Ali-Akbar Raefipour
Ali-Akbar Raefipour | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1984 (age 39–40) |
| Nationality | Iranian |
| Organization | Masaf Institute |
| Movement | Islamic fundamentalism |
Ali-Akbar Raefipour (Persian: علیاکبر رائفیپور, born 1984) is an Iranian social media personality and conspiracy theorist. He is the founder and the head of Masaf Institute, a well-known anti-semitic think tank with a fan base of extreme regime supporters.
Early life and career
Raefipour was born in 1984.[1] He claims to be a "university lecturer and researcher in the apocalyptic topics and cults" and has bold ideas on a wide range of topics including Satanism, freemasonry and Zionism.[2] Raefipour is considered a conspiracy theorist.[2][3][4] His frequent preachings has attracted a cult following particularly among "young hardliners".[3][4] According to Abuzar Royesh and Shelby Grossman of Stanford Internet Observatory, Iran experts describe Raefipour as "a propagandist with ties to extreme elements within the Iranian regime".[2] News outlets controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) often praise Raefipour's public speaches.[5]
Raefipour is the founder and head of Masaf Institute,[6] which is extensively active on social media. The organization is described as "affiliated" with the IRGC[6] and a "government contractor".[6] Masaf Institute uses accounts on platforms such as Twitter and Telegram to promote misinformation in multiple languages.[2][4]
Views and reception
He is considered among the new generation of fundamentalist public speakers who, without an in-depth religious education, try to mix conspiracy theories with Shi'ite theological assertions in order to theorize the Iranian government and justify its policies.[1] This new generation of fundamentalists which has emerged in the previous decade, and includes figures Hassan Abbasi and Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi, is characterized as more aggressive and ambitious than the previous generation and more adopt to the global conspiracy theories.[1]
Raefipour claims that the word jeans comes from jinn.[7][8] He also has stated that high-heeled shoes are designed to make female feet look like the hoofs of a jinn, and that T-shirts containing "spells or satanic slogans" are sold in the Iranian market.[7][8] According to journalist Babak Dehghanpisheh, these remarks were in line with the Iranian government's dress code enforcement policy, at the time the Guidance Patrol had recently emerged.[8]
He has applauded Chinese government and its election system, the latter because of depriving those who are not Communist Party members from voting.[5] He has also stated that "Communist China's laws are exactly like laws of al-Moumenin".[9]
As COVID-19 pandemic hit Iran in February 2020, he claimed that it was part of the U.S. hybrid war against China and Iran, and that the virus is an example of biological warfare.[3] Afterwards, he called for enacting a law in the Iranian parliament that would allow retaliation against bio-terrorist attacks if they are proved to be used against Iran.[10]
References
- ^ a b c Eshaghi, Peyman (2021), "Mapping the Trends in Social, Cultural, Religious and Political Thought from the Post-1979 era to the Present", in Sunar, Lutfi (ed.), The Routledge International Handbook of Contemporary Muslim Socio-Political Thought, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 9781000425086
- ^ a b c d Royesh, Abuzar; Grossman, Shelby (13 August 2020), "#Covid1948: The Spread of an Anti-Israel Hashtag", Cyber Policy Center - Stanford University, retrieved 25 February 2022
- ^ a b c Sardarizadeh, Shayan (29 February 2020), "Coronavirus: Misinformation and false medical advice spreads in Iran", BBC Monitoring, retrieved 25 February 2022
- ^ a b c Alimardani, Mahsa; Elswah, Mona (2020), "Trust, Religion, and Politics: Coronavirus Misinformation in Iran", Meedan 2020 Misinfodemic Report: COVID-19 in Emerging Economies, doi:10.2139/ssrn.3634677, S2CID 225827856
- ^ a b Dadpay, Ali (10 June 2021), "Iran's hard-liners take page from China's election playbook", Al-Monitor, retrieved 25 February 2022
- ^ a b c Elswah, Mona; Alimardani, Mahsa (2021), "Propaganda Chimera: Unpacking the Iranian Perception Information Operations in the Arab World", Open Information Science, 5 (1): 163–174, doi:10.1515/opis-2020-0122, S2CID 238412465
- ^ a b Sinaiee, Maryam (24 June 2011), "Jeans 'are named for jinns and can make you infertile', Iranians told", The National, retrieved 25 February 2022
- ^ a b c Dehghanpisheh, Babak (24 June 2011), "Iran's Hardline Fashion and Morality Police", The Daily Beast, retrieved 25 February 2022
- ^ Akbarzadeh, Shahram; Pargoo, Mahmoud (2021), "The China Model and Its Detractors in Iran", Middle East Policy, 28 (2): 78–95, doi:10.1111/mepo.12570, S2CID 244482515
- ^ Sinaiee, Maryam (20 March 2020), "Iran Accusing US Of Bio-Terrorism To Justify Coronavirus Crisis", Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, retrieved 25 February 2022