Wednesday
Jul152009
Iran's Culture Protest: Singer Shajarian Turns Government to Dust
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 8:24
The Latest from Iran (15 July): Chess not Checkers
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UPDATE (15 July, 0800 GMT): Just after I post this, "Mani" sends an update. "Another musician throws his hat in the ring. Farhad Fakhredini, the head of the National Iranian Orchestra has also resigned from the podium. The government has tried to depoliticize Mr. Fakhredini's resignation by stating that "it is due to illness" .Fakhredini responded, "His illness is indeed due to the recent heartrending events, and it is these heartrending events that have les to the cancellation of the National Orchestra concerts".
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In any sustained political conflict, culture plays a vital role, and the post-election challenge in Iran is no exception. The Sea of Green has been represented in dozens of photographs, films, and songs, while the Government has tried to limit the response by detaining prominent artists. This week the well-known singer Mohsen Namjoo was jailed for five years in absentia for allegedly insulting the Koran in a 2008 song (which can be heard via YouTube); the conviction may also have been spurred by Namjoo's statement in favour of the Green protest.
The most prominent cultural symbol, however, has been the response of Shajarian, perhaps the best-known interpreter of Persian classical music. We wrote briefly about this yesterday, but a guest correspondent, "Mani", has now provided us with a detailed analysis:
Shajarian's run-in with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting has led to a fiasco, thanks to the shrill defamation tactics of the Ahmadinejad government. Demonstrating its contemptuous attitude towards public opinion, even towards sections that include the main base of their supporters, the President may have turned culture into a weapon against his rule.
The argument started when the President characterised protesters as "nothing more than dust". Shajarian appropriated the word, publicly requesting the IRIB to not "broadcast any of the recordings of dust people like himself".
Shajarian's request led to the publication of a defamatory and highly insulting article, published in Ansar News by an anonymous author. The blogosphere seems to agree that the author was Fatemeh Rajabi, a strident voice for the Government through Kayhan, Ansar News,and other outlets.
If this is true, Rajabi has hit a new low, and the clique has bit off a bit more than it can chew. Shajarian is a public icon in the Iranian music scene, always referred to as "the Master of Persian Classical Music". His music is popular amongst huge swathes of Iranian society from the secular rich in North Tehran to the clerical novices in Qom to the working class of Javadieh. Indeed, a letter from "the child of a Martyr of the Iran-Iraq War" blasted the attack on Shajarian by Ansar News as "being absolutely anti-Islamic, vindictive and opportunistic".
Meanwhile, IRIB has pointedly ignored Shajarian's request and continued to broadcast his music, leading to the musician lodging a complaint with the judiciary. The broadcaster has miscalculated. Publicizing an insult to a cultural icon will add to the unpopularity of the regime. It is no surprise that the pro-reformist newspaper Hayate-no has put this story with a picture of Shajarian on the top on their front page.
Receive our latest updates by email or RSS- SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
UPDATE (15 July, 0800 GMT): Just after I post this, "Mani" sends an update. "Another musician throws his hat in the ring. Farhad Fakhredini, the head of the National Iranian Orchestra has also resigned from the podium. The government has tried to depoliticize Mr. Fakhredini's resignation by stating that "it is due to illness" .Fakhredini responded, "His illness is indeed due to the recent heartrending events, and it is these heartrending events that have les to the cancellation of the National Orchestra concerts".---
In any sustained political conflict, culture plays a vital role, and the post-election challenge in Iran is no exception. The Sea of Green has been represented in dozens of photographs, films, and songs, while the Government has tried to limit the response by detaining prominent artists. This week the well-known singer Mohsen Namjoo was jailed for five years in absentia for allegedly insulting the Koran in a 2008 song (which can be heard via YouTube); the conviction may also have been spurred by Namjoo's statement in favour of the Green protest.
The most prominent cultural symbol, however, has been the response of Shajarian, perhaps the best-known interpreter of Persian classical music. We wrote briefly about this yesterday, but a guest correspondent, "Mani", has now provided us with a detailed analysis:
Shajarian's run-in with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting has led to a fiasco, thanks to the shrill defamation tactics of the Ahmadinejad government. Demonstrating its contemptuous attitude towards public opinion, even towards sections that include the main base of their supporters, the President may have turned culture into a weapon against his rule.
The argument started when the President characterised protesters as "nothing more than dust". Shajarian appropriated the word, publicly requesting the IRIB to not "broadcast any of the recordings of dust people like himself".
Shajarian's request led to the publication of a defamatory and highly insulting article, published in Ansar News by an anonymous author. The blogosphere seems to agree that the author was Fatemeh Rajabi, a strident voice for the Government through Kayhan, Ansar News,and other outlets.
If this is true, Rajabi has hit a new low, and the clique has bit off a bit more than it can chew. Shajarian is a public icon in the Iranian music scene, always referred to as "the Master of Persian Classical Music". His music is popular amongst huge swathes of Iranian society from the secular rich in North Tehran to the clerical novices in Qom to the working class of Javadieh. Indeed, a letter from "the child of a Martyr of the Iran-Iraq War" blasted the attack on Shajarian by Ansar News as "being absolutely anti-Islamic, vindictive and opportunistic".
Meanwhile, IRIB has pointedly ignored Shajarian's request and continued to broadcast his music, leading to the musician lodging a complaint with the judiciary. The broadcaster has miscalculated. Publicizing an insult to a cultural icon will add to the unpopularity of the regime. It is no surprise that the pro-reformist newspaper Hayate-no has put this story with a picture of Shajarian on the top on their front page.
Reader Comments (1)
In case anyone is curious to contrast Mousavi's relationship with the Iranian cultural elite with that of Ahmadinejad here are some links.
http://merip.org/mero/mero061109.html
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/06/06/75004.html