Kaveh L Afrasiabi
Encyclopedia
Dr Kaveh L. Afrasiabi is a political scientist
and author of Iran
ian origin who has lived for many years in the United States
.
, and Bentley College
. Afrasiabi has been a visiting scholar at Harvard University
, UC Berkeley, Binghamton University
, Center For Strategic Research, Tehran and Institute for Strategic Studies in Paris. During 2004-2005, Afrasiabi was involved as an advisor to Iran's nuclear negotiation team.
From 1996 to 2003, Afrasiabi was involved in a legal conflict with Roy Mottahedeh
, former director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University
, who had been his superior during Afrasiabi's time as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard, and Harvard University itself. The conflict started with an alleged extortion against Mottahedeh's subordinates and a "pre-dawn" arrest of Afrasiabi by Harvard police, and terminated in 2003 with a civil rights case against Harvard, Mottahedeh and the Supreme Court of the United States, in which Afrasiabi acted as his own attorney
. During associated controversies, Afrasiabi was supported by Mike Wallace
of the US television program 60 Minutes
, author David Mamet
, linguist Noam Chomsky
and political scientist Howard Zinn
, and former deputy prime minister of Iran
, Farhang Mehr
..In a video deposition, Mr. Wallace has defended Afrasiabi and accused professor Mottahedeh of making false statements to him about Afrasiabi. His "David and Goliath" battle with Harvard has been praised by Mike Wallace, who has stated "I admire Dr. Afrasiabi. He has been wronged. The cannons of Harvard are lined up against a pea shooter."
and Iran – United States relations, including After Khomeini: New Directions in Iran's Foreign Policy (1994),
Nir/North: A Cinematic Story about the Iran-Contra Affair (1996), Iran's Nuclear Program: Debating Facts Versus Fiction (2006) and Reading in Iran's Foreign Policy After September 11 (2008).
Afrasiabi has also written several book chapters on Islam
, environment, and theology
, published by Harvard University Press
, Chicago University Press and Wadsworth
.. Also, Afrasiabi has published a chapter on Islam, globalization, and ethics of non-violence in a compendium on Mahdism published by the Islamic Center of London.. Afrasiabi's latest book is Looking For Rights At Harvard (2010) which chronicles the abuse of his human rights by Harvard University, described by professor Noam Chomsky as "a shameful chapter in American history and at one of its cherished institutions." In the Appendix section of the book, Afrasiabi has written an open letter to President Obama entitled,Where is My Right?
, MSNBC
, Voice of America
, and Al-Jazeera. Afrasiabi is a regular contributor to the New York Times, International Herald Tribune
, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle
, Global Dialogue, and Asia Times
. Afrasiabi has written hundreds of articles in these and other newspapers and in scholarly journals including Harvard Theological Review
, Harvard International Review
, UN Chronicle
, Brown's Journal of World Affairs, Middle East Journal
, Journal of International Affairs
, Telos
, and Mediterannean Affairs. A supporter of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he has spoken out in support of the fairness of the 2009 presidential election
results on CNN
and elsewhere and has been critical of protests
over the results while at the same time calling for national reconciliation. In September 2010, Afrasiabi accompanied president Ahmadinejad's delegation to the United Nations and was quoted in Los Angeles Times expressing optimism on US-Iran dialogue. He is also a supporter of Iran's nuclear power program
that was launched in the 1950s with the help of the United States
as part of the Atoms for Peace
program. Afrasiabi has called for education on the Holocaust in the Muslim Middle East as a "moral imperative."Afrasiabi once challenged the right wing media host Glenn Beck who questioned the Harvard's decision to invite former president of Iran, Mohamamad Khatami, to speak at the university.
