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By Lawrence Joffe and Ozgul Erdemli
Iran's 2000 parliamentary elections revealed some remarkable information about the reformist trend sweeping Iranian voters. Analysts are now pouring over the polls to determine if real change is indeed on the way and their views are finding their way onto the net. In light of Iran's renewed prominence in headlines around the world, herewith, a guide to researching the Islamic Republic.
A good umbrella site for all things Iranian is <http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Iran/>. Likewise, news items are collated at this Yahoo site: <http://fullcoverage.yahoo.com/Full_Coverage/World/Iran/> or at <http://fullcoverage.yahoo.com/fc/World/Iran/>.
Iran has its own Yahoo clone, called Ankaboot at <http://www.ankaboot.com>.
Its politics subsection lists 51 sites. Iran Online has outstanding links to news sources and political groups:
<http://www.iranonline.com/NewsRoom/>.
Other Iranian search engines are <http://www.iranmania.com>
and <http://www.iranindex.com>.
Persia Net is highly recommended for links to political organizations, guide-pages, current events, expatriate Iranian societies and many other features: <http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~sebrahi/PersiaNet.html>.
For a useful guide to who's who in Iran, see this from The Iranian: <http://www.iranian.com/WhosWho/index.html>. Other items are available from: <http://www.iranian.com/sections.html>. Warning: It is by alphabet, so you have to know who you are looking for.
For a history of Iran from its earliest days to the end of the Reza Shah regime, see:
<http://homepages.go.com/~hrolfkrake/history/history.html>
William Samii (whose latest article in MERIA Journal deals with Iran's
elections, <http://meria.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/meria/journal/2000/issue1/jv4n1a1.html>
edits an Iran Report under the auspices of RFERL: <http://www.rferl.org/iran-report/>.
Iranian magazines, sites in Iran, universities, Iranian American information, and some political and human rights groups are all profiled at: <http://www.abadan.com/iranian.html>.
Khodadad Rezakhani has much on his native land at Iranology: <http://www.iranologie.com/>.
Iranica is an English language encyclopedia and is a quality site, but, oddly, the only subjects available online are those with the initials D and E. <http://www.iranica.com/articles/>.
More general information can be found at The Foundation for Iranian Studies: <http://www.fis-iran.org>.
Michigan University's selection of Middle East websites, found at <http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/Documents.center/forme.html>, has several links to Iranian sites.
Atieh Bahar Consulting-ABC produces Iran Focus, Iran Energy, Iran Quarterly Report and Iran Press Analysis . To subscribe write to: <publications@atiehbahar.com>
And, the Iran Yearbook contains history, statistics and chronology: <http://www.ipis.org/iran/iran.html>.
A very good source for the latest news, editorials, analysis about political events in Iran: <http://www.payvand.com/news>.
The Independent Iran Observer includes news, links to government sites, and excellent links to a myriad of political groups and external international news sources dealing with Iranian affairs: <http://home8.inet.tele.dk/huosan/NEWS.HTM>. Another source for up-to-date information is Iran Daily, but here you need PDF: <http://www.iran-daily.com/>. A third newspaper, Hamshahri, comes from Iran itself and is written in Farsi: <http://www.neda.net/hamshahri/>.
Another good news sites in Farsi is: <http://www.president.gov.ir/khatami/khbio-e.htm>, which has biographies of all the cabinet ministers at <http://www.president.gov.ir/khatami/cabinet/index-e.htm>.
Also in Farsi, but directed to Iranians in the Diaspora, is political commentary from Iranshahr, with links to various opposition groups and other newspapers: <http://www.iranshahr.com/Political.html>.
For more news from Iran in English, see Iran Online Newsroom: <http://www.iranonline.com/NewsRoom>.
"What Montazeri said" is the first interview with Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri since he was arrested and contains a strong attack on
conservative fellow mullahs. Published in January this year, it was translated from the original Farsi into Arabic, and then into English by
Mideast Mirror: <http://www.mideastmirror.com>.
The actual interview appears at the site, Voices of Freedom:
<http://www.dfn.org/Voices/Mideast/iran/montazeri.htm>.
