100+ Academics Across Globe Sign Letter Protesting Firing of Professors in Iran

Professors “Unjustly Dismissed” from Iranian Institutions for “Political Reasons”

Universities Not Escaping Intensifying Repression in Islamic Republic

In yet another reflection of intensifying repression in the Islamic Republic, a large group of prominent scholars and academics from around the globe have written a letter in protest against the firing of several professors from universities in Iran “for political reasons.”

The letter by the academics rejected any legitimate reason for their dismissal, stating “It is the politics of intolerance and a lack of respect for academic freedom that have prompted their unjustified terminations.”

The letter was signed by 105* professors from academic institutions across the U.S., including leading universities such as Yale, Columbia and John Hopkins University, as well as universities in the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland, Canada, India, Turkey and Qatar.

The letter noted the damage the lack of freedom of expression is inflicting on Iran, “a country that has suffered so much from brain drain and ever shrinking body of experienced scholarly personnel.”

**The letter does not mention the names and institutional affiliations of the dismissed university professors, but the Scientific Association of the University of Tehran has issued a statement protesting the expulsion of Dr. Arash Abazari from the Department of Philosophy at the Sharif University of Technology. Also, the Jamaran news website announced the dismissal of Dr. Fazeli, professor of sociology at Shahid Beheshti University. The number of dismissed professors exceeds these two, and Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) is investigating the dismissals to shed further light on the situation.

One signatory, Dr. Kazem Alamdari from California State University, said to CHRI, “we did not want to jeopardize [the dismissed professors’] situation [but] we want to circulate this news because we believe putting the authorities under public pressure is more effective than anything else.”

Scholars and academics are highly revered in Iran; knowledge of the professors’ dismissals is likely to result in public criticism.

The letter is reprinted in full below.

In protest against the unjustified dismissal of colleagues in Iran:

We write this letter in protest of the recent dismissal of several professors at different institutions of higher learning in the country. The dismissal of these professors are not isolated incidents, as they seem coordinated nationwide — a recurrent phenomenon in contemporary Iran, especially in recent years.

Considering the background of those affected, the dismissals cannot be justified on academic grounds. Insufficiency of scholarship seems to have had no bearing on the decision of the administrators at these institutions to end their employment. It is the politics of intolerance and a lack of respect for academic freedom that have prompted their unjustified terminations.

It is widely recognized that the services of social scientists and humanities scholars are critical in addressing some of the most fundamental issues and persistent social problems besieging human societies, the Iranian in particular. Such services, however, will come to fruition and bear fruit only when scholars are left unconstrained by political exigencies and unfettered by ill-thought policies of “political correctness.” If this is a universal principle for scholarly productivity anywhere, it is even more urgent in Iran, a country that has suffered so much from brain drain and ever shrinking body of experienced scholarly personnel.

We demand that all dismissed professors be unconditionally reinstated immediately so that they continue their productive services to their students, institutions, and broader community.

