Some favorite sites

The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, University of Washington

The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago

The Shahnama Project. This fantastic project, directed by Charles Melville and John Norman, aims to “stimulate research into the role of Firdausi’s epic in Persian history and culture, and to investigate the relationships between the text of the poem and the many miniature paintings that have been created to illustrate it.”

Website of Prof. Frances W. Pritchett, Columbia University. It contains ample resources on Islam in South Asia.

Website of Arash Hejazi, author, publisher and doctor. He was caught up in the maelstrom of the post-election protests in Iran after he tried to save Neda Agha-Soltan, a young bystander who had been shot. Dr. Hejazi, who is now living in England with his wife and son, has become a symbol of bravery for his courage in speaking out the truth about the circumstances of Ms. Agha-Soltan’s death, though that meant endangering his own life.

Encyclopaedia Iranica. An invaluable resource for information about Iran and Persian culture.

This site documents the persecution of Baha’is in Iran.

Official website of the Baha’i Gardens in Haifa and ‘Akko. Placed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list in July 2008, these beautiful gardens are “tangible expressions of the human spirit.”