The Cairo Times asks what comes "Beyond Khatami?": <http://www.cairotimes.com/cuissue/sahabi.html>.
In-depth coverage in French from Lebanon includes stats, analysis, and
an interview with Mohammad Shabistari, professor of Islamic philosophy at Teheran University and a committed liberal:
<http://www.magazine.com.lb/2207/htms/actualite.htm>.
The BBC has a good guide to the structures of Iranian politics (nice
and interactive): "Iran: Who holds the power?" at <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/middle_east/
2000/iran_elections/iran_struggle_for_change/who_holds_power/default.stm>. An Arabic
version is at <http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/iran_power/>.
In similar vein, BBC Talking Point allows viewers to debate: "Will the Iranian elections bring real change?"
<http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/newsid_655000/655321.stm>.
For a collection of material on the 1979 Iranian revolution see the online magazine for Iran's expatriate community: <http://www.iranian.com/revolution.html>.
For official news and information on Iran, start with the Official Site
of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran includes political information: <http://netiran.com>.
Also see the Islamic Republic News Agency: <http://www.irna.com/index.htm>.
If you have difficulty accessing it for any reason, try its UK mirror site: <http://www.irna.co.uk/>.
Especially useful is their list of headlines: <http://www.irna.com/headlines/ehead.html>.
Or, you can search for the word "election" in their search engine: <http://www.irna.com/search.html>.
The Presidency of Iran website is: <http://www.president.gov.ir/>. Khatami's own effusive site can be accessed at <http://www.persia.org/khatami/index.html>.
The Iranian embassy in Ottawa has a description of the government, plus statistics and special features on religion, women and culture: <http://www.salamiran.org>.
Iran's mission to the United Nations is found at <http://www.undp.org/missions/iran/>.
Finally, the website for the Islamic Republic of Iran Parliament is <http://bahar.cgs.or.ir/>.
Not to be forgotten is the impact of the election on Iran's foreign relations. The Soros Institute has a special feature on "Iran's foreign policy toward Central Asia": <http://www.soros.org/cen_eurasia/iranfpol.html>.
Iran's relations with Hezbollah in Lebanon are analyzed at: <http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/1999/11/F.RU.991110134517.html>.
But is "Iran Risking Syrian Relations to Retain Influence?" asked Stratfor on October 8, 1999:
<http://www.stratfor.com/services/giu/100899.ASP>.
Foreign Report from the Jane's group offers a rare open-access report from March 1999 on "Russia's Aid to Iran." You can find it at <http://www.foreignreport.com/>.
Declassified U.S. State Department documents on U.S. relations with Iran are found at:
<http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB21/index.html>.
Meanwhile, a
critical analysis of American foreign policy and Iran-dual containment can be found at:
<http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/3163>.
To find out more about U.S. Policy toward ran see: <http://www.usia.gov/regional/nea/gulfsec/iranpage.htm>.
For more information concerning Iran and the United States see the American-Iranian Organization's site at: <http://www.american-iranian.org>.
Another valuable foreign affairs site belongs to the Iranian Institute for Political and International Studies: <http://www.iran-ipis.org/index_english.htm>.
For an analysis of the key figures competing for power, see the BBC's site at <http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_62700/627590.stm>. Also from the BBC is "Iran Elections - Special Report" at <http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/in_depth/middle_east/2000/iran_elections/>. For a February 24 report from Tehran by the BBC's Jim Muir that assesses whether the reformists can cash in on their electoral success by fundamentally changing the political tenure of the Republic: <http://news2.thls.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle%5Feast/newsid%5F654000/654135.stm>.
CNNs' "Election Watch" gives the bare bones of numbers of seats, type of election, and leaders: <http://europe.cnn.com/WORLD/election.watch/meast/iran.html>. CNN also has good stats on the elections, including results, percentages, some mention of individual candidates: <http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/meast/02/21/iran.elections.01/index.html>.
Iran's mission to the UN gave this easily digestible statement of their intentions regarding municipal elections: <http://www.un.int/iran/press/163.html>.
PAYVAND.COM/NEWS provides a handy election timeline: <http://www.payvand.com/news/00/feb/1064.html>.
