Iraj Bashiri
Iraj Bashiri's scholarly career begins with his dissertation that is based on Ibn Sina's concept of existence. He shows that the Persian verb budan (to be) has its own syntax. This syntax in the context of the concept of shodan (becoming) expresses transition, and in the context of kardan (doing) expresses action. Sentence structures are derived through the interaction and transformation of thought as it interacts with the phenomenal world via this system.
His study of Sadeq Hedayat's works, especially the internal structure of Hedayat’s Blind Owl, is controversial. In 1974, concentrating on the word nag, he hypothesized that a Buddhist subtext might underlie the novella. Working with that hypothesis, in 2017, he showed how Hedayat combines the concept of the transmigration of the soul and Tibetan death rituals to achieve the unearthly atmosphere and the enigmatic mindset that his readers encounter. The intrigue is heightened by the time and space constraints imposed by the unfamiliar concept of “transmigration” in Iran’s Islamic culture.
In the 1990s, the focus of Bashiri's research shifted to Central Asia and the works of Sadriddin Aini. Through Aini's works, especially his Yoddoshtho (reminiscences), he explores life in the city of Bukhara. He also illustrates the intricacies of the socio-political stance of the Emirate on the eve of the Soviet takeover. Bashiri also investigates the works of the famous Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov and presents analyses of Jamila and Farewell Gulsary!
Other authors to whose works he has applied structural analysis include Firdowsi, Hafiz, Rumi, and Jami. In the Shahname, through the concept of the farr, he distinguishes between the legendary Tur and the ethnic Turks of Central Asia. In Hafiz, he shows how the poet uses the atmosphere of the Khaniqah, and the stations and states of the Tariqa, to present sonnets that are at once popular and mystical. Jami's "Perfect Man" is treated the same way.
In recent years, Bashiri has worked with Iranian identity, in particular, the transformation of Iranian ideology from Zoroastrianism to Sunni and thereafter Shi'ite Islam. In this context, he has authored Modern Iranian Philosophy: From Ibn Sina to Mulla Sadra Shirazi (2014) about the changes introduced during the Sunni and Shi'ite phases of Iranian thought; Ancient Iran: Cosmology, Mythology, History (2016) about the development of ancient Iranian identity; and Modern Iran: Caliphs, Kings, and Jusrisprudents (2017) about the contributions of Zoroastrianism to Islam, especially Shi'ite Islam. His most recent publication is The History of the Civil War in Tajikistan (2020) dealing with developments in Tajikistan from the time of the Amirs of Bukhara until independence and post-civil war reconstruction of the republic.
https://cla.umn.edu/history/news-events/story/iraj-bashiri-s-firsthand-histories-world
His study of Sadeq Hedayat's works, especially the internal structure of Hedayat’s Blind Owl, is controversial. In 1974, concentrating on the word nag, he hypothesized that a Buddhist subtext might underlie the novella. Working with that hypothesis, in 2017, he showed how Hedayat combines the concept of the transmigration of the soul and Tibetan death rituals to achieve the unearthly atmosphere and the enigmatic mindset that his readers encounter. The intrigue is heightened by the time and space constraints imposed by the unfamiliar concept of “transmigration” in Iran’s Islamic culture.
In the 1990s, the focus of Bashiri's research shifted to Central Asia and the works of Sadriddin Aini. Through Aini's works, especially his Yoddoshtho (reminiscences), he explores life in the city of Bukhara. He also illustrates the intricacies of the socio-political stance of the Emirate on the eve of the Soviet takeover. Bashiri also investigates the works of the famous Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov and presents analyses of Jamila and Farewell Gulsary!
Other authors to whose works he has applied structural analysis include Firdowsi, Hafiz, Rumi, and Jami. In the Shahname, through the concept of the farr, he distinguishes between the legendary Tur and the ethnic Turks of Central Asia. In Hafiz, he shows how the poet uses the atmosphere of the Khaniqah, and the stations and states of the Tariqa, to present sonnets that are at once popular and mystical. Jami's "Perfect Man" is treated the same way.
