Hammed is mostly
known for his research and scholarship in the fields of gender, social
movements and exile. Some know of his translations too. But not many are
familiar with his journalistic background.
In the 80’s as a
sympathizer of the O.I.P.F.G. (Minority), he was on the editorial board of the
Jahan magazine, the organ of “Student Supporters of O.I.P.F.G. in Europe and
the United States. The organization’s split in 1985 differed from previous ones
in that it turned bloody in Kurdistan. This dreadful event I consider as the
end of an era for Iran’s revolutionary Left.
It was a time to contemplate. The vanguard elements of this movement had
to reflect upon the causes of a regressive trend that brought about the
failure. Research and theoretical work was the order of the day. A new
beginning was to come.
Hammed joined
this new wave. With a few of his old comrades he undertook the preliminary work
for the publication of a Persian journal of Theoretical Research. My research
has not produced information on the exact date of its publication; a reflection
of exile where traces of identity are easily lost. Though we know the first
issue came to life sometime in 1988 in Boston, Massachusetts. Porsa was the title,
Quest. The name speaks for itself; a quest for the many questions the left
leaning Iranian intellectuals had to investigate, study and find answer for
before rising anew. I wish I knew exactly what questions were examined in the
first issue. However, through a letter dated December 22, 1988 from a reader,
Bagher Momeni the renowned historian, a general idea emerges as to the preface
and some of the articles of that first issue. Above all we come to understand
that Porsa perceives “the origin of all the problems of the revolutionary Left
“in “the crisis and poverty of theory”. To this effect there are two forty
paged articles and two translations; one from Engels (Fredrick) and the other
from Thompson (E.P?). Through Bagher
Momeni’s letter we also discover that Porsa hopes to become a “loud-speaker to
reflect the viewpoints and examination of the past, present and the future of
the Left”; yet avoid getting “involved in habitual polemics”. The answer to
Bagher Momeni, appearing on the last pages of Porsa No 2, which we have access
to, is also revealing:
“We are of the
intention to turn Porsa into a means of communication as well as a pedagogic
journal for all forces faithful and committed to the cause of the working
class. We began publishing this journal only as a consequence of a necessity
that has become every moment more crucial with any blow and any split. We were
hoping that those comrades who share our belief in the necessity of a serious
and committed work on scientific and pedagogic problems of Marxism and strive
to overcome the extreme cultural poverty of the Iranian revolutionary Left -
wherever they are under this vast sky- not deny us their helping hand.
That we are not
up to putting in print “cheap polemics” is precisely a result of our
commitment. Every one knows that which is abundant in publications of the
Iranian Left is the settling of scores with one or another, without learning
any lessons from the problems of the movement. It is our aim to find a
way out, by learning from the shortcomings
and wrongdoings of the Iranian revolutionary Left…
If our knowledge
of the first issue comes in bits and pieces, the second issue we know in its
entirety. It is book size in 172 pages. The cover is blue, with a black and
white question mark at its heart. Right under the question mark, in a space
between two black and white stripes is inscribed: Journal of Theoretical
Research, Number 2, Winter1989. The
next line reads: Special Issue on Women’s Question. As we turn the cover we
learn that the journal has a council of writers (Shoraye Nevisandegan) whose
names do not appear but are “entitled to edit incoming manuscripts”. Price of a
single issue is the equivalent of 5 US dollars. The subscription rate for 4
issues is the equivalent to 20 US dollars. Thus we find Porsa is a quarterly.
What strikes
immediate attention on the opposite page is the black band across the top. In a
framed paragraph that follows, we read: “In the strife to prepare this issue,
we were informed Mansour Yaghouty, son of the masses and revolutionary writer,
was also sent to the slaughterhouse of capitalism and reaction, like thousands
of other militants. We dedicate this
issue to the memory of Mansour and all blood throbbing victims of this new
onslaught of the regime. Honored is their memory and long lasting their path”.
On the following
page we find the Table of Contents: Preface by the Council of Writers, pages
1-12; Feminism and Socialism: From the Era of Enlightenment to the First World
War, H. S. Roja, pages 11-81; Thoughts
on Women and Society, Eleanor Marks-Aveling and Edward Aveling translated by
H.S. Roja, pages 81-107; Communism and the Family, Alexandra Kollontai,
translated by H.S. Roja, pages 107-122; Women in the Writings of Akhoundzadeh, Hamid Parsa, pages 122-140; Political Roles of Iranian Village Women,
Mary Elaine Hegland translated by R. Ajkan, pages 140-161; Up in the Mountains
all is Different, Maria Lupe translated
by M, pages 161-169; From the Readers
and with them, pages 169-172 and
Sketches by Bijan Assadipour, pages 76-80 and M, pages 126-129 are the
last two items on this Table.
The name S. H. Roja that appears frequently
is none other than Hammed’s. He chose
the suffix Roja from the dialect of his native land Mazanderan, a province in
northern Iran. A morning star that heralds the light of dawn, Roja was a
perfect pen name for a left leaning Iranian intellectual who wanted to
contribute to the reconstruction of the Iranian Left movement.
