Raffaele Mauriello is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran (Iran), and an invited Lecturer at the Master's program in Geopolitics and Global Security at the Sapienza, University of Rome. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran (2015-2017). He achieved a first-class honors degree in Oriental Languages and Civilizations (2002) and a Ph.D. in Islamic Civilization: History and Philology (2009) from the Sapienza, University of Rome. There, he studied under the supervision of the renowned scholar Prof. Biancamaria Scarcia Amoretti, the doyen of Islamic Studies in Italy. He also holds two MAs in Translation and Interpreting (English-Italian, Spanish-Arabic). Dr. Mauriello is a historian and linguist, specializing in International Relations, Islam, and the Hispanic World. He is the cofounder of the International Relations and Islamic Studies Research Cohort (Co-IRIS). In 2013, he was awarded The World Prize for the Book of the Year of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of Islamic Studies. Dr. Mauriello is a regular commentator on international affairs on television (BBC, HispanTV, PressTV, RussiaToday, NHK) and radio (Radio24, RadioCusanoCampus, RNE). He is fluent in Persian, English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Arabic. For an updated list of publications, conference papers, etc. visit his profile on Academia: https://tehran.academia.edu/RaffaeleMauriello .
International Awards:
- Recipient of the World Prize for the Book of the Year of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2013 for Descendants of the Family of the Prophet in Contemporary History.
Monographs:
- Descendants of the Family of the Prophet in Contemporary History: A Case Study, the Šī'ī Religious Establishment
of al-Nağaf (Iraq),
Supplemento N° 1 alla “Rivista degli Studi Orientali”, LXXXIII, Fabrizio Serra Editore, Pisa-Rome December 2011, 190p.
www.libraweb.net/result1.php?chiave=2682&dettagliononpdf=1&h=427&name=Mauriello.jpg&valore=sku&w=300
Book Translations:
- Translation from Persian into Italian of the Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, forthcoming end of 2014 (Qanun-e Madani: Jeld-e Avval, Jeld-e Dovvom, Jeld-e Sevvom).
Book Chapters:
- “Genealogical Prestige and Marriage Strategy among the Ahl al-Bayt: The Case of the al-Sadr in Recent Times”, in Sarah Bowen Savant and Helena de Felipe (eds.),
Genealogy and Knowledge in Muslim Societies: Understanding the Past, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2014.
www.amazon.com/dp/0748644970
- “Taking the Lead: EU Mediation Role Assessed by Iran and Lebanon”, co-authors Ruth Hanau-Santini and Lorenzo Trombetta,
in Sonia Lucarelli and Lorenzo Fioramonti (eds.), External Perceptions of the European Union as a Global Actor, Routledge, London 2010, pp. 52-69.
www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415481007/
- “Iranian Perceptions of the European Union”, co-author Ruth Hanau Santini, in Sonia Lucarelli and Lorenzo Fioramonti (eds.),
Research Report on the Project: The External Image of The European Union – Phase 2, GARNET Working Paper, January 2009.
www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/garnet/workingpapers/6209_alt.pdf
Essays in Peer-Reviewed Journals:
- “Uncharted Transnational Dis-Located Centers of Power in Shi‘i Islam: ‘Alid Women of the al Sadr Family in Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran”, Comparative Studies
of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East (CSSAAME) (under review).
- “Shi‘a Studies and the Islamic Republic of Iran: Claiming Islam Back to its Own History”, Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs (IRFA), Vol. 1, No. 4,
Winter 2011, pp. 175-190.
www.isrjournals.ir/en/archive/iranian-review-of-foreign-affairs/winter-2011/56-shii-studies-and-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-claiming-islam-back-to-its-own-history.html
Essays in International Journals:
- “L’irréligion d’Ahmadinejâd” (Ahmadinejad’s Irreligion), Outre-Terre, revue européenne de géopolitique: Iran, le compte à rebours, No. 28 (2/2011),
Avril 2011, pp. 89-99.
