Pompeo, Religion, and Regime Change in Iran

by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj In his brief stint as CIA director, Mike Pompeo brought God to Langley. At least that’s how it felt it to many in the intelligence community. According to Foreign Policy, Pompeo attended “weekly Bible studies held in… Continue Reading

Militant Clergy—the Future of Shia Islam?

by Saeid Golkar Mohammad Aqamiri might be the first-ever Shia cleric from Iran who martyred himself in Syria after the Syrian uprising. While studying and teaching at Qom Seminary in 2013, Aqamiri enlisted in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and died defending the holy shrine… Continue Reading

No, Turkey 2016 is not Iran 1979

by Eldar Mamedov In a flurry of the articles written in the aftermath of the failed coup aftermath in Turkey, some analysts argued that the victorious Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan will now launch a wholesale Islamization of the country.… Continue Reading