[Signed],

1. 1. Abghari, Shahla Professor of Microbiology, Life University, Atlanta, Georgia
   2. Abghari, Siavash Professor of Finance, Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia
   3. Abrahamian, Ervand Professor Emeritus, City Univ of New York
   4. Adib-Moghaddam, Arshin University of London
   5. Afary, Janet University of California, Santa Barbara
   6. Afshari, Ali Adjunct faculty in System engineering department of Engineering and Applied Science at George Washington University
   7. Afshari, Reza Professor Emeritus of History and Human Rights, Pace University
   8. Akbari, Hamid Professor of Management, Carroll University, Wisconsin
   9. Akhavi, Shahrough, Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Columbia University
   10. Alamdari, Kazem California State University, Northridge
   11. Amanat, Abbas William Sumner Professor Emeritus of History, Yale University
   12. Amirahmadi, Hooshang Distinguished Service Professor, Rutgers University
   13. Atabaki, Touraj International Institute of Social History, The Netherlands Royal Academy of Arts and Science
   14. Azimi, Fakhreddin Professor of History, University of Connecticut
   15. Bajoghli, Narges Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies, Johns Hopkins University
   16. Banuazizi, Ali, Professor of Political Science, Boston College
   17. Bavafa, Reza University of Southern California
   18. Bayat, Asef University of Illinois
   19. Behdad, Sohrab Professor of Economics, Denison University
   20. Boroujerdi, Mehrzad Professor and Director, School of Public and International Affairs, Virginia Tech
   21. Chamankhah, Leila University of Dayton
   22. Chehabi, Houchang Esfandiar, Boston University
   23. Dallalfar, Arlene, Professor Emerita, Lesley University
   24. Darvishpour, Mehrdad Professor of Sociology, Mälardalen University
   25. Ehsani, Kaveh DePaul University.
   26. Ehsani, Mohammad PhD, PE, SE, Centennial Emeritus Professor of Civil Eng., University of Arizona
   27. Entessar, Nader Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of South Alabama
   28. Executive Board, Institute for Social Sciences & Humanities (Iran Academia)
   29. Falah, Soraya, California State University, Northridge
   30. Farhang, Mansour, Emeritus Professor of Political Science, Bennington College
   31. Fazaeli, oja Associate Professor, Department of Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
   32. Ghanoonparvar, M. R. Professor Emeritus of Persian and Comparative Literature, The University of Texas at Austin
   33. Gheissari, Ali, University of San Diego
   34. Ghorashi, Reza, Professor of Economics, Stockton University, New Jersey
   35. Haeri, Shahla Professor of Anthropology, Boston University.
   36. Haghighatjoo, Fatemeh, Dr. Boston University
   37. Hamedani Kamkar, Azita, Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania
   38. Hamedani, G. G. Professor, Mathematics, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI.
   39. Hashemi, Nader University of Denver
   40. Hessami, Aram, Political Science Professor, Montgomery College Rockville MD
   41. Hoodashtian, Ata, Canada Associate Professor in Political Science and Philosophy. Swiss Umef University, Geneva
   42. Hoodfar, Homa, Emerita Professor of Anthropology, Concordia University, Canada.
   43. Hosseini, Parvaneh, Worcester University, Adjunct lecturer, Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Department of Health Science.
   44. Izadi, Kazem Retired Professor, University of Tehran
   45. Jahanbegloo, Ramin Professor, Vice Dean, O. P. Jindal Global University, India
   46. Javaheri, Mohammad Professor of Mathematics, Siena College, Loudonville, NY
   47. Kadivar, Mohammad Ali Boston College
   48. Kadivar, Mohsen Duke University
   49. Kamali, Mehrak, the Ohio State university
   50. Kardavani, Kazem Retired Professor at E. Sadegh University, Tehran
   51. Karimi-Hakkak, Ahmad Emeritus Professor of Persian Language, Literature and Culture, University of Maryland
   52. Katouzian, Homa St Antony’s College, University of Oxford
   53. Kazemzadeh, Masoud, Sam Houston State University
   54. Khalili, Ahmad, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
   55. Khanlarzadeh, Mina Ph.D., Northwestern University
   56. Khatam, Azam PhD., York University
   57. Khosokhavar, Farhad retired professor at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, France
   58. Kian, Azadeh, Professor of sociology and gender studies, université de Paris.
   59. Mahdi, Ali Akbar Professor Emeritus, Ohio Wesleyan University
   60. Mehran Kamrava, Professor of Government, Georgetown University Qatar
   61. Meisami, Sayeh, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Dayton
   62. Milani, Abbas Hamid and Christina Moghadam Director of Iranian Studies, Stanford University
   63. Milani, Farzaneh, Raymond J. Nelson Professor, University of Virginia
   64. Mir-Hosseini, Ziba School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
   65. Mirsepassi, Ali New York University.
   66. Moaddel, Mansoor, Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland-College Park
   67. MoghadamValentine M., Professor of Sociology and International Affairs, Northeastern University
   68. Moghaddam, Fathali Professor of Psychology, Georgetown University; Editor of the Cambridge University Press book series on Progressive Psychology
   69. Moghissi, Haideh Emerita Professor, York University, Canada
   70. Mohammadi, Majad Retired Professor of Sociology.
   71. Mojab, Shahrzad Professor, University of Toronto, Canada
   72. Monshipouri, Mahmood, San Francisco State University
   73. Nafisi, Azar former, fellow, and Director of Cultural Conversations at Johns Hopkins- SAIS
   74. Nasr, Vali, Professor of International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
   75. Navab, Mohammad, Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
   76. Niroomand-Rad, Azam Emeritus Professor, Georgetown University, Washington D.C.
   77. Nomani, Farhad Professor Emeritus American University of Paris
   78. Noorbaksh, Mehdi Ph.D., MBA, MHA, Professor of International Affairs and Business, Harrisburg University, Vice President, World Affairs Council Harrisburg
   79. Paivandi, Saeed Professor of Sociology, University of Lorraine (Nancy, France)
   80. Parhami, Behrooz Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara
   81. Parsa, Misagh Professor of Sociology, Dartmouth College
   82. Rahimieh, Nasrin, Howard Baskerville Chair of Humanities and Professor of Comparative Literature, University of California, Irvine
   83. Rahnema, Saeed Professor, York University, Canada
   84. Rastegar, Asghar MD, Senior Research Scientist, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine
   85. Roshandel, Jalil, East Carolina University
   86. Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, Dr Eskandar, Assistant Professor in Contemporary Politics and Modern History of the Middle East, Goldsmiths College, University of London.
   87. Sadri, Mahmoud, Professor of Sociology, Texas Woman’s University.
   88. Saeidi, Shirin, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Arkansas.
   89. Sahimi, Muhammad, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, and Petroleum Engineering, University of Southern California
   90. Seyed-Ghorab Asghar, Utrecht University
   91. Shahpari, Hasan, Community College of Philadelphia
   92. Shirazi, Arman Ph.D., Senior Scientist, CSM North America
   93. Siavoshi, Sussan, Trinity University
   94. Sobhani, Iradj, MD, PhD, Professor in Medicine, Head of GIT department and Cancer research team at UPEC University in France
   95. Soltani, Ebrahim Associate Professor, Political Science, Eastern Michigan University
   96. Tabari, Esfandiar Akdeniz University Antalya
   97. Tajali, Mona, PhD, Associate Professor of IR & WGSS, Agnes Scott College
   98. Talattof, Kamran University of Arizona
   99. Tavakoli, Mohammad professor of history, University of Toronto
   100. Tohidi, Nayereh, professor of Gender Studies, California State University, Northridge.
   101. Vahman, Fereydun, Professor Emeritus, University of Copenhagen
   102. Zamani, Hadi PhD, Retired Economic Adviser, UK Department for Transport, and the National Economic Research Associates
   103. Zangeneh, Hamid, Retired Professor of Economics, Widener University
   104. Sullivan T. Zohreh, Professor Emerita, Departments of English, African Studies, Unit for Criticism, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Il. 6180
   105. Tavakolian, Bahram, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Sociology, Denison University

*This article was revised on February 10, 2022, to add two more names to the list of signatories and name two professors who have been dismissed.

**This article was revised on February 10, 2022, to name two professors who have been dismissed.