Stream Your Event | Partners | Speakers CART ITEMS: - | CHECKOUT

Roxana Saberi: My Life and Captivity in Iran

Watch Full Video | free previews

Commonwealth Club of California

Commonwealth Club

Info
Bio
Chapters
Preview
Zoom In

Political Prisoner Saberi Reflects on Iran's Hardliners

01 min 59 sec

Add to Profile

Roxana Saberi, an American journalist who was held in Iran as a political prisoner in 2009, takes a position on the Islamic government.

She believes her arrest was a political act, formulated to intimidate journalists and Iranians who wanted to reach out to the West.
Watch Full Program

01 hr 06 min 40 sec

Add to Profile

ZOOM IN: Learn more with related books and additional materials.

Buy

Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran

Encyclopædia Britannica Article

Iran: Country, Middle East, southwestern Asia. Area: 636,374 sq mi (1,648,200 sq km). Population (2009 est.): 74,196,000. Capital: Tehran. Persians constitute the largest ethnic group; other ethnic groups include Azerbaijanians, Kurds, Lurs, Bakhtyari, and Baloch. Languages: Persian (Farsi; official), numerous others. Religions: Islam (official; predominantly Shi'ite); also Zoroastrianism. Currency: rial. Iran occupies a high plateau, rising higher than 1,500 feet (460 metres) above sea level, and is surrounded largely by mountains. More than half of its surface area consists of salt deserts and other wasteland. About one-tenth of its land is arable, and another one-fourth is suitable for grazing. Iran's rich petroleum reserves account for about one-tenth of world reserves and are the basis of its economy. It is a unitary Islamic republic with one legislative house and several oversight bodies dominated by clergy. The head of state and government is the president, but supreme authority rests with the rahbar (leader), a ranking cleric. Human habitation in Iran dates to some 100,000 years ago, but recorded history began with the Elamites c. 3000 BCE. The Medes flourished from c. 728 but were overthrown in 550 by the Persians, who were in turn conquered by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE. The Parthians (see Parthia) created an empire that lasted from 247 BCE to 226 CE, when control passed to the Sasanian dynasty. Various Muslim dynasties ruled from the 7th century. In 1501 the Safavid dynasty was established and lasted until 1736. The Qajar dynasty ruled from 1796, but in the 19th century the country was economically controlled by the Russian and British empires. Reza Khan (see Reza Shah Pahlavi) seized power in a coup (1921). His son Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi alienated religious leaders with a program of modernization and Westernization and was overthrown in 1979; Shi'ite cleric Ruhollah Khomeini then set up an Islamic republic, and Western influence was suppressed. The destructive Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s ended in a stalemate. Since the 1990s the government has gradually moved to a more liberal conduct of state affairs.; Iran on britannica.com

There are 3 comments on this program

Please or register to post a comment.

Previous FORAtv comments:

Michael O

Posted: 07.19.10, 03:20 PM

Nazism & The Islamic Republic are the work of inexcusable criminals with no respect for humanity. Their evil is all for the sake of superstition, which is what they believe in.

Polesch

Posted: 06.23.10, 01:30 PM

I'm sorry, Ascertain_The_Truth, but God or Allah does most likely not exist.

Ascertain_The_Truth

Posted: 05.27.10, 11:20 AM

I as a Muslim watching your presentation sense sincerity. You did not come across as someone having a political agenda promoting anti-Islamic propaganda. I applaud you for that. I am sorry that you had go through what you did but for the Believer as Allah says that there is no fear or grief and that for everything a Believer goes through there are benefits to gain from it. Allah also says that for every hardship the ease will come. I am curious to read your book and I will purchase one so I can better gain knowledge of your experiences and get insights into your interpretation of Iranian culture and life as I feel whatever you wrote will be a sincere and honest accounting. Peace, May Allah give you a goodly reward.

Watch Commonwealth Club of California

$99.95/Year

Unlimited access to all programs

Watch Roxana Saberi: My Life and Captivity in Iran

$4.95

30 Days Unlimited Viewing