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Iran<\/a><\/h2>\nIran’s ‘Cardboard Khomeini’ Faces Criticism, Condemnation<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n\n- Print<\/a><\/li>\n
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<\/a><\/div>\nA cardboard Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini arrives in Tehran to mark the 33rd anniversary of his triumphant return to Iran following the Islamic Revolution.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nRelated Articles<\/h3>\n\n\n- Cardboard Khomeini Returns To Iran From Exile<\/a><\/li>\n
- Khomeini Grandson Condemns Arrests<\/a><\/li>\n
- In Age Of Arab Revolution, Iran’s Election Anniversary Set To Go Off With A Whimper<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\nTEXT SIZE<\/div>\nBy\u00a0Golnaz Esfandiari<\/span><\/div>\n
February 07, 2012<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nIran’s “Cardboard Khomeini” is fueling a firestorm of criticism in the Middle Eastern country after cutouts of the Islamic republic’s founder appeared at a number of events, and photos mocking the mock-up went viral.<\/p>\nThe controversy stems from a\u00a0bizarre February 1 ceremony<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0that sought to recreate Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s triumphant return to Tehran in 1979 after 14 years of exile.<\/p>\nAs part of the ceremony, which took place 33 years after his return, a cardboard cutout bearing the likeness of the leader of the revolution disembarked from an aircraft in Tehran and was greeted by lines of saluting honor guards and a marching band.<\/p>\n
In another ceremony officials had tea and chatted next to a seated Khomeini cutout at his old headquarters in Tehran.<\/p>\n
High-Profile Critics<\/strong><\/p>\nFormer President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is among the more high-profile critics. On February 4, during a meeting of the Expediency Council, he warned that cardboard cutouts of Khomeini could be abused by “the enemies” of the Islamic republic he founded.<\/p>\n
Within Iran, he said,\u00a0according to Deutsche Welle<\/a><\/strong>, state bodies should refrain from organizing “injudicious and weak” programs featuring the cardboard Khomeini. They exhibited a lack of taste, he said.<\/p>\nA number of Iranian politicians and lawmakers have criticized such events as “distasteful,” “damaging,” and “regretful.”<\/p>\n
Among them is lawmaker Mohammad Reza Tabesh, who has said the display of Khomeini’s cardboard cutout is\u00a0offensive to supporters<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0of the Islamic Revolution and Khomeini.<\/p>\n‘A Warning To The Revolution’<\/strong><\/p>\nKhomeini’s grandson, Hojatoleslam Morteza Eshraghi, has gone so far as to demand an apology from those who organized events featuring cardboard images of his grandfather.<\/p>\n
Iranian media have also weighed in. The “Mardomsalari” newspaper wrote that events suggesting that all that remains of Khomeini and his aides is a mock-up should be taken as a warning to the revolution.<\/p>\n
Iran’s state television said in a report that\u00a0those who were behind the idea<\/a><\/strong>should be stopped, ” or else the problem is going to get serious.”<\/p>\nKhomeini On The Moon<\/strong><\/p>\nJokes about Khomeini’s cutout are making the rounds among Iranians. It has been nicknamed “The Cardboard Imam”, a parody of the title “Imam Khomeini” which is used by supporters of the leader of Iran’s 1979 revolution.<\/p>\n
Photoshopped versions of the official cardboard photo are also circulating widely on the Internet.<\/p>\n
The blog\u00a0“cardboardkhomeini”<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0already depicts the faux Khomeini at more than 20 well-known scenes, including the lunar landing and last year’s funeral of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Il.<\/p>\n“The Cardboard Imam” also has a\u00a0Facebook fan page<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0where users have been posting jokes, parodies of old slogans about Khomeini, and pictures.<\/div>\nSource:\u00a0http:\/\/www.rferl.org\/content\/irans_cardboard_khomeini_faces_criticism_condemnation\/24476398.html<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Iran’s “Cardboard Khomeini” is fueling a firestorm of criticism in the Middle Eastern country after cutouts of the Islamic republic’s founder appeared at a number of events, and photos … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,15,11,9],"tags":[1295,25,671],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3022"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3022\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/a><\/div>\nA cardboard Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini arrives in Tehran to mark the 33rd anniversary of his triumphant return to Iran following the Islamic Revolution.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nRelated Articles<\/h3>\n
