نقی تو رو قسم به شوخ طبعیت
به این بیرون از گود تو تبعید
به آلت بزرگ زندگانی
که پشت ما نشسته رو به تهدید
نقی تو رو به تو طول و عرض تحریم
دلار رو به رشد و حس تحقیر
نقی تو رو به امام مقوایی
به طفل علی گوی توی رحم گیر
به درس فقه تو اتاق عمل بینی
به آقا و تسبیح و جا نماز چینی
نقی تو رو به انگشت شیث رضایی
به دینی که اوت شده و فوتبال دینی
آی نقی
حالا که مهدی خوابه ما تو رو صدا میزنیم
آی نقی
تو ظهور کن که ما آماده تو کفنیم
آی نقی
آی نقی
حالا که مهدی خوابه ما تو رو صدا میزنیم آی نقی
تو ظهور کن که ما اماده تو کفنیم آی نقی
نقی تو رو قسم به عشق و ویاگرا
تو رو به لنگ های هوا شده و چاکرا
تو رو به سنگک و مرغ و گوشت و ماهی
سینه ی سیلیکونی و بکارت راه راه
نقی تو رو به ممه های گلشیفته
به ابروی نداشته که از ما ریخته
نقی تو رو به نژاد آریایی
به پلاکی که به گردن آویخته
نقی جون من تو رو به شوشول فرنود
سه هزار میلیارد زیر گنبد کبود
خلیج فارس و ارومیه هم قصه بود
راستی اسم رهبر جنبش سبز چی بود؟
آی نقی حالا که مهدی خوابه ما تو رو صدا میزنیم آی نقی
تو ظهور کن که ما آماده تو کفنیم آی نقی
آی نقی
حالا که مهدی خوابه ما تو رو صدا میزنیم آی نقی
تو ظهور کن که ما آماده تو کفنیم آی نقی
آی نقی آی نقی آی نقی
آی نقی آی نقی آی نقی
به رحلت جان گوز امام امت
به سیاسیون فسیلی تو غربت
به بیوه های باکلاس پلاس دیسکو
به بحث های روشن فکری تو چت
به غیرت مرد های اون کاره
به زنان مدافع حقوق مرد
به انقلاب رنگی از تو تلویزیون
به سه درصد جمعیت کتاب خون
تو رو به شعار های آبکی و توخالی
نقی تو رو به این جماعت حالی به حالی
صبح زنده باد میگن و شب مرده باد
به قهرمونای قصه های خیالی
آی نقی
حالا که مهدی خوابه ما تو رو صدا میزنیم آی نقی
تو ظهور کن که ما آماده تو کفنیم آی نقی
آی نقی حالا که مهدی خوابه ما تو رو صدا میزنیم آی نقی
تو ظهور کن که ما آماده تو کفنیم آی نقی
آی نقی آی نقی آی نقی
آی نقی آی نقی آی نقی
واااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااای نقی
به این بیرون از گود تو تبعید
به آلت بزرگ زندگانی
که پشت ما نشسته رو به تهدید
نقی تو رو به تو طول و عرض تحریم
دلار رو به رشد و حس تحقیر
نقی تو رو به امام مقوایی
به طفل علی گوی توی رحم گیر
به درس فقه تو اتاق عمل بینی
به آقا و تسبیح و جا نماز چینی
نقی تو رو به انگشت شیث رضایی
به دینی که اوت شده و فوتبال دینی
آی نقی
حالا که مهدی خوابه ما تو رو صدا میزنیم
آی نقی
تو ظهور کن که ما آماده تو کفنیم
آی نقی
آی نقی
حالا که مهدی خوابه ما تو رو صدا میزنیم آی نقی
تو ظهور کن که ما اماده تو کفنیم آی نقی
نقی تو رو قسم به عشق و ویاگرا
تو رو به لنگ های هوا شده و چاکرا
تو رو به سنگک و مرغ و گوشت و ماهی
سینه ی سیلیکونی و بکارت راه راه
نقی تو رو به ممه های گلشیفته
به ابروی نداشته که از ما ریخته
نقی تو رو به نژاد آریایی
به پلاکی که به گردن آویخته
نقی جون من تو رو به شوشول فرنود
سه هزار میلیارد زیر گنبد کبود
خلیج فارس و ارومیه هم قصه بود
راستی اسم رهبر جنبش سبز چی بود؟
آی نقی حالا که مهدی خوابه ما تو رو صدا میزنیم آی نقی
تو ظهور کن که ما آماده تو کفنیم آی نقی
آی نقی
حالا که مهدی خوابه ما تو رو صدا میزنیم آی نقی
تو ظهور کن که ما آماده تو کفنیم آی نقی
آی نقی آی نقی آی نقی
آی نقی آی نقی آی نقی
به رحلت جان گوز امام امت
به سیاسیون فسیلی تو غربت
به بیوه های باکلاس پلاس دیسکو
به بحث های روشن فکری تو چت
به غیرت مرد های اون کاره
به زنان مدافع حقوق مرد
به انقلاب رنگی از تو تلویزیون
به سه درصد جمعیت کتاب خون
تو رو به شعار های آبکی و توخالی
نقی تو رو به این جماعت حالی به حالی
صبح زنده باد میگن و شب مرده باد
به قهرمونای قصه های خیالی
آی نقی
حالا که مهدی خوابه ما تو رو صدا میزنیم آی نقی
تو ظهور کن که ما آماده تو کفنیم آی نقی
آی نقی حالا که مهدی خوابه ما تو رو صدا میزنیم آی نقی
تو ظهور کن که ما آماده تو کفنیم آی نقی
آی نقی آی نقی آی نقی
آی نقی آی نقی آی نقی
واااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااای نقی
Contributed by Dead End - 2012/11/8 - 10:00
Language: English
Traduzione inglese e note di Lover of Iran da Iranian.com (Nothing Is Sacred)
HEY, NAGHI!
