Ali Dashti (Persian: علی دشتی [æˈliː dæʃˈtiː]) (born 1894 - died January 16, 1982) was an Iranian rationalist of the twentieth century, who was greatly influenced by Umar Khayyam. Persian (Local names: فارسی Fârsi or پارسی Pârsi)* is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan as well as by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... January 16 is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is not about continental rationalism. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ... Tomb of Omar Khayam, Neishapur, Iran. ...

Dashti was also an Iranian senator. The Senate of Iran (Majles-e Sena) was a legislative chamber that was disbanded after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 in Iran. ...

Life

Born into a Persian family in Dashtestan, Iran in 1896. Ali Dashti received a traditional religious education. He studied Islamic theology, history, Arabic and Persian grammar, and classical literature in madrasas in Karbala and Najaf (both in Iraq) He returned to Persia in 1918 and lived in Shiraz, Isfahan, and finally in Tehran, where he became involved in politics of the day. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Dashtestan is a township in the northern part of Bushehr Province of Iran. ... A tradition is a story or a custom that is memorized and passed down from generation to generation, originally without the need for a writing system. ... Religious is a term with both a technical definition and folk use. ... Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ... Persian (Local names: فارسی Fârsi or پارسی Pârsi)* is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan as well as by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... A Madrasah complex in Gambia Ulugh Beg Madrasa, Samarkand, ca. ... Shrine of Karbala Karbala (Arabic: ‎; BGN: Karbalā’; also spelled Kerbala, Kerbela, Karbila) is a city in Iraq, located about 100 km southwest of Baghdad at 32. ... Najaf (Arabic: ‎; BGN: An Najaf) is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. ... For other uses of this term see: Persia (disambiguation) The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Eram Garden, Shiraz most popular garden. ... Part of Shah Abbas large urban project in his new capital, the Chahār Bāgh Four Gardens, is a four-kilometer avenue in the city of Isfahan. ... Tehran (IPA: ; Persian: تهران Tehrān), population (as of 2006) 7,354,000 (metropolitan: 12,651,000), and a land area of 658 square kilometres (254 sq mi), is the capital city of Iran (Persia) and the center of Tehran Province. ... Politics is the process by which groups make decisions. ...

Rather than becoming a cleric, he became a journalist and published a newspaper (Shafaq-e Sorkh) in Tehran from 1922 to 1935. He was a member of Majlis at various times between 1928 and 1946. Tehran (IPA: ; Persian: تهران Tehrān), population (as of 2006) 7,354,000 (metropolitan: 12,651,000), and a land area of 658 square kilometres (254 sq mi), is the capital city of Iran (Persia) and the center of Tehran Province. ... Majlis (مجلس) is an Arabic term used to describe various types of formal legislative assemblies in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to Islamic countries. ...

Dashti was arrested twice: first in 1920 and then in 1921 after the coup d’e`tat that brought the future Reza Shah to power. His prison memoirs, Prison Days, made him a literary celebrity both at home and abroad. Arrested can refer to: Arrested Development, a sitcom on FOX. A hip-hop group named Arrested Development. ... Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for full calendar). ... -- Reza Shah, also Reza Pahlavi (Persian: ‎ Rez̤ā PahlavÄ«), (March 16, 1878 – July 26, 1944), was Shah of Iran[1] from December 15, 1925 until he was forced to abdicate by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in September 16, 1941 by British and Soviet forces, in retaliation for his Declaration... Megastar redirects here. ...

Dashti’s visit to Russia in 1927 was a decisive point for his later development of skepticism and free thought. 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

His criticism of allowing Tuda party into the cabinet and concessions to the Soviets landed him in prison in 1946. He was appointed a Senator in 1954 until the Islamic revolution in 1979. He was arrested after the revolution and was severely beaten during one of the interrogations. After being released he was not allowed to return to his home. Dashti wrote his thoughts in the book 23 Years which because of censorship could not be published in Iran. It was published anonymously in Lebanon. Ali Dashti gave a copy of Bist o Seh Sal to F.R.C. Bagley in 1975 and requested him to translate and publish it only after his death. Bagley believed this book is valuable because it discusses both values and problems Islam presents to modern Muslims. Bagley says that modern Muslim scholars have not paid much attention to difficulties and for the most part focussed on exposition and apologia. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Soviet redirects here. ... A senate is a deliberative body, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature. ... 23 years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammad is a book by Iranian scholar and thinker Ali Dashti. ...