In recent years, Bashiri has worked with Iranian identity, in particular, the transformation of Iranian ideology from Zoroastrianism to Sunni and thereafter Shi'ite Islam. In this context, he has authored Modern Iranian Philosophy: From Ibn Sina to Mulla Sadra Shirazi (2014) about the changes introduced during the Sunni and Shi'ite phases of Iranian thought; Ancient Iran: Cosmology, Mythology, History (2016) about the development of ancient Iranian identity; and Modern Iran: Caliphs, Kings, and Jusrisprudents (2017) about the contributions of Zoroastrianism to Islam, especially Shi'ite Islam. His most recent publication is The History of the Civil War in Tajikistan (2020) dealing with developments in Tajikistan from the time of the Amirs of Bukhara until independence and post-civil war reconstruction of the republic.
https://cla.umn.edu/history/news-events/story/iraj-bashiri-s-firsthand-histories-world
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Courses by Iraj Bashiri
• Life on the Silk Road, the Magao Caves, and interaction between the Han Chinese and the Uyghurs
• A day in a Kazakh village experiencing pre-Soviet nomadic life
• A discussion of the Civil War in Tajikistan and the rapid post-civil war reconstruction of that republic
• The Karakum canal and its impact on the Aral Sea and the ruins of the ancient city of Merv
• A brief history of the Silk Road, how the travelers passed their time, and the epic tradition on the Road.
Videos by Iraj Bashiri
Books by Iraj Bashiri
Persian For Beginners, Fourth Edition. Tape Manual consists of four parts: the sounds of Persian, transition from written to spoken Persian, instructional units, and a glossary. The text is recently made into a video using the tapes and text for ease of learning the correct pronunciation of Persian sounds. The link to this video is above.
The text places Iranian philosophy within the framework of Islamic philosophy, details the emergence of a popular theology stemming from interaction between Zoroastrianism and Islam, and addresses efforts to establish Shīʿite orthodoxy.
The book explains Mullā Ṣadrā's theory of existence and its contribution to Twelver Shīʿite orthodoxy. It explores Mullā Ṣadrā's al-Asfār, its structural makeup, and assesses the effect of Ṣadrā's theory on the Islamic Republic of Iran created by Ayatollah Khomeini.
In addition, the material offers valuable insight into contemporary events through chapters addressing the meeting of east and west.
Scholarly and sensitive, Modern Iranian Philosophy is appropriate for upper-division undergraduate courses. It can also be used in graduate level courses and as a tool for researchers.
Learn more at https://www.academicstudiespress.com/centralasianstudies/the-history-of-the-civil-war-in-tajikistan
Readers learn about the earliest stages of Iran's development, including the Rashidun Caliphs, the Umayyads, and the Abbasids. They study the impact of the Mongols, Safavids, and Qajars. Later chapters discuss the rise of the Pahlavis, Islamic Iran, and the rule of the jurisprudents. The book concludes with a consideration of what lies ahead for modern Iran, as well as a comprehensive summing up of Iranian identity.
Detailed and comprehensive, Modern Iran is well-suited to courses in Islamic studies, particularly Shi'ite Islam, Iranian studies, and Iranian culture and identity. With its clear commitment to placing Iran in appropriate and accessible historical and cultural contexts, the book is also an excellent supplemental text for classes on Iran and the west.
The book is divided into three parts. The first part examines cosmology, concentrating on Ahura Mazda and the Ahuric order that emanates fro him. The next section addresses mythology and describes how the rulership of hero-saints promoted the far, culminating in the unique creed of Zoroaster. The final section tells the history of pre-Islamic Iran. It begins with a study of life on the plateau, moves on to the stages of empire and concludes with the rule of the Parthians and Sassanids.
the standard language of lran today. It is an attempt
to formulate a coherent system of grammar developing a
new theoretical approach. The latter, while essentially
based on insights from modern linguistic theory, includes
observations of philosophers of medieval Iran as well. My
grammatical model, thus, is not written exclusively for
Persian and contains much that is applicable to other languages.
Articles by Iraj Bashiri
• Life on the Silk Road, the Magao Caves, and interaction between the Han Chinese and the Uyghurs
• A day in a Kazakh village experiencing pre-Soviet nomadic life
• A discussion of the Civil War in Tajikistan and the rapid post-civil war reconstruction of that republic
• The Karakum canal and its impact on the Aral Sea and the ruins of the ancient city of Merv
• A brief history of the Silk Road, how the travelers passed their time, and the epic tradition on the Road.
Persian For Beginners, Fourth Edition. Tape Manual consists of four parts: the sounds of Persian, transition from written to spoken Persian, instructional units, and a glossary. The text is recently made into a video using the tapes and text for ease of learning the correct pronunciation of Persian sounds. The link to this video is above.
The text places Iranian philosophy within the framework of Islamic philosophy, details the emergence of a popular theology stemming from interaction between Zoroastrianism and Islam, and addresses efforts to establish Shīʿite orthodoxy.
The book explains Mullā Ṣadrā's theory of existence and its contribution to Twelver Shīʿite orthodoxy. It explores Mullā Ṣadrā's al-Asfār, its structural makeup, and assesses the effect of Ṣadrā's theory on the Islamic Republic of Iran created by Ayatollah Khomeini.
In addition, the material offers valuable insight into contemporary events through chapters addressing the meeting of east and west.
