NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Cinema Rex Fire

On August 20, 1978, Cinema Rex in Abadan, Iran, was set ablaze by Islamist militants killing approximately 430 individuals. The shah and the country’s intelligence service, SAVAK, were initially accused of planning the fire but after testimony by the lone surviving arsonist, it was proven that Khomeinist devotees were behind the incident.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Arvand river between Abadan (left) and khorramshahr (right). ... Political Ideologies Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box: This article is about political Islamism. ... His Majesty Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (اعلیحضرت محمدرضا شاه پهلوی; October 26, 1919 – July 27, 1980) also knows as Aryamehr, was the last Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 until... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Fire

A short while after start of the movie, police officers noticed smoke coming from Cinema Rex, which was located on the upper level a commercial building. The police officers radioed the on-duty officer at the Abadan Police HQ and reported they had identified a number of suspects who had entered the Cinema, and the suspects had noticed they were under surveillance, and had started a small fire in a corner so they could escape the cinema with the rest of moviegoers. After consulting a supervisor, the on-duty officer instructed the officers not to allow anyone to leave the Cinema until the police chief and additional officers arrive.

The police officers outside the Cinema were under the impression that the suspect terrorists had started a small fire in a corner in an attempt to escape with the rest of the movie goers and did not know that a premeditated plot to burn the theatre and all the people inside was underway. So, they put a lock on the main entrance gate in front of the stairway leading up to the theater. The police also prevented a bystander who wanted to break the gate with his pickup truck from doing so when the intensity of fire and smoke started to increase. When the police chief arrived, the Cinema was completely engulfed in fire. The fire trucks only arrived some 20 minutes after the start of the fire.

Virtually all victims had burned while still seated on their seats, which indicated that at the time the fire entered the started, the victims were already unconscious or dead. The fire department investigators believed the Freon gas from the heavy-duty air-conditioning system had reached inside the theater before the fire did. Since Freon is much heavier than air, people inside had already passed out or may have already been dead when the fire reached inside the theater. It was never determined if the Freon leak from the air-conditioning system was part of the arson plan, or resulted from fire damaging the air-conditioning system. But Freon is only toxic in extremely large amounts, so it was probably from fire damaging the air-conditioning refrigerant plumbing.

Death toll

There is speculation over the actual number of casualties incurred during the fire. Various sources draw their own conclusions concerning the death toll. Some of the numbers considered include: 377,^[1] 400,^[2] 410,^[3] 430,^[4] (almost) 600,^[5] and (over) 800.^[6] The National Fire Protection Association, a reputable source on fire-related issues lists the number of dead at 422.^[7]. A 1980 Amnesty International report states that there were 438 victims, including individuals who were tried and wrongfully executed after the fire itself.^[8]

Motives behind the fire

There are a few reasons why Islamist militants may have planned and executed the Cinema Rex fire: To mobilize the masses in support of the revolution by claiming the arson was a "Reichstag fire" set by SAVAK in order to blame and discredit radical Islamist revolutionaries who had attacked and burned cinemas in earlier protests. Up until the fire, the revolutionary movement involved more politically active citizens but according to Roy Mottahedeh, author of The Mantle of the Prophet, “thousands of Iranians who had felt neutral and had until now thought that the struggle was only between the shah and supporters of religiously conservative mullahs felt that the government might put their own lives on the block to save itself. Suddenly, for hundreds of thousands, the movement was their own business.”^[9] The Reichstag fire was a pivotal event in the establishment of Nazi Germany. ... Roy Parviz Mottahedeh (born July 3, 1940 in New York City) is a professor of pre-modern social and intellectual history of the Islamic Middle East at Harvard University and expert on Iranian culture. ...

