The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran by Hooman Majd - The Ayatollahs Do, Indeed, Beg to Differ

A Los Angeles Times and Economist Best Book of the Year

With a New Preface

The grandson of an eminent ayatollah and the son of an Iranian diplomat, journalist Hooman Majd is uniquely qualified to explain contemporary Irans complex and misunderstood culture to Western readers.

The Ayatollah Begs to Differ provides an intimate look at a paradoxical country that is both deeply religious and highly cosmopolitan, authoritarian yet informed by a history of democratic and reformist traditions. Majd offers an insightful tour of Iranian culture, introducing fascinating characters from all walks of life, including zealous government officials, tough female cab drivers, and open-minded, reformist ayatollahs. Its an Iran that will surprise readers and challenge Western stereotypes.

In his new preface, Majd discusses the Iranian mood during and after the June 2009 presidential election which set off the largest street protests since the revolution that brought the ayatollahs to power.

The Ayatollahs Do, Indeed, Beg to Differ
The paperback release of Hooman Majd's "The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran" comes at a time when we have seen daily news about Iran since its June 12th presidential election. I read the hardcover last October, yet re-reading Majd's masterful exploration of Iranian cultural and political history seems prophetic in hindsight and in light of the current protests by the Iranian people and the growing divisions within the government. What we observe at play right now is what Majd had already elegantly argued: that the ayatollahs, indeed, "beg to differ."

There are books that grab your hand and gently take you on a journey towards understanding the complexities of another culture and harsh ones that alienate you from beginning to end. Hooman Majd is that gentle guide. At once Iranian and American, his vision has the critical consciousness of someone who lives and writes at once inside and outside the nation. What he offers is a magnificent work of nonfiction that conveys a dynamic reality. Majd's book has a plurality of vision with an awareness of simultaneous and paradoxical dimensions, an awareness that the late Edward Said would call "contrapuntal": between domains, forms, homes and languages.

And how evocative and foretelling, the paperback's cover image is. The text hovers in the air as if asking the question: "What is Iran's future?" Amidst the ayatollahs' dialogue, debate and difference of opinion that we are witnessing at present in the news, this book has a profound relevance. At first we, too, are anonymous spectators on green chairs overlooking the political and cultural landscape of Iran. But equipped with Hooman Majd's book, we experience an account of Iranian culture and politics that distills and then articulates the paradox of modern Iran.

In his new preface, Majd writes: "What started out as an outpouring of anger has turned into a battle royal for the soul of a nation. Or a battle to allow that nation a soul." "The Ayatollah Begs to Differ" speaks and acts on territory taken back from decades of misrepresentations of Iran. The result is nothing short of a masterpiece, enabling us to move from our passivity and take on a more active role in historical experience.

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