Talk:Azar Nafisi

Muslim reformers
"Muslim reformers" refers to a coalition of several parties under Muhammad Khatami's leadership. The main theorist of this movement is Saeed Hajjarian. Azar Nafisi is not considered a reformer in Iran. She is not also a Muslim Intellectual as she had no training (or writings on) in religion or philosophy. And there is no evidence that she is a beleiver.


 * Muslim reformer has meaning outside of the context of Iranian politics, and as regards to your other remarks, this is only your own opinion, readers of Reading Lolita in Tehran around the world might have another.--CltFn 02:10, 16 January 2006 (UTC)


 * This is not my personal opinion. The word is defined by those who study middle east politics and political philosophers. Readers of Reading of Lolita in Tehran are not in a position to define the word "Muslim reformer". Anyway, I am also a reader of the book! Who is the representative of the community ?! Reformers are those who support gradual change in a society not a radical change like a revolution. Nafisi and many others do not support a gradual change in Islamic Republic. They call for a radical change and wish sudden change of the system. -- Sina Kardar 02:54,18 January 2006 (UTC)

Misquotes by Rhobite
user Rhobite is insisting on this insertion. Yet the source he quotes does not state that and did I mention that the source does not say that?

Nafisi has been accused of having close relation with right wing US polititians and Neoconservatives.[1][2] So what is up with that? Uh Rhobite, whats up with that?--CltFn 05:51, 19 January 2006 (UTC)
 * That is exactly what the Guardian article accuses her of. They point out that she works with Benador, which does have connections to neoconservative politicians and commentators. This is backed up by the fact that she has a page on Benador's website, a link to which you have deleted a couple times already. Rhobite 05:55, 19 January 2006 (UTC)
 * It does not say that, you are misrelaying the content of the article. The article does not even mention the word right wing even once, and much less does it mention a close relation of Nafisi with right wing Us politicians or neon conservatives. Can you not see that??? --CltFn 06:09, 19 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Furthermore, if you cannot give a proper source for the assertion you make then the statement will be removed.--CltFn 03:09, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
 * The article puts Azar Nafisi as a person assoicated with Benador. Is it then your argument that Benador has nothing to do with neo-conservatives ? The article makes this point too. A is associated with B, B is associated with C : surely we cannot ignore the possibility of A having some association with C albeit indirectly, and the line you are disputing says "accused" and not "is" - Thenothing 09:40, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
 * Well you could say she has written articles with Benador Associates but the article that is sourced does not say anything about Azar having close relation with right wing US polititians and Neoconservatives. The right wing part is not even mentioned as a word. Perhaps the article ought to be quoted exactly for what it says--CltFn 12:22, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
 * Aren't we splitting hairs here ? A reader with the given links should be able to derive their own conclusions, yes ? -- Thenothing 12:59, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
 * Azar Nafisi's close relation with Neoconservatives is clear. The articles are quite convincing. -- Mensen

New additions to article re veil
Mitso Bel I am removing the addition about the veil since there are no substantiating references. -- Thenothing 18:29, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
 * It's in a CBC interview I just added as a source. Robincantin (talk) 19:55, 3 January 2019 (UTC)
 * I don’t know where to put this, since i’m not a WP editor and am unfamiliar with process. But i believe there’s an error in the excerpt from Atwood’s review of Reading Lolita in Tehran. I think the word ‘dismissal’ should be replaced by ‘vindication.’ 104.175.75.57 (talk) 22:25, 8 August 2023 (UTC)

The logic of the statement below is strained and is original research
Nafisi has been accused of having close relations with neoconservatives.[1][2] In the acknowledgements she makes in Reading Lolita in Tehran, she writes of historain Bernard Lewis as "one who opened the door". Lewis is the author of "What Went Wrong", a book which has been criticised in academic circles for its sweeping generalisations about the Islamic world, [3] and is also associated with neoconservatism. [4]

I suggest we delete this--CltFn 03:28, 26 January 2006 (UTC)


 * It must be kept in the article. Numerous American authors and US-based Iranian professors wrote articles in US and European newspapers to make this point clear. It is not possible to write an acceptable encyclopedic article about Azar Nafisi without mentioning these points.-- Sina Kardar 12:17, 29 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Azar Nafisi is associated with Neoconservatives. And this is important. (Already disscussed above). -- Joe Dynue 14:35, 29 January 2006 (UTC)


 * CltFn, define "original research" please or state what facts you are disputing. Since these are facts, I believe they are relevant to her being associated with neoconservatives, and emphasizes the point. Please add the edit back. - Thenothing 18:26, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

Paul Wolfowitz
Does anyone know the source of this quote?
 * Nafisi finally left Iran on June 24, 1997, moving to the United States, where she became close friends with Paul Wolfowitz, who introduced her to the writings of Leo Strauss.

Ive been through the references at the bottom of the article but it doesn't seem to come from any of them, although maybe I missed it. Mutt 19:40, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

I saw her speak last night and she said she is not friends with him and has only met him twice for "a few moments." So maybe that should be deleted.

Neoconservatism Section
This section seems to have been quietly deleted. Previous debate has ended in the retention of this section. Please do not delete. Thenothing 13:10, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

Where is that debate? I think the stuff about Bernard Lewis and neoconservatism belong more properly in articles about Lewis and Hamid Dabashi, not here, especially given how scanty this article is. The Guardian reference seems especially ridiculous to me since she is mentioned only in passing, and furthermore is no longer associated with Benador. Nonetheless, if this debate has been had already, I won't reignite it. I did remove some weasel words and added Nafisi's response, as well as removed a broken link to the Benador site.Wash West 191 19:47, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

I removed the extended attack on Barnard Lewis. It doesn't belong here. I left a sentence describing Nafisi's bow to him in her acknowledgements. And the Hamid Dabashi attack, since that was an attack on Nafisi that made headlines - mostly headlines mocking Dabashi, but, still, headlines. the war between Bernard Lewis and the phalanxes of post-colonialists wielding sharpened pens does not belong on Nafisi's page.Thomas Babbington (talk) 19:58, 13 March 2008 (UTC)Thomas Babbington

Is this a reference?
I removed this Exile and Literature: 06/16/03 audio: Azar Nafisi and Dmitri Nabokov from the article because it was listed under references but didn't indicate which bit of the article it was a reference for, and was add ([ diff]) without any addition or change to the article's content. I don't have RealPlayer on my machine so I can't even do the research to work out whether it's a reference, aa worthwhile resource, or simply a link someone liked and added. So I thought I'd leave it here in case someone else was interested in researching it. -Siobhan Hansa 18:58, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

Correction to year of birth
Was given as December 1, 1955. Interesting how such a huge mistake could be overlooked. Then again, this article seems to have attracted relatively little attention in the last two years, or even the last four years. Her autobiography, Things I've Been Silent About, was published two years ago in 2008. Although she is evasive about her age throughout this book, it is clear she was born in either 1947 or 1948. She reports she was sent abroad for schooling starting with England in the fall of 1961, after eighth grade. Although it would be consistent with the text that she started tenth grade, ninth grade is more likely, which narrows down her age to within a two year range (conceivably, within a three year range). Hurmata (talk) 04:47, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * This may or may not be true, but regardless you'd need a definite source to back up this assertion that states the exact year, otherwise it's original research. So far, the only sources that mention her birthdate give 1955 as the year. Laval (talk) 13:10, 15 September 2013 (UTC)

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 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20060613195835/http://dialogueproject.sais-jhu.edu:80/anafisi.php?SMSESSION=NO to http://dialogueproject.sais-jhu.edu/anafisi.php?SMSESSION=NO
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