Finally, Islamists opposed cinema for ideological or doctrinal reasons. While Shia Muslims (unlike some strict Sunni Musilms) do not forbid pictures, many strict Shia believe any motion pictures "with music, dance or any other un-Islamic portrayal is haram to view."[1] Ever since motion pictures were first introduced into Iran at the turn of the 20th century, the clerical establishment saw the medium as not only a threat to moral righteousness, but also a direct attack on their position as authority figures. The depiction of women without proper religious attire and other blasphemous content furthered anti-Western sentiment, solidifying an ‘Us vs. Them’ mentality that in part continues to maintain clerical dominance over Iranian society. ^[2] Today, the fire is seen by Islamists as an event where Islam triumphed over Western corruption. ^[5] Righteousness is an important concept in the theology of Judaism and Christianity. ... Islam (Arabic: ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... The term Western world or the West (also on rare occasions called the Occident) can have multiple meanings depending on its context (i. ...

Rumours of SAVAK and monarchial involvement

As the event took place during the revolutionary period, it was quite difficult to make out who the perpetrator(s) was, making ill-conceived accusations rather prevalent. Many elements of the revolutionary bloc laid blame on Mohammad Reza Shah, the now deposed authoritarian monarch of Iran, and SAVAK (Sazeman-e Ettelaat va Amniyat-e Keshvar), the country’s domestic security and intelligence service. Although sufficient evidence was never brought forth to facilitate such claims, the labeling would have far-reaching implications on the subsequent direction of the revolutionary movement. The circumstances in which the fire was set did not aid in the shah’s pleas of innocence either. The timing and the location of the incident (an impoverished district of Abadan) did not coincide with preceding patterns of protestation, which raised the level of suspicion. It was also believed that the shah specifically targeted Cinema Rex for the sole purpose of killing political dissidents who had gathered to watch a controversial anti-government film called Gavaznha (The Deer) starring well-known actor Behrouz Vossoughi.^[10]^[11]^[4] His Majesty Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (اعلیحضرت محمدرضا شاه پهلوی; October 26, 1919 – July 27, 1980) also knows as Aryamehr, was the last Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 until... Behrooz Vossoughi (Ø¨Ù‡Ø±ÙˆØ² ÙˆØ«ÙˆÙ‚ÙŠ in Persian) (born 1938 in Tehran, Tehran province, Iran) is one of the most legendary Iranian actors of all times. ...

Another rumour suggested that the shah intentionally blamed the incident on Islamist militants in an attempt to discredit and potentially dislodge them from their growing influence within the undefined hierarchy of the revolutionary forces.^[8]

As a whole, the ruling government's conduct after the fire did not parallel that of a perceived non-implicit party. The shah assumed a highly reactionary guise by placing General Gholam Ali Oveissi in charge of a capital that was already under a state of martial law,^[3] and Jamshid Amouzegar, Prime Minister of Iran at the time, was replaced by Jafar Sharif-Emami,^[12] in a sense symbolizing the deteriorating state of the Pahlavi regime. Although such tactics were meant to restore order in the midst of growing civil unrest, it was seen as representing an unorganized regime in crisis control. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Martial law (disambiguation). ... Jamshid Amuzegar (1923 - ); former Iranian Prime Minister. ... A prime minister is the most senior minister of a cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ... Jafar Sharif-Imami was a Prime Minister of Iran. ...

Another theory as to why many believed there was explicit royal involvement revolved around the central government’s inflexible posturing when it came to the production of feature films. Because the film industry in Iran was for the most part subsidized by the state, films were meant to be molded to project the Pahlavi regime in a positive light. Dissent and anti-governmental activism through such mediums were strictly prohibited. In order to escape censorship, political messages would be presented through more abstract means.^[10] Elements of the state apparatus were fully aware of such internal transformations and the fire at Cinema Rex was seen by some as being punishment for defying the state’s strict production parameters. Censorship is the removal or withholding of information from the public by a controlling group or body. ...

Nothing solidified the shah’s perceived guilt more so than that of Captain Monir Taheri’s trial.

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Captain Monir Taheri’s trial and execution

After the usurpation of power by revolutionary forces, Islamic tribunals were established as part of the Islamization of society. Members of the shah's regime who were unable or chose not to leave the country were often subject to the judgment of the newly instated judicial process. In the midst of revolutionary terror and general uncertainty, many were tried and convicted for crimes they had little or nothing to do with. This was for the purpose of quelling the population’s thirst for revolutionary justice. The Cinema Rex fire was an event that continued to loom over the minds of many Iranians, and closure, no matter how vulgar the result, was vital not only for legitimizing the newborn government’s capacity to fulfill public demands, but also to crush any form of royal revivalism. Islamization (also spelt Islamisation, see spelling differences) or Islamification means the process of a societys conversion to the religion of Islam, or a neologism meaning an increase in observance by an already Muslim society. ...

