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Ramin Jahanbegloo

Ramin Jahanbegloo was our colleague in the Department of Political Science from 1997 to 2001, when he was an active and valued member of our political theory community and taught courses in the history of political philosophy and Middle Eastern politics. He is fondly remembered here as a brilliant, thoughtful and engaged scholar, and as a warm and humane teacher and colleague.

Ramin has a well-deserved international reputation as a scholar, having written over 20 books and numerous articles in English, French and Persian. He received his doctorate from the Sorbonne in 1997 and went on to academic positions at the University of Toronto and Harvard University. In the spirit of enriching intellectual life in his native Iran, he returned to Tehran in 2002 to lead the Department of Contemporary Thought at the Cultural Research Bureau. Ramin holds both Canadian and Iranian citizenship.

Ramin's scholarly work demonstrates his dedication to cultural and religious dialogue, to toleration, and to the power of reason in overcoming political conflict. His works on Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. express his commitment to non-violence in movements for political change. Through his published interviews with Isaiah Berlin, Paul Ricoeur and Jürgen Habermas, he has widened the circle of intellectual debate in Iran and internationally. (Click here for links to his curriculum vitae and scholarly publications.)

In April, Ramin was arrested by Iranian authorities and is being detained in the Evin Prison in Tehran. We are deeply distressed that this man of ideas has been imprisoned and find it incredible that there is any valid legal charge against him. We are also profoundly concerned for his safety.

We welcome you to join our Letter Writing Campaign for his safe release.

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