Music House and Ruhollah Khaleghi's Daughter Protest Distortion of the Anthem 'Ey Iran'

In response to the Astan Quds Razavi's action of releasing a version of the famous anthem 'Ey Iran' with altered lyrics, the Music House of Iran condemned this 'ugly act' as 'illegal.' Golnoush Khaleghi, daughter of the anthem's composer Ruhollah Khaleghi, also protested this action. On Tuesday, March 6, ISNA reported that the Music House of Iran described this act as 'illegal interference and distortion of the lyrics of the national anthem Ey Iran' during a recent meeting. The organization stated that 'on behalf of the music community of the country, it strongly protests against this illegal act, which is far from the ethics of the creators of this fake anthem,' and called on the Cultural Heritage Organization to 'respond appropriately to this ugly act.' The Music House emphasized that 'the beautiful and national anthem Ey Iran, which has been registered nationally, is recognized as part of Iran's intangible heritage and is considered unchangeable like other valuable national works.' They stated that this anthem 'is trusted by the majority of the Iranian people, and millions of Iranians around the world have memories with it and love it.' Recently, the 'Islamic Propaganda Office of Astan Quds Razavi' released a version of this anthem with altered lyrics, where the original text was replaced with words praising Shia beliefs, sung by several teenagers. The release of this version, which includes phrases like 'Jaddiya al-Husayn,' 'Qaim Watan Abul Hasan,' 'Sahib al-Zaman,' and 'Mashhad al-Ridha,' has faced reactions on social media in the past two days. The famous anthem 'Ey Iran' was composed by Ruhollah Khaleghi in October 1944 after the occupation of Iran by British forces. This anthem, with lyrics by Hossein Golgolab and sung by Gholam Hossein Banan, is recognized as an unofficial national anthem and one of the beloved songs of multiple generations of the Iranian people. Ruhollah Khaleghi, born in 1906 and passed away in 1965, was a musician and the creator of 'Ey Iran.' Golnoush Khaleghi, who is also a musician and orchestra conductor, has called on Iranians to protest this act. In a statement released on Tuesday, she expressed regret that 'a registered national work' and 'free from any historical, religious, or personal discourse' has been manipulated by 'ignorant and foolish individuals.' In her statement, the daughter of the anthem's creator described Astan Quds Razavi's action of adding 'text promoting and praising Shia religion and its Imams' as 'manipulation,' 'cultural and artistic theft,' and 'foolish plundering of a national work.'