I-Search+by+Michelle

by Michelle I have limited knowledge about censorship in Iran. What I do know is from a memior called //Reading Lolita in Tehran// and from news articles I have previously read. I know that all sorts of things are censored and banned, such as art, books, music, movies, and blogs. From the memoir I learned a little bit about censorship in Iran mainly during the Islamic Revolution. I know that writers,bloggers, and journalists have been recently jailed for the messages they send to the public. I know that during the Islamic Revolution many things considered American and westernized were banned. Any sort of controversial topic was off-limits, and protesters/ government oppositioners were jailed easily. I'm pretty sure that current circumstances in Iran are similar, especially after the June 2009 election protests.
 * Censorship In Iran **
 * Part I--What I already know about my topic **

During which periods of time was censorship most severe? How do Iranians feel about censorship? Exactly what sorts of things are censored? How limited is the freedom of Iranians in comparison to Americans? Why does the government choose to censor literature, movies, etc?
 * Part II--What I Want to Find Out **


 * Part III--The Search **

Lately I have been searching more closely for info. on Iranian Censorship, and I have found several results. Google News has been really helpful in my search. While searching online I heard of this thing called the "VOICE" Act (Victims of Iranian Censorship Act). I'm not exactly sure what it is and how it works, but I'm trying to find some information about it. I've also heard about a film called "No One Knows About Persian Cats" which tells the story of Iranians who play rock music underground since its censored by the governement. This gave me some info. on censorship of artists in Iran, and really gave me a good idea of what its like. I found two articles on this movie... I find it very interesting. One other thing I heard about recently was "HayStack" A new software that helps Iranians evade internet censorship. I'm hoping these sources are accurate...

The Book that I chose for this project was //Reading Lolita in Tehran// by Azar Nafisi. Although it doesn't really talk about the more recent issues in Iran (Recent as in 2009-2010) It gives me a good amount of background information and some insight on the Iranian Revolution in 1979. censorship is a topic that is widely discussed in this book and it was what got me interested in the topic of Iranian censorship. You could say it is biast since it is a memior, but it ;ets me see the perspective of a certain person, and lets me understand how at least some Iranians feel. I felt that I got not only a lot of information from //Reading Lolita// but also a good read.

One web article I have found while doing my research is CNN.com's "Iran Silences Journalists With Jail". This articel was very, very useful. It explained the current relationship between Iranian writers and the Iranian regime. For fear of protests, it seems that many reporters have been a The Reporters Without Borders research desk was able to confirm that at least 40 journalists and bloggers were arrested between January 6 and February 12. The article also disscusses what sort of things are cesnored. It states that journalists and bloggers were regularly arrested and harassed for discussing topics like women's rights or issues involving ethnic minorities, even before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election. The article also notes that Iran has now become the largest prison for journalists and bloggers in the world, with more than 80 Iranian journalists and bloggers behind bars -- more than the number of reporters being held in Cuba and China combined. This is because any hint of critisism of the government is met with oppression. I think this would be very hard to live with. As an American, I have the constitutional right to freedom of speach. I know now that I should not take this for granted. This makes me think of he story of Maziar Bahari, a newsweek journalist that wa, for a perios of time, imprisioned at Evin Prison in Iran for 118 days, uring which he suffered severe phycological stress.

A web article I found for my research (Which I mentioned earlier) was from IFC.com, an interview with the director of "No One Knows About Persian Cats". This article truly answered one of the questions I had which was "How does censorship impact the artists of Iran?" From this interview I learned about how difficult it is for rock musicians in Iran. These Iranians must perform underground, in secret. They are held back from their dreams and cannot truly express themselves as musicians. This article has really motivated to learn more about this subject, and I thought it was very insightful, interesting interview. I am also now interested in seeing this movie.

While searching Iranian Censorship on Google News, I found a blog that had a recent post the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued a license authorizing the export of the Center’s Haystack software to Iran. No More Iranians can be thwarted by internet censorship, since this software finds loopholes in the system. It works by using encryption to hide an Iranian user’s connection to Haystack’s servers by encrypting the communications with that server within innocuous communications to unblocked sites. According to Haystack, the only way for Iran to counter Haystack would be to block all Internet access. Great news for Iranian bloggers.

I have found several other articles as well, all in my Diigo Library.


 * Part IV--What I Learned **

In writing this I-search, I learned a lot more about Censorship in Iran than expected, and read very personal accounts. I understood some of the frustrations many Iranians go through on a daily basis just to bost a plog, play a song, film a movie or report the news. I learned that any basic critisism of the government could get you arrested, and that freedowm of speach is scarce, while oppression is a common fixture. However, although the situation is dark, I have also learned that there is hope for some. A new software called Haystak is currently being developed and authorized. Haystack can help Bloggers of Iran avoid censorship by finding loopholes in the internet so that censors cannot block their blogs. Also, the stories of the musicians of Iran's underground music scene is being told in a new documentary. This movie is informing the public of the way they must work in order to even play their music at all. It really put things into perspective for me, and got me even more interested in this topic, rather than boring me suring this period of research.

__**Works Cited:**__ Julliard, Jean Francois. "Iran Silences Journalists with Jail - CNN.com." //CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News//. 17 Feb. 2010. Web. 4 Apr. 2010. [].

Peterson, Scott. "'Haystack' gives Iranian opposition hope for evading Internet censorship ." //'Haystack' gives Iranian opposition hope for evading Internet censorship /The Christian Science Monitor//. The Christian Science Monitor, 16/4/2010. Web. 21 Apr 2010. <[]>.

Singer, Matt. "Bahman Ghobadi Knows About "Persian Cats"." //IFC//. N.p., 15/04/2010. Web. 21 Apr 2010. <[]>.

Nafisi, Azar. //Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memior in Books//. New York, United States: Random House, 2003. 347. Print.

Burns, Cliff. "OFAC Licenses Exports of Anti-Censorship Software to Iran." //ExportLawBlog//. N.p., 21/04/2010. Web. 22 Apr 2010. <[]>.