Kamangir (Archer)
An Iranian looking at Iran as a foreigner…
Did you know that Kamangir turns four tomorrow? See the classic "Hello World" dated October 17, 2008!
Harry Potter and Zionism, the Untold Story (Updated)
Kamangir | July 25, 2007 | Category Children, Humour, Iran, Islam, Islamic Republic, Israel
An Iranian bookstore’s efforts for selling the last Harry Potter book in Tehran, exactly in time with the other parts of the world, outraged the ultra-right state-run newspaper Kayhan,
One of the questionable events of this week was the sale of the last Harry Potter book in a bookstore in the north of Tehran [the wealthier part] at 2:30am, exactly in time with America and Europe. This happened in a society where there are strict rules for publication and distribution of any book. In this society, any book, either translated or authored, has to be carefully considered by a group of experts and foreign books have to be sold in very specific bookstores under strict control. Were all this considered in the sale of Harry Potter’s seventh volume? I doubt it, because until the books were presented to the crowd, no one had access to the contents of the book, except for the author and the publishing company.
The manager of the bookstore Bayan-e Salis (بيان سليس), which apparently represents Bloomsbury in Iran, has collected the books from the airport in sealed boxes. Surprisingly, the airport security has not searched the boxes and has trusted the American-British publisher which has Zionist collaborators, such as Warner Brothers.
The newspaper then goes on by describing why Harry Potter “includes destructive words and sentences which oppose to the values [of the Islamic Republic]“.Especially, the authors is angry because the first buyer of the book has been a 12-year-old juvenile and asks why the Police has let a crowd gather in front of the bookstore at the middle of the night,
The aims of the Zionist project, Harry Potter, has long been understood, even to the Western intellectuals and they have very frequently pointed out their suspicion about the book. Zionists have spent billions of dollars on this project.
Does anyone know a good psychiatrist? (Picture is decorative)
Update: The Islamic Republic was not the only body who hated Harry Potter, a bomb was found in the city of Karachi, Pakistan, outside the shopping center where the latest book was to be launched.
Reader's Comments
Comment
Salam (Hi) - سلام
Welcome to Kamangir. This is the personal blog of Arash Abadpour (Abad Pour), an Iranian student in Canada (more)
Contact: arash@kamangir.net
Other places around here: Persian Blog, Academic Background, Photography Blog,
Photoblog, and Azadeh (My Wife)
Options
-
July 25, 2007 -
Children, Humour, Iran, Islam, Islamic Republic, Israel -
10 comments
-
Comments RSS -
Del.ico.us
-
Digg!
Picks
Categories
- Blogging (25)
- Children (13)
- Didish (10)
- Features (40)
- Good Reads (22)
- Human Rights (158)
- Humour (115)
- International Bloggers (10)
- Iran (1575)
- Islam (131)
- Islamic Republic (306)
- Israel (23)
- KiBeKi (7)
- Lead Story (32)
- media (18)
- News (1)
- Personal (29)
- Picture of the Day (14)
- Profiler (1)
- Regular Posts (9)
- Russia (1)
- UK (1)
- US (34)
- Video of the Day (18)
- War (8)
- Women (24)
Archives
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004

“This happened in a society where there are strict rules for publication and distribution of any book. In this society, any book, either translated or authored, has to be carefully considered by a group of experts and foreign books have to be sold in very specific bookstores under strict control.”
Believe it or not the same rules applied in Quebec, Canada, until the early 1960’s. I can’t remember the exact name of the rule, but it was a way for the Roman Catholic Church to further contol the French speaking people in Quebec. If the book didn’t have a literal ’seal of approval’ from the local Bishop it wasn’t to be made available in local schools or libraries, nor could it be sold in the local stores, and it was a sin to own the book.
Curses! Our nefarious plans are revealed yet again.
Gabriel’s comment is interesting. People forget how recently common sense arrived in the “west”. There was quite heavy censorship of books in the UK up to the 1960s, and the government had an official called the Lord Chamberlain (good medieval title) whose job was to censor all plays before they could be shown in any theatre. Jokes about the Royal Family were forbidden.
Also, up to the 1960s, people were being imprisoned for gay sex. (But as with cannabis smoking today, if they were reasonably discreet, the police left them alone.)
However, I see that the book “Tintin in the Congo” has been withdrawn by its publishers as a result of moral pressure. So there is still some unofficial censorship. I think there was a real risk that somebody might have taken the publishers to court under the Race Relations act.
“Magic” seems to upset some religious fundamentalists, both Christian and Muslim. Is this because they believe in it?
So when Israel finally dissipates into the sands of Palestine, who will be blamed for the pollution of the minds of young Iranians?
*ahem* Mattew, we’re not planning to go anywhere. So rest assured, the Little Satan remains your loyal blame siphon.
Incidentally, have you any idea how offhandedly insulting your comment was?
[...] Kamangir has more. [...]
Zionist, racist, neo-con, capitalist..does Harry have any time for magic these days?
http://playingagainstthespin.wordpress.com/2007/07/23/harry-potter-neo-conservatism/
Roman,
The printed word obviously didn’t carry the full scope of my sarcasm. I meant no insult,
Best,
Matthew
No worries then, Mattew, my mistake. :)
[...] Hat Tip: Kamangir (Archer) [...]