www.cairn.info/revue-outre-terre-2011-2.htm#fiche (In French)
- “La democrazia iraniana alla prova della piazza” (Iranian Democracy Facing Street Protests), Limes, rivista italiana di geopolitica:
La rivolta d’Iran nella sfida Obama-Israele, No. 4/2009, July 2009, pp. 83-93.
www.temi.repubblica.it/limes/la-democrazia-iraniana-alla-prova-della-piazza/5367 (In Italian)
- “Fsf: familles sans frontières” (Families Without Borders), co-author Lorenzo Trombetta, Limes, rivista italiana di geopolitica:
Il buio oltre Gaza, No. 1/2009, January 2009, 143-152.
www.temi.repubblica.it/limes/il-buio-oltre-gaza/1920 (In Italian)
- “Identità sciita tra potere e democrazia” (Shi‘i Identity Between Power and Democracy), Rivisita di Intelligence,
strategie per la sicurezza: Enigma Iraniano, Second Year, No. 3, September 2006, pp. 141-154.
www.academia.edu/2939191/Identita_sciita_tra_potere_e_democrazia (In Italian)
Entries in Encyclopaedias and References:
- “Crescente sciita, o Grande Medio Oriente sciita” (The Shi‘i Crescent, or Greater Shi‘i Middle East), in Atlante Geopolitico Treccani,
Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana fondata da Giovanni Treccani, Rome 2011, p. 340.
www.treccani.it/catalogo/catalogo_prodotti/I_luoghi_gli_eventi_le_date/atlante_geopolitico.html (In Italian)
The following abstracts/book reviews were written for the Muslim Civilisations Abstracts Project of the Aga Khan University – Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC). They were published in Khanbaghi, A. (ed.), Interpretations of Law and Ethics in Muslim Contexts, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2012. www.eupublishing.com/book/9780748645008
- Motahhari, Morteza, Akhalq-e Jensi dar Eslam va Jahan-e Gharb (Sexual Ethics in Islam and the West), Entesharat-e Sadra, 24th ed., Tehran 1387/2008;
- Motahhari, Morteza, Falsafe-ye Akhlaq (Philosophy of Ethics), Entesharat-e Sadra, 31st ed., Tehran 1387/2008;
- Motahhari, Morteza, Nezam-e Hokuk-e Zan dar Eslam (Women’s Rights in Islam), Entesharat-e Sadra, 8th ed., Qom 1357/1978-79;
- al-Sistani, ‘Ali, Tawzih al-Masa’il (Explanatory Text on Problems of Religion), Nashr-e Hatif, Mashhad 1387/2008-2009;
- al-Sadr, Muhammad Baqir, Durus fi ‘Ilm al-Usul, al-Halaqa al-Ula (Introductory Lessons to the Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence), Dar al-Thaqalayn, Qom 1999-2000;
- Kadivar, Mohsen, Haqq al-Nass, Eslam va Hoquq-e Bashar (Human Rights: Islam and Human Rights), Entesharat-e Kavir, Tehran 1387/2008;
- Mirsepossi, Ali, Akhlaq dar Houze-ye ‘Omumi: Ta’ammolati dar Bab-e Arzeshha va Nahadha-ye Demokratik (Social Ethics: Reflections on the Merits and Principles of Democracy), Nashr-e Thaleth, Tehran 2009;
- Soroush, Abdolkarim, Akhlaq-e Khodayan (The Ethics of the Gods), Tarh-e Nou, 7th ed., 1387/2008-09;
- Edalatnejad, Sa‘id (ed.), Andar Ejtehad, dar Bare-ye Karamadi-ye Feqh-e Eslami dar Dunya-ye Emruz (On Ijtihad: On The Effectiveness of Islamic Jurisprudence in Today’s World), Tarh-e Nou, 2nd ed., Tehran 2006.
