Iran: Scottish university pressed for full release of Rouhani’s ‘Flexibility of Islam’ thesis

A Scottish university has released part of President-elect Hassan Rouhani's graduate work in response to growing international interest, according to the US Institute of Peace's Iran Primer.

The Scotland Herald said the US Defense Department contacted Glasgow Caledonian University requesting Rouhani's work soon after he was elected president of Iran on June 14. The report could not be immediately independently confirmed.

School officials are said to be "still seeking permission to release the full text," as the Herald put it.

Part of Rouhani's 1999 PhD thesis, entitled “The Flexibility of Shariah (Islamic Law) with Reference to the Iranian Experience," can be read here. Rouhani authored the works under his birthname, Hassan Feridon, the Primer explained.

Prior to getting his PhD, Rouhani received a master's degree in philosophy at the school in 1995, said the Herald.

A spokesman for the university told the Herald that Rouhani's academic work has received "intense media interest" since his election. 

The 64-year-old president-elect is said to have reformist leanings. According to the Iran Primer, Rouhani's studies were focused on "two deeply debated issues: the flexibility of Islamic law and the separation of powers in an Islamic democracy," saying his academic publications during the period reflect "many of the reformist ideas at the time."