The Encounter of Mossadegh and Khalil Maleki at Nasser Rahmani-Nejad's Dinner Party

Host: Nasser Rahmani-Nejad Guests: Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, Sadegh Hedayat, Abdolhossein Nooshin, Khalil Maleki, and Amir Parviz Pouyan Music: The International Dinner Menu: Sanandaj Rice This week's host is Nasser Rahmani-Nejad, one of the oldest directors and actors in theater with about 50 years of experience. He founded the Iranian Theater Association and staged works by some of the greatest playwrights in Iran and the world before and after the revolution. He is particularly interested in social and political issues, which led to his arrest along with all theater members before the performance of Gorky's 'The Lower Depths,' resulting in a 12-year prison sentence. He was released during the revolution and continued theater with street plays, but was attacked by Hezbollah groups, forcing him to leave Iran. Abroad, he directed plays such as 'Othello' in the Land of Wonders by Gholamhossein Saedi and 'Nowruz Pirouz' by Mohsen Yalefani, among others. A few years ago, he played the role of Dr. Mossadegh in the play 'Mossadegh' directed by Reza Alamehzadeh. Mr. Rahmani-Nejad lives in the suburbs of San Francisco, and I visited him at his home. Mr. Rahmani-Nejad, welcome to the program. Can you first tell me who you would like to invite to your dinner party? Regarding Nasser Rahmani-Nejad, our host this week, he is one of the oldest directors and actors in theater with about 50 years of experience. He founded the Iranian Theater Association and staged works by some of the greatest playwrights in Iran and the world. He is more interested in social and political issues. First of all, thank you very much for your invitation, and I am very happy to be in your presence. I will briefly introduce tonight's guests, and then we will get to their explanations. Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, Sadegh Hedayat, Abdolhossein Nooshin, Khalil Maleki, and a young man from my generation, Amir Parviz Pouyan. Very well. You must have reasons for choosing these five people among so many contemporaries and historical figures, which I will ask you to explain later. But I want to know what music you would like to play for these guests at your dinner party? The music I have chosen, I believe, has a common theme in the minds, feelings, thoughts, and ideologies of tonight's guests, and I think they will likely enjoy it, and that is 'The International.' The International? Yes, 'The International.' Why do you like 'The International' so much? Let's set the guests aside for now. Why do you like it? Because of the idea in this music... What is this idea? Liberation from exploitation, suffering, and the prevailing injustice in the world, and the promise of human life. Let's return to your guests. The first guest is Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, and you played the role of Dr. Mossadegh in one of the plays years ago. Mohammad Mossadegh (1261 to 1345 SH): Lawyer, politician, and Prime Minister of Iran. Fame: Leadership of the oil nationalization movement. Reason for invitation: In my opinion, Mossadegh is one of the unique examples of politicians who adhered to political ethics throughout his political life and never compromised it. Mossadegh is, in my opinion, one of the unique examples of politicians in Iranian history who maintained political ethics at all stages of his political life and never compromised it for political games and pressures. However, particularly when we started rehearsing the play about Mossadegh several years ago and I began studying his life and era, I realized what Mossadegh's political goals for the Iranian people were. That is, the goal that Mossadegh had for the Iranian people, the most important of which was Iran's independence, freedom, and democracy... These were among the most important goals that the Iranian people have pursued and fought for since the Constitutional Revolution and have yet to achieve, and they remain one of our most important goals. At that time, Mossadegh was able to achieve part of it, but unfortunately, we know that due to pressures from British and American imperialism, Mossadegh was overthrown, and this ideal was unfortunately buried. However, this ideal still exists, and people are fighting for it, and I hope that one day it will bear fruit. Your second guest is Sadegh Hedayat. What is your interest in him? Sadegh Hedayat (1281 to 1330 SH): Storyteller, translator, and Iranian intellectual. Works: 'The Blind Owl,' 'The Benefits of Vegetarianism,' 'The Howling of the Owl,' 'Haji Agha,' and other works. Reason for invitation: In my opinion, Sadegh Hedayat is one of the pioneers of modern literature and storytelling in Iran. His other characteristics include awareness and understanding of Iranian society, the constraints of Iran, and the obstacles that hinder the growth and progress of the Iranian people. Sadegh Hedayat is, in my opinion, one of the pioneers of modern literature and storytelling in Iran. Besides his pioneering role in modern Iranian literature, his awareness and understanding of Iranian society, its constraints, and the obstacles to the growth and progress of the Iranian people, which include religion, superstitions, banality, narrow-mindedness, conspiracies, and deceit, are all evident in his works. He portrays these characters and their various forms in his works, showing that they themselves are victims who, due to ignorance and folly, cause suffering to each other and hinder their own growth and that of those around them. Personally, if you were to introduce one of Hedayat's works to our audience, could you do that? If I were to introduce one so that the masses could understand that part of its elements still exist in our society, especially today, it would be 'Haji Agha.' What is 'Haji Agha' about? Why 'Haji Agha'? 