Naghi [1], I swear on your sense of humor
On this exile who thinks he’s here to criticize [2]
On the large penis that gives life
That sits behind us and threatens us
I swear on the length and width of [Western-imposed] sanctions
On the rising value of the dollar and the feeling of humiliation [3]
Naghi, I swear on the cardboard Imam [Khomeini] [4]
On the baby [Khamenei] who was saying “Ali!” while stuck in his mother’s womb [5]
On the teaching of jurisprudence in the room where nose jobs are given [6]
On Khamenei, the prayer beads and prayer rugs made in China [7]
Naghi, I swear on the finger of Sheys Rezaei [8]
On the religion that has been kicked out and religious soccer [9]
O Naghi, now that the Hidden Imam is asleep, we call upon you, O Naghi [10]
Appear, for we are ready in our burial shrouds, O Naghi [11]
O Naghi, now that the Hidden Imam is asleep, we call upon you, O Naghi
Appear, for we are ready in our burial shrouds, O Naghi
Naghi, I swear on love and Viagra
On raised legs and chakras
On sangak bread [12] and chicken and meat and fish
On silicon chests and striped virginity [13]
Naghi, I swear on Golshifteh’s breasts [14]
On lost prestige that we never had [15]
Naghi, I swear on Aryan heritage [16]
On the necklace that you wear around your neck [17]
Naghi, [I give] my life for Farnood’s penis [18]
For the 3 billion dollars, soon forgotten like a children’s story [19]
And the Persian Gulf and [Lake] Orumiyeh, too [20]
Oh by the way, what was the name of the leader of the Green Movement? [21]
O Naghi, now that the Hidden Imam is asleep, we call upon you, O Naghi
Appear, for we are ready in our burial shrouds, O Naghi
O Naghi, now that the Hidden Imam is asleep, we call upon you, O Naghi
Appear, for we are ready in our burial shrouds, O Naghi
O Naghi, O Naghi, O Naghi
O Naghi, O Naghi, O Naghi
On the anniversary of the death of that old fart, Imam of the [Shi’ah] community [22]
On the fossilized opposition in the diaspora [23]
On the classy widows who frequent discos
On the intellectual discussions in chat rooms
On the dissolute men with a false sense of honor [24]
On the women who defend men’s rights [25]
On the color revolution in the television [26]
On the 3% of the [Iranian] population who read books [27]
On the wishy-washy, empty slogans [28]
Naghi, I swear on this crowd of fickle people
Who in the morning say “Long live…!” but at night say “Death to…!” [29]
On the heroes of fictional stories
O Naghi, now that the Hidden Imam is asleep, we call upon you, O Naghi
Appear, for we are ready in our burial shrouds, O Naghi
O Naghi, now that the Hidden Imam is asleep, we call upon you, O Naghi
Appear, for we are ready in our burial shrouds, O Naghi
O Naghi, O Naghi, O Naghi
O Naghi, O Naghi, O Naghi
Ohhhhhhhhhh Naghi
Naghi [1], I swear on your sense of humor
On this exile who thinks he’s here to criticize [2]
On the large penis that gives life
That sits behind us and threatens us
I swear on the length and width of [Western-imposed] sanctions
On the rising value of the dollar and the feeling of humiliation [3]
Naghi, I swear on the cardboard Imam [Khomeini] [4]
On the baby [Khamenei] who was saying “Ali!” while stuck in his mother’s womb [5]
On the teaching of jurisprudence in the room where nose jobs are given [6]
On Khamenei, the prayer beads and prayer rugs made in China [7]
Naghi, I swear on the finger of Sheys Rezaei [8]
On the religion that has been kicked out and religious soccer [9]
O Naghi, now that the Hidden Imam is asleep, we call upon you, O Naghi [10]
Appear, for we are ready in our burial shrouds, O Naghi [11]
O Naghi, now that the Hidden Imam is asleep, we call upon you, O Naghi
Appear, for we are ready in our burial shrouds, O Naghi
Naghi, I swear on love and Viagra
On raised legs and chakras
On sangak bread [12] and chicken and meat and fish
On silicon chests and striped virginity [13]
Naghi, I swear on Golshifteh’s breasts [14]
On lost prestige that we never had [15]
Naghi, I swear on Aryan heritage [16]
On the necklace that you wear around your neck [17]
Naghi, [I give] my life for Farnood’s penis [18]
For the 3 billion dollars, soon forgotten like a children’s story [19]
And the Persian Gulf and [Lake] Orumiyeh, too [20]
Oh by the way, what was the name of the leader of the Green Movement? [21]
O Naghi, now that the Hidden Imam is asleep, we call upon you, O Naghi
Appear, for we are ready in our burial shrouds, O Naghi
O Naghi, now that the Hidden Imam is asleep, we call upon you, O Naghi
Appear, for we are ready in our burial shrouds, O Naghi
O Naghi, O Naghi, O Naghi
O Naghi, O Naghi, O Naghi
On the anniversary of the death of that old fart, Imam of the [Shi’ah] community [22]
On the fossilized opposition in the diaspora [23]
On the classy widows who frequent discos
On the intellectual discussions in chat rooms
On the dissolute men with a false sense of honor [24]
On the women who defend men’s rights [25]
On the color revolution in the television [26]
On the 3% of the [Iranian] population who read books [27]
On the wishy-washy, empty slogans [28]
Naghi, I swear on this crowd of fickle people
Who in the morning say “Long live…!” but at night say “Death to…!” [29]
On the heroes of fictional stories
O Naghi, now that the Hidden Imam is asleep, we call upon you, O Naghi
Appear, for we are ready in our burial shrouds, O Naghi
O Naghi, now that the Hidden Imam is asleep, we call upon you, O Naghi
Appear, for we are ready in our burial shrouds, O Naghi
O Naghi, O Naghi, O Naghi
O Naghi, O Naghi, O Naghi
Ohhhhhhhhhh Naghi
Note di Lover of Iran da Iranian.com (Nothing Is Sacred)
[1] Ali al-Hadi, also known as Ali an-Naghi, was the 10th of the Twelve Imams of Shi’ah Islam. According to the Shi’ah tradition, Imam Naghi was the grandfather of the Hidden Imam (see note 10 for more info on this).
[2] There is an Iranian phrase, lengesh kon, which is used to label armchair criticism. The phrase essentially means, “Come on, bring him down already!” and the expression has its roots in wrestling. It refers to a specific move where a wrestler grabs the opponent’s thigh to drop him to the floor/wrestling mat. The phrase that Najafi uses in the original is “biroon az gowd,” which literally means “outside the [wrestling] ring/arena,” typically found in “houses of strength” (zur-khānehs, traditional Persian gymnasiums) and is a metaphorical reference to members of the Iranian diaspora who criticize Iranians living inside Iran for not persisting in their protests against their government. With this remark, Najafi is casting a spotlight on Iranian armchair critics and is calling them out on their cowardice. The Encyclopedia Iranica has an in-depth article on zur-khānehs here
[3] Inside Iran, the value of the dollar has appreciated at a phenomenal rate while their own currency (rials and tomans) has plummeted to the verge of worthlessness. Indeed, many Iranians talk about how when it comes to luxury items (e.g. high-class cars), the vendors will only accept payment in the form of dollars and will refuse to transact using Iranian currency on account of its spiraling depreciation.
[4] This is a reference to the celebration of the 33rd anniversary of Khomeini’s arrival in Iran, which signaled an end to 2,500 years of Persian monarchy and the inauguration of a theocratic government. On this particular anniversary, the Iranian government sponsored a reenactment of the historic moment where Khomeini disembarked from an Air France plane and arrived in Tehran. The star of this reenactment was a cardboard cutout of Khomeini. The event was ridiculed and mocked by all sorts of press. David Goodman wrote a piece covering the reenactment and the reaction towards it on the New York Times
[5] This is a reference to a remark made by the Friday prayer leader of Qom (Ayatollah Muhammad Sa’idi) last year, where after recounting an historical Shi’ah narrative, he claims that Ali Khamenei—the Supreme Leader of Iran—came out of his mother’s womb saying, “Ya Ali!” (“O Ali!”). Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, and Shi’ah Muslims consider him to be the first of the Twelve Imams and the rightful successor to Muhammad. The video of Ayatollah Sa’idi’s sermon can be viewed online here
[6] This is a quip about the ubiquity of nose jobs in Iran. In fact, many people say that Iran leads the world in nose job per capita. My take on this verse is that Najafi is juxtaposing the phenomenon of nose jobs in Iran—which women get so frequently because they’re forced to cover everything else, and the nose thus remains their most prominent feature—with the clerics’ desire to instill religious faith and fervor through jurisprudence classes. I think Najafi is ultimately trying to say that Iranian youth don’t care about Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), and are instead more concerned with perfecting the parts of their bodies which government-imposed religion has, for now, left untouched. Essentially, it’s a message of rebellion against force-fed religion.
