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Political Satire as an Index of Press Freedom: A Review of Political Satire in the Iranian Press during the 2000s

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Mahmud Farjami
Mahmud Farjami*
Affiliation:
School of Communication, Universiti Sains Malaysia
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Abstract

Political satire has had a prominent part to play in the social and political sphere of journalism in Iran since the appearance of an independent press in the country at the beginning of the twentieth century. This paper examines the problems of political satire in the Iranian press during the 2000s with respect to their historical context during the past century. The paper argues that, addressing the essential relationship between satire and criticism, and the primary role that criticism has in the freedom of press, what happened to political satire and satirists in Iran can be seen as an index of the freedom of the press and journalistic expression for an era.

Type
Articles
Information
Iranian Studies , Volume 47 , Issue 2 , March 2014 , pp. 217 - 239
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 The International Society for Iranian Studies

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Footnotes

Farjami is grateful to all academic colleagues and satirists, especially Mana Neyestani and Hadi Heidari, and the anonymous reviewer whose comments have helped improve the quality of this article, as well as Dr Hossein Shahidi of Iranian Studies for his valuable comments and careful assistance with editing.

References

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2 Aryanpour, Yahya, Az Saba Ta Nima [From Saba to Nima] (Tehran, 2008) 2: 39–105Google Scholar. Kasravi also points out how Molla Naṣreddin was particularly influential, for its editorial opinion was cloaked in verse and easily understood humorous anecdotes (Kasravi, Ahmad, Mashruteh (Tehran, 2007) 3: 194Google Scholar).

3 Javadi, Hassan, Tarikh-e Tanz Dar Adabiyat-e Farsi [Satire in Persian literature] (Tehran, 2005), 195–9Google Scholar.

4 “It [Sur-e Esrafil] is reckoned one of the best of the Persian papers, old and new, and in particular the comic or satirical portion, entitled Charand Parand (‘Charivari’), is the best specimen of literary satire in Persian.” Browne, Edward G., The Press and Poetry of Modern Persia (Cambridge, 1983), 116Google Scholar.

5 See Aryanpour, , Az Saba Ta Nima, 2: 39–105Google Scholar, for a comparison between some Turkish prose and verse in Molla Nasreddin and similar prose and verse in Persian in Sur-e Esrafil and Nasim-e Shomal that show the deep influence of Molla Nasreddin on Iranian newspapers.

6 See Ghaed, Mohammad, Eshqi: Simaye Najib-e Yek Anarshist [Eshqi: the portrait of a noble anarchist] (Tehran, 2001)Google Scholar. Ghaed believes this prominent poem cannot have been written by Eshqi alone, and probably Mohammad Taqi Bahar, the then well-known poet and MP, helped him or maybe wrote the whole of Jomhouri Nameh, but it was published under the name of Eshqi with his agreement.

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9 Towfiq was published for the first time in Tehran by Hossein Towfiq, in 1922. In 1933, Towfiq celebrated twelfth anniversary of its publication. Towfiq appeared without any interruption until the death of its manager, in February 1940. The license of the newspaper was then transferred to Hossein Towfiq's son, Mohammad Ali (Sadr Hashemi, Mohammad, Tarikh-e Jarayed va Majallat-e Iran [The history of the press in Iran] (Esfahan, 1949), 2: 144–7Google Scholar). Following the coup in 1953, Mohammad Ali Towfiq was arrested and the newspaper was closed down. After a while, the license of Towfiq was transferred to Mohammad Ali's three nephews, Hassan, Hossein, and Abbas Towfiq (the Towfiq brothers), who published it in 1959.

10 Hossein and Abbas Towfiq, interviews with the author in 2009, and Towfiq, Farideh, Ruznameh-ye Towfiq va Kaka Towfiq [Towfiq newspaper and Kaka Towfiq] (Tehran, 2005), 191–6Google Scholar.

11 Sadr, Roya, Bardasht-e Akhar: Negahi Beh Tanz-e Emruz-e Iran [The last take: a review of recent satire of Iran] (Tehran, 2006), 30–163Google Scholar.

12 Both names mean blacksmith. The reason for changing the name was protests by Afrashteh's family, against what they regarded as “abuse” of Chelengar and Afrashteh's name. Mohammad Ali Afrashteh, the publisher of Chelengar had died in 1959 in exile in Sofia, Bulgaria.

