Kayhan (Persian: کيهان‎, English: universe) is an influential newspaper in Iran. Directly under the supervision of the Office of the Supreme Leader, it is regarded to be "the most conservative Iranian newspaper."^[2]

Hossein Shariatmadari is the editor-in-chief of Kayhan. His official position is representative of the Supreme Leader.^[3]

Today, it has a circulation of about 70,000, with about 1,000 employees worldwide.^[3] Kayhan also publishes special foreign editions, which include the English-language Kayhan International.^[2] Its circulation in 2008 is estimated to be 350,000.^[4]

Political orientation[link]

Kayhan openly supports the Iranian government and the policies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Shariatmadari stated that the newspaper and its staff "defend the ideology of the Islamic Revolution."^[5] Gareth Smyth, the former Iran correspondent of the Financial Times, contends that Kayhan articulates the political views of the "regime's fundamentalist camp."^[6] New York Times correspondent Michael Slackman writes that the newspaper "offers insight into the most extreme views of Iran’s leaders and into the mind-set and plans of those who are at the center of power." A former editor of Kayhan, Mahmoud Shamsolvaezin, a "reformist" and a staunch anti government activist, states, "The truth is, Kayhan is an intelligence newspaper". That is the standard rebuke offered by the reformist camp which is increasingly including various extremist and opposition groups like the People's Mujahedin of Iran and various monarchist and separatist groups like Pejak and Koumaleh and Jondollah.^[3]

Shariatmadari rejects the labels "conservative" and "fundamentalist", saying "They make us sound like the Taliban." Instead, he calls himself and those with similar views "principalists." Principalists is also the name of the majority faction of the Iranian Parliament.^[3]

History[link]

Kayhan was founded in February 1943 by owner Abdul-Rahman Faramarzi and Dr. Mostafa Mesbahzadeh as editor-in-chief. Later the roles of Faramarzi and Mesbahzadeh were reversed. Published in Iran as well as in London, the newspaper had a circulation greater than one-million prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

After the overthrow of the Shah all of Mesbahzadeh's assets were seized, including the publishing plant which was the main headquarters of Kayhan. Under the guidance of Mesbahzadeh, the London office of Kayhan continued its work and publishes a monarchist weekly issue known as Kayhan London [1] which has a small circulation. In 2006, Mesbahzadeh died at the age of 98 in Los Angeles, California.^[2]

Controversies[link]

The newspaper became controversial in 2010 for iterating an unequivocal condemnation of French First Lady Carla Bruni for her open letter to Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who is currently facing death by hanging for alleged murder; the newspaper called Bruni an "Italian prostitute" and "the singer and decadent actress who managed to break [up] the Sarkozy family" who "deserves to die" for her "perverted lifestyle", reiterating the striking similarities between Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and Carla Bruni, and also condemned actress Isabelle Adjani as a prostitute. The French foreign ministry condemned the comments as "unacceptable" and summoned the Iranian ambassador to France; the Iranian foreign ministry sought to distance itself from Kayhan's comments, with spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast stating that "The media can properly criticize the wrong and hostile policies of other countries by refraining from using insulting words. This is not correct."^[7][8]

References[link]

External links[link]

	Iran portal
	Journalism portal

• Official Kayhan website (Persian)

Shujaat Husain Khan
Shujaat Khan performing in 2011
Background information
Born	(1960-05-19) 19 May 1960 (age 52)
Genres	Hindustani classical music
Occupations	composer, musician
Instruments	sitar
Years active	1972–present
Website	shujaatkhan.com

Shujaat Husain Khan (born 19 May 1960) is an Indian musician and sitar player of the Imdadkhani gharana (school of music).^[1] He has recorded over 60 albums and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album for his work with the band Ghazal with Iranian musician Kayhan Kalhor.^[2] He also sings frequently. His style of sitar playing, known as gayaki ang, aims to imitate the human voice.

Early life[link]

Born in Calcutta to legendary sitar player, Ustad Vilayat Khan.^[3][4] He has musical pedigree that goes back seven generations: his grandfather, Ustad Enayat Khan; his great-grandfather, Ustad Imdad Khan; and his great-great-grandfather, Ustad Sahebdad Khan - all leading artists and torchbearers of the Imdadkhani gharana with its roots in Mymensingh (present day Bangladesh). He has a brother, sitarist Hidayat Khan and sisters sufi singer, Zila Khan and Yaman Khan.

Performing career[link]

Shujaat Husain Khan has performed at numerous music festivals in India and has traveled around the world performing in Asia, Africa, North America and Europe.

His approach to rhythm is largely intuitive, fresh and spontaneous, always astonishing his audiences. He is also known for his exceptional voice, which he uses for singing folk songs, including the album Lajo Lajo, as well as poetry, as in Hazaron Khwaishen.^[5]

Shujaat Khan was featured in the concerts celebrating India's 50th anniversary of independence in 2007, and performed at the Carnegie Hall, New York,^[6] Paramount Theater, Seattle, and Meyers Symphony Theater, Dallas. In a special performance, he also played at the United Nations in the Assembly Hall, Geneva.

His memorable appearances include performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Royce Hall in Los Angeles and Congress Hall in Berlin. In the summer of 1999, he was the featured soloist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. His collaboration with different genres of music has been a very strong point as is evidenced by the enormously successful Indo-Persian venture, the Ghazal Ensemble. Their album, Rain, was nominated for a Grammy award in 2004.

In January 2000, the Boston Herald listed Shujaat Khan, along with luminaries like Seiji Ozawa and Luciano Pavarotti among the top 25 upcoming cultural events for the year.^[7]

He has been invited as visiting faculty at the Dartington School of Music in England, the University of Washington in Seattle, and at UCLA.

He is also known as a fearless collaborator, lately having done wide ranging concerts with artists as diverse as Karsh Kale to a successful Jugalbandi with Pioneer Hindustani Vocalist Ustad Rashid Khan. One of the best remembered collaborations of the year 2009-2010 happens to be Melange. Featuring Tim Ries on the saxophone, Kevin Hays on the piano, Karsh Kale on percussion, Katayoun Goudarzi on vocals, Ustaad Shujaat Khan on sitar, Karl Peters on bass and Yogesh Samsi on tabla, Melange has toured extensively across India.

Ustad Shujaat Khan has recently tied up with Inroom Records, a Mumbai-based experimental / fusion label and artist management company, to handle his collaborative work. His work with Ustad Rashid Khan is a property of Inroom Records.

Discography[link]

Shujaat Khan has over 50 musical releases on a variety of international labels; and a video called Khandan.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shujaat Khan

• Official site
• [1]