The News of Month; November 2020

Numerous Eyewitnesses

Compiled by: Iranian Oral History Website
Translated by: Fazel Shirzad

2020-12-1


Note: The News of Month is the title of a series of reports on the Iranian Oral History website. These reports take a look at news related to the subject of the website in the written and virtual media. In the following, you will read news from November 2016.

►Simultaneously with the sacred defense week, a foreign media broadcast a documentary called "Creeping Coup", which included an audio file of a meeting of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders on November 26, 1984. This audio file, which refers to Mohsen Rezaei's meeting with some Revolutionary Guards and commanders, provoked many reactions. In an interview with Dr. Gholamreza Azizi, director of the Document Research Institute of the National Archives and Library of Iran, IRNA asked him why we have not yet been able to accurately narrate the war and why our oral history still has unspoken words that are sometimes used by hostile media.

►Majid Naqdi, Secretary of the Islamic Civilization Table of the Islamic Propaganda Office, referring to the "Oral History of Seminaries" project, stated: This project is carrying out as the issue of lack of civilization vision focused on the new Islamic civilization, under the major research program focusing on the history of the past Islamic civilization and the center of the political and social system of Islam and Iran, that the first phase of this project in the form of 5 volumes of books has been completed at Baqer al-Uloom University.

►Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) has arranged an interview with Mohammad Mehdi Abdullahzadeh, the author of the book "Sanatorium 14". This book, which is the memoirs of a Semnan’s captive named Ali Akbar Amira Ahmadi from 90 months of captivity in Baathist prisons with pure narratives of the guidance and leadership of Iranian prisoners by Hojjatoleslam Ali Akbar Abu Turabi, was published by Surah Mehr Publications in 2019.

► Raheleh Nadafi Moghaddam, the author of the book "Passing the 70-Degree Slope", said in an interview with the Press Defense in Mashhad: This book was written to record the oral history of the sacred defense veterans of Khorasan Razavi province and by the order of the General Director of Preservation of Relics and Publication of the values of the Sacred Defense of this province.

►At the unveiling ceremony of the book "Ask the Mountains", Colonel Abbas Bayrami considered the works of art produced with a focus on the sacred defense in remarkably few numbers and stated: We are ready to support written works in the field of sacred defense, especially oral history.

► Fatemeh Daneshvar, the author of the book "The Role of People's Aid in the Years of Sacred Defense, According to the Documents of the Ansar al-Hajjah Charitable Foundation in Mashhad," said: In this research book, which was commissioned by the Document Management Department of the General Director for the Preservation of Relics and Publication of the Values of the Sacred Defense of Khorasan Razavi, interviews were conducted with Haj Mohammad Ali Samiei, the manager of this charity organization and other members.

► Ashraf Boroujerdi, head of the National Archives and Library of Iran, stressed the importance of oral history as a great asset for the country and stated: Two years ago, the government approved the need to prepare and write the oral history of various agencies, and accordingly, we adapted a certain way to work on the oral history of the country's figures, who are considered a precious heritage for Iran.

► Ali Akbar Moradian Grossi is known a retired teacher and poet who founded the new Gilaki[i] poetry, but today, he is the oral history of old Rasht city[ii] at the age of 93. Shabestan News Agency has arranged an interview with him that is readable.

►The 168-page book "Romantic Words", which has been published in Raheyar Publications with 1000 copies, is part of the wills of several martyrs who defended the shrine addressed to their wives and children. By conceptualizing and highlighting the neglected and untold areas of the Cultural Front of the Islamic Revolution, This book is one of works, on the one hand, reduces the shortcomings in the Cultural Front of the Islamic Revolution and, on the other hand, injects fresh blood into the oral history of this Revolutionary Front.

►The specialized meeting of the writers of the sacred defense of Golestan Province was held in the meeting hall of the General Office for the Preservation of the Relics of the Sacred Defense of Golestan to present practical points of editing, preliminary explanations for compiling the oral history of the warriors and holding a specialized documentary workshop.

►The publication "Stars" has seriously paid attention to the memories of fighters, commanders, captives, and martyrs of the imposed war in Mashhad in the fields of oral history, novels, and stories since 2015. Shahraranews has arranged an interview with Saeed Mohsenzadeh, the managing director of this publication, and two of its authors.

► The General Director of Preservation of Relics and Publication of the values of the Sacred Defense of Lorestan province has said that the province's Basij bases have a good capacity to help collect the oral history and memories of the warriors, as well as the memories of the martyrs quoted by their comrades and families.

►Research Deputy of Astan Quds Razavi’s Islamic Research Foundation announced the compilation of the oral history of the Razavi holy shrine based on a new research model. Ali Jalaian Akbarnia has referred to this model as "wise cores and capable networks".

► The head of the Education and Research Unit of the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Arts Center has announced that the research "Oral History of Shahrekord Mosques; Bases of the Islamic Revolution" has been started with the cooperation of the Education and Research Unit and the Culture and Sustainability Studies Unit of the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Arts Center and with the support of the Strategic Deputy of the Provinces of the Arts Center.

►The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) has also analyzed the oral history of books and librarianship in Torbat-e Heydariyeh. It is stated in this article that the Torbat-e-Heydariyeh Libraries Association established the first public library of this city in the 1960s based on a few documents and the historical memory of informed people.

►Emphasizing the importance of oral history as a great asset for the next generation, the director of Mirdamad Cultural Institute of Gorgan province said that so far oral history of 100 prominent figures of different parts of the province has been prepared and made available to researchers.

►On the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the sacred defense and the seventh consecutive week, the Center for Documents and Research of the Sacred Defense unveiled Haj Sadegh Ahangaran's book on oral history entitled "With the Song of Caravan".

► The General Director of Islamic Culture and Guidance of Markazi Province has said that compiling the oral history of the printing industry in this province was started this year and activists in this field are expected to participate extensively in the process of data collection that is part of the province's culture.

► Sadrullah Esmailzadeh, Mazandaran seminary research deputy, announced the compilation of the oral history of the seminary in the province.

 


[i] It refers to Gilaki langauge that is spoken in Iran's Gilan Province.

[ii] It is the capital of Gilan Province



 
Number of Visits: 2394


Comments

 
Full Name:
Email:
Comment:
 
Book Review

Kak-e Khak

The book “Kak-e Khak” is the narration of Mohammad Reza Ahmadi (Haj Habib), a commander in Kurdistan fronts. It has been published by Sarv-e Sorkh Publications in 500 copies in spring of 1400 (2022) and in 574 pages. Fatemeh Ghanbari has edited the book and the interview was conducted with the cooperation of Hossein Zahmatkesh.

Is oral history the words of people who have not been seen?

Some are of the view that oral history is useful because it is the words of people who have not been seen. It is meant by people who have not been seen, those who have not had any title or position. If we look at oral history from this point of view, it will be objected why the oral memories of famous people such as revolutionary leaders or war commanders are compiled.

Daily Notes of a Mother

Memories of Ashraf-al Sadat Sistani
They bring Javad's body in front of the house. His mother comes forward and says to lay him down and recite Ziarat Warith. His uncle recites Ziarat and then tells take him to the mosque which is in the middle of the street and pray the funeral prayer (Ṣalāt al-Janāzah) so that those who do not know what the funeral prayer is to learn it.

A Critique on Oral history of War Commanders

“Answering Historical Questions and Ambiguities Instead of Individual-Organizational Identification”
“Oral history of Commanders” is reviewed with the assumption that in the field of war historiography, applying this method is narrated in an advancing “new” way, with the aim of war historiography, emphasizing role of commanders in creation of its situations and details.