Salam
PublisherMohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha
Founded9 February 1991
Political alignmentReformist
LanguagePersian
Ceased publication1999
HeadquartersTehran
CountryIran

Salam (Persian: سلام, romanized: Salām, lit. 'Salute') was a daily newspaper published in Tehran, Iran. It was named by Ahmad Khomeini, the son of Ayatollah Khomeini.[1] 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.[1]

History and profile

Salam was established by a group of reformist people attached to the Association of Combatant Clerics, and the first issue appeared on 9 February 1991.[1][2] The paper was based in Tehran[3] and became one of the most read dailies in the country soon after its launch.[2][4]

The publisher of Salam was Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha[5][6] who remained in the post until 1999 when it was disestablished.[7]

Content, political stance and editors

In addition to quality editorials, Salam provided investigative articles about financial scandals.[2] It was among the first newspapers in the country to deal with injustice and corruption.[4] The paper also included a special section in which readers wrote their comments or raised questions.[8]

Salam had an anti-American and social democrat political stance.[9] It had also a liberal stance[10] and advocated state planning in economy.[11] It criticized Ali Akbar Rafsanjani while he was serving as the President[9] and supported the next President Mohammad Khatami during his election campaign.[12][13]

One of the editors-in-chief of Salam was Ibrahim Abedi.[14] Abbas Abdi also served in the post.[15][16]

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.[17][18][19] On 7 July 1999 Salam was temporarily banned by the Special Court for the Clergy following its publication of a secret ministry report.[5][12] This incident led to six-day student demonstrations in Tehran.[20]

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.[21][22]

References

  1. ^ a b c Muhammad Sahimi (14 July 2013). "The Iranian Student Uprising of 1999: 14 Years Later". Muftah. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Hossein Shahidi (2007). Journalism in Iran: From Mission to Profession. London; New York: Routledge. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-134-09391-5.
  3. ^ David Menashri (2001). Post-revolutionary Politics in Iran: Religion, Society, and Power. London: Frank Cass. p. 326. ISBN 978-0-7146-5074-6.
  4. ^ a b Hossein Shahidi (March 2006). "From Mission to Profession: Journalism in Iran, 1979–2004". Iranian Studies. 39 (1): 1–28. doi:10.1080/00210860500470177. S2CID 143005329.
  5. ^ a b "Assault on Independent Press in Iran Intensifies". The Iranian. 28 July 1999. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  6. ^ Peter Feuilherade (1 April 1994). "Iran: media and the message". The Middle East. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  7. ^ Güneş Murat Tezcür (2010). Muslim Reformers in Iran and Turkey: The Paradox of Moderation. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0292728837.
  8. ^ David Menashri (Spring–Summer 2007). "Iran's regional policy: between radicalism and pragmatism". Journal of International Affairs. 60 (2): 153–167. JSTOR 24357976.
  9. ^ a b Ray Takeyh (2009). Guardians of the Revolution: Iran and the World in the Age of the Ayatollahs. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-19-979313-6.
  10. ^ Ray Takeyh (October 2000). "God's will. Iranian democracy and the Islamic context". Middle East Policy. 7 (4).
  11. ^ "The Iranian press". Index on Censorship. 27 (4): 140. 1998. doi:10.1080/03064229808536401. S2CID 220990570.
  12. ^ a b "Iran closes down newspaper". BBC. 7 July 1999. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  13. ^ Shahram Rafizadeh; Mahsa Alimardani. "The Political Affiliations of Iranian Newspapers". ASL19. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  14. ^ Lamis Andoni (7 April 1995). "When Iran Hedges Closer, US Pushes Away". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  15. ^ A. W. Samii (December 1999). "The Contemporary Iranian News Media, 1998–1999". Middle East Review of International Affairs. 3 (4).
  16. ^ Gholam Khiabany; Annabelle Sreberny (2001). "The Iranian Press and the Continuing Struggle Over Civil Society 1998–2000". International Communication Gazette. 63 (2–3): 203–223. doi:10.1177/0016549201063002007. S2CID 145138547.
  17. ^ Mehrzad Boroujerdi; Kourosh Rahimkhani. "Iran's Political Elite". United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  18. ^ Reza Aslan (3 August 2009). "Iran's Most Wanted". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  19. ^ "Human Rights Watch World Report 1995 [Iran-Human Rights Developments]". Bahai News. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  20. ^ Geneive Abdo (25 April 2000). "Iran Tightens Crackdown on Reformist Publications". The New York Times. Tehran. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  21. ^ Ramin Karimian; Shabanali Bahrampour (Fall 1999). "Iranian Press Update". Middle East Research and Information Project. 29.
  22. ^ "Attacks on the Press 1999: Iran". Committee to Protect Journalists. 22 March 2000. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
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