''Payman'' (

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 ...

: ''Promise'') was a cultural and political magazine in Iran. It was one of the periodicals which was published and edited by Iranian religious reformist

Ahmad Kasravi Ahmad Hokmabadi Tabrizi (; 29 September 1890 – 11 March 1946), later known as Ahmad Kasravi, was a pre-eminent Iranian historian, jurist, linguist, theologian, a staunch secularist and intellectual. He was a professor of law at the University ...

in the period 1933–1942.

History and profile

The first issue of ''Payman'' appeared in December 1933. The title of the magazine was a reference to another magazine with the same name in which

Ziya Gökalp Mehmet Ziya Gökalp (born Mehmed Ziya, 23 March 1876 – 25 October 1924) was a Turkish sociologist, writer, poet, and politician. After the 1908 Young Turk Revolution that reinstated constitutionalism in the Ottoman Empire, he adopted the pen ...

, an Ottoman nationalist intellectual, published articles at the beginning of the 20th century. Kasravi's close ally Reza Soltanzadeh was the editor of ''Payman''. Nearly all the articles published in the magazine were written by Kasravi. ''Payman'' came out biweekly during the first six months. Then it was published on a monthly basis and became the official organ of the political party, Azadegan, in 1941 when Kasravi founded the party. In the first seven years the subtitle of ''Payman'' was ''gozaresh-e sharq va gharb'' (Persian: ''Account of East and West''). Then it was changed to ''dar bareh-ye shenakhtan-e jahan'' (Persian: ''On Knowing the World'') and ''gozaresh-e jahan'' (Persian: ''World Report''). ''Payman'' folded in 1942 and was succeeded by ''

Parcham Parcham (Pashto/ Dari: پرچم, ) was the more moderate socialist faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) led by Afghan communist politician Babrak Karmal. It was later turned into the Watan (Homeland) Party with a mor ...

''.

Content

Kasravi's writings in ''Payman'' outlined his general

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...

. His articles mostly contained a critical approach towards the Europeanization of Iran and the alienation of Iranian people from their own customs and traditions. Kasravi also criticized Iranian poets,

Sufis Sufism ( or ) is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, and asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are referred to as "Sufis" (from , ), and ...

and

materialism Materialism is a form of monism, philosophical monism according to which matter is the fundamental Substance theory, substance in nature, and all things, including mind, mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. Acco ...

in his writings. Other topics which he attacked in the magazine included superstitions in

Shiism Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. His lecture delivered at the Literary Society was serialized in ''Payman'' in two parts. After the publication of the first part

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Mohammad Ali Foroughi Mohammad Ali Foroughi (; early August 1877 – 26 or 27 November 1942), also known as Zoka-ol-Molk ( Persian: ذُکاءُالمُلک), was an Iranian politician, writer, freemason, Azali, and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of ...

ordered the next issue of the magazine to be censored which would cover its second part. Although the next issue was published, it did not feature the remaining part of Kasravi's lecture. In addition, ''Payman'' contained a column on international politics.

Legacy

A collection of Kasravi's writings published in ''Payman'' was printed as a book in 1965. The Chicago Persian Microfilms Project initiated by the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 1985 archived the issues of ''Payman''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Payman 1933 establishments in Iran 1942 disestablishments in Iran Ahmad Kasravi Censorship in Iran Defunct magazines published in Iran Defunct political magazines Magazines established in 1933 Magazines disestablished in 1942 Monthly magazines published in Iran Persian-language magazines Biweekly magazines