Press Reactions to Abadari's Analysis of the Pashayi Phenomenon

The newspapers Etemad and Shargh published reports in their Sunday editions about Youssef Abadari's speech at Tehran University and the widespread reactions to it on social media. Etemad noted that 'the Pashayi phenomenon has made headlines once again' in a report titled 'Controversial Remarks of a Sociologist,' discussing Abadari's analysis of the thousands who attended the funeral of Morteza Pashayi, a pop music singer, and its repercussions. Shargh published evaluations by Mustafa Mehrayee and Azar Tashakkor, two sociologists, regarding Abadari's remarks. The newspaper Khabar reported on the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development's plan to 'monetize' highways, stating: 'The next year's budget bill anticipates that with the support of the private sector, highways will be completed, and the investment and profit of the private sector will be returned from tolls.' The newspaper Iran reported on its front page, quoting Abbas Araghchi about the start of negotiations between 'Iran's Deputy Foreign Ministers and the 1+5 in Geneva' starting from December 17. According to this newspaper, Abbas Araghchi announced that 'the next round of Iran's nuclear negotiations with the 1+5 group will begin on December 17 in Geneva,' stating: 'December 17 is the day negotiations at the level of Deputy Foreign Ministers will begin, and two days prior, bilateral talks between the Iranian and 1+5 delegations will be held in Geneva.' The newspaper Aftab Yazd dedicated its front page to welcoming Hassan Khomeini in Rafsanjan, reporting that the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini stated during a speech at the anniversary of the passing of Hashemian, the former Friday prayer leader of the city, that 'newcomers are crushing the old faces.' This newspaper quoted Hassan Khomeini as saying: 'We must be careful that in the name of freedom, religiousness, and in the name of religiousness; legitimate freedoms are not compromised, and in the name of freedom, political independence is not lost.' The newspaper Javan highlighted the remarks of the Tehran Friday prayer leader and the representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC against the protesters of 2009. According to this newspaper, Ahmad Khatami, the temporary Friday prayer leader of Tehran, emphasized that 'the sedition has both foreign and domestic leaders,' stating: 'They want to erase the stigma of sedition.' The newspaper Javan also quoted Ali Saidi, the representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC, stating: 'Let’s not allow some turbaned individuals and politicians to coddle the seditionists.' The newspaper Shahre Vatan reported the identification of 100 suspects and the interrogation of 191,000 individuals during the police investigations to identify the perpetrators of acid attacks in Isfahan, describing the public's expectation for the introduction of the serial acid attackers against women in Isfahan as 'an endless wait.' Ahmad Khorram, the Minister of Roads and Transportation during Mohammad Khatami's presidency, told the newspaper Arman that Hassan Rouhani is facing 'a crisis every four days.' This political activist also stated: 'The middle managers of Rouhani's government are still coordinating themselves with Ahmadinejad,' and 'the moderation of Hassan Rouhani has benefited the principlists.' Most Iranian Sunday newspapers dedicated their front page photo or one of their main headlines to the 'Arbaeen ceremony' in Iraq. The newspaper Etemad reported that the number of participants in the Arbaeen ceremony in Karbala was 20 million, describing it as 'the display of Shia power at Arbaeen.' The newspaper Ebtekar also described the Arbaeen ceremony as 'the largest gathering in contemporary human history.' The newspaper Javan referred to the Arbaeen ceremony as 'the 20 million practice for the freedom of Quds in Karbala,' while the newspaper Kayhan wrote on its front page: 'The path to Quds begins in Karbala.' The newspaper Vatan-e Emruz also titled 'The 20 Million Army,' stating: 'The unprecedented presence of Hosseini lovers from 60 different nationalities at the resurrection of Arbaeen 1436 has become a display of power against the Takfiri current and its supporters.' The newspaper Donya-e Eghtesad also evaluated the housing market and government policies in this sector, stating: 'Recent studies by the Housing Deputy of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development indicate that the overall fluctuations in housing prices over the past 17 months have consistently been downward, and the housing market has not seen any significant growth or notable price increases since the last 71% surge in spring 2013.' The proposal for 'monetizing highways' in the budget bill was reported by the newspaper Khabar, which stated: 'The next year's budget bill anticipates that with the support of the private sector, highways will be completed, and the investment and