Payam-e-Hajar

''Payam-e-Hajar'' ( fa, پیام هاجر, payām-i Hājar, lit=The Message of Hagar) was an Iranian nationalist-religious periodical publication in magazine-format that focused on current sociopolitical affairs of Iran. Founded by Azam Taleghani in 1979, it was considered a forum for reform-minded Muslims and was banned in April 2000.

Political alignment and content

Despite being committed to both Islam and the Iranian Revolution, the magazine was critical of the clerical establishment and advocated Islamic feminism.

According to Roja Fazaeli, the main theme of the publication was about women's rights and legal reforms within an Islamic framework, and it was "the first magazine that worked within the framework of Islam to raise questions about the necessity of reinterpreting Islamic laws to address gender equality".

Jaleh Taheri argues that the magazine "provides a dynamic reinterpretation of Qur'anic verses". She exemplifies this notion with an essay named ''The Necessity for the Reform of Laws Concerning Divorce, Polygyny, and Child Custody'' (1992), in which the author opposes legalization of polygyny in Iran, on the grounds that verse 3 of An-Nisa should be understood as constraining polygyny only to specific cases and for the sake of social needs, which are non-existent in contemporary period.

Staff

Azam Taleghani served as the magazine's managing director and editor-in-chief. Narges Mohammadi was among the contributors to the publication.

References

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1979 establishments in Iran
Magazines established in 1979
Magazines published in Tehran
Magazines disestablished in 2000
2000 disestablishments in Iran
Defunct magazines published in Iran
Persian-language magazines
Defunct political magazines
Monthly magazines published in Iran
Banned magazines
Feminist magazines