Printing and Publishing in Iran; Two Sides of Reality

The volume of books and publications published during the Islamic Republic has never reached the levels seen in the years of Ahmadinejad’s presidency. This may sound like an overstatement considering the news we hear about censorship, arrests, and restriction on permits, but based on statistics issued by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, this is a fact. The question remains, how can one explore this reality in a more revealing manner? In this short article I will attempt to shed some light on this subject.

Based on the most recent printing and publishing statistics in Iran, 51,510 book titles were published in 2005. Out of those, there were 11,915 translations and 26,131 first editions. So in total, 14,216 new books were written and published. The cumulative circulation of all books was 217,673,695 and the average per book was 4,287. Each book on average consisted of 249 pages. Total book titles published in prior years were 53,452 in 2006, 55,865 in 2007 and 34,687 in 2008.

From the 51,510 titles published in 2005, religious books, with 10,097 titles, were the number one published book type. This was followed by literature with 9,196 titles, out of which 2,244 were translations and 4,032 were reprints. So 2,920 new literature books were written and published. The field of social science was next with 6,766 titles, half translation and half reprint, with only 1,500 titles of original writing. Statistics for later years show the same diversity.

A review of statistics for the years before Ahmadinejad shows that cultural propaganda reached a new level during his administration. In 2004 a total of 41,497, and in 2003 a total of 37,564 book titles were published. In 1998 this number was around 17,000, in 1997 it was 15,000 and in 1994 only 10,000. As we can see, the volume has increased five times during the last ten years. In all these years, religious books were at the top of the list, followed by literature and social science, of which half was translations and 50 percent of the other half was reprints. (1)

A look at today’s numbers shows that, on average, book circulation is between 750 and 2000 copies. Poetry books are usually printed at below 1,000 copies. There are not many books with a circulation of over 2,000. Books on social science have a circulation of around 1,000. Fiction, if translated, is at 1,500, and if not, it is in the 1,100 range. Among these, some books have multiple prints. Those books that are known as “recreational” may reach 5,000 or more copies. Generally, recreational literature has more readers than serious literature.

During the thirty years of the Islamic Republic’s rule, Iran has never had as many publications, newspapers and books as it has today, a growth that is only significant in statistics and figures. We talked about the average number of copies of books in literature and social science, but where can one find the high volumes claimed by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance?

