Iranian Criminal Cards Rush
A decade after the hysteria in Iran caused by the distribution of thousands of pirated video tapes of the film 'Titanic', Iran is currently facing a similar rush due to extraordinary packs of cards distributed around the country. The cards contain photos and details of Iranian figures accused of involvement in oppression of the Iranian people, terror, proliferation and in assisting in the development of weapons of mass destruction. They have become the topic of the day in Iran and the question 'Did you get a pack?' has become the most popular question at social and family meetings, mainly among university students.
The cards are distributed underground and demand exceeds supply due to the hectic efforts of Iranian police and security elements to locate the distributors and confiscate the embarrassing packs showing senior Iranian figures. They are accused of being responsible for Iran's dire political and economic situation, isolated and facing international sanctions that harm the country's economy and its citizens' situation. On the joker card, the Iranians are nostalgically reminded of their country's grand past in the pre-Islamist period.
The identity of the people behind the creative initiative is unclear, but there is no doubt that they are using daring and irregular methods in distributing the cards around the country. It is also obvious that their target audience is students and young people, and crates of cards have found their way - under the noses of security forces and control and enforcement elements - to various universities around the country, football stadiums, cafes, cinemas and bazaars. It is known that you can get everything in Iran - from alcoholic beverages, American films, pornographic films, advanced cell phones, gadgets, satellite dishes, to sunglasses and designer clothes....
Even if the embarrassed authorities manage to stop the spread of the cards and to locate the elements distributing them in Iran, they will find it difficult to stop the great interest stimulated by the cards in Iran and the spread of the phenomenon, because the cards can be downloaded from the website [http://www.khatakaran.com], which enables viewing each of the cards and printing a whole pack for playing. Among the figures 'starring' in the game are President Ahmadinejad - who is on the 6 of spades, Qassem Suleimani, the commander of the IRGC, whose face adorns the 9 of spades, and senior officials in the terror and nuclear industries whom the Iranian public were not previously familiar with, such as Mohammad Fada'i, the head of the engineering division at Kalaye Electric, responsible for executing the nuclear project (7 of clubs) and Mohammed Reza Mahdawi, the Quds Force commander in Syria and Lebanon (king of hearts).
It is clear that the cards' popularity among Iranians in general and young Iranians in particular reflects their identification with the idea behind the cards - aversion to the conduct of the extremist and corrupt regime. This regime has been ruling Iran for 30 years and Ahmadinejad personifies it well. He focuses on developing weapons of mass destruction and the proliferation of terror worldwide, at the expense of Iranian society's serious problems and hardships.
Thus, in a country in which every protest on the street may lead to a violent clash with security forces, a game of cards turns into more than a 'fashionable gimmick' but rather a subversive move by a desperate public, crying out for an ideological and political change, and above all for a normal life on the personal and social levels.
The cards are distributed underground and demand exceeds supply due to the hectic efforts of Iranian police and security elements to locate the distributors and confiscate the embarrassing packs showing senior Iranian figures. They are accused of being responsible for Iran's dire political and economic situation, isolated and facing international sanctions that harm the country's economy and its citizens' situation. On the joker card, the Iranians are nostalgically reminded of their country's grand past in the pre-Islamist period.
The identity of the people behind the creative initiative is unclear, but there is no doubt that they are using daring and irregular methods in distributing the cards around the country. It is also obvious that their target audience is students and young people, and crates of cards have found their way - under the noses of security forces and control and enforcement elements - to various universities around the country, football stadiums, cafes, cinemas and bazaars. It is known that you can get everything in Iran - from alcoholic beverages, American films, pornographic films, advanced cell phones, gadgets, satellite dishes, to sunglasses and designer clothes....
Even if the embarrassed authorities manage to stop the spread of the cards and to locate the elements distributing them in Iran, they will find it difficult to stop the great interest stimulated by the cards in Iran and the spread of the phenomenon, because the cards can be downloaded from the website [http://www.khatakaran.com], which enables viewing each of the cards and printing a whole pack for playing. Among the figures 'starring' in the game are President Ahmadinejad - who is on the 6 of spades, Qassem Suleimani, the commander of the IRGC, whose face adorns the 9 of spades, and senior officials in the terror and nuclear industries whom the Iranian public were not previously familiar with, such as Mohammad Fada'i, the head of the engineering division at Kalaye Electric, responsible for executing the nuclear project (7 of clubs) and Mohammed Reza Mahdawi, the Quds Force commander in Syria and Lebanon (king of hearts).
It is clear that the cards' popularity among Iranians in general and young Iranians in particular reflects their identification with the idea behind the cards - aversion to the conduct of the extremist and corrupt regime. This regime has been ruling Iran for 30 years and Ahmadinejad personifies it well. He focuses on developing weapons of mass destruction and the proliferation of terror worldwide, at the expense of Iranian society's serious problems and hardships.
Thus, in a country in which every protest on the street may lead to a violent clash with security forces, a game of cards turns into more than a 'fashionable gimmick' but rather a subversive move by a desperate public, crying out for an ideological and political change, and above all for a normal life on the personal and social levels.