profit of the private sector will be returned from tolls.' This newspaper noted that the implementation of this plan by the government 'is conditional on the approval of the representatives of the parliament,' writing: 'Given the representatives' concerns about not increasing the cost of living for the people, we should expect heated discussions on this matter from now on.' Mojtaba Kaveh, in a report for the newspaper Khabar, wrote: 'Tolls or access fees for roads are like extra money for most of us Iranians that we try to avoid paying, and whenever we do, we grumble and feel constrained.' However, according to recent statements by Abbas Akhoundi, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development, 'If the parliament representatives agree, starting next year, in addition to freeways, access to highways will also become toll-based.' The newspaper Khabar quoted Abbas Akhoundi regarding this matter, stating: 'Granting access rights to infrastructure such as roads to investors guarantees the return of the principal and profit of the investment; therefore, people are faced with the choice of paying the access fee for rapid development or keeping the access fee at zero and having road development take decades.' The Minister of Roads and Urban Development requested parliament representatives to 'vote positively on the new clause of the 94 budget bill regarding the possibility of collecting access fees on highways, as he believes that the approval of this clause can attract domestic and foreign investors to participate and implement large projects of this ministry in various sectors.' Hamid Zarei, a road and transportation economics expert, commented on the plan to monetize highways to the newspaper Khabar, stating: 'Roads are commodities that ordinary people and transportation companies benefit from, so it is natural that their costs should be paid by users according to the benefits they derive from the road.' However, 'the lack of information and cultural awareness has led people to believe that the construction and maintenance of roads is the government's responsibility.' This transportation expert emphasized that 'we have no choice but to join the successful model implemented by developed countries,' stating: 'In these countries, tolls are specific to each road and are collected either at the beginning and end of the road or electronically in the form of road taxes collected by the government from users and paid to private operators.' Mohammad Firouzi, a member of the Parliament's Civil Commission, however, told the newspaper Khabar: 'Collecting tolls from highways, as the Minister of Roads and Urban Development has discussed, will encourage the private sector to invest and develop roads, but this must be done in a way that does not impose unbearable pressure on the people.' This parliament member also stated that so far 'the details of the budget bill have not been reviewed in the Civil Commission, and I do not know whether collecting tolls from newly constructed highways is intended or if the plan includes all current highways as well. In any case, both sides of this equation must be considered, and the development and upgrading of roads should not come at the expense of pressure on the people.' Mohammad Firouzi emphasized that 'the expectations from the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development are high, and we must cooperate with them according to these expectations,' stressing that 'the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development is facing resource limitations and cannot complete projects and meet expectations with these resources. Naturally, we must interact with this ministry and find a solution that can expedite the implementation and completion of construction projects while preserving the rights of the people.' The plan to monetize 'highways' has been presented by the government in the budget bill while currently 'only on freeways can access fees be collected.' Press reactions to Abadari's analysis of the Pashayi phenomenon: The newspapers Etemad and Shargh published reports in their Sunday editions about Youssef Abadari's speech at Tehran University and the widespread reactions to it on social media. Etemad noted that 'the Pashayi phenomenon has made headlines once again' in a report titled 'Controversial Remarks of a Sociologist,' discussing Abadari's analysis of the thousands who attended the funeral of Morteza Pashayi, a pop music singer, and its repercussions. The Sociology Association of Tehran University held a session titled 'Cultural Phenomenology of a Death' on Tuesday, December 9, with the presence of professors and sociologists such as Hamid Reza Jalai-Pour, Saeed Moayedfar, Youssefali Abadari, Nematollah Fazeli, Mohammad Saeed Zakaei, Hadi Khaniki, Mohammad Amin Ghanei-Rad, etc., in the Ibn Khaldun Hall of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Tehran University. However, among all the analyses conducted on the 'Pashayi phenomenon' during this session, Youssef