It is only fitting that “The Iranian Revolution at 30” begin with an introductory essay by R.K. Ramazani and that this project be dedicated to him. For 55 years, Professor Ramazani has been a teacher and mentor to many scholars and practitioners of the Middle East. His body of work on Iran is unrivalled in its scope and originality. Many of his articles and books on Iranian foreign policy are standard works.
This article originally appeared in Foreign Policy’s Middle East Channel on April 9, 2012
BERLIN – If at one time European governments believed the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran was far more frightening for the United States than for those across the Atlantic, those days are in the past. As talks near on Iran’s nuclear program, Tehran should know that European officials’ views are somewhere in the middle between America’s caution and Israel’s alarm.
Cultural Creativity: Catalyst for Social Development
Originally posted July 2010
The term “creativity” is not reserved solely for the art industry. It can be applied to describe a working methodology within various fields, even science. The word “creativity” refers to someone who sees or solves things in a non-traditional manner or who adds a new perspective to well-established ideas, familiar dilemmas, or rigid constructions. Creativity is a central resource in every society because it allows for the development of new visions.
I have always dreamed of working in the media field, even though it is a difficult career for Syrian women, especially those from the countryside. Fortunately, I grew up in Damascus, the capital city, and a city where people of diverse religious backgrounds have always managed to coexist. Opportunities offered for women in the cities, however, are still conditioned by their social class, education, and sometimes even their religious background.
What does it mean to be a woman and creative in the Arab world?
For mere biological reasons, I am a woman and by birth I am an Arab. As for my work, I am a journalist and filmmaker. I am not sure whether “creative” accurately describes my work, and I am uncertain whether creativity means the same thing across different cultures. Can we describe some work somewhere as “creative” just because it belongs to a profession that is categorized as “creative” in western cultures?
I am a documentary filmmaker of Iraqi origin and have lived in London for a long time. I worked for many years as a film editor on documentaries and dramas and was working toward my ultimate goal, which is to make a fiction feature film, when the first Gulf War erupted in 1991.
The word “creativity” has many connotations. A creative person is always expected to produce something new and even revolutionary, which makes creativity an unpredictable process. I sometimes feel creativity pouring into my efforts as a filmmaker. Yet, other times I feel that I can no longer come up with fresh ideas, leading me to doubt my talent and even to reconsider my career in the film industry. Nevertheless, filmmaking remains fascinating work and continues to be my passion.
