Documentary narrative from behind the scenes of a press empire

According to the reporter of Iran's Ambassador Arjan (Ambassador Arjan), the press in Iran's contemporary history has always been a full-view mirror of social and cultural developments and fundamental political upheavals; A new phenomenon that entered the country's political landscape, sometimes became the voice of demands, modernization and freedom of the society, and sometimes played a role as a tool and media arm of power centers, courts and security organizations. In this turbulent and controversial area, there are only a handful of publications that managed to survive in several turbulent decades. At the top of these currents, the name of the well-known and well-known magazine "Kashaniha" and its mysterious founder, Ali Asghar Amirani, has had an exceptional position and the constant focus of historians' attention.

The book "Readable secrets: Ali Asghar Amirani according to documents" co-authored by Turan Mansouri and Mohsen Saeed has been published by the Center for Islamic Revolution Documents. This book is a work of research and documents that tries to go beyond memory-based narratives and hasty judgments, to criticize and analyze the four-decade history of journalism of this significant and complex figure in the history of the press from the beginning to the end. Relying on SAVAK documents, court cases of the Revolutionary Court, re-reading editorials and notes of Amirani and adapting them to the written sources of contemporary history, the authors of the book have provided a detailed and readable account of the relationship between political power, security institutions, foreign influence and media work in the Pahlavi era.

From civil journalism to the iron control of the police

The authors of the work begin the entry into the complex case of "Readings" with a documented historical and analytical preface so that the reader can understand the context and time of the emergence of such a publication. In this section, Mansouri and Saeed examine the evolution of the Iranian press from the establishment of the first Persian-language publication under the efforts of Mirza Saleh Shirazi in 1253 AH and then the founding of "Waqa'i-e-e-e-ehamiyeh" by Mirza Taqi Khan Amirkabir. During the Naseri era, publications were controlled by the establishment of the "Ministry of Impressions" and the State Press Office, and nobles, nobles, and governors of provinces were required to pay subscriptions to state magazines and newspapers. A system that was defined until the threshold of the constitution by the signature of the "Etimad al-Sultaneh" audit on the final pages of newspapers.

With the victory of the constitutional movement and the opening of the first term of the National Council in 1324 lunar (1285 solar), Iran's press space experienced an unprecedented explosion with the rise of newspapers such as Majlis, Habal-ul-Matin, Sobh Sadiq, Kashkol, Naday Islam, Equality and Political Key. Citing historical sources, including the works of Yahya Arinpour and Sadr Hashemi, the authors of the book show that although the intention of many editors of these publications was to serve the country, the immaturity of the pen, ignorance of the principles of legalism and the lack of coherent journalistic literacy pushed the press community towards polarization. This chaos and the interregnum period after the third parliament was finally closed with the coup of 1999 and the establishment of Reza Shah's government; A period in which the police department, with strict and direct supervision, did not allow the smallest criticism against the king and the government board to be printed on paper, and the number of the press was reduced to a handful of obedient titles.

Portrait of Amirani; From Gross school to court and diplomatic circles

The first chapter of the book begins with the analysis of Ali Asghar Amirani's life, family origin and social relations. He was born in Bijar (Gross) in 1294 solar year, he came to Tehran when he was ten years old and stayed in the house of Lieutenant Mahmoud Khan Orlin Khan and after studying in Sharaf High School and Dar al-Funun, he managed to obtain a bachelor's degree in law from Tehran University. Amirani started writing in the press in 1319 solar by collaborating in publications such as Nasim Saba, Information and Iran Bastan, and in the same year, he laid the cornerstone of the long-lasting and best-selling magazine "Kashaniha"; A magazine that continued to exist for many years after the victory of the revolution.

By publishing new documents, Turan Mansouri and Mohsen Saeed show that Amirani was more than just an editor or an ordinary publisher, he was an influential person with deep court and international relations. He was the bearer of official royal insignia such as "Humayoun", "Coronation" and "Agrarian Reform" insignia, he was an active member of Asr Club and Equestrian Club attached to the palace, and he had established a close and long-standing relationship with Major General (later Lieutenant General) Fazlullah Zahedi; In the midst of the coup d'état on August 28, 1332, he hid Zahedi in his house. On the other hand, the book emphasizes his multi-layered and simultaneous relations with the powerful embassies of the time in Tehran, especially the embassies of England, the United States of America, and the Soviet Union; The relationships that provided a stable margin of safety for his magazine during the years of repression, although even when the magazine was banned in 1338, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi himself issued an order to lift its immediate ban.

One of the most brilliant and critical topics of the book is the analysis of SAVAK's security tactics in using the magazine "Kashaniha" as a "safety valve" in the 1340s and 1350s. The documents of the book reveal that the intelligence apparatus of the Pahlavi regime, after suppressing and shutting down the mass of independent publications, allowed Amirani to win the trust of the disaffected sections of the society by crossing some red lines and biting attacks on the ministers, MPs and inefficient government managers. SAVAK's goal was to make the audience imagine that a brave and revealing publication is active in the country, while behind the curtain, the principle of unconditional loyalty to the king and preserving the pillars of the monarchy was an inviolable red line.

