Book censorship has a long history in Iran. Its first official form began in 1884 under a set of rules written by Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, king of Persia from 1848 to 1896, but the state of censorship has ebbed and flowed since then, depending on the strength of the central government. Book censorship has become a hot topic once again with the speech of President Hassan Rouhani at the 28th Tehran International Book Fair.

“The book-reviewing process should not be party-driven; may God prevent that from ever happening,” said Rouhani at the May 5 opening of the book fair. He was referring to two different cultural tendencies that exist in Iran. One trend, which is supported by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, advocates for more cultural limitations; the other one, supported by Reformists, is interested in providing more freedom of expression.

“The red lines should be square shaped or triangle shaped but not polygon shaped,” Rouhani stated during an unprecedented speech last February. “I am not saying we should or shouldn’t have these red lines [but] rather that we cannot have 100 different guidelines. We should have two, three or four guidelines; morality, sanctity and national security.”

Rouhani added, “Step by step, we should allow owners of these literary works to supervise their own work. If a book has been published and read, then it shouldn’t once again go through the difficult process of obtaining publishing permission for its second edition. Why is it that circulation has decreased? Why is it that young people are no longer interested in reading books? What is the problem?”