Sur-e Esrafil

Among the dozens of newspapers that were published after the establishment of the Constitutional Revolution in Iran, “Sur-e Esrafil” achieved unparalleled fame and became a valuable legacy of Iran’s constitutional movement. The writers of this weekly engaged in extensive critiques of the social, political, economic, and cultural phenomena of their society. Their aim was to transition from the circle of backwardness and to build an advanced society based on social justice. The main articles of “Sur-e Esrafil” had a specific intellectual framework, and the writers sought to not only demonstrate the consequences of backwardness but also to understand the roots of social difficulties. This volume examines several editorials and key articles from “Sur-e Esrafil” and the satirical column “Charehand Parhand” and seeks to answer a few points: How did the writers of “Sur-e Esrafil” view the country’s political scene? What solutions did they offer for the land issue? How did they speak about the sensitive topics of tradition and modernity? And which intellectual and political schools of thought guided them? It is hoped that this historical examination can provide insight into the prevailing ideas during the first revolution of the twentieth century in Iran.