Research structure: link between analytical narrative and treasure of confidential documents

The book "Secrets of reading: Ali Asghar Amirani according to the narration of documents" is compiled in a methodical and academic format in two general sections:

The first part (historical and analytical studies): This part includes a detailed introduction, three separate chapters, a comprehensive conclusion and a detailed timeline of the subject's life:

The first chapter: devoted to individual life, the relations of Amirani with centers of power, court, influential figures, court and western and eastern embassies.

The second chapter: analyzes the professional mechanism, the way of selecting the contents, the members of the writers' council and the editorial board, the circulation and the special tricks of attracting a mass audience in "readables".

The third chapter: The revolutionary developments of 1356 and 1357 are dedicated to the detailed recording of the contradictory positions of the magazine, the arrest process, documentary interrogations and judicial confrontations after the victory of the revolution.

Historical Calendar: A documented calendar from the year of Amirani's birth in Bijar, the start of publications, political milestones, arrests, and his execution.

The second part (documents and appendices): This part is a treasure trove of interrogation papers, confidential correspondence with SAVAK, reports of the General Directorate of Press, and rulings issued by the Revolutionary Court, which enabled the researchers of the book to create a text completely based on reliable historical evidence.

the crisis of 1357; Press gambling with Shah's account article is separate from others' accounts

The peak of the historical drama of this book is revealed in the analysis of the last months leading to the fall of the Pahlavi regime. Turan Mansouri and Mohsen Saeed, by carefully examining the issues of 56 and 57, show how Amirani tried with all his might to save the collapsing regime from the path of public opinion deviation. After the tragedy of the massacre on 17 Shahrivar 1357 in Jhaleh Square, he published a very controversial editorial entitled "The Shah's account is separate from the accounts of others" and tried to put the blame for all the corruption on the shoulders of the agents: "The account of the Shah is separate from the account of those who failed to satisfy the public... Only the enemies of Iran want the account of the Shah and these people to be the same and blame the evils of others on the account of the Shah... Now His Highness believes that some incompetent, malicious and selfish people have planted the seeds of dissatisfaction. People should fight hand in hand with the emperor against the corrupt class.

The authors of the book also reveal that at the same time, figures from the nationalist spectrum such as Adib Broumand (a member of the Central Council of the National Front) also praised the Shah's action in granting freedoms by publishing poems and praises in the pages of "Readings". In addition, in order to curb the religious motivations of the society, Amirani sent foreign journalists to Qom to highlight the interviews of Ayatollah Shariatmadari and strengthen traditional positions against the revolutionary fervor of Imam Khomeini (RA).

Confrontation with the press strike, two-sided tone and execution by the gallows

One of the fateful events of the fall of 1357 was the general strike of journalists to break the cycle of censorship and accompany the people's uprising. The current research shows that Amirani, along with several other court newspaper managers (such as Atash, Bors, and Mehr newspapers of Iran) tried to break the strike and publish "commissioned periodicals" under the cover of the military regime; An action that angered the journalists' union and the strike council on 27 November 1357 and registered his name among the traitors to the cause of freedom of expression in the media.

Despite all this, Amirani wrote at the height of the authority of the popular uprising in issue 51 of the magazine in February 1357: "I have said many times and I will say again that I have aimed at humanity in my newspaper writing and in this way I do not know anyone other than the Shahnesha Ariyamehr." But after Muhammad Reza Pahlavi left the country on 26 January, he tried to take a gray stance in his famous editorial on 7th of Bahman 1357 under the double-edged title "The Gone Person" and wrote: "Finally, the only king of the Shiite country in the world was forced to leave his country, and the leader of the Shiites of the world returns to its people after fifteen years away from his homeland... except to say: We are thankful that this came and it is a pity that that He's gone, we can't do anything else."

The fate of this old press director was determined quickly after the revolution; Amirani was arrested on March 21, 1357 in his personal home while writing "readable" articles. Although he was released after seven months in October 1358 through the mediation of some friends, but due to new security reports and the discovery of a hidden communication network, he was imprisoned again in September 1359. In the indictment of the Revolutionary Court, accusations such as "collaboration with the hated Pahlavi regime", "organizational connection with the defunct SAVAK", "good relations with the occupation regime of Jerusalem" and especially "maintenance and concealment of military radio receivers and transmitters with a dedicated wavelength" were brought against him. In the end, the court recognized him as a corrupter of the earth, and on the morning of July 1, 2016, Ali Asghar Amirani was sentenced to death.

The research value of the book in terms of media studies

The book "Secrets of reading: Ali Asghar Amirani according to the narration of documents" written by Turan Mansouri and Mohsen Saeed, is an enlightening, unbiased work full of first-hand historical facts. Beyond recounting the life of a journalist, this work dissects the mechanism of survival in a closed political environment, the relationship between the yellow and serious press, and the methods of deceiving public opinion by the power centers. This book is an essential and instructive work for all communication professors, students of contemporary history and journalists who want to know the roots of media dependence in the Pahlavi era based on authentic documents.

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