Iran's Alternative Calendar

Honesty and justice in reciting the truth have always been among the most praised basic characteristics of those who write history. Yet, have the incidents of our contemporary history been justly and carefully recorded in Persian calendars? Indeed, are tragedies such as the mass murders of political prisoners, the “chain murders” of intellectuals and the shooting of protestors in the streets not history? Is the importance of individuals and historic movements only rooted in their collaboration with the ruling power? How come the names of individuals and opposing institutions are never mentioned in the calendars of the Islamic Republic? Do those who lie to survive have the power to reject history? The Alternative Calendar is a response by the Green youth of Iran to these kinds of questions. It is also a narration by the voice of those who were eliminated or defeated in the thirty one year-old history of the Islamic Republic...

“The Alternative Calendar” is the title of a Persian calendar that has recently come out with a different look and a fresh perspective on the historic events of contemporary Iran.  

This calendar is the product of the work of a few Green students who reside in France and some other friends and colleagues in Iran. These are students, who in accordance with the ways of activism in Iran, have refrained from publishing their names.

The timeline of this calendar has a unique outlook on the historic incidents and events in contemporary Iran. As such, the main focus on this timeline is the events that have taken place in the past thirty one years of the Islamic Republic.

The young producers of this calendar have tried to record those incidents and events that have found little—or no—space in previous calendars. Recording history is a form of resistance against the cruelty and oppression of the current ruling power. This calendar is also an attempt to capture and record the crimes committed by the current religious rulers against the people of our land and time. This calendar captures events starting with the mass murders that took place in 1988, all the way to the exceptional protests of Iranians in the aftermath of the June 2009 presidential elections in Iran.

As an example, let us start by narrating a few important events that occurred in the months of August-September. The Alternative Calendar mentions the disappearance of Firuz Davani, a political and cultural activist, on August 25, 1998. Davani’s disappearance took place during the period of chain murdering of intellectuals (1998). This calendar also records the beginning of interrogations and mass executions of leftist prisoners on August 27, 1988 and the official launch of the One Million Signatures Campaign for the Repeal of Discriminatory Laws on August 27, 2006. Another example of other events recorded in the August-September of this calendar is the murder of Hamid Haji Zadeh, an intellectual author and poet, by the intelligence service on September 22, 1998. The aforementioned events have never found any space in previous calendars.

One of the Iranian students who participated in the production team of this calendar, in an interview with Gozaar, defined the mission of the publication of the calendar as “the apprehension of history.” He said:

During the days that the excitement of the post-election protests was on the decline, the more abstract conversations among the youth took a toll. Those days the underlying themes of our discussions would revolve around us trying to find solutions, defining the dos and don’ts and understanding the historic aspects of our time ...It was during these conversations that we felt that we ought to record the incidents of 2009 so they remain in history... We began our work after the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution (February 11, 2010). We spent one month on research and planning and then began to write narrations and publish the calendar. Our efforts resulted in this calendar that we have made available to the public.

This Iranian student also speaks about the sources and historic evidence used by their team and says, “We have had the chance to live in a time of many individuals and events whose work and stories are historic. We were also lucky to currently be living in the city where many of them live. Therefore, the bulk of our work is based on conversations (oral history) with individuals whose presence in the events of the past has shaped our contemporary history. In addition, we referred to pre-existing documents of the Islamic Revolution, memoirs of prominent individuals and internationally recognized academic books.”

This Iranian student who resides in Paris informed us about the final stages of designing a special weblog that is to serve as a central cyber space for all the available information and histories—with citations— of this calendar.

The Alternative Calendar goes beyond its primary mission to capture post-Revolutionary events and presents other forms of innovation. For instance, there are designs and illustrations in this calendar that, unlike previous models, take on a fresh and contemporary approach to various contexts and events. The chosen graphic designs included in this calendar are a collection of designs and illustrations related to the Green Movement that have all been presented in the past year. Among these designs, there are illustrations of Neda and other victims of the path to freedom. Moreover, there are illustrations of concepts such as “the freedom of women” and “people’s compassionate cooperation.” In sum, the topics and concepts represented in these designs communicate the primary concerns and demands of the thoughtful youth of today’s Iran.

According to the youth engaged in this project, the twelve different designs included in the Alternative Calendar were selected from among more than fifty designs submitted to the team. These youth have also intentionally included designs that capture different aspects of the Green Movement so that this calendar serves as a legacy of the time during which the contemporary youth of Iran thoughtfully, courageously and peacefully stood up against ignorance, injustice and armed violence.