Justine Harun-Mahdavi

Who is Justine Harun-Mahdavi?

Justine Harun-Mahdavi is a German woman who lived in Iran between 1968 and 1979. She is the writer of the recently published book Not without My Husband.

Her memoir, Not Without My Husband, describes her life with her Persian husband and two children in Iran. The book offers a direct view of the Iranian society as seen by a Westerner.

Justine moved to Iran 1968 and lived with her husband and two children in different cities for more than 11 years. Her husband Masoud was in different political positions. He was twice the mayor of the holy city of Mashhad. He also was once mayor of the capital city, Tehran. Due to his popularity among the people, he was even a member of the new government during the first months of the Islamic Republic. But he soon understood that the theocratic regime was not on path to bring democracy and freedom to the Iranian people. So Justine and her family left Iran in September 1979. Her husband is an active and well known member of the democratic Iranian opposition called Jebhe Melli. She visited Iran together with her daughter and son again in 2000. Justine today lives in a town close to Munich in Germany. In her recently published book, Not Without My Husband, she pleads for freedom and democracy in Iran and for tolerance towards all nations, religions and cultures in the world.