The Arab Social Science Research group has good links to Iranian parties and the elections:
<http://www.assr.org/vlibrary/iran/politics.html>.
From Newsweek comes "Paying the Price for Reform" which appeared in the February 10 issue investigating the case of the Mayor of Tehran who was allegedly arrested for "backing the wrong candidate." <http://www.newsweek.com/nw-srv/printed/us/in/a16261-2000feb9.htm>.
The Independent's Robert Fisk reported from Tehran on February 20 in "Promise, danger, excitement - welcome to the new Iran": <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/World/Middle_East/2000-02/tehran200200.shtml>. Also on the twentieth came a Reuters announcement, "Iran Reformers poised for Tehran election win": <http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000220/wl/iran_polls_35.html>.
But, apparently, it was not all plain sailing. The UK Sunday Times' Gabriella Bianchi wrote "Split threatens Iran's reformers" on February 13: <http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/Times/frontpage.html>.
On February 18, Jonathan Lyons surveyed the reformists' goals in: <http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000218/wl/iran_polls.html>.
Reuters' Paul Taylor wrote that "Iran Leader [Khameini] Asks Voters to Prove U.S. Wrong" on February 15: <http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000215/wl/iran_polls_8.html>.
The February 25 issue of The Estimate had much on the Iranian election, including two pages which are available online: "Landslide!: Scope of Victory Stuns Even Iranian Reformers" at <http://www.theestimate.com/public/02252000a.html>, and a profile: "On His Brother's Coattails: Mohammad-Reza Khatami" at <http://www.theestimate.com/public/02252000b.html>.
From inside Iran comes "Towards the Sixth Majlis Elections," a very good analytical essay written in January 2000: <http://www.atiehbahar.com/if1.html>.
The Cairo-based English language Middle East Times sent its correspondent Kaveh Basmenji to report on how "Iranian reformist victory shatters the status quo": <http://metimes.com/2K/issue2000-8/reg/iranian_reformist_victory.htm>.
Human Rights Watch's "Backgrounder" on Iran's parliamentary elections is available at <http://www.hrw.org/press/2000/02/iran0215.htm>.
An interesting aspect of the election was the saga of former president Rafsanjani. "Iranians cry foul as hardliner Rafsanjani scrapes home in poll," reported The Guardian's Geneive Abdo from Tehran on February 27: <http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/observer/international/story/0,3879,141082,00.html>.
The BBC had more on Hojetoleslam Rafsanjani in its March 1 update, which suggests that the veteran politician may lose his seat after all: <http://news2.thls.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle%5Feast/newsid%5F661000/661826.stm>.
Iranian Focus, January 2000, Vol.13, No.1, has an article, "Towards the Sixth Majlis Elections-Cutting losses: the right's election strategy": <http://www.atiehbahar.com/if1.html>.
On February 24, the Voices of Freedom site carried an essay called "Turning point in Iran." "Iran's parliamentary election may not be
officially over yet", it opines, "but all signs point to reformers'
holding a majority in the new parliament." <http://www.dfn.org/Voices/Mideast/iran/irstudind.htm>.
There is an excellent summary of the main issues connected with Khatami's 1997 election plus links to other items at this Farsi Net site: <http://www.farsinet.com/news/elect.html>.
Criticism of the legitimacy of the same elections appears at this page from the opposition group, Iran-e-Azad: <http://www.iran-e-azad.org/english/ncr/981024.html>.
"The Man from Persia" is dedicated to Khatami (calling him "not the Antichrist, but a False Prophet," and includes a short biography and numerous news items: <http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6070/iran.htm>.
For biographical information of the Iranian Republic's founder, excerpts from Baqer Moin's "Khomeini: Life of an Ayatollah" are available from the Iranian at: <http://www.iranian.com/Books/1999/June/Khomeini/index.html>. Other cover stories from the Iranian at: <http://www.iranian.com/Covers/1999.html>.
To discover what Ayatollah Khomeini might have thought about recent developments in Iran, one might study this profile: <http://www.iranian.com/Books/1999/June/Khomeini/index.html>.
