The assassination of administrators of the website and publications of AvayeBuf

Researcher(author): Sam Bina

Narrator: Sound of liberty

AvayeBuf as a cultural group has started its enlightened political and social activities since 2003 secretly and underground in Iran. This collection was founded by three active and persistent members, namely Ghasem, Houriyeh, and Sasan, who are members of the Gharedaghi family. With their capabilities and sacrifices, these members have been the building blocks for these publications and have given stability by sacrificing and spending time in the way of preserving freedom of expression and the free circulation of information. The organizers of this collection believe that the most necessary cultural and campaign work at this point in Iran is to inform the people.

The lack of political parties cultural communities and popular institutions over the past hundred years has turned Iran into a cesspool of superstitions and blackness where only worms(metaphorically) like mullahs and anti-people fascist movements can grow. The future of such societies with people immersed in superstitions, ignorance, and religious extremism is doomed.

Ghasem Gharedaghi writes in the introduction of the book «Gorab» about the formation of the group:

Since it is very difficult and dangerous to carry out these activities in Iran, therefore, following the movement of the «White Rose» student group during the Nazi era in Germany, we started working as a family in the field of producing and publishing banned(prohibited) books. In the first years of the 21st century, in the crowd of government lies and religious oppression, and after day and night efforts in the university and the tired society of Iran in awareness and fighting against ignorance, a group of young people gathered together who have a common pain and everyone In some way, has been hit by the censorship blade of the mullah regime and they are looking to be able to provide everyone with the ideas and articles or useful books that they have access to and have been wounded by the censorship blade. Due to the[cruel] ruling system of the religious totalitarian system in Iran, the publication of news and books is completely under the control of the government, and powerful censorship filters, both in the Ministry of Guidance and in monitoring the press, exert their power and prevent the dissemination of content other than what they consider [to be] appropriate. Therefore, a very difficult but practical project and way of struggle is started so that information and books are easily available to people. In the book of Avesta (the holy book of Zoroastrians), the owl is mentioned under the name Ashuzhet and it is called the escaper of demons and filth (it is the exact opposite in Islam.). Considering that the activities of this group are also in the field of debunking superstitions and fighting against superstitions and Islamic rules dominating Iran and its mission is to try to spread awareness and its goal is to escape the demons and religious filth that rule over the people of Iran, so considering the proximity of these definitions A metaphor for the group and its activities takes the name of «AvayeBuf»(the voice of wisdom).

During the period of several years from the beginning of the work, it is formed completely independently and these activities continue in a separate and self-governing manner, and then in various ways by groups that are outside Iran and have access to banned books and or the writers who were in exile outside of Iran are met and help is sought from them to expand their activities. The revolution happens with these small movements, and at the same time, after a revolution, the continuation of this field is urgently needed to reach society. The main goal of every Iranian who is tired and feels responsible for the current state of Iran and the living conditions of his countrymen both outside and inside Iran is to overthrow this superstitious Islamic regime…

Talking about study statistics in Iran is perhaps the most repeated discussion, but considering the existing conditions and the expansion of internet networks and various media, people try to use these ways to access more information. These sources of information, news, and analytical references gradually turn people into passive consumers to meet their cognitive and mental needs. Most people prefer to sit and listen to the news and get the information they need from government-controlled media and social networks. In a situation where the publication of even the smallest content and book that contradicts the holy things in Iran arouses the anger of the regime, they do not ignore it and immediately try to stop these types of activities. And they use all their strength to become a barrier to people’s awareness. (The same happens in all totalitarian regimes. In Iran, the Islamic regime can easily use Islamic laws to silence any kind of opposition.)

They are constantly closing Telegram channels, condemning their administrators and operators to long-term imprisonment, filtering sites, and sending threatening messages to those who publish the slightest expression of opinion contrary to their opinion in cyberspace. …»

By printing, translating, and producing literary and political books and banned works of great scholars of science, literature, and politics, the activists in this collection have taken great steps toward promoting the culture and literature of the Persian-speaking society. In the beginning, the activities of this group did not spread much, but gradually they were able to gather many fans around them by underground publishing of forbidden and inaccessible books in Iran, and in a short period, they became the [center of] attention of many book lovers.

Critical works of art, the basis of the sensitivity of the Ministry of Information (intelligence agency)

*The Ministry of Information is the intelligence agency of the Islamic regime. After the revolution in 1979 in Iran, they replaced SAVAK [intelligence agency of the previous regime]. This Agency has learned and gained experience through communist intelligence agencies around the world. (written by the translator)

The group’s activities were put under the microscope of the intelligence services by showing a critical painting on the Internet about the Prophet of Islam and his unconventional relationship with his daughter, likening Muhammad and Ali to a pig (pig is considered a dirty animal in Islam). They (Islamists and governors) wanted Sharia punishment for the painter and site administrators. Sometime later, Ayat Azam, Nouri Hamdani, and Makarem Shirazi, under the pressure of the students of the Hozahs [Tollab – those who study Islam and later become Ayatollah], issued a verdict(fatwa) to kill the painter and the administrators of the site for the crime of Saba’anbi (insulting the Prophet and imams – this crime has the capital punishment).