The following abstracts/book reviews were written for the new theme of the Muslim Civilisations Abstracts Project for the year 2012-2013 on Governance in Muslim Contexts:
- Qanun-e Asasi-ye Jumhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran 1388. Qanun-e Asasi-ye Mosavvab-e 1358, Eslahat va Taqiirat va Tatmim-e Qanun-e Asasi-ye Mosavvab-e 1368 (Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Constitution Adopted in 1980, Amendments and Supplements Adopted in 1989), ed. by Mansur Jahangir, Nashr-e Didar, 67th ed., Tehran 1388/2009-10;
- Qanun-e Madani 1391. Jeld-e Avval, Jeld-e Dovvom, Jeld-e Sevvom. Ba Akharin Islahat va Ilhaqat va Touzihat va Ma‘ani-ye Loghat va Estelahat, Hamra ba Qanun-e Mas’uliyat-e Madani (Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran), ed. by Mansur Jahangir, Nashr-e Didar, 78 ed., Tehran 1391/2012.
Book Reviews:
- Morimoto, K. (ed.), Sayyids and Sharifs in Muslim Societies: The Living Links to the Prophet, Routledge, London & New York 2012. Reviewed for the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 76/2, June 2013.
Essays in Online Journals:
- “Iran: la rivincita degli esperti di relazioni internazionali e dell’élite religiosa” (Iran: The Revenge of the Experts on International Relations and of the Religious Establishment), Geopolitica, Rivista dell’Istituto di Alti Studi in Geopolitica e Scienze Ausiliarie, June 17, 2013.
http://www.geopolitica-rivista.org/22542/iran-la-rivincita-degli-esperti-di-relazioni-internazionali-e-dellelite-religiosa/ (In Italian)
- “La repubblica islamica è una teocrazia?” (Is the Islamic Republic a Theocracy?), Limesonline, June 2009.
http://temi.repubblica.it/limes/repubblica-islamica-teocrazia/5284 (In Italian)
- “Il voto e le proteste: la grande prova della democrazia iraniana” (The Elections and the Protests: the Big Challenge of the Iranian Democracy),
Limesonline, June 2009.
http://temi.repubblica.it/limes/il-voto-e-le-proteste-la-grande-prova-della-democrazia-iraniana/5093 (In Italian)
International Seminar Research Papers:
- “Redefining Center and Periphery in Islam: ‘Alid Women of the al-Sadr Family as Dis-Located Centers of Power in the Near East”, invited presentation for
Center and Periphery in the Muslim World: De-Centering Traditional Religious Authority, workshop funded by the Qatar Foundation and organized by the Center
for the Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies, Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, Doha, March 31-April 1, 2014.
- “The “Other Half of the Mission”: Amina Bint al-Hudà (al-Sadr) as Wakil for Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr?”, invited presentation for ‘Alimahs, Muhaddithahs,
and Mujtahidahs’: The Past and Present of Female Religious Authority in Shi‘i Islam, workshop funded by Princeton University’s Center for the Study of Religion (CSR), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), and the National Institutes for the Humanities of Japan (NIHU), Princeton University, March 6-8, 2014.
- “Uncharted Transnational Centers of Power in Shi‘i Islam: ‘Alid Women of the al-Sadr Family in Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran”, invited presentation for De-Centering Shi‘ism?, workshop of the Princeton/Oxford Collaborative Project “Traditional Authority and Transnational Religious Networks in Contemporary Shi‘i Islam: Results from Recent Empirical Research”, Princeton University, October 3-5, 2013.