[7] This remark underscores the fact that Iran is importing a huge amount of their commodities from China—even down to the religious items, like prayer beads and rugs.
[8] Sheys Rezaei is an Iranian soccer player who was banned from the Persepolis team for slapping the buttocks of his teammate, Persepolis defender Mohammad Nosrati, and fingering his anus during a goal-scoring celebration against the Damash Gilan team. The Iranian government denounced this as an “immoral act,” and he did not return to the team until early 2012. The BBC covered this incident here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15533927 And there is a video here
[9] Here, Najafi is both ascribing a general indifference towards religion to the people of Iran while also acknowledging that the sport of soccer itself has become a totally government-owned and regulated activity (hence the mixing of religion, an integral part of the Iranian government, with soccer).
[10] The Hidden Imam (also known as the Twelfth Imam or Mahdi) is the central figure of Islamic eschatology and is the equivalent of the second coming of Christ in Christian eschatology. According to the Shi’ah narrative, the Hidden Imam was born in 869 CE and went into occultation in 874 at only 5 years of age, when he assumed the Imamate. When he returns, it is believed that he will bring justice and peace by establishing Islam throughout the world.
[11] Muslims typically wrap the dead in burial shrouds—usually made of white cotton or linen—before depositing them in their graves. It’s a satire against the religious zealots who boast that they are ready to die for a cause that they often don’t even understand.
[12] “Nan-e Sangak” is an Iranian kind of whole wheat, sourdough flatbread that is baked in an oven on a bed of hot tiny river stones. The word “sangak” means “little stone” or “pebble,” and these would cling to the bread due to the nature of the baking process. This is a picture of sangak bread
[13] I’m not entirely sure what Najafi means here by striped virginity, but I do have two theories:
(A) The first theory pertains to the belief that exists among some ultraconservative Iranians which states that a woman will go to heaven if she dies a virgin (if I am wrong about this and the details that follow, someone please correct me). These super-traditional Iranians (usually prison guards) try to prevent this from happening by raping the convicted women so that they will be “guilty” of adultery, and will not go to heaven as a result. Obviously, this is just a pretext for having sex. Placed in this context, the idea of “striped virginity” conjures up the image of a girl, clad in a typically striped prison uniform, who is about to lose the only thing keeping her alive in the eyes of the Iranian government: her virginity. Hence, a link is established between “stripes”, AKA the girl’s prison uniform, and her virginity.
(B) The second theory, which is actually not mine but a friend’s, considers the “striped virginity” to be a girl’s hymen—which of course, when penetrated, marks the loss of her virginity. Taken in this light, perhaps Najafi’s remark is some kind of allusion to hymenorrhaphy—a surgical procedure whereby a girl’s hymen is surgically restored. This reconstruction of an “artificial virginity” would at the very least be related to the theme of artificiality inherent in this particular verse, since Najafi also mentions a chest of silicon, which to most women is the apex of superficiality. However, I have no idea where the “striped” part of the verse would come into play when considering this theory.
[14] This is a reference to the Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, who posed nude for the French magazine Madame Le Figaro at the beginning of 2012. Upon discovering this, the Iranian government sent her a communication telling her that she would not be allowed to return to Iran. Farahani’s nude photograph was the subject of much controversy among Iranians for several weeks. The Telegraph covered this incident here
[15] This is a quip about the status of aberoo —which could mean honor, prestige, or saving face—in Iranian society. Najafi is criticizing people who never really had prestige or honor, even though they thought they did.
[16] Iranians believe that they are descendants of the Aryans (nejād-e ārīyā’ī) and many of them take great pride in what they believe to be a heritage replete with heroism and magnanimous kings (e.g. Cyrus the Great and his freedom of the Jews from Babylon; his “Cyrus Cylinder,” believed by some to be the first charter of human rights; etc.).
[17] Based on the patriotic context of the previous line, I believe that this is a reference to the pelāk-e Farvahar, which is a necklace that sports the ancient Zoroastrian icon of the Farvahar. It is typically worn by Iranians who are proud of their heritage. More on the Farvahar at Wikipedia
[18] This is a reference to an incident that occurred on an Iranian children’s television show last year, when the hostess of the program asked the “audience”—composed entirely of kindergarteners, and perhaps even younger—what sorts of activities they could perform on their own without any help from others. One of the boys, who identifies himself only as Farnood (and was later dubbed “Farnood-e Rāstgoo,” or “Farnood the Truthful,” by some Iranians), answers the question by innocently stating that he goes to the bathroom and washes his penis all by himself. At first, the hostess didn’t catch what Farnood said; but as soon as it hits her, she rejects his response on the air by saying “No no no, that’s not right!” Many Iranians considered this an issue of censorship against an innocent child who, as far as they were concerned, had no lewd or provocative intent in his response and was merely answering the hostess’s question. There is a video of this incident here
[19] I am fairly sure that this is a reference to Amir Mansour Khosravi (also known as Mahafarid Amir Khosravi or Amir Mansour Aria), the former finance minister of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whom the Iranian parliament found guilty of embezzling $2.6 billion last year. This incident is believed to be the biggest banking fraud in Iran’s history. Here is one report on the fraud:
The reference to a “children’s story” comes from the fact that this verse, translated literally, says “3 billion [dollars] under the blue dome.” The blue dome refers to the sky, and is a reference to the Persian phrase yeki bood yeki nabood, zir-e gonbad-e kabood which is essentially the equivalent of “once upon a time” (lit. There once was, there once was not, under the blue dome/sky). This phrase is a preface to all common children’s stories written in Persian. Thus, Najafi is comparing the banking fraud to a children’s story, as if to say that despite the gravity of this incident, people were invited by Khamenei to “forget about it” and “not to prolong or dwell on the discussion publicly.”
[20] In the same vein as the previous reference, he is criticizing the Iranian tendency to blow up “natonalistic causes,” such as the labeling of their nearby gulf as the Persian Gulf vs. the Arabian Gulf, and the drying up of Lake Orumiyeh, which is vital to economy of the city of Orumiyeh and surrounding cities.
[21] Similar in nature to the previous two lines. Najafi is indicating that people have forgotten about the Green Movement to the extent where they can’t remember the name of its leader (implying Mir Hossein Mousavi?): 2009–2010 Iranian election protests
[22] This is a reference to a faux pas made by an Iranian television host on the air in 2009, when instead of describing the death of Imam Khomeini as heart-rendering (jān-sooz), he accidentally said “heart fart” (jān-gooz). There is a video of this incident on YouTube
[23] I think this is a reference to older Iranian politicians in the diaspora who have been unsuccessfully fighting the Islamic Republic for over 30 years.
[24] This is an attack on Iranian men who believe themselves to have a sense of honor (when it comes to defending the honor of their wife, girlfriend, sister, or mother), while at the same time they engage in dishonorable acts, such as cavorting with prostitutes.
[25] I believe this is a reference to a particular episode of an Iranian talk show, when the guest was an ultraconservative Muslim woman who was advocating the religiously-sanctioned subjugation of women in comparison to the “station” of their husbands, and was ultimately defending men’s rights to whatever the Qur’an supposedly entitled them when it comes to marriage. However, I only vaguely remember seeing this and can’t find it on YouTube. If anyone knows what I’m talking about—or if I’m way off base here—please contribute!