Scholarly and sensitive, Modern Iranian Philosophy is appropriate for upper-division undergraduate courses. It can also be used in graduate level courses and as a tool for researchers.
Learn more at https://www.academicstudiespress.com/centralasianstudies/the-history-of-the-civil-war-in-tajikistan
Readers learn about the earliest stages of Iran's development, including the Rashidun Caliphs, the Umayyads, and the Abbasids. They study the impact of the Mongols, Safavids, and Qajars. Later chapters discuss the rise of the Pahlavis, Islamic Iran, and the rule of the jurisprudents. The book concludes with a consideration of what lies ahead for modern Iran, as well as a comprehensive summing up of Iranian identity.
Detailed and comprehensive, Modern Iran is well-suited to courses in Islamic studies, particularly Shi'ite Islam, Iranian studies, and Iranian culture and identity. With its clear commitment to placing Iran in appropriate and accessible historical and cultural contexts, the book is also an excellent supplemental text for classes on Iran and the west.
The book is divided into three parts. The first part examines cosmology, concentrating on Ahura Mazda and the Ahuric order that emanates fro him. The next section addresses mythology and describes how the rulership of hero-saints promoted the far, culminating in the unique creed of Zoroaster. The final section tells the history of pre-Islamic Iran. It begins with a study of life on the plateau, moves on to the stages of empire and concludes with the rule of the Parthians and Sassanids.
the standard language of lran today. It is an attempt
to formulate a coherent system of grammar developing a
new theoretical approach. The latter, while essentially
based on insights from modern linguistic theory, includes
observations of philosophers of medieval Iran as well. My
grammatical model, thus, is not written exclusively for
Persian and contains much that is applicable to other languages.
This essay investigates the steps that, over the centuries, some Iranians have taken to transform the ancient values that, according to the Shahname, create Iranian identity into the Shi'ite values prevalent in present-day Iran. In the process, the roles that the zurkhaneh, ta'ziyeh, the farr, and velayat play in this regard, too, are explained in detail.
Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVLjMmB-BxQ&t=61s
In the analysis of the Ṣūfic poem of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jāmī that follows, I intend to follow the same line of argument as in the previous articles and show that like Ḥāfiz and Rūmī, Jāmī, too, expresses his sublime thoughts using powerful Ṣūfic imagery. There is, however, a major difference. In Jāmī content supersedes form. In other words, Jāmī pays more attention to the correct development of the idea that he presents than to the way in which the idea is presented. Thus, while Ḥāfiz's ghazals are memorized and recited as exemplary pieces of poetry by almost everyone in the Persian-speaking world, Jāmī's poetry does not evoke similar reactions. It does, however, leave an indelible mark on the reader who can follow his thoughts.
https://www.academia.edu/courses/Z68BGl?tab=0&v=D0r8BE
This literal translation was created in 1974 in order to provide a text close to Hedayat’s Persian text of The Blind Owl. It was intended to assist scholars who did not read Persian, but who needed access to parts of the text that were not included in other translations. Additionally, the text is divided into sixteen subsections corresponding to imagery in The Buddha-Karita, or the life story of the Buddha. The literal translation was used in 2013 as the basis for the final translation of the novella.
طور خلاصه کنیم: در اعصار قبل از حمله مغول، در ھندوستان، یکی از دو برادر دو قلو که
دارای یک قیافه و یک اخلاق ھستند دین لینگا را می پذیرد و با دختر رقاصه ای که در معبد
لینگا می رقصد ازدواج می کند. رقاصه باردار می شود و پسری به دنیا می آورد. کمی بعد،
برادر دو قلوی شوھر نیز با ھمان رقاصه ھم بستر می شود. از آن به بعد معلوم نیست پدر بچه
کدام یک از آن دو جوان است. برای معلوم کردن ھو یّت پدر، دو برادر را با یک مار ناگ در
سیاه چالی قرار می دھند. مار ناگ لب یکی از برادران را می گزد و پاره می کند. پس از
چندی ناله ای مخلوط با خنده ای چندش آور به گوش می رسد و یکی از برادرھا در ھیئت
پیرمردی خنزرپنزری از سیاه چال خارج می گردد. وقتی متوجه می شوند که او بچه را نمی
شناسد، بچه و مادرش را به دست برادر دیگر می سپارند.
https://youtu.be/5W2cLsgOYh4
Poem by:
Mehdi Akhavan Saless
Translated into English verse by: Iraj Bashiri
Created by: Carol Bashiri
https://www.facebook.com/iraj.bashiri/videos/10157353971117314
See On Academia: https://www.academia.edu/video/jW4Xz1 or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVLjMmB-BxQ&t=56s