TEHRAN – The Owj Arts and Media Organization has recently produced a documentary that chronicles the political and religious life of Ayatollah Seyyed Nureddin Hosseini al-Hashemi, a top anti-secular clerics who lived from 1896 to 1957.

Directed by Mohammad-Ali Yazdani, “Naib ul-Imam” had its premiere at the Sarcheshmeh Cultural Complex in Tehran on Sunday.

The title of the documentary refers to his nickname naib ul-Imam, which is given to a successor of Imam Mahdi (AS) during his disappearance era. The nickname acknowledges Ayatollah Hosseini’s high religious, social and political status during his life.  

Owj, a major institution that produces revolutionary works in art and cinema, in a statement published last week said, “There are some great people among the outstanding personalities who have influenced the history of the country, however, they have remained unknown in the wake of negligence.”  

“Ayatollah Seyyed Nureddin Hosseini al-Hashemi is one of the people who has played a key role in the political and religious events in the country over the past century,” the statement added.

One of his significant works was the establishment of the Baradaran Party (Brothers’ Party) in the Fars region, which sought to change “the regular traditional Islam into an animated and political Islam.”

He also began struggling against Reza Pahlavi and his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s last monarch, Western and Eastern colonialism, deviant Islamic sects, and the Westernophile intellectual currents.     

One street in Shiraz, his hometown, has been named after Ayatollah Seyyed Nureddin Hosseini al-Hashemi, however, most people have little knowledge of him. 

Consequently, director Yazdani and producer Mohammad Jafari spent six years making the documentary to raise public awareness of the personality.

Yazdani said that they have scrutinized over 40,000 documents to make the film.

“All these efforts were made to reintroduce one of the forgotten personalities of contemporary Iranian history who was influential in shaping the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry, Fadaiane Islam group and several historical decisions in the National Parliament,” he added.

The documentary has been produced with contributions from the Sarcheshmeh Cultural Complex and Maha Film and will also be screened in Shiraz on Wednesday.

Photo: A poster for the documentary “Naib ul-Imam”.

MMS/YAW