[26] This might be Najafi musing on how some revolutions in the past have adopted colors as an essential characteristic (i.e. “color revolutions”). Obviously, there is green with the Iranian Green Movement, but there was also the Shah’s White Revolution, the Purple Revolution in Iraq, the Rose Revolution in Georgia, and the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, to name a few. More information about color revolutions is available on Wikipedia
[27] It looks like Najafi is attacking a general disinclination to reading books among Iranians. Iranians have, as a whole, lost interest in reading books because their government has censored and banned the majority of worthwhile literature.
[28] I think Najafi is criticizing the litany of anti-regime slogans that Iranian protesters have devised over the years, which—although clever—really didn’t do a whole lot for their cause in the end. The word he uses to describe the slogans, ābakī, literally means “watery,” by which he probably intends to convey the slogans as ineffective rallying cries that are devoid of any real power.
[29] This is probably a reference to protesters during the premiership of Mohammad Mossadegh, when one group would often pour into the streets shouting “Long live Mossadegh!” in the morning, whereas in the evenings (or afternoons) another group would shout “Death to Mossadegh, long live the Shah!” With this remark, Najafi is classifying Iranian protestors in general as nothing more than mere bandwagoners with a whimsical sense of loyalty that is as flimsy as the wind.
[1] Ali al-Hadi, also known as Ali an-Naghi, was the 10th of the Twelve Imams of Shi’ah Islam. According to the Shi’ah tradition, Imam Naghi was the grandfather of the Hidden Imam (see note 10 for more info on this).
[2] There is an Iranian phrase, lengesh kon, which is used to label armchair criticism. The phrase essentially means, “Come on, bring him down already!” and the expression has its roots in wrestling. It refers to a specific move where a wrestler grabs the opponent’s thigh to drop him to the floor/wrestling mat. The phrase that Najafi uses in the original is “biroon az gowd,” which literally means “outside the [wrestling] ring/arena,” typically found in “houses of strength” (zur-khānehs, traditional Persian gymnasiums) and is a metaphorical reference to members of the Iranian diaspora who criticize Iranians living inside Iran for not persisting in their protests against their government. With this remark, Najafi is casting a spotlight on Iranian armchair critics and is calling them out on their cowardice. The Encyclopedia Iranica has an in-depth article on zur-khānehs here
[3] Inside Iran, the value of the dollar has appreciated at a phenomenal rate while their own currency (rials and tomans) has plummeted to the verge of worthlessness. Indeed, many Iranians talk about how when it comes to luxury items (e.g. high-class cars), the vendors will only accept payment in the form of dollars and will refuse to transact using Iranian currency on account of its spiraling depreciation.
[4] This is a reference to the celebration of the 33rd anniversary of Khomeini’s arrival in Iran, which signaled an end to 2,500 years of Persian monarchy and the inauguration of a theocratic government. On this particular anniversary, the Iranian government sponsored a reenactment of the historic moment where Khomeini disembarked from an Air France plane and arrived in Tehran. The star of this reenactment was a cardboard cutout of Khomeini. The event was ridiculed and mocked by all sorts of press. David Goodman wrote a piece covering the reenactment and the reaction towards it on the New York Times
[5] This is a reference to a remark made by the Friday prayer leader of Qom (Ayatollah Muhammad Sa’idi) last year, where after recounting an historical Shi’ah narrative, he claims that Ali Khamenei—the Supreme Leader of Iran—came out of his mother’s womb saying, “Ya Ali!” (“O Ali!”). Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, and Shi’ah Muslims consider him to be the first of the Twelve Imams and the rightful successor to Muhammad. The video of Ayatollah Sa’idi’s sermon can be viewed online here
[6] This is a quip about the ubiquity of nose jobs in Iran. In fact, many people say that Iran leads the world in nose job per capita. My take on this verse is that Najafi is juxtaposing the phenomenon of nose jobs in Iran—which women get so frequently because they’re forced to cover everything else, and the nose thus remains their most prominent feature—with the clerics’ desire to instill religious faith and fervor through jurisprudence classes. I think Najafi is ultimately trying to say that Iranian youth don’t care about Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), and are instead more concerned with perfecting the parts of their bodies which government-imposed religion has, for now, left untouched. Essentially, it’s a message of rebellion against force-fed religion.
[7] This remark underscores the fact that Iran is importing a huge amount of their commodities from China—even down to the religious items, like prayer beads and rugs.
[8] Sheys Rezaei is an Iranian soccer player who was banned from the Persepolis team for slapping the buttocks of his teammate, Persepolis defender Mohammad Nosrati, and fingering his anus during a goal-scoring celebration against the Damash Gilan team. The Iranian government denounced this as an “immoral act,” and he did not return to the team until early 2012. The BBC covered this incident here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15533927 And there is a video here
[9] Here, Najafi is both ascribing a general indifference towards religion to the people of Iran while also acknowledging that the sport of soccer itself has become a totally government-owned and regulated activity (hence the mixing of religion, an integral part of the Iranian government, with soccer).
[10] The Hidden Imam (also known as the Twelfth Imam or Mahdi) is the central figure of Islamic eschatology and is the equivalent of the second coming of Christ in Christian eschatology. According to the Shi’ah narrative, the Hidden Imam was born in 869 CE and went into occultation in 874 at only 5 years of age, when he assumed the Imamate. When he returns, it is believed that he will bring justice and peace by establishing Islam throughout the world.
[11] Muslims typically wrap the dead in burial shrouds—usually made of white cotton or linen—before depositing them in their graves. It’s a satire against the religious zealots who boast that they are ready to die for a cause that they often don’t even understand.
[12] “Nan-e Sangak” is an Iranian kind of whole wheat, sourdough flatbread that is baked in an oven on a bed of hot tiny river stones. The word “sangak” means “little stone” or “pebble,” and these would cling to the bread due to the nature of the baking process. This is a picture of sangak bread
[13] I’m not entirely sure what Najafi means here by striped virginity, but I do have two theories:
(A) The first theory pertains to the belief that exists among some ultraconservative Iranians which states that a woman will go to heaven if she dies a virgin (if I am wrong about this and the details that follow, someone please correct me). These super-traditional Iranians (usually prison guards) try to prevent this from happening by raping the convicted women so that they will be “guilty” of adultery, and will not go to heaven as a result. Obviously, this is just a pretext for having sex. Placed in this context, the idea of “striped virginity” conjures up the image of a girl, clad in a typically striped prison uniform, who is about to lose the only thing keeping her alive in the eyes of the Iranian government: her virginity. Hence, a link is established between “stripes”, AKA the girl’s prison uniform, and her virginity.
(B) The second theory, which is actually not mine but a friend’s, considers the “striped virginity” to be a girl’s hymen—which of course, when penetrated, marks the loss of her virginity. Taken in this light, perhaps Najafi’s remark is some kind of allusion to hymenorrhaphy—a surgical procedure whereby a girl’s hymen is surgically restored. This reconstruction of an “artificial virginity” would at the very least be related to the theme of artificiality inherent in this particular verse, since Najafi also mentions a chest of silicon, which to most women is the apex of superficiality. However, I have no idea where the “striped” part of the verse would come into play when considering this theory.
[14] This is a reference to the Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, who posed nude for the French magazine Madame Le Figaro at the beginning of 2012. Upon discovering this, the Iranian government sent her a communication telling her that she would not be allowed to return to Iran. Farahani’s nude photograph was the subject of much controversy among Iranians for several weeks. The Telegraph covered this incident here
[15] This is a quip about the status of aberoo —which could mean honor, prestige, or saving face—in Iranian society. Najafi is criticizing people who never really had prestige or honor, even though they thought they did.
