Iran Official Slams Ahmadinejad-Era Censorship

By Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL

Iranian Culture Minister Ali Jannati has said that book censorship was too strict under the country's former government. In comments quoted by Iran's semi-official ILNA news agency on October 8, Jannati said censors would have rejected the Koran, which Muslims believe is a revelation by God.

Censorship (cartoon by Mana Neyestani)

"If the Koran hadn't been sent by God and we had handed it to book censors, they wouldn't have issued permission to publish it and would have argued that some of the words in it are against public virtue," he said.

Jannati said he had reviewed some of the titles that the administration of former Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad censored and concluded that in many cases, censors had objected to "irrelevant" issues.

He also said in many instances censors had based their decisions on personal opinions, and added that the reviewers lacked the necessary expertise.

Jannati has been culture minister since August after being chosen by Hassan Rohani, the moderate cleric who was elected president in June and who has promised to give Iranians more freedoms.

But limits remain. Jannati hedged his comments by also saying that book censorship will continue in Iran because the government must act in accordance with rulings made by the Supreme National Security Council and the parliament.

"How can we allow some problematic books to poison the society?" he asked.

Iranian Culture Minister Ali Jannati has said that book censorship (source: Etemaad daily)

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Iran Official Slams Ahmadinejad-Era Censorship