Oral History News of Esfand 1403 (Feb 19th to March 21st 2025)

Edited by: Iranian Oral History Web Site
Translated by Mandana Karimi

2025-4-3

According to the Iranian Oral History Web Site, “News of the Month” is the title of a series of reports on this site. These reports take a look at news related to the site’s topic in written and virtual media. Below are some of the news from Esfand 1403 (Feb 19th to March 21st 2025).

◄ Mohsen Momeni-Sharif, former head of Hozeh-ye Honari (the Arts Center), spoke about the importance of oral history at a gathering of women writers on the occasion of the eighth anniversary of the establishment of the Banou-ye Farhang (Culture Lady) Literary Club. Stating that when a writer writes about a martyr, it also affects him, he said: “The oral history of martyrs, guides the writers to the truth-seeking path.”

◄ Gholamreza Azizi, researcher and secretary of the Fourth Oral History Conference, said in an interview with IBNA: “Many of the interviews and research conducted in the field of oral history of the Sacred Defense revolve around the military and commanders of the war, and naturally, military aspects have overshadowed it.”

◄ The unveiling session of the book “Sharh-e Haq: Volume 6 of the Oral History of Iranian Law” was held on Wednesday, March 28, at the Ferdowsi Hall of the House of Humanities Scholars.

◄ The closing ceremony of the Fourth National Oral History Conference of the Sacred Defense and Resistance was held on the morning of Saturday, March 28, at the National Archives and Library Organization.

◄ The scientific secretary of the Fourth National Oral History and Resistance Conference said: “The specialized focus of this conference was the specialized pathology of the oral history of the Sacred Defense, and with this perspective, solutions were proposed to make oral history scientific.” Gholamreza Azizi stated in the closing ceremony of the conference: “The Fourth National Conference on Oral History and Resistance had several features, such that the number of articles received at the conference was higher than in previous years.”

◄ Head of the Sacred Defense Documents Organization, Brigadier General Abbas Bayrami, said in the closing ceremony of the Fourth National Conference on Oral History of Sacred Defense and Resistance: “Considering the statistics of the self-sacrifice community, we have a long way to go in recording the memories of the martyrs.”

◄ Gholamreza Amirkhani; Head of the National Documents and Library Organization said: “One of the advantages and honors of recording the oral history of the Sacred Defense is that this path has not been contaminated by political goals and objectives, and everyone from every spectrum has been able to record and record their memories.”

◄ Deputy Coordinator and Parliamentary Affairs of the Foundation for the Preservation of Works and the Propagation of the Values ​​of Sacred Defense; Ali Asghar Jafari said: “More than six thousand hours of oral history from commanders have been recorded in the National Museum of Sacred Defense and Resistance.”

◄ Brigadier General Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, President of the Higher National Defense University, emphasized the need to utilize the potential of art in promoting the culture of sacred defense, saying: “We must be able to extract events from oral history and convey them to the younger generation in artistic forms.”

◄ The third oral history meeting "Yad" with the approach of honoring the late Hajj Mahmoud Sadr Hashemi (Zoghali), one of the pioneers of the Islamic Revolution in Isfahan and Khuzestan, was held on March 25 at the Imam Khomeini (PBUH) Gallery in Isfahan.

◄ Members of the Oral History Working Group of the Office for Preservation of Works and Propagation of Sacred Defense Values ​​in Amol County, visited and talked with the families of the martyrs Hassan Ghadiri, Manouchehr Gorji, and Ghorban-Ali Ghadiri at the homes of these martyrs.

◄ Majid Tafreshi, in the 17th session of “Oral History Tuesdays”, held at the Islamic Revolution Documents Center in Qom, referred to his experiences with oral history and examined the pitfalls facing oral history.

◄ Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Dashti, a member of the academic board of Jamia al-Mustafa, emphasized the need to record the oral heritage of the Shiites and confront the distortion of history, saying: “Jamia al-Mustafa is a pioneer in promoting the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) and preserving the identity of Shiism against extremist currents.”

◄ The unveiling ceremony of the book Oral History of Forty Years of Cultural and Scientific Activity of the Great Islamic Encyclopedia Center entitled Chehel-Cheragh (Forty Candles) was held on March 11.

◄ The book Nasser eject nakon (Nasser Do not Eject!) was reviewed on Saturday, March 11, at the Sara-ye Ahl al-Qalam (Writers’ Association House). The meeting was attended by Mehdi Baba Mahmoudi, the author of the book, Reza Jahanfar, plan director and critic, Aref Ghanbari, critic and Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Foladi, head of the Organization for Preservation of Monuments and Propagation of Values ​​of the Army’s Sacred Defense.

◄ The book Hamnafas Ahmad (Soulmate Ahmad), the first volume of the three-volume oral history of General Mojtaba Askari, written by Seyyed Hassan Shokri, was published by Narrated Baran Publications.

◄ The meeting "Oral History of Quranic Diplomacy; Reminiscences of International Quranic Activists" was held on March 9 at the international section of the 32nd International Holy Quran Exhibition.

◄ The Deputy Director of Culture of the Martyrs’ Foundation of the Counties of Tehran Province stated that the Martyrs’ Foundation has taken effective steps in promoting the culture of sacrifice and martyrdom through art and said: “Recording two thousand interviews with the parents of martyrs and presenting the works of martyrs in public places are among these measures.

◄ A gathering of the Iranian Oral History Association was held on March 14 at the Ishraq Cultural Center, attended by members of the association’s board of directors and oral history activists.