'Haji Agha' is a sample of a traditional, religious, vile, and cunning element, and we have many such examples today in the Islamic Republic and among their associates. So it is contemporary. It reflects the current situation in Iran... To some extent. Now we come to your third guest, Abdolhossein Nooshin, one of the theater figures and pioneers of playwriting in Iran. Abdolhossein Nooshin (1285 to 1350 SH): Playwright and Iranian director. Works: 'The Rooster of Dawn,' 'The Stories of Mirza Mohsen,' 'The Broken Glass,' and other works. Reason for invitation: Nooshin is one of the pioneers of modern theater in Iran. He studied abroad and was familiar with the latest European theater methods, which he began teaching and forming groups in Iran. Nooshin is one of the pioneers of modern theater in Iran. He studied abroad and was aware of the latest European theater methods, which he began to teach and form groups in Iran. For this reason, the plays he staged, although he was a member of the Central Committee of the Tudeh Party and a Marxist, and it seemed that he should present revolutionary workers' plays, he seemed to understand the artistic realm to some extent and knew what plays to present for its survival and continuity. The plays he staged were by no means revolutionary workers' plays that would oppose the regime. The Tudeh Party criticized him for not presenting revolutionary plays and for not being leftist. However, the knot in Nooshin's life and work is his membership in the Tudeh Party and his responsibility in the Central Committee. Did it harm his work? Yes, it did. You mean the party limited him? Do you believe that an artist like him should not have been a member of a party like the Tudeh Party? I believe an artist can be political but cannot be a member of a party or a political movement because they inevitably become biased and must follow their political line and party platform, and therefore bring that line and interpretation into their artistic work. Perhaps Abdolhossein Nooshin is the only example who did not bring this into his work. But at the same time, it harmed his work. When the issue of the split in the Tudeh Party arose, Nooshin was very critical of the Tudeh Party and thus had contacts with people in the party with whom he sympathized. He had a rapport with Khalil Maleki. They all felt that if a split occurred, Nooshin would go with them. But at the last moment, he sided with the Central Committee and signed a statement against the splitters, to which Khalil Maleki wrote a letter harshly criticizing Nooshin. One of the things I want to know about these three people, namely Sadegh Hedayat, Khalil Maleki, and Nooshin, is how they will react to this story of the three of them tonight. We will leave that for the end of the program when the dinner guests have eaten and are listening to music, and we will ask them. Let's move on to your fourth guest, Khalil Maleki, the leader of the splitters and founder of the Third Way. Khalil Maleki (1280 to 1348 SH): Iranian politician. Fame: Member of the group known as the 53, leader of the Third Force Party. Reason for invitation: Khalil Maleki's greatest trait is his courage and loyalty to the interpretation and results of the Tudeh Party's actions and taking action. As you know, at that time, the Tudeh Party was the only progressive party, and many intellectuals were attracted to it. The split from the Tudeh Party was a courageous act... Yes, it was indeed courageous. Khalil Maleki was at the forefront and the banner bearer of the split... What was his problem with the Tudeh Party? Was it the Soviet issue or something else? The Soviet issue was the most important. Its subservience to a foreign power that does not consider national interests. Today we know that national interests were trampled by the Tudeh Party. Khalil Maleki remained loyal to the ideals of socialism but could not tolerate the Tudeh Party's dependence on the Soviet Union... Yes, he wanted to create a so-called independent movement, without dependency and with national ideals and certainly with socialist ideas. This required courage. But Khalil Maleki had problems with your first guest, Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, right? He had some problems... But perhaps we can see (at this dinner) how, after years and free from that atmosphere and pressures, they interact today. At the end of the program, you can ask them. Let's move on to your last guest, Amir Parviz Pouyan. Amir Parviz Pouyan (1325 to 1350 SH): Political activist, communist theorist, and one of the founders of the Fedayeen Guerrilla Organization. Works: The Necessity of Armed Struggle and Refutation of the Survival Theory, Angry at Imperialism and Afraid of Revolution. Reason for invitation: I invited Amir Parviz Pouyan to represent myself and a political movement that rejected the methods of the Tudeh Party and all past opportunistic movements. I brought Amir Parviz Pouyan to represent myself and a political movement that rejected the methods of the Tudeh Party and all past opportunistic movements... His famous pamphlet is 'Refutation of the Survival Theory.' Yes. Armed struggle and refutation of the survival theory. That survival theory is what the Tudeh Party said... Yes, because the unspoken theory of the Tudeh Party was to endure. To survive under any government and of any kind and nature. Now why did you invite Pouyan? I invited him as someone who stood against the theory and policy that responded to a generation we lived in. Or rather, let me say that Amir Parviz Pouyan and his friends were a generation of intellectuals searching for an answer that would resonate with their generation and they found that answer. The evaluation of this answer, in my opinion, should be made in its own conditions and time. In that era of dictatorship when even three or four-member literary groups were impossible to form, when professional and student statements could not be read, if someone was arrested, they faced imprisonment, torture, beatings, insults, and slander... You mean to say that in a period when these pressures existed... In a period when these pressures existed, the answer that they, Amir Parviz Pouyan and others, found and tried to theorize... was suitable for that period... was suitable for that period. Although it ended in failure, it was untimely. Because they had no intention of starting a revolution in Bahman 1349. We know today that it was untimely. Because one of their friends had been arrested, and they went to rescue him, and it inevitably led to a confrontation. You, who knew Amir Parviz Pouyan, what kind of person was he? How old was he when he passed away? About twenty-four or twenty-five years old. So the things he wrote were at the age of twenty-four or twenty-five? Yes. If Amir Parviz Pouyan had not entered the struggle, I believe he would have become one of the important novelists. Did you like him? I was very fond of him. A lovely young man... very lovely, dignified, unpretentious, everything about him was exemplary. Well, now, to your dear friend Amir Parviz Pouyan, whom you will see after forty or fifty years at the dinner party, and Khalil Maleki, Abdolhossein Nooshin, Hedayat, and Dr. Mossadegh, what food will you serve that they will enjoy?