13 Sadr, Roya, Bardasht-e Akhar: Negahi Beh Tanz-e Emruz-e Iran [The last take: a review of recent satire of Iran] (Tehran, 2006), 48Google Scholar.

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15 In an interview with the author, the publisher and editor in chief of Fokahiyoun, Abolqasem Sadeqi, said he had to change the name of the journal from Tofiqiyoun to Fokahiyuon under pressure of some officials. See Mahmud Farjami, “Sotoun-e Panjom! Tanz-e Matbou'ati Ba'd Az Enqelab-e Eslami” [Fifth column! Satire in the press after the Islamic Revolution], Kheradnameh no. 20 (November 2007): 36–7.

16 Association of Iranian Journalists, Daqdaqeh-ye Azadi [Angst for freedom] (Tehran, 2003), 201–2.Google Scholar

17 Matn-e Kamel-e Bayanat-e Maqam-e Moazzam-e Rahbari Dar Didar Ba Javanan Dar Mosalla-ye Bozorg-e Tehran [The full text of the Supreme Leader' speech in meeting with youth in the Great Musalla of Tehran], April 20, 2000, http://www.leader.ir/langs/fa/index.php?p=bayanat&id=1897 (accessed October 29, 2012). Shahidi, Hossein, “From Mission to Profession: Journalism in Iran, 1979–2004,” Iranian Studies 39, no. 1 (2006): 1–28CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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19 Ketab-e Jashnvareh-ye Sheshom-e Matbou'at [The book of the Sixth Press Festival], 60, quoted in Shahidi, Hossein, “From Mission to Profession: Journalism in Iran, 1979–2004,” Iranian Studies 39, no. 1 (2006): 1–28CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

20 Mohsenian-Rad, Mehdi, Rasaneh Quarterly 12, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 136–9.Google Scholar

21 For more details and statistics until 2004 see Shahidi, Hossein, “From Mission to Profession: Journalism in Iran, 1979–2004,” Iranian Studies 39, no. 1 (2006): 1–28CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

22 Reporters Without Borders, “Iran Annual Report 2002,” http://en.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=1438 (accessed October 30, 2012).

23 Committee to Protect Journalists' website, “Iran Is World's Top Jailer of Journalists,” http://www.cpj.org/2009/07/iran-is-worlds-top-jailer-of-journalists.php (accessed October 5, 2012).

24 Freedom House, “Freedom of the Press 2009 Survey,” http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/fop/2009/FreedomofthePress2009_tables.pdf (accessed October 5, 2012).

25 Reporters Without Borders, “World Press Freedom Index 2009—The Rankings,” http://en.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/classement_en.pdf (accessed October 17, 2012).

26 Some Kalameh-ye Sabz, Etemad Melli, Seda-ye Edalat, Iran Dokht, Andisheh-ye Now, Hayat-e Now, Hemmat, Sarmayeh, Etemad, Armane Ravabet-e Omumi, Farhang-e Ashti, and Hamshahri. The four latter were allowed to be published again after some while.

27 Persian Deutsche Welle website, “Polomb-e Anjoman-e Senfi-ye Rooznameh Negaran Dar Rooz-e Tahlif-e Ahmadinezhad” [Journalists Association was sealed off on the day of Ahmadinezhad's inauguration], August 6, 2009, http://www.dw.de/ (accessed October 28, 2012).

28 Committee to Protect Journalists' website, “With 47 Journalists in Jail, Iran Sets Notorious Records,” February 3, 2010, http://cpj.org/2010/02/with-47-journalists-in-jail-iran-sets-notorious-re.php (accessed October 5, 2012).

29 Ali Akbar Saeedi Sirjani, “Constitutional Revolution vi. The press,” Encyclopedia Iranica, VI, Fasc. 2: 202–12.

30 Qasemi, Seyed Farid, Rahnamaye Matbou'at-e Iran: Asr-e Qajar [A glossary of the press in Iran: the Qajar era] (Tehran, 1993), 28.Google Scholar

31 Mo'tamednezhad, K. and Badii, N., “The Problems of Press Freedom in Iran: From the Constitutional Revolution to the Islamic Revolution,” in Religion, Law, and Freedom: A Global Perspective (Westport, CT, 2000), 49.Google Scholar

