A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Slick Iranian Rouhani Video Includes Singing in Kurdish and Arabic

My post about FDR's Thanksgiving in Cairo will appear tomorrow along with other postings. Meanwhile, you should note this story from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's "Persian Letters" called "Rohani's 'Yes We Can' Moment":
The beautifully made black-and-white clip,  which includes segments of the Iranian president's August 3 inauguration speech mixed with music, singing, and sign language, has been released to mark the first 100 days of his presidency.

Obama's 2008 "Yes We Can" clip was created with the participation of some 30 Hollywood actors and singers.

Rohani's video was posted on his website and shared on Twitter by the unverified account of the Iranian president, which is said to be maintained by his media team . . .

The clip, which features a well-known singer and actor, Amir Hossein Modaress, was produced by Iranian documentary-maker Hossein Dehbashi, who also worked on Rohani's election campaign videos. Dehbashi has been quoted by Iranian media as saying that the video was created "spontaneously."

In the clip, unprecedented for an Iranian president, people of all ages play musical instruments and sing to Rohani's words in Persian, but also in the languages of Iran's minorities, including Kurdish and Arabic.
Somebody has media savvy in Rouhani's camp (and remember, this is an RFE/RL report, so it must be working.) I have almost no Persian, unfortunately, but for those who do, here's the video:

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