Sayyid ''Sayyid'' is an honorific title of Hasanid and Husaynid lineage, recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and Ali's sons Hasan ibn Ali, Hasan and Husayn ibn Ali, Husayn. The title may also refer ...

Ata'ollah Mohajerani (, also

Romanize In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

d as Atā'ollāh Mohājerāni; born 24 July 1954) is an Iranian journalist, author, and

reformist Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. Within the socialist movement, ref ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Mohajerani served as Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran under President

Mohammad Khatami Mohammad Khatami (born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to 1992. Later, he was critic ...

from 1997 until 2000 when he was fired from office for alleged "permissiveness".Christopher de Bellaigue, ''The Struggle for Iran'', New York Review of Books, 2007, p. 5 He is living as a UK citizen.

Education

Mohajerani received his bachelor's degree in history from

University of Isfahan The University of Isfahan (UI) () is a state-operated university located in Isfahan, Iran. The university is located on Azadi square of Isfahan. It has another campus in Khansar. University of Isfahan offers undergraduate degrees in 71 fields, ...

, his master's degree in history and Iranian culture from

Shiraz University Shiraz University ( ''Dāneshgāh-e-Shirāz'', 1979 revolution, formerly known as Pahlavi dynasty, Pahlavi University دانشگاه پهلوی ''Dāneshgāh-e Pahlavi'') is a public university located in Shiraz, Fars province, Fars, Iran, establ ...

and his PhD in history from

Tarbiat Modares University Tarbiat Modares University (: ''Dāneshgāh-e Tarbiyat Modarres'', lit. "Professor Training University") is a graduate public university located in Tehran, Iran. Faculties Tarbiat Modares University (TMU) was established in 1982 and is a comp ...

Career

Mohajerani's political career began in 1980 after the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, when he won the first round of the parliamentary elections to become a representative of

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

and the youngest member of the majlis. Later, he became the Parliamentary Deputy to the Prime Minister

Mir-Hossein Mousavi Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh (, ; born 2 March 1942) is an Iranian politician, artist, architect and opposition figure who served as the 45th and last Prime Minister of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He was a reformist candidate for the 2009 Iranian p ...

, when he started to write the weekly column ''Naghd-e Haal'' in the Ettela'at newspaper, and then Vice President of Parliamentary Affairs under

Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Bahramani Rafsanjani (25 August 19348 January 2017) was an Iranian cleric, politician and writer who served as the fourth president of Iran from 1989 to 1997. One of the founding fathers of the Islamic Republic, Rafsanjani was the ...

.Mohajerani goes to Washington
''PBS'', Tara Mahtafar 20 October 2009 As minister of culture and Islamic guidance, he officially announced and pursued a policy of "leniency" () towards the field of culture and arts and removed many restrictions. He earned the wrath of conservatives by allowing hundreds of new publications to start up, the release of fifty-some Persian pop music albums, and the screening of the controversial movie

Two Women ''Two Women'' ( , rough literal translation "The Woman from Ciociaria") is a 1960 war drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica from a screenplay he co-wrote with Cesare Zavattini, based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Alberto Moravia. ...

. He survived

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

by the 5th

Majlis (, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning 'sitting room', used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to the Mus ...

which was dominated by the conservatives in part with a "daring" speech defending the principle of freedom of speech in Islamic rather than Western terms. In April 2000, however, he resigned due to heavy criticisms by the Iranian

Supreme Leader A supreme leader or supreme ruler typically refers to powerful figures with an unchallenged authority, such as autocrats, dictators to spiritual and revolutionary leaders. Historic examples are Adolf Hitler () of Nazi Germany, Francisco ...

Ayatollah Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure as Supreme Leader, ...

, because of his "liberal" policies. He also served as the speaker of the cabinet during that time. He later became the president of the Iranian International Centre for Dialogue among Civilizations, but resigned from the post. He was a member and a founder of

Executives of Construction Party The Executives of Construction of Iran Party () is a reformist political party in Iran, founded by 16 members of the cabinet of the then President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in 1996. The party is a member of Council for Coordinating the Reforms F ...

, which is considered a backer of

. Mohajerani participated in the funeral and burial of former revolutionary Prime Minister

Mehdi Bazargan Mehdi Bazargan (; 1 September 1907 – 20 January 1995) was an Iranian scholar, academic, long-time pro-democracy activist and head of Interim government of Iran, 1979, Iran's interim government. One of the leading figures of Iranian Revolutio ...