- “Il ruolo teologico e giuridico della Guida nel sistema iraniano nella prospettiva della elezioni presidenziali” (The Theological and Juridical Role of the Leader in the Iranian System with Respect to the Upcoming Presidential Elections), invited presentation for the 1st Seminar on Iranian Studies: The Presidential Elections of 2013, organized by the Institute for Global Studies, Rome, May 7, 2013. (In Italian)
- “Prestige généalogique et politique matrimoniale chez l'ahl al-bayt: status quaestionis”, co-presenter Biancamaria Scarcia Amoretti, invited presentation for the International Seminar Religious and Political Uses of Genealogies in Islamic Societies, organised by dr. Helena de Felipe (University of Alcala) and Sarah Savant (Aga Khan University), Universidad de Alcalá (Spain), November 6-9, 2008.
http://202.3.130.27/ISMC/ismc-genealogy-sem.shtml (In French)
International Refereed Conference Papers:
- “Is Dar al-Islam versus Dar al-Harb the Paradigm of Islamic International Relations Theory? Khadduri’s Siyar Reconsidered”, International Studies Association (ISA) 56th Annual Convention, pre-organized panel on “International Relations and Islamic Studies: A New Agenda”, New Orleans (USA), February 18-21, 2015.
- “Ethics in Global Politics: Oppressors and Oppressed in the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and in Contemporary Shi‘a Islam”, International Studies Association (ISA) 56th Annual Convention, pre-organized panel on “The Concept of Justice and Iranian Foreign Policy”, New Orleans (USA), February 18-21, 2015.
- “Alidi e politica in Iraq. I vincoli di sangue come scienza e pratica del potere della Famiglia” (The Alids and Politics in Iraq: Blood Relations as Science and Practice of the Power of the Family), 28th SISP (Italian Society of Political Science) Annual Conference, pre-organized panel on “The Politics of Blood: Political Dynasties in Contemporary Democracies Between Political Science and Anthropology”, University of Perugia, Perugia (Italy), September 11-13, 2014.
www.sisp.it/convegno/2014/sezioni/104/ (In Italian)
- “Mustad‘afun vs. Mustakbirun Reconsidered: A Shi‘itologic Genealogy of the International Relations Outlook of the Islamic Republic of Iran”, 4rd World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES), pre-organized panel on “Co-IRIS: Islamic Perspectives on Theory and Praxis in International Relations”, Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara (Turkey), August 18-22, 2014.
- “Islam, Shi‘ism, and Language in the Geopolitics and International Relations Perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Frameworks and Layers of Understanding”, section on the “Critical Relations between International Relations and Islam” of the 8th Pan-European Conference on International Relations, organized by the European International Studies Association (EISA) and the ECPR Standing Group on International Relations, Warsaw (Poland), 18-21 September, 2013. Discussant in the panel on “Depiction of Prophet Muhammad, Problem of Cultural Incommensurability, and Muslim Countries Relations with France and UK”.
- “Performance of Muslim Modernity by the al-Sadrs: Lives of Women Descendants of the Family of the Prophet Muhammad (Ahl al-Bayt)”, 3rd World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies, pre-organized panel on “The Gendered Other: Muslim and Jews in the Middle East?”, panel organizer Ruth Roded, Barcelona (Spain), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona (Spain), July 19-24, 2010.
- “Looking to al-Andalus as a Reference: In Search of a History of Women in the Islamic Civilisation Between the VII and the XVI Century Within the European Academia, With a Particular Attention to the Production in Spanish”, 2nd International Seminar on Women in Islamic History: Women in Islamic History From the 7th to the 13th Century Hejri / 13th and 19th Christian Era, Tehran, December 16-17, 2009. Abstract published in Zan dar Tarikh-e Iran (Kholase-ye Maqalat), Nashr-e Barg-e Zeytun, Tehran 2009.
- “An Inquiry into the Translation of the Qur’an into European Languages: the Case of the Ahl al-Bayt”, Hamayesh-e Masa’el-e Farhang va Jame‘e Shenasi dar Tarjome (Conference on Cultural and Sociological Issues in Translation), Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, December 14-15, 2009. Essay forthcoming in the TS Journal of Allameh University.
