Nikahang Kowsar
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Nikahang Kowsar (a.k.a. Nik Kowsar) (Persian: نیکآهنگ کوثر , born 1969) is an Iranian cartoonist, journalist, and blogger, currently living in Toronto, Canada. Kowsar was also a reformist candidate for the second term of city council of Tehran in 2003, an election won by the conservative candidates of Abadgaran.
He studied Geology in the University of Tehran, and joined Gol-Agha, an Iranian political satire magazine as a cartoonist in 1991. He worked for Hamshahri from 1992 to 1998, and was a member of Newspapers such as "Zan", 'Aftab-e Emrooz", "Sobh-e Emrooz", "Akhbar-e Eghtesadi", "Azad", "Bahar", "Bonyan", "Doran-e Emrooz", "Nosazi", "Hayate No", "Abrar-e Eghteadi", "Hambastegi", "Farhang-e Ashti". Most of these papers were banned by Saeed Mortazavi.
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[edit] Crocodile Cartoon
Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi's nickname comes from a cartoon portraying "Professor Crocodile", a "reptilian academic who was shown strangling a journalist with his tail". The cartoon was drawn by Nikahang Kowsar and satirized freedom of expression in Iran, and a speech given by Mesbah Yazdi in the previous day. Mesbah Yazdi was known as Professor Mesbah (Persian: استاد مصباح) among his supporters. "Mesbah" rhymes with the Persian word for crocodile, "Temsah" (Persian: تمساح), and the cartoon labeled the crocodile as "Professor Temsah", who repeats the words used by Mesbah Yazdi in the previous day. Nikahang Kowsar was arrested and spent seven days in prison for the depiction.[1]
Kowsar is a landed immigrant in Canada, applied in 2004 and received his status in 2005.
Kowsar has been sentenced to prison for his cartoons in absentia. For a while Kowsar had a hard time finding a job related to his previous expertise, resulting in him working for fifteen months in a dry cleaning plant. He is now working for a Canadian News Agency. He also has been free-lancing and his cartoons have been recently published by New York Times, Washington Post, The Globe and Mail, Maclean's, and The Guardian. Kowsar is a member of the New York Times Syndicate.
Kowsar is a member of the board of directors of Cartoonists Rights Network International. Kowsar is also a member of the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists(ACEC) and Journalists in Exile(JEX). CBC made a documentary based on his life and his involvement in the Blogger movement.
[edit] Awards
Kowsar won the 2001 international "Courage for Editorial Cartooning" award from Cartoonists Rights Network. He also received the second prize of Canada's National Press Club editorial cartoon contest in 2001. He has won 4 National Press Awards from Iran's "Press Festival" in 1996, 1999, 2000 and 2002. In 1995, he was a recipient of and Honorary Diploma from the International Caricature contest's in Tolentino, Italy.
[edit] Recent works
He's now working for Radio Zamaneh and Rooz online news website which is funded by a Dutch foundation. He has been strongly criticized by supporters of the Iranian government, and Dariush Sajjadi, for his cartoons depicting Iran's involvement in Iraq, and possible war with the United States. The cartoons have been published by Rooz, a Dutch-funded website.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Nikahang Kowsar's Notes, Kowsar's Persian weblog
- Nik Kowsar's Photo Blog, Kowsar's Photoblog
- Nik Kowsar's Cartoons on Cagle.com, Kowsar's Cartoons
- Kowsar's Blogger profile
- Kowsar on Iranian regime's hit list - IFEX
- Cartoonists Rights Network International
