In an interview with Radio Goftogoo, an Iranian religion and media researcher mentioned that “Shiism” is considered a media by itself, and in this regard, the existence of the shrines of Imam Musa Kazim and ...
In an interview with Radio Goftogoo, an Iranian religion and media researcher mentioned that “Shiism” is considered a media by itself, and in this regard, the existence of the shrines of Imam Musa Kazim and Imam Jawad (Peace Be Upon Them) and the shrine of Imam Ali (Peace Be Upon Him) turned the two Sunni cities into the center of Shiite thought in Iraq.
Regarding the role of Astan-e-Quds Razavi media productions, Mohammad Sadegh Dehnadi stated in "Reflection" program; “Astan-e-Quds has cultural, economic and social aspects, and therefore we should consider this collection as a great media for Shiism.”
Dehnadi, a doctor of media management at Tehran University, added; “Unlike many modern phenomena that originate in the Western communication science from the West, religious propaganda has its roots in religion itself.
“Accordingly, propaganda has been one of the special works of religion; For example, there are lots of verses in the Holy Qur'an preaching Islamic propaganda, and God Almighty set places where His name should be mentioned.”
“On the other hand, the rituals and occasions that have been gradually formed by pure men were chosen as the center of religious dialogue, one of which is the holy shrine of Imam Reza (Peace Be upon Him) in our country.”
According to Dehnadi, religious occasions, such as death or martyrdom of the holy men, perform a series of propaganda programs as an example of the Holy Quran verses, and this is a sign of piety in the hearts of believers.
He declared that religious rites, unlike many new practices, aren’t unprecedented and have their roots in the Islamic context; “The flag bearers of this movement were the Imams (Peace Be upon Them). In this regard, our Supreme Leader compiled a book entitled "the 250-year-old man" which narrates the currents beginning from the first year of the Hijrah to the year 250 AH.
In this book, the activities of the Imams (Peace Be upon Them) in religious propaganda are described.
In another part of the interview with Radio Goftogoo, Dehnadi called Astan Quds Razavi a media outlet and said; “While studying Shiism in Iran, we find that the shrines of Imam Reza (Peace Be upon Him), Lady Masoumeh (Peace Be upon Her) and Shah Cheragh (Peace Be upon Him), led to the creation of Shiites centers in Iran.”
He continued; “And in Iraq, there were Sunni scientific and religious centers for many years, but the shrine of Imam Ali (Peace Be upon Him) and the shrine of Imam Musa Kazim and Imam Jawad (Peace Be upon Them) in Baghdad, has created an atmosphere that over the centuries, turned them to the main centers of Shiite thought.”
In this interview with Radio Goftogoo, Dehnadi stressed that today Astan Quds isn’t only a collection of endowments; rather, it is a major media organization that hosts pilgrims from all over the world and has therefore become a super media.
By Azadeh Khajeh Nasiri
