Iraqi Kurds revive ancient religion as part of a cultural revolution
One of the smallest and oldest religions in the world is experiencing a revival in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. The religion has deep Kurdish roots – it was founded by Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra, who was born in the Kurdish part of Iran and the religion's sacred book, the Avesta, was written in an ancient language from which the Kurdish language derives. However this century it is estimated that there are only around 190,000 believers in the world - as Islam became the dominant religion in the region during the 7th century, Zoroastrianism more or less disappeared.
Source: Your Middle East
The trials and tribulations of an Iranian fashion model
Twenty-six-year-old Pegah Biglui has an unusual job for a woman in Iran: she is a fashion model. True, there are many dedicated models around the world. But what makes her story unusual is the fact she has chosen the profession in the Islamic Republic, a country that is obsessed with how women are perceived in the public space.
Source: IranWire
Iraq needs another National Party: Tariq Aziz's Baath Party ruined the country
The Baath Party gave secular Arab nationalism a bad name, but secular politics is needed in Iraq. The Baath Party gave socialism a bad name, but Iraqis need socialist policies.
Aziz’s authoritarian and paranoid one-party state was what began the deformation of modern Iraq, and led in some ways to the current impasse. Iraq needs more parties, not less.
Source: Informed Comment
