Cartoonist Nikahang Kowsar -- Looking Backward: 2009

 

by NIKAHANG KOWSAR

01 Jan 2010 21:56

and @thywillB1

As a political cartoonist forced to leave the country in 2003 after receiving a death threat, I should probably hate the rulers in Iran. Though I am not a big fan, I love them for all of their rich contributions to material for me and my colleagues. Truly, how can I hate the people who have kept my cartooning spirit alive?

Ten years ago, a crocodile drawing sent me directly to the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. It was a cartoon I had drawn in January 2000. The crocodile was depicted as strangling a reporter and shedding "Crocodile" tears, all while feigning his own victimization. We named him "Professor Crocodile," a name that rhymed with the title of a powerful Ayatollah who constantly attacked the press with spurious allegations. Ayatollah "Mesbah Yazdi" (from Yazd) was simply called "Ostad Mesbah" (professor Mesbah); the character in my cartoon was named "Ostad Temsah" (professor Crocodile)….

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legions of supporters:

 

62.6%

 

At least one big fan

 

too soft?

Tiananmen square Iranian style:

FRONTLINE: Tehran Bureau: Looking Backward: 2009 | PBS

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