Majid Majidi, the acclaimed Iranian director, screenwriter, and producer, was born in 1959. He is renowned for his poetic yet realistic films that focus on children’s lives, poverty, and human values. Majidi became the first Iranian director to be nominated for an Oscar for his acclaimed 1998 film “Children of Heaven”.
In his diary, he wrote, “We went to a village to film part of a movie. For some scenes, we needed to build a shrine. To save the time of the crew and actors, we built a small room to resemble a shrine, and several actors performed their roles there. After filming wrapped, we decided to leave the room as it was.
Five years later, a friend told me that the shrine we had built had become an important pilgrimage site. I didn’t believe him, so I visited the village to verify what he had said. I didn’t want to distort people’s beliefs. I wanted to change their behavior and minds through my films. I spoke with the villagers and explained the truth that we had built it years earlier to film scenes for one of my movies.
The villagers, especially those with white beards, reacted very angrily, saying enthusiastically, ‘No, this is the tomb of Imamzadeh. He cures madness and grants the wishes of the heart.’ I felt powerless to do anything. I knew I could be harmed, so I decided to go to their wise man, or the local religious endowments office, to try to dispel this ignorance. I met with the official and explained the situation.
Contrary to my expectations, the head of the endowments became angry, dismissing my words as nonsense and insisting it was a holy shrine. He even showed me a handwritten letter, bearing seals, which supposedly proved the lineage of certain imams. I left in despair, but at the office door, I was met by an employee who seemed more understanding than the others. He said, ‘Sir, don’t trouble yourself. People simply consider that shrine holy. That’s all there is to it. You live in this country, and you should have removed what you built back then.’
It was then that I realized how easily and deeply ignorance and superstition can take root in the hearts and minds of some people.” The story of director Majidi reminded me of a similar incident I experienced when a wellknown lawyer friend invited me to visit his new home. There, he showed me the contents of the house, including the furniture, antiques, and paintings. Everything was truly beautiful, which reflected the refined taste of its owner.
He stood before a silver frame containing a document, a large emblem, and several signatures and seals. He explained that it was a certificate he had received from the Association of the ‘Ashraf’ (descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), proving his lineage to the Ahl al-Bayt (the Prophet’s family). After dinner, he whispered that he had paid a considerable sum for membership in the ‘Ashraf’ club, a rare and exclusive membership. I was surprised that someone who claimed to be liberal and open-minded would be so eager to obtain a fabricated certificate of lineage, especially since he came from a well-known family and had no need for such a claim.
Time passed, and a few years later, I ran into my lawyer friend by chance at a mutual friend’s house. One of the guests addressed our friend as “Mawlana al-Sayyid” (Our Master), prompting laughter from the attendees. I was surprised when the lawyer expressed his disapproval of some people’s reaction to his title. He heard apologies from some and silence from others.
I later spoke with him privately and reminded him of what he had previously told me about the source of the certificate. He fl ew into a rage and denied ever speaking to me about it. His anger seemed genuine. He had probably repeated his lie so many times that he began to believe it himself. He passed away later, likely still convinced of his claimed lineage.
By Ahmad alsarraf
email: [email protected]
email: [email protected]