Mohammad Masud (1905–1948) was an Iranian journalist and writer. He published some books and launched a weekly newspaper, Mard-i Imruz (Persian: The Man of Today). He was an ardent critic of the Pahlavi rule and Ahmad Qavam. Masud was assassinated in February 1948.
Mohammad Masud | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mohammad Masud Qummi 1905 |
| Died | 13 February 1948 (aged 42–43) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Years active | 1930s–1948 |
| Known for | Founder of Mard-i Imruz |
Biography
editMasud was born in 1905.[1][2] He went to Belgium to study journalism[3] in 1935 when he was awarded a government scholarship and returned to Iran in 1938 following his graduation.[4] He applied for a state institution for employment, but his application was denied.[4] After this incident he became a critic of Reza Shah.[4]
In 1942 Masud published an autobiography entitled Guha'i keh dar Jahannam Miruyand (Persian: Flowers which Grow in Hell).[5] Next year he published another book, Bahar-i Umr (Persian: The Spring of Life).[5] In 1942 he also started his journalism career launching a weekly newspaper entitled Mard-i Imruz in which he published critical articles and political cartoons which targeted Prime Minister Ahmad Qavam and his cabinet.[4] Journalist and future foreign minister Hossein Fatemi was one of Masud's close friends who contributed to Mard-i Imruz.[6] In October 1947 Masud publicly argued in the paper that Qavam should be murdered due to the oil concession treaty with the Soviet Union.[4] Homa Katouzian argues that Masud employed his paper to get money from the rich whom he attacked through sensational news about them.[7]
Four months later on 13 February 1948 Masud was assassinated by a squad led by Noureddin Kianouri.[1][7] The group was linked to the Tudeh Party.[7] His assassination was the first of the political killings which continued into the 1950s in Iran.[7]
Hossein Fatemi was delivering a speech in a ceremony for Masud at his grave on 13 February 1952 when he became a target of the assassination attempt by a member of the Fedayan-e Islam.[8] Although he survived this attack, he was severely injured.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b Laurence Paul Elwell-Sutton (1968). "The Iranian Press, 1941-1947". Iran. 6: 97. doi:10.2307/4299603. JSTOR 4299603.
- ^ Ali Mirsepassi (2018). Iran's Troubled Modernity. Debating Ahmad Fardid's Legacy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 340. doi:10.1017/9781108566124.017. ISBN 9781108476393. S2CID 166581491.
- ^ Liora Hendelman-Baavur (2019). Creating the Modern Iranian Woman. Popular Culture between Two Revolutions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 62. doi:10.1017/9781108627993. ISBN 9781108627993. S2CID 211433811.
- ^ a b c d e Camron Michael Amin (August 2001). "Selling and Saving "Mother Iran": Gender and the Iranian Press in the 1940s". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 33 (3): 337–338. doi:10.1017/S0020743801003014. PMID 18159657. S2CID 6159141.
- ^ a b Mohammad M. Aman (2021). Language and Literature of the Middle East. Abingdon; New York: Routledge. p. 7-PA147. ISBN 978-1-315-45972-1.
- ^ Ebrahim Norouzi (25 April 2008). "Dr. Hossein Fatemi Biography". The Mossadegh Project. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d Homa Katouzian (2008). "Private Parts and Public Discourses in Modern Iran". Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 28 (2): 290. doi:10.1215/1089201x-2008-006.
- ^ a b Hassan Mohammadi Nejad (1970). Elite-Counterelite Conflict and the Development of a Revolutionary Movement: The Case of Iranian National Front (PhD thesis). Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. p. 82. ISBN 9798657957457. ProQuest 302536657.