Abadari's remarks, a sociology professor and associate professor at Tehran University, received widespread media and social media reactions. According to Etemad, Youssef Abadari referred to the documentary [Fish Die in the Soil] that was broadcast on television about the poor economic conditions of one of the provinces in the country, stating: 'The interesting point for me is that no one, no one paid the slightest attention to this film... and you who are sitting here do not know that such a film has been made, and this film is about the life of a province in the country,' and then posed the question: 'What has happened that they come and take the real issues we face out of our minds?' Etemad also reported that Youssef Abadari continued his speech about Morteza Pashayi, stating: 'This guy whose picture is here and the lights are dimmed, was a pop singer, and pop in the course of music is the most trivial type of music... I have given a musician the task to analyze his music format... it is utterly trivial! We have pop music that is complex. This is the simplest, most ridiculous, and stupidest type of music. Off-key voice, ridiculous music, even more ridiculous lyrics; therefore, how can I not analyze such a thing?' According to this newspaper, 'Youssef Abadari criticized the behavior of the people and their presence at the official ceremonies for Pashayi,' stating: 'I find it very interesting that 300-200 thousand, a million people, a nation falls into... and participates in the mourning ceremony... Why have the people of Iran fallen into this poverty? Here is where the analysis is very important.' This newspaper wrote that Youssef Abadari 'identified the main reason for the emergence of the Pashayi phenomenon as depoliticization, which is manifested in giving space to non-elite individuals such as athletes, actors, singers, etc., in political matters.' According to this university lecturer, 'In recent years, both the government and the people have developed a mutual fear of each other. Therefore, both the people and the government are moving towards depoliticization, and in this space, a figure like Pashayi becomes a myth and a symbol of focus on non-political matters.' Etemad also quoted Youssef Abadari as saying: 'When depoliticization is to occur, such events inevitably arise. They resort to pop singers to take the place of real politics.' This university professor criticized 'the presence of people and the behavior of the government and the official domain at the funeral and burial of Morteza Pashayi,' stating: 'This issue has a quasi-fascist aspect that terrifies me. There is a mutual fear... Depoliticization is the destruction of everything for which a revolution was made and many stood for... Why when an intellectual dies does no one go to his funeral? When [Samuel] Beckett died, how many people went? Three... This incident is a bad sign.' Etemad also wrote: 'In the Q&A section of this program, which was also accompanied by protests, Youssef Abadari defended his remarks, stating that the end of this music leads to fascism.' Etemad emphasized that 'Youssef Abadari's explicit and blunt tone in analyzing the 'Pashayi phenomenon' was met with reactions from supporters and the official domain, and in the same Ibn Khaldun Hall, it was accompanied by reactions from the audience and a tumultuous atmosphere, and days after the release of the audio file and text of his remarks in the media and social networks, the approvals and disapprovals of his controversial statements continue.' According to this newspaper, 'Among those who agreed with Abadari's remarks, some deemed this harsh tone necessary for the social conditions of the country, believing that people's tastes have undergone changes that are not positive. Abadari's words were harsh, but the truth has always been bitter for the people, which is why some have attacked him,' while 'opponents did not like this tone,' and part of the opposition 'is due to Abadari's harsh and angry tone and criticism.' Etemad wrote that 'this group believes Abadari could have presented the same analysis in a more academic and respectful tone, and part of the opposition is with the content of Abadari's remarks and his judgment regarding the general public's taste. In contrast, supporters of this university professor consider his analysis to be based on the current reality of Iranian society.' The newspaper Shargh also reported on 'the reactions to Abadari's analysis of the Pashayi phenomenon,' quoting Mustafa Mehrayee, a sociologist, stating: 'Abadari's remarks were, overall, an interesting and good analysis, but there was one flaw in his remarks, where he used it as an excuse to address many other issues. Perhaps it would have been better if those issues were analyzed and examined more seriously and separately.' This sociologist pointed out that 'phenomena are complex, and if we claim our analysis encompasses all dimensions, we have erred,' stating: 'Creating a generality from the linguistic world and...