[16] Iranians believe that they are descendants of the Aryans (nejād-e ārīyā’ī) and many of them take great pride in what they believe to be a heritage replete with heroism and magnanimous kings (e.g. Cyrus the Great and his freedom of the Jews from Babylon; his “Cyrus Cylinder,” believed by some to be the first charter of human rights; etc.).
[17] Based on the patriotic context of the previous line, I believe that this is a reference to the pelāk-e Farvahar, which is a necklace that sports the ancient Zoroastrian icon of the Farvahar. It is typically worn by Iranians who are proud of their heritage. More on the Farvahar at Wikipedia
[18] This is a reference to an incident that occurred on an Iranian children’s television show last year, when the hostess of the program asked the “audience”—composed entirely of kindergarteners, and perhaps even younger—what sorts of activities they could perform on their own without any help from others. One of the boys, who identifies himself only as Farnood (and was later dubbed “Farnood-e Rāstgoo,” or “Farnood the Truthful,” by some Iranians), answers the question by innocently stating that he goes to the bathroom and washes his penis all by himself. At first, the hostess didn’t catch what Farnood said; but as soon as it hits her, she rejects his response on the air by saying “No no no, that’s not right!” Many Iranians considered this an issue of censorship against an innocent child who, as far as they were concerned, had no lewd or provocative intent in his response and was merely answering the hostess’s question. There is a video of this incident here
[19] I am fairly sure that this is a reference to Amir Mansour Khosravi (also known as Mahafarid Amir Khosravi or Amir Mansour Aria), the former finance minister of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whom the Iranian parliament found guilty of embezzling $2.6 billion last year. This incident is believed to be the biggest banking fraud in Iran’s history. Here is one report on the fraud:
The reference to a “children’s story” comes from the fact that this verse, translated literally, says “3 billion [dollars] under the blue dome.” The blue dome refers to the sky, and is a reference to the Persian phrase yeki bood yeki nabood, zir-e gonbad-e kabood which is essentially the equivalent of “once upon a time” (lit. There once was, there once was not, under the blue dome/sky). This phrase is a preface to all common children’s stories written in Persian. Thus, Najafi is comparing the banking fraud to a children’s story, as if to say that despite the gravity of this incident, people were invited by Khamenei to “forget about it” and “not to prolong or dwell on the discussion publicly.”
[20] In the same vein as the previous reference, he is criticizing the Iranian tendency to blow up “natonalistic causes,” such as the labeling of their nearby gulf as the Persian Gulf vs. the Arabian Gulf, and the drying up of Lake Orumiyeh, which is vital to economy of the city of Orumiyeh and surrounding cities.
[21] Similar in nature to the previous two lines. Najafi is indicating that people have forgotten about the Green Movement to the extent where they can’t remember the name of its leader (implying Mir Hossein Mousavi?): 2009–2010 Iranian election protests
[22] This is a reference to a faux pas made by an Iranian television host on the air in 2009, when instead of describing the death of Imam Khomeini as heart-rendering (jān-sooz), he accidentally said “heart fart” (jān-gooz). There is a video of this incident on YouTube
[23] I think this is a reference to older Iranian politicians in the diaspora who have been unsuccessfully fighting the Islamic Republic for over 30 years.
[24] This is an attack on Iranian men who believe themselves to have a sense of honor (when it comes to defending the honor of their wife, girlfriend, sister, or mother), while at the same time they engage in dishonorable acts, such as cavorting with prostitutes.
[25] I believe this is a reference to a particular episode of an Iranian talk show, when the guest was an ultraconservative Muslim woman who was advocating the religiously-sanctioned subjugation of women in comparison to the “station” of their husbands, and was ultimately defending men’s rights to whatever the Qur’an supposedly entitled them when it comes to marriage. However, I only vaguely remember seeing this and can’t find it on YouTube. If anyone knows what I’m talking about—or if I’m way off base here—please contribute!
[26] This might be Najafi musing on how some revolutions in the past have adopted colors as an essential characteristic (i.e. “color revolutions”). Obviously, there is green with the Iranian Green Movement, but there was also the Shah’s White Revolution, the Purple Revolution in Iraq, the Rose Revolution in Georgia, and the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, to name a few. More information about color revolutions is available on Wikipedia
[27] It looks like Najafi is attacking a general disinclination to reading books among Iranians. Iranians have, as a whole, lost interest in reading books because their government has censored and banned the majority of worthwhile literature.
[28] I think Najafi is criticizing the litany of anti-regime slogans that Iranian protesters have devised over the years, which—although clever—really didn’t do a whole lot for their cause in the end. The word he uses to describe the slogans, ābakī, literally means “watery,” by which he probably intends to convey the slogans as ineffective rallying cries that are devoid of any real power.
[29] This is probably a reference to protesters during the premiership of Mohammad Mossadegh, when one group would often pour into the streets shouting “Long live Mossadegh!” in the morning, whereas in the evenings (or afternoons) another group would shout “Death to Mossadegh, long live the Shah!” With this remark, Najafi is classifying Iranian protestors in general as nothing more than mere bandwagoners with a whimsical sense of loyalty that is as flimsy as the wind.
