Mohammad Masud (1905–1948) was an Iranian journalist and writer. He published some books and launched a weekly newspaper, '' Mard-i Imruz'' (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: ''The Man of Today''). He was an ardent critic of the Pahlavi rule and

Ahmad Qavam Ahmad Qavam (2 January 1873 – 23 July 1955; fa, احمد قوام), also known as Qavam os-Saltaneh ( fa, قوام السلطنه), was a politician who served as Prime Minister of Iran five times. Early life Qavam was born in 1873 to a p ...

. Masud was assassinated in February 1948.

Biography

Masud was born in 1905. He went to Europe to study journalism in 1935 when he was awarded a government scholarship and returned to Iran in 1938 following his graduation. He applied for a state institution for employment, but his application was denied. After this incident he became a critic of

Reza Shah , , spouse = Maryam Savadkoohi Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlu (queen consort) Turan Amirsoleimani Esmat Dowlatshahi , issue = Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Princess Shams Mohammad Reza Shah Princess Ashraf Prince Ali Reza Prince Gholam Reza P ...

. In 1942 Masud published an autobiography entitled ''Guha'i keh dar Jahannam Miruyand'' (Persian: ''Flowers which Grow in Hell''). Next year he published another book, ''Bahar-i Umr'' (Persian: ''The Spring of Life''). In 1942 he also started his journalism career launching a weekly newspaper entitled ''Mard-i Imruz'' in which he published critical articles and political cartoons which targeted

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Ahmad Qavam and his cabinet. Journalist and future foreign minister

Hossein Fatemi Hossein Fatemi ( fa, حسین فاطمی; also Romanized as Hoseyn Fātemi; 10 February 1917 – 10 November 1954) was an Iranian scholar. A close associate of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, he proposed nationalization of Iranian oil and gas ...

was one of Masud's close friends who contributed to ''Mard-i Imruz''. In October 1947 Masud publicly argued in the paper that Qavam should be murdered due to the oil concession treaty with the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Homa Katouzian Homa Katouzian ( Persian: همايون کاتوزیان; born Homayoun Katouzian on 17 November 1942) is an economist, historian, sociologist and literary critic, with a special interest in Iranian studies. Katouzian's formal academic training ...

argues that Masud employed his paper to get money from the rich whom he attacked through sensational news about them. Four months later on 13 February 1948 Masud was assassinated by a squad led by

Noureddin Kianouri Noureddin Kianouri ( fa, نورالدین کیانوری; 1915–1999) was an Iranian construction engineer, Urban planner Professor of Bauakademie der DDR in Berlin and a communist political leader. He studied first at University of Tehran unti ...

. The group was linked to the

Tudeh Party The Tudeh Party of Iran ( fa-at, حزب تودۀ ایران, Ḥezb-e Tūde-ye Īrān, lit=Party of the Masses of Iran) is an Iranian communist party. Formed in 1941, with Soleiman Mirza Eskandari as its head, it had considerable influence in i ...

. His assassination was the first of the political killings which continued into the 1950s in Iran. Hossein Fatemi was delivering a speech in a ceremony for Masud at his grave on 13 February 1952 when he became a target of the assassination attempt by a member of the Fedayan-e Islam. Although he survived this attack, he was severely injured.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masud, Mohammad 20th-century Iranian writers 20th-century newspaper founders 1905 births 1948 deaths Assassinated Iranian journalists Iranian dissidents