# From Persia to Iran: Islam, Empire, and the Politics of West Asia

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/rev-left-radio-661976/from-persia-to-iran-islam-empire-and-the-politics-of-west-asia
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/rev-left-radio-661976/from-persia-to-iran-islam-empire-and-the-politics-of-west-asia.md
Podcast: [Rev Left Radio](https://stenobird.com/podcast/rev-left-radio-661976)
Published: 2026-03-17T09:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/from-persia-to-iran-islam-empire-and-the-politics-of-west-asia
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/revolutionaryleftradio/Iran_History.mp3?dest-id=485908
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/rev-left-radio-661976/episodes/from-persia-to-iran-islam-empire-and-the-politics-of-west-asia
Duration seconds: 10551

## Resource

In this episode, Breht interviews Adnan Husain -- Professor of Medieval history and Chair of the Religious Studies department at Queens college -- about the deep historical roots of today's Middle East. The conversation traces the arc from ancient Persia to the Islamic era, explores how Iran became a center of Shi'a Islam, and examines the long rivalry between Persian and Ottoman power. Along the way, they unpack the Sunni-Shia split, the political role of Turkey in the region, the ways Western narratives about Islam were forged through the Crusades and carried forward into the modern world, Zionist Expansionism, and the ongoing illegal war of aggression waged by the U.S. and Israel against Iran, and indeed, the whole region. Check out Adnan's previous appearences on Rev Left HERE Subscribe to Adnan's YouTube channel HERE Watch Adnan's 2 Part episode on Yemen HERE Listen to Guerrilla History podcast HERE --------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get bonus episodes on Patreon Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow RLR on IG HERE Learn more about Rev Left HERE

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## Transcript

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