Contributed by Dead End - 2012/11/8 - 10:02
Language: French
Una traduzione francese (forse incompleta) di RamtinA da lyricstranslate.com
NAGHI
Naghi, je jure sur ton sens de l'humour,
Sur cet exilé, qui croit qu'il est là pour critiquer, (1)
Sur le gros pénis qui donne la vie,
Qui s'assied derrière nous et nous menace,
Je jure sur la taille des sanctions, (2)
Sur la valeur grandissante du dollar et le sentiment d'humiliation, (3)
Naghi, je jure sur la pancarte de l'Imam (4)
Sur le bébé qui s'est écrié "Ali" dans le ventre de sa mère, (5)
Sur l'enseignement de la jurisprudence dans les salles d'opérations du nez, (6)
Sur Khamenei, les chapelets et les tapis de prière made in China, (7)
Naghi, je jure sur les doigts de Sheys Rezaei, (8)
Sur la religion qui a été exclue et le football qui est devenu religieux, (9)
Oh Naghi, maintenant que l'Imam caché est endormi, nous t'appelons,
Oh Naghi, apparais, car nous nous tenons prêts dans nos linceuls, (10)
Naghi, je jure sur l'amour et le Viagra,
Sur les jambes écartées et les chakras,
Sur le pain sangak, le poulet, la viande et le poisson (11)
Sur les seins siliconés et la virginité souillée, (12)
Naghi, je jure sur les seins de Golshifteh, (13)
Sur le prestige perdu que nous n'avons jamais eu, (14)
Naghi, je jure sur l'héritage aryen, (15)
Sur le collier que tu portes autour de ton cou, (16)
Naghi, je donnerai ma vie pour le pénis de Farnood, (17)
Pour les 3 milliards de dollars, aussi vite oubliés qu'un conte pour enfants, (18)
Et le Golfe persique, et la lac Orumieh, (19)
Et, au passage, quel était le nom des leaders du mouvement vert ? (20)
Sur l'anniversaire de la mort de cet imam péteur, (21)
Sur l'opposition fossilisée de la diaspora, (22)
Sur les luxueuses veuves qui fréquentent les boîtes de nuit, (23)
Sur les discussions intellectuelles dans les chat rooms, (24)
Sur les hommes débauchés qui parlent d'honneur, (25)
Sur les femmes qui défendent les droits des hommes, (26)
Sur la révolution de couleur, à la télévision, (27)
Sur les 3 % de la population qui lit des livres, (28)
Sur les slogans vides et insipides, (29)
Naghi, je jure sur cette foule de gens instables,
Qui le matin, annoncent "Longue vie... !" et le soir crient "Mort à !" (30)
Naghi, je jure sur ton sens de l'humour,
Sur cet exilé, qui croit qu'il est là pour critiquer, (1)
Sur le gros pénis qui donne la vie,
Qui s'assied derrière nous et nous menace,
Je jure sur la taille des sanctions, (2)
Sur la valeur grandissante du dollar et le sentiment d'humiliation, (3)
Naghi, je jure sur la pancarte de l'Imam (4)
Sur le bébé qui s'est écrié "Ali" dans le ventre de sa mère, (5)
Sur l'enseignement de la jurisprudence dans les salles d'opérations du nez, (6)
Sur Khamenei, les chapelets et les tapis de prière made in China, (7)
Naghi, je jure sur les doigts de Sheys Rezaei, (8)
Sur la religion qui a été exclue et le football qui est devenu religieux, (9)
Oh Naghi, maintenant que l'Imam caché est endormi, nous t'appelons,
Oh Naghi, apparais, car nous nous tenons prêts dans nos linceuls, (10)
Naghi, je jure sur l'amour et le Viagra,
Sur les jambes écartées et les chakras,
Sur le pain sangak, le poulet, la viande et le poisson (11)
Sur les seins siliconés et la virginité souillée, (12)
Naghi, je jure sur les seins de Golshifteh, (13)
Sur le prestige perdu que nous n'avons jamais eu, (14)
Naghi, je jure sur l'héritage aryen, (15)
Sur le collier que tu portes autour de ton cou, (16)
Naghi, je donnerai ma vie pour le pénis de Farnood, (17)
Pour les 3 milliards de dollars, aussi vite oubliés qu'un conte pour enfants, (18)
Et le Golfe persique, et la lac Orumieh, (19)
Et, au passage, quel était le nom des leaders du mouvement vert ? (20)
Sur l'anniversaire de la mort de cet imam péteur, (21)
Sur l'opposition fossilisée de la diaspora, (22)
Sur les luxueuses veuves qui fréquentent les boîtes de nuit, (23)
Sur les discussions intellectuelles dans les chat rooms, (24)
Sur les hommes débauchés qui parlent d'honneur, (25)
Sur les femmes qui défendent les droits des hommes, (26)
Sur la révolution de couleur, à la télévision, (27)
Sur les 3 % de la population qui lit des livres, (28)
Sur les slogans vides et insipides, (29)
Naghi, je jure sur cette foule de gens instables,
Qui le matin, annoncent "Longue vie... !" et le soir crient "Mort à !" (30)
Note alla traduzione francese di RamtinA da lyricstranslate.com
(1) Najafi s'en prend à la lâcheté de la diaspora iranienne qui ne fait que critiquer les Iraniens de l'intérieur sans jamais rien apporter
(2) les sanctions occidentales qui frappent l'Iran pour son programme nucléaire, mais surtout le peuple
(3) le dollar américain a subi une hausse spectaculaire vis-à-vis du rial iranien au cours des derniers mois
(4) À l'occasion du 33e anniversaire de l'arrivée de l'ayatollah Khomeiny en Iran, le gouvernement a organisé une reconstitution de sa descente d'avion. Pour ce faire, il a fabriqué une pancarte taille réelle, à son effigie, s'attirant les quolibets des Iraniens
(5) Référence au sermon de l'Ayatollah Mohamad Saidi de Qom, qui a déclaré que le Guide suprême, l'Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, était sorti du ventre de sa mère en criant "Vive Ali", du nom du premier Imam chiite
(6) Najafi oppose la jurisprudence islamique imposée par les mollahs au fait que l'Iran demeure en réalité un des leaders au monde en matière de rhinoplastie
(7) Najafi souligne le fait que l'Iran importe tout de Chine, y compris les objets religieux
(8) Sheys Rezaei est un joueur de football iranien qui a été exclu de son équipe de Persepolis pour avoir mis une main au postérieur de l'un de ses coéquipiers lors de la célébration d'un but
(9) le rappeur affirme que la religion est désormais rejetée par beaucoup de jeunes, tandis que le football, très populaire en Iran, est totalement contrôlé par le gouvernement).
(10) Najafi s'en prend au culte du martyr, savamment entretenu par les autorités. Ainsi, nombre de miliciens bassidjis se disent prêts à se sacrifier au nom de la religion et du Guide
(11) leur prix a augmenté considérablement ces dernières années, si bien qu'en consommer est devenu un luxe
(12) le rappeur dénonce ici la hausse fulgurante des opérations esthétiques, ainsi que l'hypocrisie de la société sur la virginité des jeunes femmes
(13) voir l'affaire Golshifteh Farahani
(14) Le rappeur regrette que les jeunes Iraniens ne cessent de se référer aux gloires de l'empire perse pour mieux évacuer leur frustration actuelle
(15) Les Iraniens ne cessent de se réclamer de leurs origines aryennes
(16) Najafi se réfère ici au collier zoroastrien - l'une des premières religions monothéistes - que portent beaucoup d'Iraniens, en Iran comme à l'étranger, en souvenir de leurs origines perses préislamiques
(17) Le rappeur évoque un incident survenu en direct à la télévision iranienne. Lors d'une émission pour enfants, la présentatrice demande au public quelles tâches ménagères il sait faire tout seul. C'est alors qu'un enfant, dénommé Farnood, lui répond qu'il sait se laver le pénis, provoquant l'embarras de la journaliste
(18) Najafi pointe du doigt le cas Amir Mansour Khosravi, ancien ministre des Finances de Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, qui s'est rendu coupable l'année dernière de la plus grande fraude bancaire de l'histoire de l'Iran
(19) Le rappeur dénonce les tentatives gouvernementales de s'attirer les faveurs de la population, en relançant les causes nationalistes, comme celle de l'appellation du Golfe persique, que Google Maps a récemment supprimé de son site. Pendant ce temps, les autorités sont en train d'assécher le lac d'Orumieh, vital pour l'économie du nord-ouest du pays, la région azéri.
(20) Najafi rappelle que les deux chefs de l'opposition iranienne, Mehdi Karoubi et Mir Hossein Moussavi, sont toujours emprisonnés chez eux, dans l'indifférence la plus totale
(21) Le rappeur se réfère à un nouvel incident survenu en direct à la télévision iranienne, où un journaliste, au lieu d'annoncer que la mort de l'ayatollah Khomeiny avait déchiré son coeur, a accidentellement parlé de mort "pétant dans son coeur"
(22) L'opposition iranienne à l'étranger s'illustre depuis 30 ans par ses déchirements internes
(23) Le rappeur dénonce le côté superficiel des Iraniens
(24) Les Iraniens affluent sur la Toile pour draguer
(25) nombre de maris se vantant d'avoir un sens aigu de l'honneur fréquentent en réalité des prostituées en Iran
(26) Najafi parle des quelques Iraniennes conservatrices au pouvoir, qui ne se battent pas pour le droit des femmes
(27) lors des émeutes de la révolution verte, le gouvernement est allé jusqu'à diffuser un match en noir et blanc parce que les supporters arboraient des banderoles vertes, couleur de l'opposition
(28) Najafi s'attaque au caractère superficiel de la population, même si nombre de livres ont été censurés depuis l'arrivée d'Ahmadinejad
(29) le rappeur regrette que les slogans scandés par l'opposition lors des manifestations de 2009, quoique ingénieux et osés, se soient révélés totalement inefficaces
(30) Le rappeur s'insurge contre la duplicité et l'hypocrisie des Iraniens qui le matin, sur leur lieu de travail, s'efforcent de paraître favorables au régime, avant de s'époumoner contre lui, sur les toits, dès la nuit tombée.
