Roy P. Mottahedeh – författare

On 11 February 1979, a mullah listens to the radio as he plants seeds in his Qom garden. What he hears will define Iran’s modern history: ‘The ill-omened regime of the Pahlavis is finished, and an Islamic government has been established under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini.’ Crowds pour into Qom’s streets, jubilant. In The Mantle of the Prophet , the late pre-eminent scholar of Iran Roy P. Mottahedeh weaves a tapestry of the Islamic Revolution and its deep roots in Persian culture. We witness prisoners chanting Ferdowsi and Rumi verses against the Shah’s regime, mullahs writing about Che Guevara and Islam and students in Paris debating Algeria and Cuba. This is a unique glimpse into the extraordinary Iranian twentieth century, as it was lived and suffered by its people.

In pieces drawn from over the course of his distinguished career, pre-eminent historian Roy Mottahedeh explores such diverse topics as the social bonds that connected people in the early Islamic Middle East, the transmission of learning in the Muslim world, religious and ethnic toleration in the past and in the present, and the theme of ‘wonders’ in The Thousand and One Nights. His essays extend from the early Islamic period through the medieval era and on to modern times. A number concern Iran, the country of his father’s birth, and again Mottahedeh’s studies range widely, including Persian panegyric poetry, the origins of the city of Kashan, and Shi‘ite political thought. Speaking to contemporary concerns, he also touches upon voting rights, academic freedom, and censorship.Intended not only for those in Islamic studies but for students of history and interested lay readers, there are introductions to each section written with the non-specialist in mind, and these sections progress from more general topics to those more specialized. In the Shadow of the Prophet thus reflects Mottahedeh’s desire that the Islamic world and its history become better understood so that cooperation between Muslims and non-Muslims might become the order of the day.

On 11 February 1979, a mullah listens to the radio as he plants seeds in his Qom garden. What he hears will define Iran’s modern history: ‘The ill-omened regime of the Pahlavis is finished, and an Islamic government has been established under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini.’ Crowds pour into Qom’s streets, jubilant. In The Mantle of the Prophet , the late pre-eminent scholar of Iran Roy P. Mottahedeh weaves a tapestry of the Islamic Revolution and its deep roots in Persian culture. We witness prisoners chanting Ferdowsi and Rumi verses against the Shah’s regime, mullahs writing about Che Guevara and Islam and students in Paris debating Algeria and Cuba. This is a unique glimpse into the extraordinary Iranian twentieth century, as it was lived and suffered by its people.