- “The Alids as an “Ethnic Group”: the Emergence of a Pre-Modern Globalized Identity”, 42nd Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, pre-organized panel on “Shi‘i Clerical Families”, panel chair Juan R.I. Cole, Washington (USA), November 22-25, 2008. Conference attended with the support of a MESA award as a Recipient of the 2008 Student Travel Grant.
International Symposia:
- “First Steps for the Integration of International Relations and Islamic Studies”, Exploratory symposium of the IR-IS Research Cohort (an e-networking community interested in the advancement of comparative research between International Relations and Islamic Studies), organized and funded by the European International Studies Association (EISA), Excelsior Palace Hotel in Rapallo (Italy), October 30 - November 2, 2013.
www.eisa-net.org/sitecore/content/be-bruga/eisa/events/exploratorysymposia.aspx
Round Tables:
- “L’UE attore di mediazione in Iran?” (The European Union as a Mediation Actor in Iran?), L’unione europea e il Medio-Oriente: una prospettiva mediorientale, March 13, 2008, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy. (In Italian)
Opinion Pieces:
- “Imam Sadr scomparso, parla la figlia” (The Disappearance of Imam Sadr, an Interview with his Daughter), SiriaLibano, May 16, 2012.
http://www.sirialibano.com/siria-2/imam-sadr-scomparso-parla-la-sorella.html (In Italian)
- “L’Iran è ora più forte che mai. Anche senza gli al Asad” (Iran is Stronger than Ever, Even without the al Asad”, SiriaLibano, February 4, 2012.
www.sirialibano.com/siria-2/liran-e-ora-piu-forte-che-mai-anche-senza-gli-al-asad.html (In Italian)
Sample of Occasional, Public, and Seminar Lectures:
- “Geopolitica del Neza. La declinazione del potere a Teheran” (The Geopolitics of the Nezam: Different Aspects of Power in Iran), lecture delivered to the students of the Master program in Geopolitics and Global Security, Sapienza, University of Rome, September 23, 2014. (In Italian)
- “Geopolitiche dell’Iran: iranismo, islamismo, petrolio e Nezam” (The Geopolitics of Iran: Iranism, Islamism, Oil and the Nezam), guest lecture delivered to the students of the Master program in Political and Economic Geography, Department of Social and Economic Sciences, the Sapienza, University of Rome, April 18, 2013. (In Italian)
- “Rafa’il Ma’urillo az Khandan-e Sadr Miguyad” (The al-Sadr Family as Narrated by Raffaele Mauriello), public lecture delivered at the Imam Musa Sadr Cultural-Research Foundation, Tehran, February 13, 2013.
http://imam-sadr.com/%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1/%D9%86%D9%85%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1/tabid/99/ArticleId/5315/.aspx (In Persian)
- “La recente storia dell’Iraq vista dagli alidi” (The Recent History of Iraq in ‘Alid Eyes), invited presentation for “Iraq, Gesuralemme. Due proposte di lettura” (Iraq, Jerusalem. Two perspectives), guest lecture delivered at a three-day seminar at the University of Venice “Ca’ Foscari”, February 18-20, 2013.
http://intra.unive.it/phpapps/eventi/allegati/event_3095734_1.pdf (In Italian)
- “Politica e familismo nella storia della civiltà islamica: lo sciismo e gli alidi” (Politics and Familism in the History of the Islamic Civilization: Shi‘ism and the Alids), guest lecture delivered to the students of the PhD programme in History, Culture, Territory and of the Master of Arts programme in Historical Sciences at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, December 12, 2012. (In Italian)
- Descendants of the Family of the Prophet in Contemporary History: A Case Study, the Ši‘i Religious Establishment of al-Nagaf (Iraq). Book launch, Istituto per l’Oriente Carlo Alfonso Nallino, November 16, 2012.