"Dialogue Among Civilizations", for which he interviewed the former Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami
. He occasionally contributes to the UN Chronicle on peace
and human rights
related topics. Afrasiabi was the chairman of World Youth Festival on Dialogue Among Civilizations that took place in Vilnius, Lithuania during the Summer of 2000.Afrasiabi is frequently referred to as the director of an non-governmental organisation called Global Interfaith Peace. On 24 December 2002, he issued a statement on behalf of the organisation in opposition to the risk of an invasion of Iraq
. Afrasiabi is a member of the advisory board of the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran and has appeared at numerous international conferences, most recently at the Tehran International Conference on Nuclear Disarmament, April, 2010. He has also issued a statement in the New York Times in support of nonproliferation and disarmament.
(United States). According to Afrasiabi, employees there showed "racist and indecent behavior" and "treated him unprofessionally", after which he exited the restaurant without finishing his meal nor paying for it. He approached some police standing nearby. A restaurant employee approached the police. The police then arrested Afrasiabi, on the basis of an outstanding warrant. Afrasiabi claims the warrant was issued in error, based on a 1986 unregistered vehicle incident, for which he had already paid the fines. The police claim it originated from an incident in 1999. Afrasiabi described the arrest taking place with "a racist attitude." While in custody, Afrasiabi claims that he was denied the right to a telephone call to contact his family and/or a lawyer. He said that the police officers were racist and brutal, stating, "If I had blond hair and blue eyes and had an American-sounding last name, no, I wouldn't have been subjected to this. They did this to me because they're racist."
In July 2010, Afrasiabi filed a formal complaint against Cambridge police alleging racism and physical injury in the hands of Cambridge police, who placed him under arrest after he had approached them to complain of being mistreated at a restaurant. The basis for his arrest was an outstanding warrant for a 1986 ticket, which Afrasiabi claimed to have paid at the time. A judge in Newton, Massachusetts agreed with Afrasiabi and dismissed the warrant without imposing any fines. Afrasiabi has alleged that while being transported to a court the next day, he was deliberately injured when the police van slammed the break after driving in full speed, resulting in Afrasiabi's multiple visits to the hospitals. The Cambridge police initially claimed that Afrasiabi had walked out of a restaurant without paying and then changed their story, deleting any reference to the restaurant. In a letter to The Cambridge Chronicle, Afrasiabi has demanded an apology from Cambridge police for what he alleges is their racist and brutal mistreatment of him
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and author of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian origin who has lived for many years in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Teaching
Afrasiabi has taught political science at Tehran University, Boston UniversityBoston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, and Bentley College
Bentley College
Bentley University is a private co-educational university in Waltham, Massachusetts, west of Boston. Founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Bentley moved to Waltham in 1968...
. Afrasiabi has been a visiting scholar at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, UC Berkeley, Binghamton University
Binghamton University
Binghamton University, also formally called State University of New York at Binghamton, , is a public research university in the State of New York. The University is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York system...
, Center For Strategic Research, Tehran and Institute for Strategic Studies in Paris. During 2004-2005, Afrasiabi was involved as an advisor to Iran's nuclear negotiation team.
From 1996 to 2003, Afrasiabi was involved in a legal conflict with Roy Mottahedeh
Roy Mottahedeh
Roy Parviz Mottahedeh is a professor of pre-modern social and intellectual history of the Islamic Middle East at Harvard University and expert on Iranian culture.-Life:...
, former director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, who had been his superior during Afrasiabi's time as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard, and Harvard University itself. The conflict started with an alleged extortion against Mottahedeh's subordinates and a "pre-dawn" arrest of Afrasiabi by Harvard police, and terminated in 2003 with a civil rights case against Harvard, Mottahedeh and the Supreme Court of the United States, in which Afrasiabi acted as his own attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
. During associated controversies, Afrasiabi was supported by Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (journalist)
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
of the US television program 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, author David Mamet
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
, linguist Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
and political scientist Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn was an American historian, academic, author, playwright, and social activist. Before and during his tenure as a political science professor at Boston University from 1964-88 he wrote more than 20 books, which included his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United...