(1) Najafi s'en prend à la lâcheté de la diaspora iranienne qui ne fait que critiquer les Iraniens de l'intérieur sans jamais rien apporter
(2) les sanctions occidentales qui frappent l'Iran pour son programme nucléaire, mais surtout le peuple
(3) le dollar américain a subi une hausse spectaculaire vis-à-vis du rial iranien au cours des derniers mois
(4) À l'occasion du 33e anniversaire de l'arrivée de l'ayatollah Khomeiny en Iran, le gouvernement a organisé une reconstitution de sa descente d'avion. Pour ce faire, il a fabriqué une pancarte taille réelle, à son effigie, s'attirant les quolibets des Iraniens
(5) Référence au sermon de l'Ayatollah Mohamad Saidi de Qom, qui a déclaré que le Guide suprême, l'Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, était sorti du ventre de sa mère en criant "Vive Ali", du nom du premier Imam chiite
(6) Najafi oppose la jurisprudence islamique imposée par les mollahs au fait que l'Iran demeure en réalité un des leaders au monde en matière de rhinoplastie
(7) Najafi souligne le fait que l'Iran importe tout de Chine, y compris les objets religieux
(8) Sheys Rezaei est un joueur de football iranien qui a été exclu de son équipe de Persepolis pour avoir mis une main au postérieur de l'un de ses coéquipiers lors de la célébration d'un but
(9) le rappeur affirme que la religion est désormais rejetée par beaucoup de jeunes, tandis que le football, très populaire en Iran, est totalement contrôlé par le gouvernement).
(10) Najafi s'en prend au culte du martyr, savamment entretenu par les autorités. Ainsi, nombre de miliciens bassidjis se disent prêts à se sacrifier au nom de la religion et du Guide
(11) leur prix a augmenté considérablement ces dernières années, si bien qu'en consommer est devenu un luxe
(12) le rappeur dénonce ici la hausse fulgurante des opérations esthétiques, ainsi que l'hypocrisie de la société sur la virginité des jeunes femmes
(13) voir l'affaire Golshifteh Farahani
(14) Le rappeur regrette que les jeunes Iraniens ne cessent de se référer aux gloires de l'empire perse pour mieux évacuer leur frustration actuelle
(15) Les Iraniens ne cessent de se réclamer de leurs origines aryennes
(16) Najafi se réfère ici au collier zoroastrien - l'une des premières religions monothéistes - que portent beaucoup d'Iraniens, en Iran comme à l'étranger, en souvenir de leurs origines perses préislamiques
(17) Le rappeur évoque un incident survenu en direct à la télévision iranienne. Lors d'une émission pour enfants, la présentatrice demande au public quelles tâches ménagères il sait faire tout seul. C'est alors qu'un enfant, dénommé Farnood, lui répond qu'il sait se laver le pénis, provoquant l'embarras de la journaliste
(18) Najafi pointe du doigt le cas Amir Mansour Khosravi, ancien ministre des Finances de Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, qui s'est rendu coupable l'année dernière de la plus grande fraude bancaire de l'histoire de l'Iran
(19) Le rappeur dénonce les tentatives gouvernementales de s'attirer les faveurs de la population, en relançant les causes nationalistes, comme celle de l'appellation du Golfe persique, que Google Maps a récemment supprimé de son site. Pendant ce temps, les autorités sont en train d'assécher le lac d'Orumieh, vital pour l'économie du nord-ouest du pays, la région azéri.
(20) Najafi rappelle que les deux chefs de l'opposition iranienne, Mehdi Karoubi et Mir Hossein Moussavi, sont toujours emprisonnés chez eux, dans l'indifférence la plus totale
(21) Le rappeur se réfère à un nouvel incident survenu en direct à la télévision iranienne, où un journaliste, au lieu d'annoncer que la mort de l'ayatollah Khomeiny avait déchiré son coeur, a accidentellement parlé de mort "pétant dans son coeur"
(22) L'opposition iranienne à l'étranger s'illustre depuis 30 ans par ses déchirements internes
(23) Le rappeur dénonce le côté superficiel des Iraniens
(24) Les Iraniens affluent sur la Toile pour draguer
(25) nombre de maris se vantant d'avoir un sens aigu de l'honneur fréquentent en réalité des prostituées en Iran
(26) Najafi parle des quelques Iraniennes conservatrices au pouvoir, qui ne se battent pas pour le droit des femmes
(27) lors des émeutes de la révolution verte, le gouvernement est allé jusqu'à diffuser un match en noir et blanc parce que les supporters arboraient des banderoles vertes, couleur de l'opposition
(28) Najafi s'attaque au caractère superficiel de la population, même si nombre de livres ont été censurés depuis l'arrivée d'Ahmadinejad
(29) le rappeur regrette que les slogans scandés par l'opposition lors des manifestations de 2009, quoique ingénieux et osés, se soient révélés totalement inefficaces
(30) Le rappeur s'insurge contre la duplicité et l'hypocrisie des Iraniens qui le matin, sur leur lieu de travail, s'efforcent de paraître favorables au régime, avant de s'époumoner contre lui, sur les toits, dès la nuit tombée.
Contributed by Dead End - 2012/11/8 - 10:59
THE KILLING OF SATTAR BEHESHTI
As the Disbelief Subsides, We Are Left Angry
by Reza Mohajerinejad (one of the student activists and organizers of the 1999 Student Movement in Iran known as 18 Tir)
Iranian.com (Nothing Is Sacred), 07-Nov-2012
Sattar Beheshti died sometime in the last few days. I never met him in person. What I know of him from the times we talked over the phone was that he was a simple young man, a hard worker, a son to a mother to whom he was devoted. I also know that he loved his country.
By all accounts Sattar was brutally tortured to death. Word has been trickling out from Iran, and apparently other political prisoners saw him in the week he was in Evin Prison. They said he was badly beaten, that barely a square inch of his body was untouched by the monsters who interrogated him.
Sattar was arrested by the government thugs who investigate any online activity on Facebook and Twitter that they deem to be against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
What is curious is how quickly they killed Sattar. He was only arrested on October 30, 2012, and by November 6, his mother received a call to buy a plot in which to bury her son. I have to wonder if he had been more famous if they might not have been so fast to end his life. Was he someone the “cyber police” were using as an example to warn other young people against sending Tweets and Facebook postings? Did he hold out on giving them the information they were seeking to the point that his torturers lost control?
We’ll never know the answers to these questions.
What we know is that Sattar’s love of country made him a target. We know that he was brave and raised his voice in protest. In one of our conversations I cautioned him to take care, and Sattar responded that he saw the faces of the people in his country, how difficult their lives were and how poor they were, and that he couldn’t be quiet as long as they suffered.