www.ipocan.it
- “Shi‘e-shenasi dar Gharb” (Shi‘a Studies in the West), guest lecture delivered at the Ahl Al-Bayt High Education Center, Tehran, May 6, 2012. http://www.abu.ac.ir (In Persian)
- “A‘qab-e Khandan-e Payambar dar Tarikh-e Mo‘aser (Sadat-e Saheban-e Nufuz-e Dini-ye Shi‘e-ye Sakenan-e Najaf Ashraf)” (Descendants of the Family of the Prophet in Contemporary History: A Case Study, the Ši‘i Religious Establishment of al-Nagaf (Iraq)), public lecture delivered at the International Radio Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Tehran, May 1, 2012. (In Persian)
- “Naqsh-e Tamaddoni-ye Zanan-e Mosalman dar Tarikh: Qera’at az “A‘qab-e Khandan-e Payambar dar Tarikh-e Mo‘aser (Sadat-e Saheban-e Nufuz-e Dini-ye Shi‘e-ye Sakenan-e Najaf Ashraf)”” (Muslim Women’s Civilisational Role in History. A Reading of Descendants of the Family of the Prophet in Contemporary History: A Case Study, the Ši‘i Religious Establishment of al-Nagaf (Iraq)), public lecture delivered on the occasion of the Neshast-e Haftegi be Monasebat-e Salgard-e Vafat-e Hazrat-e Fateme Zahra, April 24, 2012, Shahr-e Ketab (Markazi) in Tehran.
http://www.bookcity.org/news-1727.aspx (in Persian)
- “The Ashraf/Sadat in Contemporary History: A Case Study, the Shi‘i Religious Establishment of Najaf”, guest lecture delivered at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London, February 28, 2012. www.iis.ac.uk
- “Shi‘i International or Alid International? Different Layers of Shi‘i Geopolitics”, seminar lecture delivered at the Italian Embassy in Tehran, May 2, 2011.
Interviews:
- “Turchia e Iran: proteste e possibili svolte politiche” (Turkey and Iran: Protests and Possible Political Repercussions), Interview by Giampaolo Musumeci for “Nessun Luogo è Lontano”, Radio 24 – Il Sole 24 Ore, June 8, 2013.
http://www.radio24.ilsole24ore.com/programma/luogo-lontano/2013-06-08/turchia-iran-proteste-possibili-125646.php?idpuntata=gSLA541CR&date=2013-06-08 (In Italian)
- “Sada al-Najaf al-Ashraf fi Kitab li-Bahith Italiyy”(The Sadat in a Book by an Italian Researcher), Interview by Mikhail Alandarenko for Radio Free Iraq – Ida‘a al-‘Iraq al-Hurr, November 18, 2012.
http://www.iraqhurr.org/content/article/24774454.html (In Arabic)
- “Raffaele Mauriello espone a Radio IRIB studi su discendenti profeta in period contemporaneo”, Interview by Davood Abbasi, IRIB World Service – Redazione Italiana, June 14, 2012.
(http://italian.irib.ir/analisi/tavola-rotonda/item/108687-studioso-italiano-raffaele-mauriello-espone-a-radio-irib-studi-su-discendenti-profeta-in-periodo-contemporaneo-audio) (In Italian)
- “Cinque clan in lotta: ecco la mappa del nuovo potere” (Five Clans Fighting for Power: a New Scenario?), Interview by Rossella Fabiani, Liberal, December 31, 2009.
www.issuu.com/cronache_liberal/docs/2009_12_31 (In Italian)
- “Se un paese diventa un’isola” (When a Country Becomes an Island), Interview by Cecilia Tosi, Left - Avvenimenti, June 19, 2009.
www.avvenimentionline.it/pdf/24_19-06-2009.pdf (In Italian)
- “Iraq: movimento sadrista come Hezbollah libanese/ANSA: Impegno umanitario accanto a azione militare per proteggere sciiti” (Iraq, Comparing the Sadrist Movement and the Lebanese Hezbollah), Interview by Lorenzo Trombetta, ANSA.it, April 17, 2008. (In Italian)