Azeri Gharib

The book “Azari Gharib” written by “Sadegh Hedayat” has been published by Bidgol Publications. Still, every time I enter the corridors of the Faculty of Law and Political Science and climb the old stairs, which have not bent under stress since the era of Reza Shah, I instinctively feel that I see Afsal once again. I feel as though Afsal, with his semi-paralyzed legs, holding onto the railings with both hands and slowly descending, is about to confront me face-to-face. I do not know what it was in the piercing eyes of this young Turk from a small village between Bonab and Maragheh that even now, whenever I think about him and the manner of his death, an overwhelming fear mixed with despair and suppressed anger at our academic system overtakes my entire being. Sadegh Zibakalam Mofrad is an Iranian academic, writer, and commentator who is described as a reformist and neoliberal. Zibakalam is a professor at the University of Tehran and frequently appears in international news outlets such as BBC News and Al Jazeera. The books “How Did We Become What We Are?” and “An Introduction to the Islamic Revolution” are among the best-selling and most prominent books in contemporary Iranian politics. Zibakalam has become a familiar figure in Iran due to his passionate and bold debates with hardliners, in which he openly challenges the government’s stance on many sensitive issues.