TEHRAN – The Palestine Is Not Alone International Cartoon, Caricature and Poster Contest has announced the Iranian members of its jury.

Mohammad Khazai, Masud Ziai, Masud Shojaei-Tabatabai, Saedi Sadeqi and Abbas Nasseri will judge the artworks at the contest. 

Moroccan cartoonist Naji Benaji, who is also a founding member of a caricature school in the Tunisian city of Sfax, Brazilian cartoonist Silvano Mello and Indonesian cartoonist Jitet Kustana are the members of the international jury.

Iran’s Art Bureau of the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization has organized the contest to show solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine.

Khazai is a Ph.D. graduate of graphic design of Islamic art from Birmingham University.

Ziai, Sadeqi and Nasseri are cartoonists, and Shojaei-Tabatabai is the director of the bureau’s Visual Arts Office. 

In a press conference held at the bureau in September, Art Bureau director Mohammad-Mehdi Dadman said that the contest is slated as a forerunner for the new activities of the bureau to help develop its international activities.

He added that the bureau is ready to provide artists who are active on the resistance frontline with all the knowledge and experience the bureau has accumulated over the past 40 years.

He also said that the bureau will make its best efforts to help establish an artistic movement against the Zionist regime so that Palestinian artists can better form an artistic battle.

Shojaei-Tabatabai also for his part pointed to the recent republication of cartoons insulting Prophet Muhammad (S) by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and said that they are intended to create and promote hatred, and hurt the hearts of millions of Muslims across the world.

“The issue of Palestine and its identity is one of the major topics during these days when deals between some Arab states and Israel are being framed to look normal, while people and artists from the countries whose governments are trying to normalize their relations, disagree with these relations,” he explained.

“We will be making the most use of the potentials, and are also planning to establish public movements,” he added.

Shojaei-Tabatabai next added that due to the high risk of spreading the coronavirus, the contest will be held online, and each submitted work will be uploaded on the Irancartoon website.

Photo: This combination photo shows images of the Iranian members of the jury at the Palestine Is Not Alone International Cartoon, Caricature and Poster Contest.

RM/MMS/YAW