| Ata'ollah Mohajerani عطاالله مهاجرانی |
|
|---|---|
| Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance | |
| In office 1997–2000 |
|
| President | Mohammad Khatami |
| Preceded by | Mostafa Mir-Salim |
| Succeeded by | Ahmad Masjed-Jamei |
| Vice President of Iran for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs |
|
| In office 1989–1997 |
|
| President | Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani |
| Succeeded by | Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari |
| Member of Parliament of Iran | |
| In office 1980–1984 |
|
| Constituency | Shiraz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1954 Arak, Iran |
| Political party | Executives of Construction Party |
| Spouse(s) | Jamileh Kadivar |
| Alma mater | Isfahan University, Shiraz University, Tarbiat Modares University |
| Religion | Usuli Islam |
| Website | http://mohajerani.maktuob.net |
Ata'ollah Mohajerani (Persian: عطاالله مهاجرانی), (born 1954 in Arak, Iran), is an Iranian historian, politician, journalist, and author. Ata`ollah Mohajerani served as Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran under reformist President Mohammad Khatami until 2000 when he was resigned from office for alleged permissiveness."[1]
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Dr. Mohajerani received his B.S in History from University of Isfahan, his M.S. in History and Iranian Culture from Shiraz University and his PhD in History from Tarbiat Modares University.
Mohajerani's political career began in 1980 after the Iranian Revolution, when he won the first round of the parliamentary elections to become a representative of Shiraz and the youngest member of the majlis.[2] Later, he became the Parliamentary Deputy to the Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi, when he started to write the weekly column Naghd-e Haal in the Ettela'at newspaper, and then Vice President of Parliamentary Affairs under Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.[2]
As Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, he officially announced and pursued a policy of "leniency" (Persian: تساهل و تسامح) towards the field of culture and arts and removed many restrictions. He earned the wrath of conservatives by allowing hundreds of new publications to start up, the release of fifty-some Persian pop music albums, and the screening of the controversial movie Two Women.[3]
He survived an impeachment by the 5th Majlis which was dominated by the conservatives in part with a "daring" speech defending the principle of freedom of speech in Islamic rather than Western terms.
Why does the Quran carry the harshest criticism of the Prophet? ... It was not in the nature of the Prophet to stifle discussion of opposing points of view.[4]
In April 2000 however he resigned due to heavy criticisms by the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, because of his "liberal" policies. He also served as the speaker of the cabinet during that time. He later became the president of the Iranian International Centre for Dialogue among Civilizations,[5] but resigned from the post.
He was a member and a founder of Executives of Construction Party, which is considered a backer of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Mohajerani participated in the funeral and burying of former revolutionary Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan, when few Iranian officials dared doing so because of Bazargan's very unpopular status among the higher ranks of the Islamic Republic government.
Of the books he has written, most famous are a "learned critique" of the Salman Rushdie novel Satanic Verses,[3] a book in support of Ferdowsi (and against attacks by Ahmad Shamlou), and a book on Zaynab bint Ali's role in and after Aashurah.
He is married to Dr. Jamileh Kadivar, who is also a reformist politician and a former member of parliament. In 2004, the conservative Islamist news agency Fars accused him of polygamous marriage and adultery, a charged denied by Mohajerani and his wife.[6]
Mohajerani left Iran and as of 2009 lives in England with his wife with whom he shares a website called www.maktoub.ir.
Mohajerani is "a vocal supporter of the pro-democracy Green Movement," and opposes violence against the Iranian regime saying
If we answer violence with violence, we are no different from them.[2]