Tehran?

[Valin]

WSJ:

EVAN R. GOLDSTEIN
10/9/10

On April 27, 2006, the Iranian-Canadian philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo was arrested in Tehran on a charge of fomenting a "velvet revolution" against the Islamic Republic. Mr. Jahanbegloo was placed in a 6-by-10-foot cell in Evin Prison. To keep his mind active while in solitary confinement, he scribbled nearly 2,000 aphorisms on the back of tissue boxes.

Four months later, he was released on bail and fled into exile. He surfaced late in 2007 in Istanbul at World Philosophy Day, an annual gathering of intellectuals sponsored by Unesco to celebrate philosophy's contributions to the "principles and values on which world peace depends: democracy, human rights, justice and equality." Mr. Jahanbegloo, now a professor at the University of Toronto, describes World Philosophy Day as "a great initiative," which is why he is dismayed by Unesco's decision to hold this year's main event in Tehran, a city where, he says, "no free debate or critical thinking is possible."

Mr. Jahanbegloo is not alone in his outrage. In January, he joined with a group of intellectuals associated with the Italian cultural journal Reset, including the renowned social theorist Jürgen Habermas, and came out in opposition to the choice of venue for the November event. In an open letter to the Unesco director general, which drew more than 50 signatures, they wrote that philosophical exchange is impossible in a country where "one can be imprisoned and risk one's life...because of one's ideas."

(Snip)


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Ah Yes! That bastion of moral clarity the United Nations.

What speaking your mind will get you in Iran...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYhWq4LkIRc