On Forgiveness and Revenge: Lessons from an Iranian Prison

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.)