• Most books published by the cultural/art organizations of Tehran City Hall are printed with over 500,000 copies, such as books entitled: “The Pilgrimage of Ashura,” “The life of Imam Zaman (the twelfth Imam of Shi’a),” and “The Summary page (Kholase-e Sahife).”
• Different religious organizations also have their own publications, such as Nahjol Balagheh Foundation, Koran Foundation, Etrat-e Sepah Foundation (Family of the Army Foundation), and Al Ghadir Foundation. These are also published in over 500,000 copies.
• The centers for Islamic teachings (Dar Al Taghrib) translate and publish their own propaganda books in different languages. Since the publications of these institutes must be distributed over the entire Muslim world, the circulation of each print reaches over 500,000.
• Each of these foundations have a designated quota for paper and special bank credits, and permission to import a variety of the most modern printing equipment without any customs while using the government’s foreign exchange rate.
• The government itself publishes propaganda books in pocket sizes, on topics such as the life story of Imams, summary of key prayers, pilgrimage of Ashura, and the discourse of religious dignitaries, which are mostly distributed among government employees, in mosques, in passion play houses, in schools, and to the organizers of demonstrations and Friday prayers to be distributed to the public for free. These books are published in the millions.
• The “Art Section of the Islamic Publicity Organization” and its affiliated departments are engaged in printing and publishing of texts written by Muslim writers who are supportive of the Islamic Republic. This organization also publishes the work of members of the “Society of Islamic penmanship” and memoirs of war and revolution with circulations as high as those mentioned above. These publications find their way to the public libraries of the country.
• The organization of “City’s Publishing,” which operates under Tehran City Hall publishes propaganda books at circulations above half a million and distributes them free of charge at Friday prayers, Fetr[1]celebration prayer, collective walks, Tehran Book exhibits, parks, and even in residential areas. This organization also places these books in the “Book Baskets” inside city busses for public use.
• The Koran Foundation and Pasdaran[2] Family Foundation are among others that are constantly busy publishing books. The book Ghadir[3], the Shining of Velayat is the latest book of this foundation which its second print of 200,000 copies was just released to the market.
• Other than the government, there are many non-governmental publishers that advocate government policies and even make decisions on behalf of the government. For example the publishers Qum’s Center for Shi’a Scholarship and Astan Quds Razavi (The administrative organization in charge of Imam Reza’s Shrine) make their own decisions and no one has the authority to challenge them.
• The Shi’a sources of authority have a book called The Rituals of Hajj (the Pilgrimage to Mecca). Every year around 100,000 to 120,000 Iranians go to Mecca for the lesser pilgrimage (Tamato) and three times this number go annually for the main Pilgrimage (Umrah). By this account at least 500,000 copies of this book are sold to the pilgrims annually. Many copies also find their way to the Islamic Publicity Organization, the public libraries of the country and Iranian embassies and consulates.
• Many small publishers, who want to enjoy the government’s generosity in the Ministry of Guidance get a permit and publish a propaganda book and grab a bite from the government’s feast for insiders. The circulation of these publications exceeds 100,000 (2).
• We must not assume that the government, especially the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, is the decision maker in this process. The ultimate power and authority rests in the hands of some entities above and beyond the government. The sources of authority (marja-e taqlid) and Ayatollahs like Abol Ghasem Khaz Ali, Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, Nasser Makarem Shirazi and Ahmed Janatti constitute the network beyond the government who, in conjunction with their commercial engagements, attend to the business of publicity and propaganda. Ayatollah Khaz Ali has founded the international organization of “Al Ghadir” which has branches in the capitals of all the provinces of Iran. Rumors say that he is the one who appointed the Director of the “Ghadir Investment Company.” This company is one of the affiliates of Saderat Bank and one of the thirty largest commercial institutions of Iran. Many companies engaged in the cement, petrochemical, and food industry are exclusively under the control of this investment company. Al Ghadir is an organization over and above the government of Iran with activities in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and …(3)
• Rituals such as “appeal prayers” and “Ashura pilgrimage” are publicized and promoted in government offices formally and systematically. No wonder the circulation of these two and also “The Summary of Mafatih al Jenan (Keys to Heaven,” and The life of Imam Hussein are over one million. Every government employee receives at least five donated books per year. The “Welfare Offices” are mainly responsible for arranging pilgrimage tours for employees to Mashhad, Karbala, Syria, or for the Tamato Hajj and Umreh Hajj. Every week there are tours to Jamkaran. On some evenings, Jamkaran is visited by 400,000 to 1,000,000 pilgrims. It is quite normal to distribute books of propaganda, prayers and pilgrimage among visitors.   
• The dissertations of many religious authorities are translated in almost every language and are submitted to Iran’s cultural representatives abroad and the Islamic Republic embassies to be distributed for free to interested individuals.
• We must not forget the circulation volume of textbooks and other educational material. For example “Imam Khomeini’s last will and testament” is taught in universities as a course and all students must pass it. Also Velayat-e Faqih (Supreme Leadership) in a book written by Abbas Ali Amid Zanjani, or The Analytical History of Islam written by Seyed Jafar Shahidi are two of the general courses all students must take and pass. These books are printed in millions.
• The books published by educational institutions specializing in college, higher education and doctorate degrees entrance examinations have an outstanding market. One of these organizations called “Ghalam Chi” grew so big that it was in danger of its assets being confiscated using the Reza Khan method. The owner finally announced an endowment of his entire organization in order to save it from confiscation and other entrapments. (4)

1. Based on the latest statistics of “The Union of Publishers and Book Stores of Tehran,” there are 8,900 publishers and 2,500 book stores in the country. Mr. Mohsen Parviz, the Assistant Secretary of Islamic Guidance, repeated the same statistics in his interview with the ISNA site (Islamic Society of North America) and said that one thousand more applicants are waiting for their publisher’s permit. It is said that around 6,400 existing publishers are inactive. Based on the guidelines of the Ministry of Guidance every publisher must publish at least four books per year, otherwise their permit will be revoked. If we remember that the government only allows a select group of publishers to use its subsidies and to purchase cheap paper, we can see the truth more clearly and find the statistics more meaningful. The Assistant Secretary talked about a 76 billion tuman subsidy that was spent in this field last year. The small publishers are government employees or other affiliated groups who use the business of publishing to take advantage of the government’s aid. Some of those who receive subsidized paper may never publish a book and end up selling the paper in the open market and submit a bogus report to the Ministry of Guidance for some imaginary publication. These individuals also use government subsidies to import printers free of customs and sell them at huge profits.
2. The statistics are from the site of “Khaneh Ketab” (House of Books).
3. You can refer to the interview of Ayatollah Khaz Ali, the Secretary General of Al Ghadir International Foundation, in “Shabestan” site: After saying this foundation is active in 29 provinces in Iran, he added that it is also active in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Syria, Lebanon, Hejaz and Heidarabad and is expanding its activity to China and Austria.
4. To know more about “Ghalam Chi Educational Foundation, a public endowment” and “Ghalam Chi Endowment” see their blog.
5. Part of the information presented in this article was collected with the help of friends who are involved in publishing and printing in Iran.