For a nice summary of Iranian history in the twentieth century, start from: <http://emayzine.com/lectures/Iran20Century.html>.
The Iranian Cultural Information Center provides good links for geography and history at the oldest and most popular Iran site: <http://tehran.stanford.edu/>.
Farapajooh, a research and information dissemination institute, provides valuable services and information on the various cultural, historical, literary, philosophical and artistic aspects of Iranian society: <http://www.sokhan.com/companies/farapajooh>.
MERIA's Volume 3, No. 3 September 1999 journal features an article by Charles Kurzman, "Liberal Islam: Prospects and Challenges," which
discusses prospects for liberal Islam in Iran and also deals in some depth with the challenge posed by Tehran University professor Abdul
Karim Soroush:
<http://www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/meria/journal/1999/issue3/jv3n3a2.html>.
Iran Focus is a regular 16-page newsletter with worthwhile inside information: <http://www.atiehbahar.com/ifoc.html>.
In 1999, the National Geographic held a forum on reform in Iran: <http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/9907/forum/iran.html>.
One essay
from that site is "Iran - Testing the Waters of Reform," by Fen Montaigne: <http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/9907/fngm/index.html>.
Michel Rezai has an attractive historical and cultural guide to Iran: <http://www.multimania.com/rezai/voyag/fram.htm>.
A more academic approach comes from the Iranian Journal of International Studies:
<http://www.iran-ipis.org/ijia/>.
An Ethnolinguistic map of Iran can be found at <http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/middle_east_and_asia/Iran_peoples_82.jpg>.
A summary of the January 2000 IPIS conference on "The Persian Gulf: Towards the 21st. Century" can be found at:
<http://www.iran-ipis.org/english/eng_03.html>.
Women's issues played a crucial part in the recent poll. For more, see
Iranian Women's Studies Foundation: <http://www.iwsf.org/>.
The New York University-based journal, Iranian Studies, has a web presence at: <http://www.iranian-studies.org/isfr.html>.
A very attractive and informative illustrated book on Iran is now available online from the website of the Iranian Cultural Organization, at University of California, San Francisco. Although published in 1987, it contains much useful detail on history, politics, culture, and religion: <http://itsa.ucsf.edu/~ico/history/titlepage.html>.
Three men who shaped Iran in the twentieth century are discussed in an essay from The Iranian that appeared earlier in 2000: <http://www.iranian.com/Opinion/2000/January/Century/man.html>.
For information on Iran's Jewish community, see the Center for Iranian Jewish Oral History (CIJOH) site at: <http://www.cijoh.org/>
Perhaps one indication of a new dawn is found in the immediate post-election trial of 20 policemen, for allegedly attacking students last July: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_661000/661084.stm>.
News straight from Teheran University is available at: <http://iman.ut.ac.ir/news/news.htm>.
The Student Movement Coordination Committee of Iran has a most impressive site, with news reports (in print and audio), an online movie, polls, and longer articles. <http://www.iran-daneshjoo.org/>.
Worth a visit is the following brief guide to groups in Iran: <http://www.iran-daneshjoo.org/whoiswho/>.
The Cairo Times ran an article on Iranian youth, <http://www.cairotimes.com/cuissue/iranyout.html>, and another on "The power of students," <http://www.cairotimes.com/cuissue/iranstud.html>.
How will the victory of moderates effect externally based dissidents? The National Movement of Iranian Resistance (NAMIR), a coalition of Iranians working for the end of the theocratic regime and its replacement by a democratic government may have an answer: <http://impact.users.netlink.co.uk/namir/namirm.html>.
Perhaps the case of Professor Soroush will be re-appraised, too. In that case, see the comprehensive Seraj website, which is wholly devoted to Soroush and his ideas: <http://www.seraj.org/news.htm>.
And to contact Iranian academics directly, see Persian Web's list: <http://www.persianweb.com/indexa.html>.
Lawrence Joffe is a noted British journalist and MERIA's representative in the United Kingdom. His books include Keesing's Guide to the Middle East Peace Process.
Ozgul
Erdemli is the research assistant for the Middle East Review of
International Affairs.
