Radio Zamaneh
  • Home
  • Labor Rights
  • Advertise
  • About Zamaneh Media
    • Exiled Media Report
    • Sponsors
    • Donate
    • Vacancies
    • Contact us
    • Legal
    • Republishing Guidelines
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Labor Rights
  • Advertise
  • About Zamaneh Media
    • Exiled Media Report
    • Sponsors
    • Donate
    • Vacancies
    • Contact us
    • Legal
    • Republishing Guidelines
No Result
View All Result
Radio Zamaneh
No Result
View All Result

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards condemn Norooz celebrations in Persepolis

by Zamaneh Media
March 22, 2011
in Latest Articles
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards condemn Norooz celebrations in Persepolis
Persepolis

Controversy over the celebration of Norooz, the Iranian New Year, at the site of Persepolis in Shiraz continues to divide the Islamic Republic establishment, causing extreme internal tension in the upper echelons of power.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards commanders have expressed antagonism against the ceremony planned at Persepolis, the ruins of the Achamenid Palace in Shiraz. But today, Ayatollah Mohieddin Haeri Shirazi, a member of the Assembly of Experts announced that the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has approved the plan.

The festivities, which have been organized by the office of the president, have attracted the criticism of Islamic Republic hardliners who maintain that celebrating at Persepolis would be an unwise reminder of the celebrations held there in 1973 by the last Iranian monarch, marking 2,500 years of monarchy in Iran.

The president’s office has announced through its website for Norooz celebrations that the Supreme Leader’s approval means there is no room for argument and the festivities in Persepolis will go on as planned.

Brigadier-General Gholam Gheiratparvar, a Fars province Revolutionary Guard commander, told a reporter in Shiraz that he has “an ominous feeling of threat” about holding a music festival in Shiraz and called for cancellation of the Norooz program there.

“At the start of the New Year, instead of bringing people closer to our martyrs and their ideals, you want to take them toward national festivals,” Gheiratparvar said. “We will certainly not allow the dark memory of the 2,500 years of monarchy celebrations to be renewed in Fars.”

According to Fars news agency, a number of student organizations have also announced their intention to counter the Norooz festivities in Persepolis with a “march in shrouds.”

The Norooz celebrations planned for Shiraz have also drawn the fire of a number of local clergy members, but the Governor of Fars has called on everyone to “respect the pure traditions of Norooz.”

Norooz, which dates back thousands of years before the arrival of Islam in Iran, has been cause for deep rifts in the Islamic Republic establishments. The Islamic government has never been able to uproot this event. This year, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s plan to celebrate Norooz in full regalia at Persepolis has re-awakened the divisions of nationalism and religion that have split Iran since the arrival of Islam.

Related Posts

The Light Carried Forward: Migration, Exile, Flight and Cinematic Creation
Latest Articles

The Light Carried Forward: Migration, Exile, Flight and Cinematic Creation

May 9, 2025
A Dutch Artist Inspired by Women, Life, and Freedom in Iran: An Interview with Rienke Enghardt
Latest Articles

A Dutch Artist Inspired by Women, Life, and Freedom in Iran: An Interview with Rienke Enghardt

September 23, 2024
Afghan Migrants Speak Out: Legal Residents Expelled from Iran
Human Rights

Afghan Migrants Speak Out: Legal Residents Expelled from Iran

August 16, 2024
From Zahra Kodai to Iman Khalif: How Can We See the Bigger Picture?
Latest Articles

From Zahra Kodai to Iman Khalif: How Can We See the Bigger Picture?

August 14, 2024
87 Executed in Iran One Month Post-Election
Latest Articles

87 Executed in Iran One Month Post-Election

August 9, 2024
14 Iranian Refugees’ Inspiring Journey to Paris Olympics
Latest Articles

14 Iranian Refugees’ Inspiring Journey to Paris Olympics

July 26, 2024
Radio Zamaneh

© 2024 Zamaneh Media

More information

  • Sponsors
  • Donate
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Legal

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Labor Rights
  • Advertise
  • About Zamaneh Media
    • Exiled Media Report
    • Sponsors
    • Donate
    • Vacancies
    • Contact us
    • Legal
    • Republishing Guidelines

© 2024 Zamaneh Media