*The painting and a tweet regarding the Islamic crime can be seen in the following pictures:

Fatwa of Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi and Nourihamdani about the painting of Fatima, the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter (these two mullahs are grand mullahs whose fatwas should be done by the Shia Muslim ummah)

«When I started painting, at first I only looked at it as an art and hobby, but with the combination of art and struggle, my view of art and painting as a hobby changed. Painting became a means of struggle and raising awareness. I have been active in the field of painting for about 20 years. When I was in Iran, I created several works of art in criticism of the backward laws of retribution and the meaningless science of hadith (critically there is no science inside the realm of hadith), and a fatwa of apostasy was issued for one of these paintings by Ayatollah Nouri Hamdani and Makarem Shirazi. I have created many works in criticism and have protested against backward Islamic laws. Among them are the laws of stoning, Muhammad’s marriage with 6-year-old Aisha, Muhammad’s abuse of his daughter Fatima, and his evil[satanic] verses. I have always tried to make a weapon from canvas, paint, and pen to fight against this medieval black (dark could have been better) government. In connection with the painting that I received the death penalty as its punishment: this painting in 2014 criticized the relationship between Muhammad and his son-in-law Ali and his daughter Fatemeh by breaking Taboos in this case. A picture of this painting was posted on Facebook with a fake name, and in 2015, Ayatollah Nouri Hamdani issued a fatwa that the creator of this painting had been an apostate (murtad – someone who has left Islam and should be punished by being sentenced and put to death). The double oppression of women in the medieval society of Iran and the pressure that this section of the society exerts on them due to the dominance of Islamic laws, made me use my art to defend the rights of the oppressed people without fear of the petrified mullahs. I use it, especially for women.” (Interview with Horiyeh Gharedaghi, creator of critical works of art on Islam. – Ali Zaidouni / Germany – 2019)

After the publication of this work on the Internet, the discussion about the character of the Prophet’s daughter and the truths that have been hidden from the people for centuries, as well as the fatwa that was issued against the artist and the officials of the site, rose. The administrators of the site, who felt threatened, closed and suspended the activities for a while. The main activists left the country for a while and settled in the neighboring country of Iran so that they could return to Iran after a while when the situation calmed down.

Production and publication of the book «Satanic Verses» by Salman Rushdie

In 2004, this group decided to edit, produce, and publish the book «Satanic Verses» by Salman Rushdie 2004, with the expansion of facilities and activities, while being aware of the dangers and consequences of the work, and on the other hand, the need for easier access to the people of science and literature, especially as the book-reading section of the society grows.

The Persian translation of Ayat Shaitani (Satanic verses), which was first published by Roshank Dariush (Iranian) and by Nima Publishing House in Germany, had been prepared in a hurry, had many flaws, and had a completely unprofessional text. In addition to that, the translator had removed some of the paragraphs of the 9th chapter of the book, which are related to the death of Salahuddin Chamcha’s father and have a high literary value, for unknown reasons! The book was full of spelling and typographical errors, for example, «Msulma» was sometimes written as Musalma and sometimes as Musalma, «Coptic Mary» was written as Maryam Kiti, and hundreds of other things…or the terms included in the book were sometimes translated incorrectly. For example, somewhere in the book, instead of Uthman’s cow, Uthman’s donkey was used, and even more ridiculously, somewhere the translator talked about the donkey’s horns. Therefore, the AvayeBuf team decided to review and correct the translation of the book and make it available to those interested in the book in the form of printed, electronic, and audio versions.

«The book has been translated, edited, and corrected again by the AvayeBuf team, and the text of the book has been adapted to the English version. The group worked for three months to type and edit the book Satanic Verses, and during this time, the book was edited many times and compared to the original text. The text, beliefs, dictations of English words and phrases, footnotes, and the way of punctuation of the typed text were matched with the English text of the book. For example, you made the paragraphing and division of parts of a chapter the same as the paragraphing and division of the main book, although during this we realized that the translator (Ms. Roshank Irani / Roshank Dariush) for some reasons (probably the rush to print the book) some of the paragraphs Chapter 9, which was related to the death of Saladin Chamcha’s father and was very beautiful and emotional, has deleted!!!!…» (Satanic Verses Book – AvayeBuf Publishing – Denmark – publisher’s statement)

After days of continuous efforts, printed copies of the book were obtained in an underground form with the cover image of Ayatollah Behjat Dast’s treatise on explanation of problems. Interestingly, the book was most welcomed in the provinces of Kurdistan, Gilan, and Mazandaran. Since printing and sending the book to the petitioners was associated with a very high risk, it was decided to make the book available to those interested in audio via the AvayeBuf website.

After trying for a long time to convince someone to undertake the audio performance of the book, these requests were unsuccessful due to the risks and consequences it had in Iran. Therefore, the main members of the group personally decided to do it. The reading of the book was done in Ghasem’s voice, and Sasan, who studied computer engineering, used his experience to edit and change the voice to reduce the risk of identification.

