Iran's Kafkaesque Book Censorship

By Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL

This week Iran's new Culture Minister Ali Jannati denounced book censorship under the administration of former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and said if they could, censors would have banned the Koran, which is considered to be the word of God by Muslims.

That doesn't mean censorship will necessarily ease anytime soon, seeing as Jannati also suggested that the government should not allow problematic books "to poison" society.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has also, in the past, spoken against "harmful books."

What it is like for authors in Iran to try to get their work past censors?

Writers, translators, and publishers in Iran have to navigate a bureaucratic labyrinth in order to see their writings published.

All books are submitted to the Culture Ministry for review by censors who make sure they conform to written and unwritten rules and principles -- and the censors' own interpretations of those rules.

Books that are deemed anti-Islamic, immoral, or against Iran's security are banned outright. Other books have problematic words or whole chapters cut out. Books can also be banned years after being published.

Books are read by one or more censors. Those in charge of censorship reportedly use software to search for banned words such as references to female body parts. The review process and back-and-forth between censors and the authors and publishers can take weeks, months, or even years.

Iranian Culture Minister Ali Jannati speaking against book censorship(source: Etemaad daily)

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Iran's Kafkaesque Book Censorship