Amir Taheri - WikiHQ

Amir Taheri (; born 9 June 1942) is an Iranian-born journalist, author, intellectual, scholar of Middle Eastern politics and activist based in Europe. His writings focus on the Middle East affairs and topics related to Islamic terrorism.

Taheri was the executive editor-in-chief of Pahlavi Iran's largest daily Kayhan from 1972 until the Iranian Revolution of 1979. He has been the chairman of Gatestone Institute in Europe since 2008.

Career

Taheri was born in Ahvaz. His biography at Benador Associates stated that he was educated in Tehran, London, and Paris. He became involved in journalism as the editor of his school magazine between 1955 and 1958, and wrote for literary magazines and weeklies in his youth.

In 1967, he was appointed cultural editor of Kayhan International, the English-language foreign edition of Kayhan, daily and the largest newspaper in Iran. From 1968 to 1972, he worked as the paper's political editor.

Following the Iranian Revolution, Taheri emigrated to Europe and lived between Paris and London. (for which he wrote until 1992), the New York Post (2003–2018 and he has praised Frédéric Bastiat anachronistically as "the rediscovered French challenger to [[Karl Marx|[Karl] Marx]]".

In 2003, he was cited as a "noted terrorism expert" by the United Nations Security Council's monitoring group on al-Qaida and the Taliban, led by Michael Chandler. In 2006, he wrote in the Sunday Times that "today the visible Islam, the loudest Islam, is a political movement masquerading as a religion". He became the European chairman of the far-right American think tank Gatestone Institute in 2008. In 2023, he was reported to be a close ally of Reza Pahlavi whose accession to the Alliance for Freedom and Democracy in Iran had allegedly been blocked by the resigning Hamed Esmaeilion.

Taheri has published several books, some of which have been translated into 20 languages. In 1988 Publishers Weekly in New York chose his study of Islamist terrorism, Holy Terror: Inside the World of Islamic Terrorism, as one of the best books of the year. His most recent book, Persian Night: Iran under the Khomeinist Revolution (2009), discusses the Islamic Republic's history, current political landscape, and geopolitical ambitions.

Controversies and fabrications

Taheri has been the subject of many controversies involving allegations of producing fabrications in his writings, the most notable of which was the 2006 Iranian sumptuary law controversy. Bakhash stated that Taheri's 1989 Nest of Spies is "the sort of book that gives contemporary history a bad name".

Claims of Osama bin Laden's death in 2002

Taheri's byline was attached to an op-ed in The New York Times of 11 July 2002 under the title "The Death of bin Ladenism". His clip claimed, "Osama bin Laden is dead. The news first came from sources in Afghanistan and Pakistan almost six months ago".

Iranian sumptuary law hoax

On 19 May 2006, the National Post of Canada published two pieces, one by Taheri, claiming that the Iranian parliament passed a law that "envisages separate dress codes for religious minorities, Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians, who will have to adopt distinct colour schemes to make them identifiable in public."

Numerous other sources, including Maurice Motamed, the Jewish member of the Iranian parliament, refuted the report as untrue. The Associated Press later refuted the report as well, saying that "a draft law moving through parliament encourages Iranians to wear Islamic clothing to protect the country's Muslim identity but does not mention special attire for religious minorities, according to a copy obtained Saturday by the Associated Press." Reuters also reported that "A copy of the bill obtained by Reuters contained no such references. Reuters correspondents who followed the dress code session in parliament as it was broadcast on state radio heard no discussion of prescriptions for religious minorities."

Taheri insisted that his report was correct and that "the dress code law has been passed by the Islamic Majlis and will now be submitted to the Council of Guardians", claiming that "special markers for followers of Judaism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism are under discussion as a means to implement the law".

The National Post retracted the story several hours after posting it online. The newspaper blamed Taheri for the falsehood in the article, and published a full apology on 24 May. Taheri stood by his article.

Taheri's PR agent Eliana Benador defended his story. "Benador explained that, regarding Iran, accuracy is 'a luxury...As much as being accurate is important, in the end it's important to side with what's right. What's wrong is siding with the terrorists.'"

Partial bibliography

1986. The Spirit of Allah: Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution.
: Bethesda: Adler & Adler. , . .
1987. Holy Terror: Inside the World of Islamic Terrorism.
: Bethesda: Adler & Adler. , . .
1988. The Cauldron: The Middle East Behind the Headlines.
: London: Hutchinson. , . .
1989. Nest of Spies: America's Journey to Disaster in Iran.
: New York: Pantheon Books. , . .
1989. Crescent in a Red Sky: The Future of Islam in the Soviet Union.
: London: Hutchinson. , .
1991. The Unknown Life of the Shah.
: London: Hutchinson. , . .
2009. The Persian Night: Iran under the Khomeinist Revolution.
: New York City: Encounter Books.

References

External links

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