, and former deputy prime minister of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Farhang Mehr
Farhang Mehr
Farhang Mehr is a Zoroastrian scholar and former politician.-Background:Mehr was born to a Zoroastrian family in Tehran. His father, Mehraban Mehr, was from the province of Kerman, and at the age of 14 migrated to Tehran for greater economic and social opportunities...
..In a video deposition, Mr. Wallace has defended Afrasiabi and accused professor Mottahedeh of making false statements to him about Afrasiabi. His "David and Goliath" battle with Harvard has been praised by Mike Wallace, who has stated "I admire Dr. Afrasiabi. He has been wronged. The cannons of Harvard are lined up against a pea shooter."
Books
Afrasiabi has written several books in relation to international relations, Iranian foreign policyForeign relations of Iran
Foreign relations of Iran refers to inter-governmental relationships between Iran and other countries. Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the newly-born Islamic Republic, under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini, dramatically reversed the pro-Western foreign policy of the last Shah of Iran,...
and Iran – United States relations, including After Khomeini: New Directions in Iran's Foreign Policy (1994),
Nir/North: A Cinematic Story about the Iran-Contra Affair (1996), Iran's Nuclear Program: Debating Facts Versus Fiction (2006) and Reading in Iran's Foreign Policy After September 11 (2008).
Afrasiabi has also written several book chapters on Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, environment, and theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, published by Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Its current director is William P...
, Chicago University Press and Wadsworth
Wadsworth
- Placenames :*Wadsworth, West Yorkshire, EnglandU.S. places:* Wadsworth, Illinois, village* Wadsworth, Nevada, census-designated place* Wadsworth, Ohio, city* Wadsworth Township, Medina County, Ohio* Wadsworth, Texas, unincorporated community- Other :...
.. Also, Afrasiabi has published a chapter on Islam, globalization, and ethics of non-violence in a compendium on Mahdism published by the Islamic Center of London.. Afrasiabi's latest book is Looking For Rights At Harvard (2010) which chronicles the abuse of his human rights by Harvard University, described by professor Noam Chomsky as "a shameful chapter in American history and at one of its cherished institutions." In the Appendix section of the book, Afrasiabi has written an open letter to President Obama entitled,Where is My Right?
Media
Afrasiabi has worked as a consultant to CBS's "60 Minutes" and has appeared on numerous television programs including CNNCNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
, and Al-Jazeera. Afrasiabi is a regular contributor to the New York Times, International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, Global Dialogue, and Asia Times
Asia Times
Asia Times was a newspaper launched in Thailand by Thai tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul in 1995. The newspaper hired talent from around the world to produce a regional English-language newspaper....
. Afrasiabi has written hundreds of articles in these and other newspapers and in scholarly journals including Harvard Theological Review
Harvard Theological Review
Harvard Theological Review is a journal of theology, published by Harvard Divinity School. It was founded in 1908.-External links:* * * * at the Internet Archive...
, Harvard International Review
Harvard International Review
The Harvard International Review is a quarterly journal of international relations published by the Harvard International Relations Council...
, UN Chronicle
UN Chronicle
The UN Chronicle is a quarterly publication of the Outreach Division of the United Nations Department of Public Information, reporting on issues such as human rights, economic development, peacekeeping, health, refugees, programs and activities of the UN and regional issues...
, Brown's Journal of World Affairs, Middle East Journal
Middle East Journal
The Middle East Journal is published by the Washington, D.C.-based Middle East Institute. It was first published in 1947, making it the oldest U.S. peer-reviewed publication on the modern Middle East...
, Journal of International Affairs
Journal of International Affairs
The Journal of International Affairs is a foreign affairs academic journal published bi-yearly by the students at the School of International and Public Affairs...
, Telos
Telos
-Companies:* Telos , a defense contractor and software business in Ashburn, Virginia* Telos Systems, a manufacturer of equipment for broadcasting stations...
