Hooman Majd

Hooman Majd (b. 1957) – an Iranian-American writer. He was born in Teheran. He is the grandson of an ayatollah and the son of a diplomat working for the government of the last Shah. He spent most of his life abroad, mostly in Great Britain and the USA, where he finished studies. After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, he settled permanently in New York. His texts are published by most important American newspapers, including The New York Times, The New Yorker and Newsweek. He has written three books devoted to the most recent history of Iran: The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran (2008), The Ayatollahs' Democracy: An Iranian Challenge (2010) and The Ministry of Guidance Invites You to Not Stay: An American Family in Iran (2013). Although Majd does not agree with the political strategy of the current Iranian government, he does not focus only on its criticism in his books. He thinks that the relations between Iran and the Western world are more complicated than is commonly believed, so they require a balanced matter-of-fact analysis. Thanks to the use of a unique double perspective, Majd can look at many difficult and controversial issues from a different and much more interesting angle, explaining the phenomenon of the Iranian Revolution and presenting a genuine description of everyday life in Iran.