After some time, the produced files were distributed by different sites and channels, and over time, it became very difficult and almost impossible for the group to work in Iran, because the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran, all over the world, is looking for the author of the book and Its publishers were on the move, Salman Rushdie, under the protection of the police, changed his location several times within a month, the Japanese publisher of the book was killed, and the Italian and Norwegian publishers were seriously injured, printing and distributing the book inside Iran was not a small task in the hands of the Intelligence services and the Intelligence Corps. Being caught in this relationship and caught in the clutches of these petrifiers (those who think and act like they are living in medieval ages), these anti-human beings, promised a dark and painful end.

In 2015, the central members of the group, who felt threatened, left the country and after staying in Turkey for a few months, to find a safe place to continue their activities, they went to Europe and settled in Denmark. In the new country, by using the free space and the created conditions, the activities take on a new and bolder phase.

«When we were in Iran, it was very difficult to access these books, and we usually received them through e-mail and the Internet from foreign sources. For the past three years, when we left Iran and made our activities public, we contacted various publishing houses and authors who had banned books and were outside Iran and requested them to provide us with their books so that we could publish them in audio and written form. We asked the authors who were inside Iran and could not publish their books to get their permission to print, through various notices, and to send us their works for publication. We have many books in the archive that were sent to us by different authors from Iran, but because they(authors) live in Iran and there is a fear that there will be problems for them, we have published these books without the author’s name. (Ideas and Roots program – 124 – Vision TV – Siamak Sotoudeh – Ghasem GhareDaghi)

Three years have passed since they left the country and they felt a bit of security and peace in Denmark, they resumed audio production and publishing books, but this peace was before the storm (a proverb which means sth bad is going to happen – Islamic regime had some plans for the publication in Denmark).

A terrorist attack on the residence of the electronic publishers (AvayeBuf) in the Persian language of the book Ayat Shaitani (Satanic verses)

On the night of April 24, 2018, in the middle of the night, armed terrorists attacked the residence of the administrators of the website and publications of AvayeBuf in Denmark by shooting and throwing grenades. In this attack, one person who was there at that moment was injured and was taken to the hospital, heavy damage was done to the equipment, books, and computers in the place. The Danish police arrived at the scene of the incident and started a search to find the perpetrators of the attack. In their investigation to find terrorists sent by the Islamic Republic and questioning the witnesses at the scene, the police concluded that there were two attackers.

Danish anti-terror police at the scene of the assassination, TV news related to the assassination

At that time, the right-wing Danish government refused to name the Islamic Republic as a defendant in this case, with the excuse that because the terrorists have not been arrested yet, so no one can be accused. Referring to the fact that after the assassination of Mykonos (another terrorist attack carried out by the Islamic regime in Germany), in which case, the German judge issued a warrant to arrest Iran’s ruling authorities on charges of committing terrorist acts, the Iranian government promised in an unwritten agreement that no more terrorist operations would be carried out on the territory of the European Union. 

This was while the terrorists of the Islamic Republic shot and killed «Ali Motamed» (Reza Kolahi Samadi – a member of the People’s Mojahedin Organization) on December 24, 2014 (equivalent to December 15, 2015) in the city of Almira, Holland, in the street. As explained earlier, in connection with the assassination of William Nygaard, the head of Escheog Publishing in 1993, the Norwegian police took the same procedure and assumed that William Nygaard’s assassination was a personal settlement!!

([1] https://www.tv2nord.dk/artikel/mand-bag-skyderi-mod-asylcenter-varetaegtsfaengslet-i-fire-uger

[1] https://www.tv2nord.dk/bronderslev/skud-afgivet-mod-personer-pa-asylcenter)

In an interview with Roshangar Monthly, Ghasem GhareDaghi says about the results of research in Denmark:

        «During our follow-up with the Danish police, they stated that during the contact we had with the Iranian embassy in Denmark, the Iranian embassy denied any connection with this terrorist act and did not accept responsibility for it. This speech is very far from reason and logic. Because the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has not accepted responsibility for any of the assassinations it has carried out. (Ghasem GhareDaghi’s interview with Roshangar Monthly – No. 132)

Because experience has proven that economic interests are more important than saving human lives for European governments, the central members of AvayeBuf, after their residence in Denmark were identified and targeted by agents of the Islamic Republic, and could be traded again at any moment. to be placed, after months of secret residence in Denmark, they left the land of that country forever.

The administrators of the site and the publications of AvayeBuf have published many valuable books for enlightenment awareness and access to the truth of political, historical, social, and religious issues and currents, most of which have faced the excommunication of religious circles inside and outside the country. These activists and true sympathizers, with all their busyness to publish the banned books of domestic and foreign authors, ironically also have a hand in the fire and have offered many books and works of their own to those interested in politics, history and criticism of religions are Among its leading examples, we can mention the multi-volume collection «Genocide of Iranians» by Huriyeh GhareDaghi, «Ali Qatal al-Arab» by Ghasem GhareDaghi, and Violence in the Qur’an by Sasan GhareDaghi.