Turban knocking
{{Short description|Protest method involving removing or knocking-off the clerical headdress of a Shia mullah}}
{{Expand Persian|date=January 2023}}
File:Akhoond 30 ((Mullah, Clergy, روحانی).jpg
File:Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi.jpg, as a high level mullah, bestows a turban to a new mullah in the "Ceremony of Putting on a Turban".]]
Ammāmeparāni (Persian:عمامهپرانی; "turban throwing", "knocking off the turban"), often referred to as turban knocking in English, is a protest action by Iranians in which they throw the turban off the head of a mullah (Persian: Akhund) in order to express their disgust with the Shia clergy and therefore insult it.{{cite web | url=https://www.politico.eu/article/fear-of-the-regime-is-eroding-in-iran/ | title=Fear of the regime is eroding in Iran | date=4 November 2022 }} The action is normally done through the protester running past the subject, knocking the headdress while continuing to run off to avoid capture. During the Mahsa Amini protests in Iran of 2022, people would take videos doing this action, publishing them on social media, resulting in a brief popularization of the protest method.{{cite news |title=عمامهپرانی به ترکیه رسید |url=https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/1693846/%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87-%D9%BE%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%AA%D8%B1%DA%A9%DB%8C%D9%87-%D8%B1%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%AF |access-date=11 November 2022 |work=Horriat |publisher=khabaranlain}}{{cite web |title=One video of Ammameparani in Tehran |url=https://ir.voanews.com/a/tehran-turban-mullah/6815550.html |website=voanews}}{{cite web |title=Ammameparani in Tehran by a young person |url=https://ir.voanews.com/a/iran-mahsa-amini-tehran/6817295.html |website=Voice of America News }}
Turban knocking soon came to be seen as an expression of women’s resistance to the clerical establishment, with women who premeditated the act doing so while lacking a hair covering – an act punishable by law.{{cite web | last=Esfandiari | first=Golnaz | last2=Fatemi | first2=Hamid | title=In New Tactic, Young Iranian Protesters Knock Off Clerics' Turbans On The Street | website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty | date=11 November 2022 | url=https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-protest-clerics-turbans/32126147.html | access-date=20 May 2024}} Engaging in this illegal act, was, however, purposeful, as well as holding precedent.{{cite web | last=Fatima | first=Sakina | title=Iran anti-hijab protests: Protestors knock turbans off clerics' heads | website=The Siasat Daily | date=13 November 2022 | url=https://www.siasat.com/iran-anti-hijab-protests-protestors-knock-turbans-off-clerics-head-2455898/ | access-date=20 May 2024}} Combining these two forms of protest, as simply as the act of a woman refusing to cover their hair, serves three purposes, amongst others. First is acting as an expression of refusal to cooperate with Iranian theocratic law. Second is acting as an expression of civil disobedience towards the Iranian Morality Police, who during the Mahsa Amini protests were a primary target of the goals of the protesters. Third is acting to increase attention to the protests, indicate the existence of civil discontent, and promote engagement and topical virality, by engaging in such a contextually politically, religiously, and socially controversial act, and consequently angering sympathizers of the status quo.{{cite web | title=As Iran's clerics face a "turban tossing" trend, army warns it's ready to quash protests | website=CBS News | date=10 November 2022 | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-mullah-turban-tossing-trend-videos-army-ready-to-stop-protests/ | access-date=20 May 2024}}
Aba (Abā; Persian: عبا) and Ammame ({{langx|ar|عمامة}} `emãmah) are clothes of Muslim clergy and some believe that this dress is the dress of the Prophet of Islam and should be respected.{{cite news |title=اعترضات در ایران؛ عمامهپرانی از چه زمانی آغاز شد |url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/articles/c0302x8335zo |access-date=3 November 2022 |work=Masud Azar |publisher=BBC Persian}}
History
Ammameparani occurred for the first time in contemporary history of Iran during the Triumph of Tehran in 1909 of the Constitutional Revolution, when Yusuf-Khan threw the turban of Sheikh Fazlullah Nouri to protesting crowd.{{cite news |title=تجربه‌ای تاریخی از عمامهپرانی در ایران |url=https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/1693963/%D8%AA%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AE%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87-%D9%BE%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86 |access-date=12 November 2022 |work=Hadi Ansari |publisher=Khabranlain}}{{cite news |title=ضرورت عبرت‌گیری از حوادث مشروطه مشروعه |url=https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1392/05/13/110977/%D8%B6%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AA-%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%AA-%DA%AF%DB%8C%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AD%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%AB-%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B7%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B9%D9%87 |access-date=4 August 2013 |work=Tasnim |publisher=Tasnim}}
Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was the first person to demand the taking off of the turbans of mullahs in a speech against them. He delivered it while in exile in Najaf, Iraq and calling the Iranian clerics derogatorily "court mullahs" (mullahs who supported the Pahlavi) or "corrupt mullahs", he said: "Our youth should pick up the turbans of the mullahs who create corruption in the Muslim society in the name of Islamic jurists. There is no need to beat them too much but pick up their turbans."{{cite news |title=اعترضات در ایران؛ عمامهپرانی از چه زمانی آغاز شد |url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/articles/c0302x8335zo |access-date=3 November 2022 |work=Masud Azar |publisher=BBC Persian}}{{cite news |title=باید عمامه آخوندهای مفسد را از سرشان بردارید/ مگر جوانان ما مرده‌اند؟ + صوت |url=https://www.farsnews.ir/news/13970307000974/%D8%A8%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87-%D8%A2%D8%AE%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%85%D9%81%D8%B3%D8%AF-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D9%85%DA%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%A7-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF |access-date=3 June 2018 |work=Farsnews |publisher=Farsnews}}{{cite news |title=دستور امام خمینی برای کشیدن عمامه از سر آخوندهای فاسد |url=https://www.eghtesadnews.com/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D8%B3%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7-61/217996-%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%AE%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%AF%D9%86-%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B3%D8%B1-%D8%A2%D8%AE%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AF |access-date=3 June 2018 |work=Eghtesadnews |publisher=Eghtesadnews}}{{cite news |title=آخوندهای درباری را طرد کنید |url=http://www.imam-khomeini.ir/fa/c78_66172/%DA%A9%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A8/%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AA_%D9%81%D9%82%DB%8C%D9%87%D8%9B_%D8%AD%DA%A9%D9%88%D9%85%D8%AA_%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%DB%8C_%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%B1_%D8%A8%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AA_%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85_%D8%AE%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%86%DB%8C_%D8%B3_/%D8%A2%D8%AE%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C_%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C_%D8%B1%D8%A7_%D8%B7%D8%B1%D8%AF_%DA%A9%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%AF |access-date=3 November 2022 |work=Khomeini Publication Institute |publisher=Khomeini Publication Institute}}
Mahsa Amini protests
During Iranians' nationwide protests of 2022, knocking off turbans became a political campaign{{cite news |title=عمامهپرانی کارزاری به مثابه اعتراض به حاکمیت دینی |url=https://farsi.alarabiya.net/views/2022/11/03/-%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87-%D9%BE%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%AB%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B6-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%AD%D8%A7%DA%A9%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%86%DB%8C |access-date=29 November 2022 |work=Ali Heydari |publisher=AlArabiyaFarsi}} and as of 3 November 2022 it is expanding.{{cite news |title=اعترضات در ایران؛ عمامهپرانی از چه زمانی آغاز شد |url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/articles/c0302x8335zo |access-date=3 November 2022 |work=Masud Azar |publisher=BBC Persian}} People throw off the turbans of the clergy to declare that they are dissatisfied with the religious government and the leaders of the Islamic Republic.{{cite news |title=عمامهپرانی، شکل جدید اعتراض |url=https://www.iranintl.com/en/video/ott_51e7a9bf262143c2bb9739d6ccbed34d |publisher=Iraninnternational}}
= Reactions =
- Moqtada as-Sadr, an Iraqi cleric and one of the leaders of the Iraqi Shiites, criticized this action and expressed concern about its possible spread to other Muslim countries.{{cite news |title=انتقاد و نگرانی مقتدی صدر از عمامه افکنی در ایران و سرایت اعتراضات ضد حجاب به دیگر کشورها |url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/iran-63548100 |access-date=8 November 2022 |publisher=BBC Persian}}
- In response to "ammameparani", a parallel campaign called "ammamebusi" (Persian:عمامه‌بوسی; "turban kissing") was launched.{{cite news |title=عمامه‌بوسی جوانان پاسخی به اهانت‌ها به ساحت روحانیت+فیلم |url=https://www.mashreghnews.ir/news/1433798/%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B3%DB%8C-%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%BE%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AE%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA-%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D9%81%DB%8C%D9%84%D9%85 |access-date=8 November 2022 |publisher=Mashreghnews}} Some people in Iran and Iraq kissed mullahs' turbans to show respect to the clergy and published the video of their act on social media.{{cite news |title=ویدیویی وایرال شده در شبکه‌های مجازی از عمامه‌بوسی در عراق |url=https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/1692409/%D8%A8%D8%A8%DB%8C%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%88%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D9%88%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%B4%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%B4%D8%A8%DA%A9%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B2%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B3%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1 |access-date=6 November 2022 |publisher=Khabaranlayn}}
See also
{{Clear}}
Sources
{{Reflist}}
{{Mahsa Amini protests}}