Hovyiat TV series
Encyclopedia
Hovyiat was a biweekly TV program on Iran
's IRIB's Channel 1
in 1996. The program's objective was said to be "confrontation with western cultural invasion." The series targeted a broad range of Iranian intellectual
s (secular as well as religious modernists), archeologists, artists, scientists and national leaders as Mohammad Mosaddeq.
It has been described by critics as part of an "ideological campaign" by the Ministry of Intelligence to "to paint Westernized [Iranian] intellectuals and artists as unpatriotic, un-Islam
ic, a threat to Iran's national and religious identity," and which included the "chain murders
" of Iranian intellectuals that also occurred during the 1990s.
The show is said to have "specialized in naming intellectuals as `hired agents` of the Bahais, Zionists, Freemasons," and foreign powers. A signature of the program was the morphing of an image of American Benjamin Franklin
on the American hundred-dollar bill, "into the face of the Iranian intellectual under attack."
One Iranian dissident, Faraj Sarkohi
, was kidnapped by security officials after (amongst other things) publishing an article "critical" of `Hoviyyat.` He was "tortured to `make and remake` videotapes confessing to being a `foreign spy` and giving outrageous lies about his own and his colleagues' sex lives," before being released.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
's IRIB's Channel 1
Channel 1 (Iran)
Channel 1 is one of five nationally-broadcast television channels in Iran.Channel 1 was the first national television channel in Iran, and is now the oldest Iranian television channel having been established in 1966...
in 1996. The program's objective was said to be "confrontation with western cultural invasion." The series targeted a broad range of Iranian intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
s (secular as well as religious modernists), archeologists, artists, scientists and national leaders as Mohammad Mosaddeq.
It has been described by critics as part of an "ideological campaign" by the Ministry of Intelligence to "to paint Westernized [Iranian] intellectuals and artists as unpatriotic, un-Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic, a threat to Iran's national and religious identity," and which included the "chain murders
Chain murders of Iran
The Chain Murders of Iran , or Serial Murders, were a series of murders and disappearances from 1988-1998 by Iranian government operatives of Iranian dissident intellectuals who had been critical of the Islamic Republic system in some way.The victims included more than 80 writers, translators,...
" of Iranian intellectuals that also occurred during the 1990s.
The show is said to have "specialized in naming intellectuals as `hired agents` of the Bahais, Zionists, Freemasons," and foreign powers. A signature of the program was the morphing of an image of American Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
on the American hundred-dollar bill, "into the face of the Iranian intellectual under attack."
One Iranian dissident, Faraj Sarkohi
Faraj Sarkohi
Faraj Sarkohi , is an Iranian literature critic Literary criticism and journalist. He was cofounder and Editor in chief of the Iranian magazine Adineh....
, was kidnapped by security officials after (amongst other things) publishing an article "critical" of `Hoviyyat.` He was "tortured to `make and remake` videotapes confessing to being a `foreign spy` and giving outrageous lies about his own and his colleagues' sex lives," before being released.
Targets of the propaganda
- Mohammad Mosaddeq
- Ahmad TafazzoliAhmad TafazzoliDr. Ahmad Tafazzoli was a prominent Persian Iranist and master of ancient Iranian literature and culture. Professor Tafazzoli was a faculty member of Tehran University....
- Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub
- Ezzatollah SahabiEzzatollah SahabiEzzatollah Sahabi was an Iranian scholar, humanitarian, democracy activist, politician and former parliament member. He was famous for his political-economical social analysis, and also for the many years of imprisonment in both the pre-revolution and post-revolution eras...
- Ali Akbar Saidi SirjaniAli Akbar Saidi SirjaniAli-Akbar Sa'idi Sirjani was an Iranian writer, poet and journalist who died in prison under mysterious circumstances after having been arrested for openly criticizing the government...
- Nasrollah Pourjavadi