Asghar Sayyed Javadi | |
---|---|
Born | Ali-Asghar Sadr Haj Seyyed Javadi 1925 |
Died | 2018 (aged 92–93) |
Nationality | Iranian |
Organization(s) | IWA ICDFHR (1977–1980) |
Children | Négar Djavadi |
Relatives | Ahmad Sayyed Javadi (brother) Nasser Katouzian (brother-in-law) |
Ali-Asghar Sadr Haj Seyyed Javadi (Persian: علیاصغر صدر حاجسیدجوادی; 1925–2018) was an Iranian writer, journalist and activist.[1] Politically, he was a dissident to both Pahlavi and Islamic Republic governments.[2]
According to Farhang Rajaee, he was "a leading intellectual of the day".[3]
He was born in 1925 in Qazvin. In 1951, he obtained a PhD in philosophy from University of Paris.[1]
During his youth, he was a member of Tudeh Party of Iran but he later became a social democrat.[4] He was an essayist on Islam and Socialism and over a fifteen years period, his gained a large following who were mostly religious laymen.[4] An Iranian Writers Association member, he also wrote for Kayhan.[4][5]
Mehrdad Mashayekhi argues that he belonged to the Third Worldist current in Iran, and considers him among "radical nationalist intellectuals" who were closely associated with the League of Iranian Socialists.[6] Afshin Matin-Asgari states that he had an "independent socialist background" that he shared with people with Jalal Al-e-Ahmad. He was critical of the U.S. government neocolonialist policies from a Third Worldist perspective, as reflected in his columns published in the 1960s.[7]
In 1977, he was among the members and founders of the newly formed Iranian Committee for the Defense of Freedom and Human Rights (ICDFHR).[8] Mehdi Bazargan was elected as the head and Javadi as the vice head of the committee.[8] He became the head of the ICDFHR after the revolution.[8] However, the committee's office was closed in November 1980, and Javadi had to leave Iran in the fall of 1981.[8]
In 1979, he founded Jonbesh (lit. 'The Movement'), a relatively small group that belonged to the political center.[9] and ran for a Tehran seat for the Assembly of Experts for Constitution under the banner of Quintuple Coalition.[10] He garnered more votes than any defeated candidate and about one million less than the last elected candidate.[11]
Year | Election | Votes | % | Rank | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1979 | Assembly of Experts | 298,360 | 11.81 | 11th | Lost[11] |