Sattar’s life is just one more that has been cut short by a regime that places no value on human life. Unlike any of the current events in the Middle East that get airtime from international media outlets, Sattar’s death will be a blip that a few of us will write and talk about. He didn’t die out in the streets where the world would see, but instead Sattar died in the shadows where cowards kill innocent people behind closed doors.
For those of us who knew Sattar, as the disbelief subsides, we are left angry. How long will we watch this regime take the lives of our young people? How long will we wait? When will they pay for the lives of the innocent brothers and sisters of our country that they have taken?
They will remain until we unite. Sattar knew this. He didn’t live to see it, but he understood that once we join together against the evil that has controlled out country since 1979, we will see its end. Until then, we will remember Sattar…his face etched in our mind just as the faces of Neda, Sohrab, Akbar, and the thousands of others are.
As the Disbelief Subsides, We Are Left Angry
Sattar Beheshti
by Reza Mohajerinejad (one of the student activists and organizers of the 1999 Student Movement in Iran known as 18 Tir)
Iranian.com (Nothing Is Sacred), 07-Nov-2012
Sattar Beheshti died sometime in the last few days. I never met him in person. What I know of him from the times we talked over the phone was that he was a simple young man, a hard worker, a son to a mother to whom he was devoted. I also know that he loved his country.
By all accounts Sattar was brutally tortured to death. Word has been trickling out from Iran, and apparently other political prisoners saw him in the week he was in Evin Prison. They said he was badly beaten, that barely a square inch of his body was untouched by the monsters who interrogated him.
Sattar was arrested by the government thugs who investigate any online activity on Facebook and Twitter that they deem to be against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
What is curious is how quickly they killed Sattar. He was only arrested on October 30, 2012, and by November 6, his mother received a call to buy a plot in which to bury her son. I have to wonder if he had been more famous if they might not have been so fast to end his life. Was he someone the “cyber police” were using as an example to warn other young people against sending Tweets and Facebook postings? Did he hold out on giving them the information they were seeking to the point that his torturers lost control?
We’ll never know the answers to these questions.
What we know is that Sattar’s love of country made him a target. We know that he was brave and raised his voice in protest. In one of our conversations I cautioned him to take care, and Sattar responded that he saw the faces of the people in his country, how difficult their lives were and how poor they were, and that he couldn’t be quiet as long as they suffered.
Sattar’s life is just one more that has been cut short by a regime that places no value on human life. Unlike any of the current events in the Middle East that get airtime from international media outlets, Sattar’s death will be a blip that a few of us will write and talk about. He didn’t die out in the streets where the world would see, but instead Sattar died in the shadows where cowards kill innocent people behind closed doors.
For those of us who knew Sattar, as the disbelief subsides, we are left angry. How long will we watch this regime take the lives of our young people? How long will we wait? When will they pay for the lives of the innocent brothers and sisters of our country that they have taken?
They will remain until we unite. Sattar knew this. He didn’t live to see it, but he understood that once we join together against the evil that has controlled out country since 1979, we will see its end. Until then, we will remember Sattar…his face etched in our mind just as the faces of Neda, Sohrab, Akbar, and the thousands of others are.
Dead End - 2012/11/8 - 11:22
Gran bella pagina questa, Alessandro. Davvero bella e giusta. Saluti!
Riccardo Venturi - 2012/11/8 - 10:47
Grazie Riccardo, e scommetto che ti è piaciuta anche la sottointestazione del sito iranian.com, quel "Niente è sacro", tutto si può dire dell'amato e da te più volte citato in questi anni Raoul Vaneigem.
Ciao!
Ciao!
Dead End - 2012/11/8 - 11:13
Avevo notato subito l'intestazione, e del resto ne sappiamo qualcosa anche qui. Là la "repubblica islamica", e qui la Repubblica Pontificia. E invece di diffondere gli scritti di Vaneigem, si diffondono sempre di più le panzane delle varie "scritture sacre". Panzane assassine.
Riccardo Venturi - 2012/11/8 - 12:01
Teheran, 4 dic. - (Adnkronos/Aki) - Sette poliziotti sono stati arrestati in Iran nell'ambito dell'inchiesta sulla morte di Sattar Beheshti, il blogger dissidente morto in prigione a inizio novembre a Teheran. Lo ha annunciato il portavoce della magistratura iraniana e procuratore generale, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, citato dal sito web dell'emittente 'Press Tv'.
Dead End - 2012/12/4 - 11:42
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Testo originale trovato qui
La sua era una famiglia problematica: il padre ed un fratello erano tossicodipendenti e morirono di overdose.
Lui si rifugiò nella poesia e nella musica. Provò anche a laurearsi in sociologia ma, siccome ebbe l’ardire di criticare le autorità universitarie, fu espulso.
In Iran, all’inizio del nuovo millennio, Shahin Najafi fu molto attivo nella scena musicale underground ma dopo la sua seconda esibizione in pubblico il Governo lo costrinse al silenzio.
Nel 2005 emigrò – o piuttosto preferì andare volontariamente in esilio - in Germania e lì Shahin Najafi potè finalmente esprimersi senza censure, dando nei suoi testi la stura a tutto il dolore e la sofferenza inflitta dal regime teocratico iraniano al proprio popolo.
Già con la sua prima formazione, “Tapesh 2012”, Shahin Najafi fu pesantemente attaccato dalla stampa filoregime, che poi rincarò la dose quando nel 2009, durante le grandi manifestazioni di piazza contro la rielezione farsa di Ahmadinejad, il musicista scrisse delle canzoni molto esplicite a sostegno delle proteste e, in particolare, in memoria delle vittime delle repressione, come Neda Agha-Soltan e Taraneh Mousavi, due attiviste uccise dai “guardiani della rivoluzione”.
Nella primavera di quest’anno, con l’uscita di questa canzone - che fin dal titolo, che si riferisce ad ‘Alī an-Naqī, uno dei dodici imam padri dello sciismo, è un forte “j’accuse” contro il regime clericale ed il suo spietato braccio secolare che in Iran (ma oggi soprattutto in Siria) opprimono e fanno a pezzi il popolo - Shahin Najafi si è definitivamente conquistato l’odio dei grandi papaveri della “repubblica” islamica: il “Glande” Ayatollah Golpaygani lo ha condannato per apostasia e ha emesso la sua fatwa di morte, e lo stesso ha fatto il “Glande” Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi; un altro “glande” religioso sciita, tal Alamolhoda, ha proposto un piano per assassinare Shahin Najafi in Germania ed il sito Shia-Online.ir è arrivato a porre sulla testa del cantante una taglia di 100.000$...
Per lo meno quel “rompiballe” di Shahin Najafi è protetto dalle autorità tedesche…
Peggio è andata, per esempio, al grande regista Jafar Panahi, l’autore del bellissimo “Il cerchio”, condannato a 6 anni di galera e a 20 anni di “morte civile”…
Peggio ancora è andata nelle scorse ore a Sattar Beheshti, un intellettuale che in Iran si batteva sul fronte della difesa dei diritti dei lavoratori: la polizia l’ha arrestato una settimana fa e ieri Sattar Beheshti, 35 anni, è morto in seguito alle torture subite. I secondini hanno avvisato la famiglia con una frase che suona più o meno così: “Procuratevi una bara e non rilasciate interviste sull’accaduto”…