32 Ibid., 56.

33 Ibid., 57–8.

34 The institute also published Monthly, Yearbook, and Bachcheha … Gol Agha (Kids … Gol Agha).

35 Ebrahim Nabavi, “Kiumars Saberi (Gol Aqa) Be Revayat-e Ebrahim Nabavi” [Kiumars Saberi (Gol Aqa) in Ebrahim Nabavi's words], BBC Persian, April 30, 2004, http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/arts/story/2004/04/040430_pm-nabavi_saberi.shtml (accessed October 14, 2012). After Saberi's death, his only offspring, Poupak Saberi, who inherited the title, published the weekly as well as a new comic magazine with the name Gol Agha Comic but was unsuccessful. Finally Poupak officially announced in January 2008 that Gol Agha institute would not publish any print media and would only be present on the Gol Agha website (http://www.Golagha.ir).

36 ISNA, “Sardabir-e Nashriye-ye Kayhan-e Caricature Elale Tavaqqof-e Enteshar-e in Nashriye Ra Tashrih Kard” [Editor-in-chief of Kayhan Caricature explained the reasons for closure], November 4, 2003, http://www.magiran.com/article.asp?AID=194 (accessed October 19, 2012).

37 Sadr, Bardasht-e Akher, 34.

38 The archives of Sotun-e Azad are available on its website: http://sotooneazad.ir/main/.

39 Nabavi defended himself sometimes by sarcastic comments, particularly about one of his plaintiffs, Hamid Reza Taraqqi, a former MP. He also told a few jokes which drew laughter from the judge, Saeed Mortazavi, and others in the court. Defending himself, once he said “Mr. Taraqqi has sued me for naming him ‘shameless’ (bi haya), I ask you, what can we call a man who sues people for just for a word?” See a report of the trial in Nabavi's book Salon-e Shomareye 6 [Hall No. 6] (Tehran, 2005), 290–302.

40 Nabavi's autobiography is on his website: http://www.doomdam.com/archives/000126.php (accessed October 29, 2012).

41 Mo'tamednezhad and Badii, “The Problems of Press Freedom in Iran,” 125–6.

42 It was published later as a collection in Rofuzeha (Tehran, 2010).

43 The video showed by National TV (IRIB) can be seen on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roFXIo0ZtGk (accessed October 29, 2012).

44 One of the accusations against Ebrahim Nabavi, for which he had to apologize in court, was labeling a former conservative MP, Hamid Taraqqi, “shameless” (bi haya). A report of the trial is published in Nabavi's memoirs of jail, Salon-e Shomareh-ye 6.

45 He only had to apologize on a few occasions once when some of the sixth Majles' reformist MPs were described as “cows” in a Goft-o Shenud published on 1 June 2003.

46 A detailed report from the story can be retrieved from: “Majaraye Ostad Temsah” [The story of Professor Crocodile], http://www.roozonline.com/persian/opinion/opinion-article/archive/2006/november/22/article/-3807acb111.html (accessed October 28, 2012).

47 BBC Persian, Bazdasht-e Tarrah-e Karikator-e Janjali Va Toqif-E Rouzname-Ye Iran [Detaining the cartoonist who drew the controversial caricature and the banning of Iran newspaper], May 23, 2006, http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2006/05/060523_mf_cartoon.shtml (accessed October 29, 2012).

48 Also some evidence reinforces the speculation that some state forces provoked demonstrations and chaos. Gholamhossein Eslamifar, the then manager of Iran, claimed in court that, while circulation of Iran Friday is usually at most 30,000 and only 3,000 are sent to the Azeri regions, 300,000 copies of the issue was printed in a short period and sent to the Azeri regions. Eslamifar was acquitted (BBC Persian, “Modir-e Mas'ul-e Ruzname-ye Iran Bigonah Shenakhteh Shod” [Managing editor of Iran newspaper was acquitted], August 27, 2006, http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2006/08/060827_mf_iran_jury.shtml (accessed October 5, 2012)). The printer(s) who could print this number of papers have never been found by the Iranian security forces, although they control all printers' offices in Iran.

49 BBC Persian, “‘Doshmanan’ Amel-e Taharrokat-e Qowmi-ye Akhir-e Manateq-e Tork Neshin-e Iran” [“Enemies' directed recent ethnic unrest in the Turkish regions of Iran], May 28, 2006, http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2006/05/060528_v-khamen-ethnic-issues.shtml (accessed October 9, 2012).