Captain Monir Taheri, member of Iran’s pre-revolutionary armed forces, was arrested in the town of Mianeh two days before his trial and execution on February 21, 1979; a few months after the fire at Cinema Rex. The conviction of an army officer was significant because the blame was placed squarely on the shah who had always had a close relationship with the armed forces. Mianeh, also spelled Miyana or Miyaneh (Persian: Ù…ÛŒØ§Ù†Ù‡; Azeri: MiyanÉ™) is a city in East Azerbaijan (north-western province of Iran), situated in a valley between the mountain chains of Bozgush and Qaflan Kooh. ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ...

“Based on the available information from the press, the defendant had been accused of ‘martyring 3 people in Rudsar’, ‘receiving guerilla training in the United States’, ‘involvement in the Abadan's Rex Cinema fire’, ‘receiving a Medal of Honor [for his participation in the fire]’, and ‘involvement in the torture of political prisoners in Mashhad and Shiraz.’” Look up guerrilla in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States. ... A political prisoner is anyone held in prison or otherwise detained, perhaps under house arrest, because their ideas or image either challenge or pose a real or potential threat to the state. ... Mashhad (also spelt Mashhad ar-Reza, Persian: , literally the place of martyrdom) is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shiah world. ... Eram Garden, Shiraz most popular garden. ...

According to published sources, there was no evidence to suggest that the Captain had any involvement in the fire. Additionally, no mention of Taheri was made by either defense or prosecution staff during the public trial of 1980. Like many other defendants who were brought before an Islamic tribunal at this time, Taheri was not given sufficient time to organize any form of defense. 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Before his execution by firing squad on February 23, 1979, the court fulfilled four of Taheri’s requests, including: not to be blindfolded, to avoid being photographed during the execution, to personally give the firing squad the order to fire, and to return his body to his family.^[8] Execution by firing squad is a method of capital punishment, especially in times of war. ... February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... A blindfold is a strip of cloth used to cover the eyes, rendering the user effectively (but temporarily) blind. ...

Days later, Taheri’s family rebuked with counter claims suggesting that many of the charges the Captain faced were utterly fallacious in nature. This not only mobilized a popular campaign headed by the discontented families of Cinema Rex victims, but also brought into question the legitimacy of the very institution that tried Captain Taheri – the Islamic tribunals.

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Public Trial

After Captain Taheri’s family protested the charges that eventually led to the officer’s execution, the public had quickly become restless over the secretive posture assumed by Abadan authorities. After an effective public campaign headed by the disillusioned families of Cinema Rex victims that included a four-and-a-half month sit-in at a government office, a representative of Ayatollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Zia Rohani, presided over a public trial that would reopen the Cinema Rex case for the final time. Ayatollah Khomeini founded the first modern Islamic republic Ayatollah Seyyed Ruhollah Khomeini (آیت‌الله روح‌الله خمینی in Persian) (May 17, 1900 – June 3, 1989) was an Iranian Shia cleric and the political...

Lasting from August 25 to September 4, 1980, the Revolutionary Tribunal would oversee seventeen court sessions that involved the trial of twenty six individuals, including the only survivor of the four-man arson team. After much deliberation, Hossein Takializadeh, the lone surviving arsonist, and five others were put to death in public. August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... September 4 is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

“In his defense statement, the principal defendant admitted to having started the fire along with three other religious activists and denied having had connections with the former regime’s security apparatus.”^[8]

Contents

Fire

Death toll

Motives behind the fire

Rumours of SAVAK and monarchial involvement

Captain Monir Taheri’s trial and execution

Public Trial

See also

Notes

Bibliography

Contents

Fire GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Death toll

Motives behind the fire

Rumours of SAVAK and monarchial involvement

Captain Monir Taheri’s trial and execution

Public Trial

See also

Notes

Bibliography

Fire