Minority Minister Mohammad Mehdi Esmaeili, Minister of Guidance
The first Ahmadinejad government was the model government for the principlists, especially in cultural areas, at a time when there was no news of the Spring Government, Cyrus, or Mashaei’s flirtatious relationships with artists. The Minister of Guidance of the ninth government was exactly what he should have been. Now, Mohammad Mehdi Esmaeili’s policies continue in the same vein, with a directive policy of maximum control and a specific security-focused perspective dominating this field.
Mohammad Mehdi Esmaeili, the Minister of Guidance in Ebrahim Raisi’s government, is the worthy successor of Hossein Saffar Harandi, a former member of the IRGC and a former writer for Kayhan. He is a minister with a political security background and has experience in the judiciary and IRIB. It is said about him that he has drawn his sword against artists, and in the year since he took office, his language has leaned more towards threats, warnings, and defending bans and suspensions rather than welcoming and openness towards the diverse space of art and artists.
A quote from Hassan Rouhani has been repeatedly used as a basis for taunts and attacks by the principlists because he questioned the foundation of their cultural policies with the statement that ‘we are not tasked with forcibly taking people to paradise.’ The current Minister of Guidance also found it necessary to attack Rouhani again by recalling this statement, saying that the previous president said we should not forcibly take people to paradise, but in the Islamic system, we are obliged to provide the groundwork for people’s happiness and stand against those who want to render the Ministry of Guidance inactive.
We are not tasked with forcibly taking people to paradise.
حسن روحانیContinuing Saffar’s policies
The current government’s cultural policies are familiar to those in the art community and remind them of the first Ahmadinejad government. Hossein Saffar Harandi, in the early months of his ministry, promised to prevent the screening of certain films and not to issue permits for certain books and newspapers. Later, when he took office, he said, ‘We are not committed to the growth of cinema, but we are committed to the growth of desirable cinema.’ He stated that experts and observers of the Ministry of Guidance must be vigilant to ensure that there is no leniency in the face of sabotage in various areas.
He also told the managers of Guidance that they should not allow malicious documents to be issued and published under their watch. For example, it was said that the Fajr Festival in 2007 was one of the least vibrant festivals in its more than twenty-year history, and many prominent filmmakers were not granted permission to make films. There were also instances where, after going through all the stages of obtaining permits and production, the screening of films was canceled. Saffar Harandi later reacted strongly to the lifting of bans on some films during the Ministry of Guidance after his time. In 2008, he instructed artists not to support any specific candidate.
Defending work bans
The recent action by the Cinema Organization in banning some cinema artists from work has sparked strong reactions, especially from Rakhshan Banietemad, Mani Haghighi, and Taraneh Alidoosti, who issued very harsh statements in response. However, the reaction of the minister and his deputy indicates that they see themselves in a serious confrontation with artists and are not willing to back down. Mohammad Mehdi Esmaeili defended the Cinema Organization of Iran’s action in preparing a list of artists banned from work and once again threatened artists that if they act against national interests or speak against the Islamic Republic, they will face a ban on artistic activities.
The Ministry of Guidance, in both speech and action, wants to show that they are merely a ministry serving a specific minority. For instance, when a screenwriter at the Fajr Film Festival makes statements containing personal views, he is forced to apologize, and the Minister of Guidance apologizes to the country’s faith community for the screenwriter’s remarks.
In defense of banning the film ‘Leila’s Brothers,’ he says that in previous years, the Ministry of Guidance and the Cinema Organization acted passively on these matters for whatever reason, but our intention in the new period is to act according to the law. He also identified another passivity in the previous government related to the home video network and said the situation of this network must be corrected. He also stated that we should not see one type of hijab on television and another in cinema; there should be uniform display standards in television, cinema, and the home video network.
We are not representatives of artists.
Mahmoud Salari, the artistic deputy of the minister, also made it clear yesterday, explicitly and without ambiguity, publicly announcing the current government’s intentions and policies in the field of culture and art. According to him, the support and permits of Guidance only apply to insiders, a policy that always existed but was not openly stated. ‘I am not a representative of artists; I am a representative of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and must execute its intentions.’
The artistic deputy has not come to support an artist acting against the major policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and if an artist wants to promote immorality or liberal ethics, there is no reason for the government to support him.
The artistic deputy has not come to support an artist acting against the major policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and if an artist wants to promote immorality or liberal ethics, there is no reason for the government to support him.
محمود سالاری معاون هنری وزارت فرهنگ و ارشادAnyone who wants to insult the Islamic Republic should get their funding from those who tell them to insult. There is no necessity for the government to support them. Support only covers a stream of art that can strengthen the charter of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s art, as stated by Imam Khomeini. Some artists believe that art is a matter of the heart, and they want to follow their heart’s work.
The government cannot give public funds to an artist to follow their heart’s work. The secretary of the Tehran Short Film Festival, after announcing the red lines of this festival, said that these festivals will end, and I am supposed to be accountable elsewhere.
Has not acted revolutionary yet.
The strange point, however, is that all these actions by the Minister of Guidance still do not seem sufficient and satisfactory to some revolutionary supporters of the principlists. In June, a group of clerics and students launched a campaign calling for the impeachment of the Minister of Guidance due to inadequate reactions regarding the hijab situation and actors’ fashion shows at the Fajr Festival, insufficient responses to actors who neglect hijab or speak against the sacred system of the Islamic Republic.
Failing to ban offensive films that have insulted the clergy and the devout, insufficient oversight of music concerts and failure to provide a transformative program in music and singing, insufficient oversight and provision of a transformative program in cinema and vulgar films, and the home network, failure to provide a transformative program in the virtual space, and oversight and legislation on the activities of Instagram bloggers, and insufficient oversight and transformative reformist legislation regarding numerous book publishers were among the accusations against the current Minister of Guidance because, according to the signatories of the campaign, he has not taken steps according to the second step of the revolution.
Some have also criticized the indifference and silence of the House of Cinema, possibly because the House of Cinema has a glance at the past and, fearing another closure, is seeking a safe margin. The Ministry of Guidance in Ahmadinejad’s government had ordered the closure of the House of Cinema, and it remained closed for a long time.
