Mohammad Khatami

Seyyed Mohammad Khatami was born on 21 Mehr 1322 in Ardakan, Yazd. Alongside his study of Islamic sciences in Qom, he studied Western philosophy at the University of Isfahan and later continued his education in educational sciences at the University of Tehran. This combination of seminary and university education helped form an intellectual language that seeks dialogue between the Islamic heritage, the questions of modern society, and the achievements of global culture.

In the decades after the Iranian Revolution, Khatami held responsibilities in cultural and media institutions and served as Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance from 1982 to 1992. His work in this sphere was connected to publishing, the arts, the press, universities, and the role of culture in public life. In his writings and speeches, he has described culture as a domain in which identity, critique, creativity, and dialogue take shape.

The best-known axis of his cultural thought is the “Dialogue among Civilizations,” a proposal emphasizing mutual understanding among cultures, criticism of historical prejudices, and resistance to reducing global relations to a clash of civilizations. The United Nations adopted the proposal in connection with the designation of 2001 as the Year of Dialogue among Civilizations. His writings and addresses, including Religion and Thought in the Trap of Autocracy and Fear of the Wave, reflect his concern with the relationship between religion and freedom, civil society, political ethics, and the cultural responsibility of intellectuals and public institutions.