25 Jul 2011 09:11:20
Mohajerani who was culture minister until 2000 under the reformist president Mohammad Khatami, said the ayatollah was worried about "literary, philosophical and social" books that might raise questions about his legitimacy as the supreme leader. "I think that he is very much concerned about books that can either implicitly or explicitly target his position as the supreme leader and also his legitimacy."
He had fallen foul of the ayatollah when he was at the ministry as he favoured greater cultural openness and removed thousands of titles from the lists of banned books. Some analysts believe his lack of deference to the hardline ayatollah was another reason he came under attack from conservative clerics which finally forced him to resign. Numerous publications were closed down after he went. He currently lives in exile in London.
In his speech, the 72-year-old Khamenei, whose pronouncements are often interpreted as official guidelines, refused to give more details on which books he deemed "harmful". However, titles ranging from uncensored version of Plato's Symposium to Louis-Ferdinand Céline's Journey to the End of the Night and works by James Joyce, Gabriel García Márquez, Kurt Vonnegut and Paulo Coelho have been banned in recent years by Iran's ministry of culture and Islamic guidance which vets all books before publication.
According to Mohajerani, Khamenei is a fan of fiction and closely follows publication of novels and other literary books.
"Those responsible in the book industry should not let harmful books enter our book market on the basis that we let them [readers] choose [what they want to read]," Khamenei told cheering crowds.
"Like poisonous, dangerous and addictive drugs which are not available for everyone without restrictions … as a publisher, librarian or an official in the book industry, we don't have the right to make [such books] available to those without knowledge," he said. "We should provide them with healthy and good books."
Mohajerani said: "His comments stem from a traditional clerical mentality that clerics guide people as shepherds guide their sheep, this is a viewpoint that doesn't have any place in today's life."
