Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance
وزارت فرهنگ و ارشاد اسلامی
Vezârat-e Farhang va Ershâd-e Eslâmi
Flag of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance
Agency overview
Formed 18 August 1984
Jurisdiction Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Employees 12,701 (2019)[1]
Agency executive
  • Abbas Salehi
Website farhang.gov.ir

The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (Persian: وزارت فرهنگ و ارشاد اسلامی, romanized: Vezârat-e Farhang va Ershâd-e Eslâmi) ("Ministry of CIG") is a ministry responsible for managing access to media that, in the view of the Iranian government or the ministry, violates Iranian ethics or promotes values alien to Iranian culture. This may include internet censorship. It also manages the alignment of religion and the law of the country.[2] It was formed by the merger of the Ministry of Culture and Art and the Ministry of Information and Tourism.[3]

Overview

There are a number of cultural and commercial artefacts that the Ministry of CIG regulates by licensing their entry into the country, or by exporting from Iran.

The ministry manages exportation of motion pictures produced in Iran and the importation of films produced outside Iran, including cinematographic and television films. Audio recordings, on media such as cassette tapes, phonograph records, compact discs, or other formats, are also regulated by the ministry.

Books (fiction or non-fiction), published material (such as magazines, serials), or other periodicals, printed matter (like brochures, pamphlets, advertising material, business catalogues, university prospectuses, or other promotional or informational material) are similarly subjected to licensing requirements for import or export. The images, paintings, sculpture, tableaux, and related objects that may constitute visual art, must also undergo vetting. The Ministry of CIG issues the licenses that are required for import and export of all such items.[4]

In addition, the Ministry of CIG is one of the bodies of the Iranian government responsible for informing Iranians about the alignment of religion with law in the UN Member State of Iran. The Khutbah (Friday Sermon) is when the different block leaders come together and explain the political narrative of their block using figurative language. It is one of the three "sovereign" (independent from audit) ministerial departments of Iran.[5]

Ministers

No. Portrait Name Took office Left

office

 Party Government
1 Nasser Minachi 22 February 1979 10 September 1980 Independent Bazargan

Council of the Islamic Revolution
2 Abbas Duzduzani 10 September 1980 17 August 1981 Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization Rajai
3 Abdul Majid Maadikhah 17 August 1981 26 July 1982 Islamic Republican Party Bahonar

Mahdavi Kani (acting)

Mousavi I
– Mir-Hossein Mousavi 26 July 1982 9 November 1982 Islamic Republican Party Mousavi I
4 Mohammad Khatami 9 November 1982 24 May 1992 Association of Combatant Clerics Mousavi I

Mousavi II

Rafsanjani I
5 Ali Larijani 11 August 1992 15 February 1994 Islamic Coalition Party Rafsanjani I

Rafsanjani II
6 Mostafa Mir-Salim 22 February 1994 20 August 1997 Islamic Coalition Party Rafsanjani II
7 Ata'ollah Mohajerani 20 August 1997 14 December 2000 Executives of Construction Party Khatami I
8 Ahmad Masjed-Jamei 14 January 2001 24 August 2005 Independent Khatami I

Khatami II
9 Hossein Saffar Harandi 24 August 2005 23 July 2009 Independent Ahmadinejad I
10 Mohammad Hosseini 3 September 2009 15 August 2013 Independent Ahmadinejad II
11 Ali Jannati 15 August 2013 19 October 2016 Moderation and Development Party Rouhani I
12 Reza Salehi Amiri 1 November 2016 20 August 2017 Moderation and Development Party Rouhani I
13 Abbas Salehi 20 August 2017 25 August 2021 Independent Rouhani II
14 Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili 25 August 2021 21 August 2024 Independent Raisi
15 Abbas Salehi 21 August 2024 In Charge Independent Pezeshkian

See also

  • ارشاد, ershad, 'guidance' at Wiktionary
  • Media of Iran
  • Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization
  • Islamic Culture and Communication Organization
  • Office of Literature and Art of Resistance

References

  1. ^ جزییات تعداد کارمندان دولت در سال ۹۷ Tasnim News
  2. ^ Official website o the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance
  3. ^ Responsibilities and organizational structure of Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance
  4. ^ Foreign Trade Regime of the IRI Archived 2013-03-10 at the Wayback Machine Memorandum
  5. ^ al Labbad, Mustafa (15 August 2013). "Rouhani's Cabinet Seeks New Balance in Iranian Policies". As Safir. Retrieved 16 August 2013.

Further reading

  • Media related to Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran at Wikimedia Commons
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