On Forgiveness and Revenge: Lessons from an Iranian Prison

by Ramin Jahanbegloo

Overview

Insightful reflection on what can be understood of feelings such as bitterness and revenge

"As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison." - Nelson Mandela

Upon his release from Iran's notorious Evin Prison, philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo contemplated the words of Mandela as he grappled with demons arising from being unjustly imprisoned.

He then began to wrestle with ideas of forgiveness versus revenge, and wondered if the politics of forgiveness could offer salvation in a world where revenge endangers the social and political fabric of our lives.

"What is forgiveness, and how do we get there?" Jahanbegloo asks, in this follow-up to his internationally celebrated book Time Will Say Nothing: A Philosopher Survives an Iranian Prison.

Prevailing upon the wisdom of the Ancients, the Dalai Lama, and other great thinkers, this meditation on forgiveness and revenge offers insights into building a more peaceful world during this time of nationalism and exclusion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780889775008
Publisher:	University of Regina Press
Publication date:	12/02/2017
Series:	The Regina Collection , #7
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	4.50(w) x 6.60(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

The winner of the Peace Prize from the United Nations in Spain and an advisory board member of PEN Canada, Ramin Jahanbegloo is Vice Dean and Executive Director of the Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Peace at Jindal Global Universityin New Delhi, India.

Editorial Reviews

01/29/2018
Philosopher and York University professor Jahanbegloo revisits his experience of 125 days in solitary confinement in an Iranian prison—as recounted in his 2014 memoir Time Will Say Nothing—but this time his focus is on considering forgiveness for his captors. Jahanbegloo’s rousing call to forgiveness as a social imperative comes with the strong caveat that people must never forget wrongs that have been committed lest they be allowed to happen again. He threads a myriad of references into his thesis, citing G.K. Chesterton, Shakespeare, Aristotle, Zoroaster, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Jesus, among others. The text explores the theme of forgiveness from different schools of thought, religions, and cultures. Jahanbegloo does not shy away from the hard truths of today’s sociopolitical situation, and his book is a bold attempt to come to terms with the realities of terrorism, fanaticism, and ideological excess driven by anger and the lust for revenge. Although some passages are overly complex and difficult to follow, the work succeeds as a clarion call for forgiveness as a viable cure to social ills. By the end, any facile or sentimental notions of forgiveness are banished, leaving only a robust, even pragmatic argument for a possible path to peace. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

"An extraordinary and truly memorable read from first page to last."

From the Publisher