''Salam'' ( fa, سلام, lit=Salute) was a Persian newspaper published in Tehran, Iran. The name of the paper was given by

Ahmad Khomeini Sayyid Ahmad Khomeini ( fa, سید احمد خمینی;‎ 14 March 1946 – 17 March 1995) was the younger son of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and father of Hassan Khomeini. He was the "right-hand" of his father before, during and after the Ir ...

, Ayatollah Khomeini's son. It was highly influential in the country during its brief existence from 1991 to 1999 and was one of the early reformist dailies published following the Islamic revolution in Iran.

History and profile

''Salam'' was established by a group of reformist people attached to the

Association of Combatant Clerics The Association of Combatant Clerics ( fa, مجمع روحانیون مبارز, ''Majma'-e rowhāniyūn-e mobārez'') is an Iranian reformist clerical political party. It is regarded as a left-wing party within the Iranian political spectrum. H ...

, and the first issue appeared on 9 February 1991. The paper was based in Tehran and became one of the most read dailies in the country soon after its launch. The publisher of ''Salam'' was

Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha Sayyid Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha (born 1945) is an Iranian cleric and secretary general of the reformist Association of Combatant Clerics. He was the founder of the now defunct '' Salam'' and was a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. ...

who remained in the post until 1999 when it was disestablished.

Content, political stance and editors

In addition to quality editorials, ''Salam'' provided investigative articles about financial scandals. It was among the first newspapers in the country to deal with injustice and corruption. The paper also included a special section in which readers wrote their comments or raised questions. The daily had an

anti-American Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment) is prejudice, fear, or hatred of the United States, its government, its foreign policy, or Americans in general. Political scientist Brendon O'Connor at the United States Studies Centr ...

and

social democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...

political stance. It had also a liberal stance and advocated state planning in economy. It criticized Ali Akbar Rafsanjani while he was serving as the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and supported the next President Mohammad Khatami during his election campaign. One of the editors-in-chief of the daily was Ibrahim Abedi.

Abbas Abdi Abbas Abdi (; fa, عباس عبدی; born 1 October 1956) is one of Iran's most influential reformists, journalist, self-taught sociologist and social activist. Biography Abdi was born in 1956. He studied polymer engineering at Tehran Polytec ...

also served in the post.

Bans and closure

Abbas Abdi, editor-in-chief of ''Salam'', was jailed for eight months in 1993 for his critical writings published in the paper. On 7 July 1999 ''Salam'' was temporarily banned by the Special Court for the Clergy following its publication of a secret ministry report. This incident led to six-day student demonstrations in Tehran. On 4 August 1999 the paper was banned for five years and its publisher, Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha, was banned from journalistic activity for three years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salam 1991 establishments in Iran 1999 disestablishments in Iran Banned newspapers Censorship in Iran Defunct newspapers published in Iran Newspapers published in Tehran Persian-language newspapers Publications established in 1991 Publications disestablished in 1999