Iranian political and satirical weekly magazine (1923–1971)
Towfigh
Cover of the issue 19 |
Editor |
Hossein Towfigh |
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Categories | Satirical magazine |
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Frequency | Weekly |
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Founder | Hossein Towfigh |
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Founded | 1923 |
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Final issue | 1971 |
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Country | |
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Based in |
Tehran |
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Language | Persian |
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Towfigh, also known as Tawfiq, (
Persian: توفیق) was a weekly satirical magazine which was published between 1923 and 1971 in
Tehran, Iran, with some interruptions. It was among the critics of the
Pahlavi rule.
[1]
The journal went through three phases: from 1923 until 1939, under founding editor
Hossein Towfigh the magazine was more
nationalistic; from 1941 until 1953, under the son Mohammad-Ali Towfigh the magazine was more politically and government-critical; and later versions of the magazine under Towfigh brothers Hassan, Hossein, and Abbas, they focused on pure
satire.
[2]
History
Towfigh was launched in 1923 and was a four-page weekly.
[2]
[3] However, there are other reports giving its foundation date as 1922.
[4]
[5] The headquarters of the magazine was in Tehran.
[3] Its founder was the Iranian journalist Hossein Towfigh who edited the magazine until his death in 1939.
[3] During his editorship the magazine ceased publication between 1932 and 1938.
[3]
He was succeeded by his son Mohammad Ali Towfigh as editor, who restarted the publication in 1941.
[3]
[6] In 1949 the magazine was banned following the frequent publication of the cartoons mocking
Prime Minister
Abdolhossein Hazhir.
[7] Mohammad Ali Towfigh edited Towfigh until 1953 when the magazine was again closed down by the Iranian authorities after the overthrown of the
government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.
[3]
[6]
It was restarted on 20 March 1958 with the title Fokāhi (Persian: Humorous).
[3] Later it began to be published under its original title and was edited by three nephews of Hossein Towfigh (named Hassan, Hossein and Abbas Towfigh).
[2]
[3] One of its frequent targets was Prime Minister
Amir-Abbas Hoveyda
[5] who was instrumental in its closure by the
censorship agency in 1971.
[8]
Content, contributors and political stance
Towfigh had a changing political stance throughout its existence. It targeted and expressed the political views of lower- and middle-class Iranians.
[4] Its contributors were liberal and secular writers and artists.
[4] Major contributors included Abolqasem Halat, Abbas Forat,
Iraj Pezeshkzad, Parviz Khatibi, Manouchehr Mahjoubi, Omran Salahi, Manouchehr Ehterami,
Kioumars Saberi Foumani,
Kambiz Derambakhsh and Naser Pakshir.
[6]
Hadi Khorsandi started his journalistic career in the magazine which contributed to when he was a high school student.
[9]
The magazine featured political caricatures which appeared five years after its start when the Iranian government allowed their publication.
[3] These cartoons mostly attacked the members of the
Pahlavi dynasty in a covert manner to avoid censorship.
[4] From 1938 the magazine began to contain literary material instead of political satire due to the strict censorship exerted by the government.
[3] Following the abdication of
Reza Shah in 1941 Towfigh continued to publish political cartoons and political satire until its closure in 1971.
[3] In these satirical materials the Shah,
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, prime ministers and cabinet members were criticized for their alleged inefficiency and incompetency.
[7]
Legacy
The Chicago Persian Microfilms Project initiated by the
University of Chicago in 1985 archived the issues of Towfigh.
[10]
Towfigh cover pages
References
External links
-
Media related to
Towfiq at Wikimedia Commons