, when few Iranian officials dared doing so because of Bazargan's very unpopular status among the higher ranks of the

Islamic Republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been used for a s ...

government.

Works

Of the books Mohajerani has written, most famous are a "learned critique" of the

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...

novel ''

Satanic Verses The Satanic Verses are words of "satanic suggestion" which the Islamic prophet Muhammad is alleged to have mistaken for divine revelation. The first use of the expression in English is attributed to Sir William Muir in 1858. The words praise the ...

'',de Bellaigue, ''The Struggle for Iran'', 2007, p. 7 a book in support of

Ferdowsi Abu'l-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi (also Firdawsi, ; 940 – 1019/1025) was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a single poet, and the gre ...

(and against attacks by

Ahmad Shamlou Ahmad Shamlou (, ''Ahmad Šāmlū'' , also known under his pen name A. Bamdad ()) (December 12, 1925 – July 23, 2000) was an Iranian peoples, Iranian poet, writer, and journalist. Shamlou was arguably the most influential poet of modern Iran. ...

), and a book on

Zaynab bint Ali Zaynab bint Ali (, ), was the eldest daughter of Fatima and Ali, Ali ibn Abi Talib. The former was a daughter of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the latter was his cousin. Ali is also recognized as the fourth ...

's role in and after Aashurah. His other publications/works include: * ''Gray heaven/paradise'', 2007. * * *

Personal life

Mohajerani is married to Jamileh Kadivar, who is also a reformist politician and a former member of parliament. Mohajerani left Iran and as of 2009 lives in England with his wife. They launched a website called ''www.maktoub.ir''. Mohajerani is "a vocal supporter of the pro-democracy

Green Movement Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It ...

," and opposes violence against the Iranian government saying "If we answer violence with violence, we are no different from them."

Advocating Khomeini's order to kill British author

After

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

issued a

fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

ordering Muslims to kill

because of his novel ''

The Satanic Verses ''The Satanic Verses'' is the fourth novel from the Indian-British writer Salman Rushdie. First published in September 1988, the book was inspired by the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical re ...

'', Mohajerani published a book called ''Critique of the Satanic Verses Conspiracy'' in 1989. Mohajarani quoted Khomeini's fatwa at the beginning of his book and approved and justified the fatwa. In 1995, Mohajerani wrote a short story gleefully satirising this British writer's fear of being attacked. Responding to Khomeini's Fatwa, on July 2, 1993, unknown assailants set fire to a hotel in the Turkish city of Sivas that was hosting a speech by

Aziz Nesin Aziz Nesin (; born Mehmet Nusret, 20 December 1915, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire – 6 July 1995, Izmir , Turkey) was a Turkish writer, humorist and the author of more than 100 books. Born in a time when Turks did not have official surnames, ...

, a renowned humorist who had translated the book into Turkish. A total of 35 people plus two perpetrators were killed in the blaze, and 145 people were injured. Mohajirani insisted that the massacre was a proud moment in what he called the glorious Islamic reawakening and wrote that Khomeini's fatwa had worked like a vaccine preventing further criticism of the prophet of Islam. So far, no proper study has been conducted into the role of Mohajerani and his book in promoting this massacre of intellectuals, translators and publishers worldwide. In January 2023, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' reported that the Metropolitan Police was reviewing a legal dossier filed in August 2022 that accused Mohajerani of encouraging terrorism contrary to the

Terrorism Act 2006 The Terrorism Act 2006 (c. 11) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that received royal assent on 30 March 2006, after being introduced on 12 October 2005. The Act creates new offences related to terrorism and amends existing o ...

References

External links

Mohajerani's Persian weblog

Mohajerani at the ICCNC in Oakland, California

Video: Dr. Sayyed Ataollah Mohajerani speaks about Dialogue

Ata'ollah Mohajerani - Archives for Baha’i Persecution in Iran

The Fatwa Advocate, Ata'ollah Mohajerani

* ttps://www.magiran.com/author/ata%E2%80%99ollah%20mohajerani Academic Articles by Ata'ollah Mohajerani
Ata'ollah Mohajerani's Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohajerani, Ataollah 1954 births Living people People from Arak, Iran Shiraz University alumni Tarbiat Modares University alumni University of Isfahan alumni Executives of Construction Party politicians Iranian reformists Government ministers of Iran Vice Presidents of Iran for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Spokespersons of the Government of Iran Iranian writers Iranian journalists Iranian emigrants to the United Kingdom Members of the 1st Islamic Consultative Assembly Impeached Iranian officials