The essence of
this contribution is manifested in the preface that starts with commemorating
the 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners all over Iran and
honoring victims of this unprecedented crime in Iran’s modern history. Although
it does not waiver in the least bit to condemn the criminal regime of the
Islamic Republic of Iran, Porsa dares dig beyond the political sphere and
examine the cultural roots of this horrendous crime.
“We continue to
be of the opinion that the extent of the regime’s brutality is a sign of
cultural poverty in our country as well. That is why the more the regime treads
on very basic human rights, the more resolute we become in the belief …that we
should insist more on the principles of democracy, freedom and the necessity
for cultural advancement.”
On this premise
Porsa determines… “The endeavor to disseminate the idea of abolishing capital
punishment is as necessary as the assessment of the State…and the study of the
theories of imperialism as urgent as the review and appraisal of the thoughts
of Hafez, Mowlana, Khayyam and Sa’di.
This approach and
emphasis in Porsa on culture and cultural dimensions of socio-political
phenomena, extending even to the realm of theory is central and the underlying
theme in all its articles. In so doing Porsa attempts to remove this deficiency
of the Iranian Left and bring to light the importance of critical approach in
tackling backward elements of the dominant culture.
“Our
revolutionary Left has always evaded confronting the cultural beliefs of the
masses in general and views on the men- women relationship in particular as a
measure to avoid keeping away and driving off people from the forces of the
Left. This approach ….. Is rooted in an idealistic and populist interpretation
of the concept of hegemony amongst the forces of the Left. An interpretation
that seeks establishing hegemony in the working class movement through keeping
silent on many controversial and sensitive issues of society. If the masses are
sensitive towards religion, the examination of religion and struggle against
its superstitions and reactionary ideas must be shunned. If people are
sensitive towards problems related to the two sexes, the situation should not
be antagonized… This line of march has had no outcome other than the Left
losing its identity and facing defeat of its policies. The passive cultural and
ideological policy of the Left instead of ensuring proletarian leadership for
Iran’s revolutionary Left ,became an agent that turned it to a docile follower
of the spontaneous movement of the masses. ….”
This brilliant
analysis carries the clue to the understanding of one of the important reasons
the secular forces could not exert leadership of the anti dictatorial struggle
of the Iranian people against the Shah’s regime and why the Shiite clergy won
the hegemony of the revolution.
Had the liberals,
democrats and Left forces paid attention to the “cultural poverty” of the
Shah’s Iran, had they took to themselves the task of “cultural advancement” of
a society that had lost its identity, had they waged a struggle against the
fanatic and superstitious clergy while fighting the Shah’s regime, the destiny
of the Iranian revolution would have been radically different.
Perhaps nothing
manifests this paradigm of the February Revolution of 1979 better than the question
of women. Porsa dedicated a whole issue to this question that still “is a conjuncture of the most important and
most essential theoretical and practical problems of the revolution”. Reviewing the articles of this issue leaves
no doubt as to the importance of the cultural factor in the subjugation of
women. Obscurantism, religious fanaticism, patriarchism and patriarchal family
are seriously challenged in article after article. While “confronting backward
beliefs of each one of us” Iranians, is pronounced as the precondition of
fundamental change in gender relations.
The critical
examination of cultural factors,
excavation of cultural roots of political phenomena, and compassionate criticisms of the
shortcomings of progressive social movements so well propounded in Porsa, became in my opinion, a contribution and trademark of Hammed in his post Porsa intellectual
endeavors. His critical examination of the notion of “sole representative” 1 as
synonymous to the stifling of all other voices within the Palestinian
Movement, and his profound and
courageous criticism of the slogan “
Will kill, will kill one who killed my brother” 2 chanted in the Iranian student uprising of July
1999, are cases in point.
I have made no
mention of other articles Hammed wrote for Porsa, as I could not find any.
However, it is interesting to know that on the very last page of the journal we
come across “ Will Read in the Next Issues of Porsa” followed by 1) The independent Left and the crisis of
identity 2)The Left, democratic struggle and the struggle of for Democracy 3)
The Left and the women’s movement 4)Islam: socialism or capitalism? 5)
Epistemology: A review of Thomas Cohen’s theory and its application in social
sciences 6) Is Quantum mechanics a theory? 7) Class science and the development
of science 8) On the laws of the development of science 9) Islam and Gender 10)
A debate on house labor, Christine Delphy, Mary McIntosh…11) Women’s sexuality
in Fascist ideology, Masciocchi 12) Sexuality and the formation of women’s
behavior in the working class neighborhoods of Tehran, Janet Bauer 13) The
stories of Mr. Quiner, B. Brecht 14) A debate on responsibility in literature
and art, Walter Benjamin and Theodore Adorno 15) Stagnation and progression of
Marxism (Rosa Luxembourg) 16) How Iskara was nearly extinguished, V.I. Lenin17)
Mayakovski and the poetry of revolution.
Did Hammed ever
write, finish or publish any of the above articles? Was there a third issue or
did Porsa remain unfinished as many of his writings; like his short lived life?
This valuable “Persian Journal of Theoretical Research” too, came to its
immature end as another sad characteristic of exile, as Hammed’s book of life.
29 October 2005