, and Mediterannean Affairs. A supporter of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he has spoken out in support of the fairness of the 2009 presidential election
Iranian presidential election, 2009
Iran's tenth presidential election was held on 12 June 2009, with incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running against three challengers. The next morning the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's official news agency, announced that with two-thirds of the votes counted, Ahmadinejad had won the election...
results on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and elsewhere and has been critical of protests
2009 Iranian election protests
Protests following the 2009 Iranian presidential election against the disputed victory of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and in support of opposition candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi occurred in major cities in Iran and around the world starting June 13, 2009...
over the results while at the same time calling for national reconciliation. In September 2010, Afrasiabi accompanied president Ahmadinejad's delegation to the United Nations and was quoted in Los Angeles Times expressing optimism on US-Iran dialogue. He is also a supporter of Iran's nuclear power program
Nuclear program of Iran
The nuclear program of Iran was launched in the 1950s with the help of the United States as part of the Atoms for Peace program. The support, encouragement and participation of the United States and Western European governments in Iran's nuclear program continued until the 1979 Iranian Revolution...
that was launched in the 1950s with the help of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as part of the Atoms for Peace
Atoms for Peace
"Atoms for Peace" was the title of a speech delivered by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the UN General Assembly in New York City on December 8, 1953....
program. Afrasiabi has called for education on the Holocaust in the Muslim Middle East as a "moral imperative."Afrasiabi once challenged the right wing media host Glenn Beck who questioned the Harvard's decision to invite former president of Iran, Mohamamad Khatami, to speak at the university.
Peace/media activism
Afrasiabi is a former consultant to the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
"Dialogue Among Civilizations", for which he interviewed the former Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami
Mohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
. He occasionally contributes to the UN Chronicle on peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
related topics. Afrasiabi was the chairman of World Youth Festival on Dialogue Among Civilizations that took place in Vilnius, Lithuania during the Summer of 2000.Afrasiabi is frequently referred to as the director of an non-governmental organisation called Global Interfaith Peace. On 24 December 2002, he issued a statement on behalf of the organisation in opposition to the risk of an invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. Afrasiabi is a member of the advisory board of the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran and has appeared at numerous international conferences, most recently at the Tehran International Conference on Nuclear Disarmament, April, 2010. He has also issued a statement in the New York Times in support of nonproliferation and disarmament.
June 2010 incident
On June 27, 2010, Afrasiabi went to the Zuzu restaurant in Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
(United States). According to Afrasiabi, employees there showed "racist and indecent behavior" and "treated him unprofessionally", after which he exited the restaurant without finishing his meal nor paying for it. He approached some police standing nearby. A restaurant employee approached the police. The police then arrested Afrasiabi, on the basis of an outstanding warrant. Afrasiabi claims the warrant was issued in error, based on a 1986 unregistered vehicle incident, for which he had already paid the fines. The police claim it originated from an incident in 1999. Afrasiabi described the arrest taking place with "a racist attitude." While in custody, Afrasiabi claims that he was denied the right to a telephone call to contact his family and/or a lawyer. He said that the police officers were racist and brutal, stating, "If I had blond hair and blue eyes and had an American-sounding last name, no, I wouldn't have been subjected to this. They did this to me because they're racist."
In July 2010, Afrasiabi filed a formal complaint against Cambridge police alleging racism and physical injury in the hands of Cambridge police, who placed him under arrest after he had approached them to complain of being mistreated at a restaurant. The basis for his arrest was an outstanding warrant for a 1986 ticket, which Afrasiabi claimed to have paid at the time. A judge in Newton, Massachusetts agreed with Afrasiabi and dismissed the warrant without imposing any fines. Afrasiabi has alleged that while being transported to a court the next day, he was deliberately injured when the police van slammed the break after driving in full speed, resulting in Afrasiabi's multiple visits to the hospitals. The Cambridge police initially claimed that Afrasiabi had walked out of a restaurant without paying and then changed their story, deleting any reference to the restaurant. In a letter to The Cambridge Chronicle, Afrasiabi has demanded an apology from Cambridge police for what he alleges is their racist and brutal mistreatment of him