50 Reporters Without Borders, “Overview of Reporters Without Borders Financial Aid to Journalists and Media in Danger in 2009,” April 22, 2010, http://en.rsf.org/overview-of-reporters-without-22-04-2010,37122.html (accessed October 9, 2012).

51 Omran Salahi, a well-known satirist, poet, cartoonist and scholar of satire died from a heart attack in 2006 when he was 60. Though he was Saberi's friend and would write in Gol Agha, he had numerous problems with the state, mainly because of his satire in some intellectual magazines like Donya-ye Sokhan, Adineh, Karnameh, and Bokhara, where he apparently wrote about literature but usually mocked the cultural policy and ideology of the Islamic regime. Once Massoud Dehnamaki, a leader of Ansar Hezbollah pro-government pressure group, even accused Salahi of “insulting Prophet Adam.”

52 Manuchehr Ehterami, another prominent satirist, poet, and satire scholar died in 2009, aged 67. He wrote prose and verse satire in Towfiq from the age of 17, wrote humorous scripts for Radio Iran in the 1970s, and was always one of best satirists of Gol Agha until the last issue. Through his knowledge of Persian literature, during half a century, he created several satirical styles. For instance, in a series of poems under the name “Jame'-ol Hekayat” (Compendium of Fables), Ehterami applied the style of Persian mystical poetry and apparent wisdom anecdotes to the criticism of recent political and social issues. He was also a famous children's poet and his Hasani Nagu Yeh Dasteh Gol, published in the early 1980s, is a classic.

53 These figures are the author's calculations based on data published by the Statistical Center of Iran, “Natayej-e Amargiri Az Karbaran-e Internet-1389” [The results of a survey of internet users 2009–2010], http://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/Files/abstract/1389/n_IT_89.pdf (accessed October 26, 2012).

54 According to authoritative reports, Iran is ranked well concerning the quantity of users of the internet in the Middle East but has one of the worst ranks concerning the quality of connection (price, speed, freedom) in the world. An online status of speed to access the internet can be seen on: http://netindex.com/download/allcountries/ which shows the speed at 1.70 Mbps for Iran, and a rank of 161 out of 178 countries, at the time of revising this paper, October 30, 2012. Official media in Iran reported the same. Also see a report in Persian in Aftab news, “Iran Az Nazar-e Sor'at-e Internet Dar Radif-e Kam Sor'attarin Keshvarha-ye Jahan Qarar Darad” [Iran is one of the worst countries regarding speed of access to the internet], http://aftabnews.ir/vdcc1sqss2bq1e8.ala2.html (accessed October 28, 2012).

55 http://enabavi.com.

56 http://asgharagha.com.

57 http://nikahang.blogspot.com.

58 http://khodnevis.org.

59 To see a collection of Mana's Cartoon on Radio Zamaneh visit http://www.radiozamaneh.com/zamtoon.

60 To see a collection of Mana's Cartoon on Madomak visit http://www.mardomak.org/cartoons.

61 In chapter 4, article 7, note B of the law of press, it is emphasized that it is an offence to publish contents in the fields different from what publisher has been given a license for (a full version of the Law of Press (Qanun-e Matbou'at) is available on http://www.magiran.com/article.asp?AID=34). See also a related critical view of this part of the press law in Esmaili, Mohsen, “Hoquq va Vazayef-e Darandeh-ye Mojavvez” [Rights and duties of a license holder], Rasaneh Quarterly 7, no. 2 (Summer 1996): 53–60Google Scholar.

62 Among them Kiarash Zandi, Bozorgmehr Hosseinpour, Nikahang Kowsar, Ali Derakhshi, and Mana Neyestani.

63 On July 2003, two years after the closing of Tavana, the publisher, Iraj Rastgar, was imprisoned after being summoned to the court (Yas-e Now, “Modir Mas'ule Hafteh-nameh-ye Tavana Bazdasht Shod” [Editor-in-chief of the weekly Tavana was arrested], July 15, 2003).

64 To read a sample of Iranian political satire in late 2009 in English, see Letter to Hussein, by Ebrahim Nabavi here, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2009/11/letters-to-hussein-iran-has-changed.html#ixzz1keUNhjFp.