\n- \n
- Cardboard Khomeini Returns To Iran From Exile<\/a><\/li>\n
- Khomeini Grandson Condemns Arrests<\/a><\/li>\n
- In Age Of Arab Revolution, Iran’s Election Anniversary Set To Go Off With A Whimper<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\nTEXT SIZE<\/div>\nBy\u00a0Golnaz Esfandiari<\/span><\/div>\nFebruary 07, 2012<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nIran’s “Cardboard Khomeini” is fueling a firestorm of criticism in the Middle Eastern country after cutouts of the Islamic republic’s founder appeared at a number of events, and photos mocking the mock-up went viral.<\/p>\nThe controversy stems from a\u00a0bizarre February 1 ceremony<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0that sought to recreate Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s triumphant return to Tehran in 1979 after 14 years of exile.<\/p>\n
As part of the ceremony, which took place 33 years after his return, a cardboard cutout bearing the likeness of the leader of the revolution disembarked from an aircraft in Tehran and was greeted by lines of saluting honor guards and a marching band.<\/p>\n
In another ceremony officials had tea and chatted next to a seated Khomeini cutout at his old headquarters in Tehran.<\/p>\n
High-Profile Critics<\/strong><\/p>\n
Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is among the more high-profile critics. On February 4, during a meeting of the Expediency Council, he warned that cardboard cutouts of Khomeini could be abused by “the enemies” of the Islamic republic he founded.<\/p>\n
Within Iran, he said,\u00a0according to Deutsche Welle<\/a><\/strong>, state bodies should refrain from organizing “injudicious and weak” programs featuring the cardboard Khomeini. They exhibited a lack of taste, he said.<\/p>\n
A number of Iranian politicians and lawmakers have criticized such events as “distasteful,” “damaging,” and “regretful.”<\/p>\n
Among them is lawmaker Mohammad Reza Tabesh, who has said the display of Khomeini’s cardboard cutout is\u00a0offensive to supporters<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0of the Islamic Revolution and Khomeini.<\/p>\n
‘A Warning To The Revolution’<\/strong><\/p>\n
Khomeini’s grandson, Hojatoleslam Morteza Eshraghi, has gone so far as to demand an apology from those who organized events featuring cardboard images of his grandfather.<\/p>\n
Iranian media have also weighed in. The “Mardomsalari” newspaper wrote that events suggesting that all that remains of Khomeini and his aides is a mock-up should be taken as a warning to the revolution.<\/p>\n
Iran’s state television said in a report that\u00a0those who were behind the idea<\/a><\/strong>should be stopped, ” or else the problem is going to get serious.”<\/p>\n
Khomeini On The Moon<\/strong><\/p>\n
Jokes about Khomeini’s cutout are making the rounds among Iranians. It has been nicknamed “The Cardboard Imam”, a parody of the title “Imam Khomeini” which is used by supporters of the leader of Iran’s 1979 revolution.<\/p>\n
Photoshopped versions of the official cardboard photo are also circulating widely on the Internet.<\/p>\n
The blog\u00a0“cardboardkhomeini”<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0already depicts the faux Khomeini at more than 20 well-known scenes, including the lunar landing and last year’s funeral of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Il.<\/p>\n
“The Cardboard Imam” also has a\u00a0Facebook fan page<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0where users have been posting jokes, parodies of old slogans about Khomeini, and pictures.<\/div>\n
Source:\u00a0http:\/\/www.rferl.org\/content\/irans_cardboard_khomeini_faces_criticism_condemnation\/24476398.html<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iran’s “Cardboard Khomeini” is fueling a firestorm of criticism in the Middle Eastern country after cutouts of the Islamic republic’s founder appeared at a number of events, and photos … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,15,11,9],"tags":[1295,25,671],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3022"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3022\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1001harf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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