Reflection of Discursive Conflicts of the Fadaeian Islam Community in the Illustrations of the Nabard Mellat Magazine (1950-1952)

The weekly “Nabard Mellat” (Battle of the Nation) was one of the most important publications affiliated with the “Fadaeian Islam Community” from 1950 to 1952. With its Islamic-semi-nationalist content, this publication contributed to the Islamic-militant discourse of the Fadaeian Islam in its conflict with rival discourses (Nationalist, Leftist, Pro-government, Non-Aligned Islamist) and the struggle against foreign colonialism.

This publication had detailed and attractive graphics and a visual expression that was relatively in harmony with the discourse of the Fadaeian Islam: Coherent in structure and layout, energetic and high-contrast in the form and space of the illustrations, fierce and aggressive in visual expression and treatment of topics, Insolent, careless and reckless in descriptions, similes and visual-reading metaphors.

The aim of this article is to study the reflection of the political conflicts of the Fadaeian Islam in the illustrations of “Babard Mellat”. This research seeks to answer the question of how the illustrations of the weekly “Babard Mellat” until the end of 1952 embodied the discursive-political conflicts of the Fadaeian Islam community with rival movements?

The research method is descriptive-analytical and relies on the components of political discourse analysis of Laclau and Mouffe (articulation, conflict, provocation and displacement, othering, highlighting, marginalization, chain of equivalence and the myth of a unified subject). Information was collected through a library-documentary method and also through observation and selection of images related to the research topic; the present study purposefully selected and categorized 37 illustrations from issues 1950 to 1952 of the weekly “Babard Mellat” and concluded its qualitative analysis process by relying on the “visual expression of the illustrations” and its relationship with the “temporal-spatial conditions (social changes) of the researched territory” and the “confrontational actions (linguistic-non-linguistic) of the Fadaeian Islam community”.

Some of the results of the present study indicate that the socio-political illustrations of “Nabard Mellat”, in order to attract the audience, had a clear resemblance to nationalist and box office publications (influenced by Western arrangements) in terms of appearance and execution technique, but in terms of tone and expression, they were sharp and reckless, like the discursive actions of the Fadaeian Islam. Also, in order to marginalize rival discourses, the illustrations of this publication usually used visual metaphors to humiliate and ridicule the subjects and personalities of non-aligned currents -especially the two governments of Razm Ara and Mossadegh, and foreign colonialists; in contrast, in line with the othering, highlighting, and construction of the myth of the united subject, it presented the individuals and effective actions of the Fadaeian Islam community as national, ideal and sacred.

The discursive order and identity of the Fadaeian Islam was never changed or provoked or displaced in the course of the conflict with rival discourses. However, whenever the Fadaeian Islam discourse was threatened by the government with rejection or elimination (discourse provocation), the publication “Nabard Mellat” showed greater sympathy and support for nationalist publications and in its illustrations, highlighted some of the main signifiers of the nationalist discourse, such as “National Independence”, “Support for Freedom of Expression” and “Confronting social problems such as Poverty” (sectional displacement of discourse).