18 March 2008
TEHRAN: The Islamic Republic's Culture Ministry on Sunday announced the closure of nine cinema and lifestyle magazines for publishing pictures and stories about the lives of "corrupt" foreign film stars and promoting "superstitions."
The Press Supervisory Board, a body controlled by conservative functionaries, also sent warning notes to 13 other publications and magazines on "observing the provisions of the press law," the ministry Web site said.
Iran's film industry is one of its most treasured cultural assets and pictures by its greatest directors such as Abbas Kiarostami or Jafar Panahi have won international awards at prestigious festivals.
However the arthouse films so popular in the West often fail to win a license for being shown in Iran, where all films must be approved before screening to ensure they are in line with Islamic cultural standards.
In Tehran there are only a handful of cinemas which offer a selective screening of foreign movies, which are subject to heavy censorship of any scenes where actresses are deemed to be scantly dressed.
A myriad of glossy magazines are regarded as required reading for young culture connoisseurs who want to follow developments in cinema at home and abroad. As the nine magazines do not deal with politics - focusing on light lifestyle features, family advice, and news of celebrities - it was unclear why they were targeted for closure.
They regularly publish photos of Iranian actresses in loose headscarves and stylish clothes. Iranian actresses have to observe the country's Islamic dress rules when they appear in films but this has not stopped many from becoming feminine screen icons in the Islamic Republic.
The magazines print images of foreign female film stars without head coverings - but nothing more revealing than what is tolerated on some state media.
A recent issue of one of the closed magazines, "Sobh-e-Zendegi" ("Morning of Life"), had photos of Cameron Diaz, Naomi Watts, Mandy Moore and Angelina Jolie - all wearing long sleeves and baggy clothing - and little briefs on some of their current activities.
The ministry said it shut the magazines down for "using photos of artists, especially foreign corrupt film stars, as instruments [to arouse desire], publishing details about their decadent private lives, propagating medicines without authorization, promoting superstitions."
It did not elaborate. Such magazines often have small adds for vitamins and remedies, including pills to treat impotence.
Mohsen Ahmadi, editor of "Sobh-e-Zendegi," condemned the order.
"It is deplorable that a family lifestyle magazine is ordered closed. It means 70 people have lost their job," he told the Associated Press.
Ahmadi said he received the closure order from the Culture Ministry on Sunday, but it was dated March 10. He said he suspected authorities waited to implement the order until after Friday's Parliament elections to avoid raising anger.
Aside from "Sobh-e-Zendegi," the most significant magazines to be shut are "Donya-e-Tasvir" ("World of the Image"), "Talash" ("Effort") and "Haft" ("Seven") but smaller publications like "Shooka" "Havar," "Baznegari," "Be Sooy-e-Eftekhar" and "Neday-e-Iran" have also been shut, according to the Web site.
Iran saw a wave of newspaper closures amid a confrontation between reformers and hard-liners during the 1997-2005 tenure of former reformist President Mohammad Khatami. The judiciary has shut down more than 100 pro-reform newspapers and jailed dozens of editors and writers on vague charges of insulting authorities since 2000. - Agencies
Copyright The Daily Star 2008.