Ali Dashti wrote Twenty-three Years (the title refers to the prophetic career of Muhammad)which leveled a devastating criticism at some of Muslims’ cherished beliefs. The book was written in 1937 but was published anonymously, probably in 1974, in Beirut, since the Shah’s regime forbade the publication of criticism of religion between 1971 and 1977. After the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Dashti authorized its publication by underground opposition groups. The book may well have sold over half a million copies in pirated editions between 1980 and 1986. 23 years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammad is a book by Iranian scholar and thinker Ali Dashti. ... For other persons named Muhammad, see Muhammad (name). ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Publishing is the activity of putting information in the public arena. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... For other uses, see Beirut (disambiguation). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... 1980 Iranian stamp commemorating the Islamic Revolution Protestors take to the street in support of Ayatollah Khomeini. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A chained book in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University A Chinese bamboo book, in a collection at the University of California, Riverside. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

An Iranian newspaper reported his death in 1982.

Writing

In the book, 23 Years, Dashti chooses reason over blind faith: 23 years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammad is a book by Iranian scholar and thinker Ali Dashti. ...

Belief can blunt human reason and common sense, even in learned scholars. What is needed is more impartial study.

Dashti strongly denied the so-called miracles ascribed to Muhammad and didn’t acknowledge the popular Muslim view that the Koran is the word of God himself. Instead, he favors thorough and skeptical examination of all orthodox belief systems. Dashti points out that the Koran contains nothing new in the sense of ideas not already expressed by others. All the moral precepts of the Koran are self-evident and generally acknowledged. For the U.S. hockey teams victory in the 1980 Winter Olympics, see Miracle on Ice, or Miracle (movie) According to many religions, a miracle is an intervention by God in the universe. ... The Quran (Arabic al-qurʾān أَلْقُرآن; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... To examine somebody or something is to inspect it closely, hence an examination is a detailed inspection or analysis of an object or person. ... The word orthodoxy, from the Greek ortho (right, correct) and doxa (thought, teaching, glorification), is typically used to refer to the correct theological or doctrinal observance of religion, as determined by some overseeing body. ...

The stories in it are taken in identical or slightly modified forms from the lore of the Jews and the Christians, whose rabbis and monks Muhammad had met and consulted on his journeys to Syria, and from memories conserved by the descendants of the peoples of Ad and Thamud. This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ... A Rabbi (Classical Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī; modern Ashkenazi and Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) is a religious Jewish scholar who is an expert in Jewish law. ... A Roman Catholic monk A monk is a person who practices monasticism, adopting a strict religious and ascetic lifestyle, usually in community with others following the same path. ... The Thamud are a people mentioned in the Quran as rejecting their Prophet Saleh. ...

Muhammad reiterated principles which mankind had already conceived in earlier centuries and many places. Look up Mankind in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A century (From the Latin cent, one hundred) is one hundred consecutive years. ...

"Confucius, Buddha, Zoroaster, Socrates, Moses, and Jesus had said similar things..Many of the duties and rites of Islam are continuous practices which the pagan Arabs had adopted from the Jews." Confucius (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kung-fu-tzu, lit. ... Media:Example. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Socrates (Greek: , invariably anglicized as , Sǒcratēs; circa 470–399 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher who is widely credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy. ... Moses with the Tablets, 1659, by Rembrandt This article is about the Biblical figure. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ) are an ethnic group found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ...

Demise in prison

Unfortunately, Dashti’s passion and courage to speak the truth put his life in danger . Ali Dashti died in 1984 after spending three years in Khomeini’s prisons, where he was tortured even though he was 83 at that time. Death is the cessation of physical life in a living organism or the state of the organism after that event. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Torture is defined by the United Nations Convention Against Torture as any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he...

He told a friend before he died:

Had the shah allowed books like this to be published and read by the people, we would never have had an Islamic revolution.

.

The tragic fate of Dashti has striking similarities to that of the Greek philosopher, Socrates, who was forced to drink lethal poison to death for having spoken his mind. This article is 58 kilobytes or more in size. ... Socrates (Greek: , invariably anglicized as , Sǒcratēs; circa 470–399 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher who is widely credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy. ... The skull and crossbones symbol traditionally used to label a poisonous substance. ...

Before listing all the assassinations that Muhammad ordered, including on Abu Afak's life, Ali Dashti wrote in "23 years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammad" on page 97: Abu Afak (Arabic: ابو عفك, c. ...

Thus Islam was gradually transformed from a purely spiritual mission into a militant and punitive organization whose progress depended on booty from raids and revenue from the zakat (tax).

Bibliography

• Bist o Seh Sal [Persian transliteration of "twenty-three years"]
• 23 Years

23 years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammad is a book by Iranian scholar and thinker Ali Dashti. ...

References and notes

External links

• Dashti's book "23 years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammad" in Persian Free online edition
• 23 years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammad in English PDF download

• HTML versions of "23 years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammad" in English and

In Persian