TEHRAN, Nov. 26--A scholar and expert on Qur’anic studies has called for the establishment of a department within the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to supervise translation of religious texts, including the holy Qur’an.
In an interview with ISNA, Bahaeddin Khorramshahi said that many translators have taken to rendering religious texts but proper criteria for this have not yet been worked out.
He contended that while there are many publishers, proficient translators are hard to come by.
A well-versed translator, he contended, should be more familiar with the source language than target language.
Khorramshahi further called for conducting translation methodology classes in which experts can put forward their views. This will help set up scientific and practical workshops for the discipline, he added.
The noted researcher, who has translated Komeil Supplication, which has not been published, also believes that some people have translated certain religious and historical texts but comparative studies reveal that they do not conform to the original texts.
Therefore, it is essential to establish an institute for supervising the translation of religious texts, he said.
Commenting on versified translation of the holy Qur’an, he said that he is against such undertakings, arguing, “Firstly we are not that successful in rendering the holy book in prose and secondly, the language of Qur’an does not lend it to the poetic style.“
He also proposed collective translation of the holy Qur’an so that it can be reviewed from different perspectives.

Known as the Sacred Defense Era, the imposed Iraqi war on Iran lasted from September 1980 to August 1988.

TEHRAN, Nov. 26--A commander of the Iranian Army’s Special Ground Forces has said that the force will lend support to production of films on Sacred Defense Era (1980-88 Iraq-imposed war) and will make its facilities available to those involved in the field.
Speaking to Fars, Amir Kordbachcheh added that the Army takes pride in extending close cooperation to producers of such films.
“We have spared no effort in providing artists with their requirements,“ he said, adding that so far they had necessary collaboration with artists focusing on such films.
“We are not selective in extending cooperation to filmmakers and we collaborate with everyone as far as possible,“ he noted.
Such films, which recall the conditions prevailing during the war years in view of their affinity to war fronts, are instructive for those who are too young to witness the situation.
They will become happy by watching such films and also more interested in serving the country, Kordbachcheh said.
He also appreciated the efforts of those who are trying to portray the courage of the fighters during the eight-year war.

TEHRAN, Nov. 26--A number of representatives from Islamic states taking part at the Tehran International Festival of Short Films reached an agreement Saturday to set up an official Islamic union for short films.
According to Fars, director of Iranian Young Cinema Society (IYCS) Nasser Bakideh, director of Jordan Short Film Festival Hazim Bitar, director of Golden Vision Studio in Lebanon Hisham Ali Farid, Sudanese Deputy Minister of Culture Abdullah Al-Tijani, Pakistani filmmaker Fahd Aleem Sheikh, Professor Nauri Jamesoni from Sfax University of Tunisia, chief representative of Hamas in Lebanon Osama Hamdan, as well as other guests attended the meeting.
“We have invited artists and envoys from Islamic countries to discuss the establishment of a union for short films plus a central committee,“ Bakideh said.
According to him, the proposed union will help members access comprehensive archive of films made by Muslim filmmakers. “We can also proceed to initiate an international short film festival or market in order to counter anti-Islamic media propaganda. To this end, we must seek financial assistance from Islamic states as well as private businesses,“ he concluded.

TEHRAN, Nov. 26--A proposal by Cinema House to provide unemployment insurance coverage to artists has been approved by the Cabinet.
Iran’s Cinema House stated that the proposal was approved given the positive attitude of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and constant follow-ups by Cinema House and the Cinema Department of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry, ISNA reported.
A comprehensive plan based on the proposal is currently being worked out and the government will consider it in its budget bill for next fiscal year which begins on March 21.

TEHRAN, Nov. 26--Largest museum featuring contemporary Islamic world will be set up after the acquirement of a 1,400-square-meter plot of land for the adjacent Palestine Contemporary Arts Museum in the capital.
Reporting this, the Persian daily Bonnie Film further said that the museum will cover an area of 5,000 square meters.
The task of designing the project has been undertaken by the former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi.
Funds for the project have been considered in the supplementary budget bill.
It was projected that the plan will be completed at most within eight months.
Museum of Palestine Contemporary Arts is affiliated to Saba Institute of Arts Academy.
Mousavi has so far undertaken several projects such as the ones to transform Saba and Khiyal galleries into the country’s largest display areas.

TEHRAN, Nov. 26--Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance for cinematic affairs has said that national culture is a rainbow of regional and local cultures.
Speaking during a visit to the 23rd National and 11th International Festival of Short Films, Mohammad Reza Jafari-Jelveh called on Youth Cinema Association to reflect on respectable and religion-oriented cultures in cooperation with filmmakers from different fields, reported the Persian daily Bonnie Film.
Young filmmakers should present all the cultures and the national TV and cinema should make use of films produced by them, he added. “Good films should be respected,“ added the official.
Referring to the glory of the Iranian and Islamic civilization, Jafari-Jelveh further said that young filmmakers should pay a special attention to the issue. “Iranian short films have attracted a large of number of audience throughout the world,“ he said, noting the subtleties of Iranian films are unparalleled.
Tehran Short Film Festival boasts of eastern and religious characteristics, he concluded.

TEHRAN, Nov. 26--Two Iranian documentary films named ’Mashy and Mashianeh’ and ’Soshians’ by Hassan Naqashi received plaques of honor for the best film at Canada’s ZIFF Festival, ISNA reported.
Both the documentaries were awarded at the Ancient Iran Film Festival in Vancouver, Canada. Participants at the event were from Canada, the US, UK, India, Singapore and Russia. Iran took part in the festival with 14 films.
Naqashi had earlier attended other international festivals including an event in Romania.
Meanwhile, an Iranian movie titled ’Extra Woman’ received an award for the best film at the 51st Asia-Pacific Film Festival on Friday.
Films from Iran and South Korea were awarded at the closing ceremony of the event. Director of ’Extra Woman’, Tahmineh Milani received an award as the best movie director. The movie was also awarded for the best film-script.

KHALKHAL, Ardebil, Nov. 26--Fourth Khalkhal Children and Young Adults Qur’anic Festival opened here at Bahonar Cultural Center on Saturday.
Some 200 children and young adults from pre-school, primary and secondary schools are competing in the event. They are taking part in five sections, namely: Qur’an Reading and Recitation, Paintings on Qur’anic Concepts, Article Writing and Calligraphy, IRNA reported.
Head of Khalkhal Islamic Propagation Department said that the main reason for holding the festival is to promote Qur’anic culture.
Mohsen Mohseni noted that for materializing an Islamic society, children and young adults should be made familiar with Qur’anic teachings from a very early age.
Three participants will be awarded from each section.

TEHRAN, Nov. 26--First Nationwide Children and Young Adults Caricature and Painting Festival, which opened here at Daneshjou Cultural Complex last Wednesday, will continue until November 29.
According to Fars, the event, which is sponsored by Arts Center of Tehran Municipality’s Cultural-Artistic Organization, Caricature House and City Educational Institute, seeks to identify talented children and young adults and promote their creativity and innovation.
Secretary of the event is Masoud Shojaei-Tabatabaei while the panel of jury includes Nader Fatemi, Ali Reza Goldouzian, Pejman Rahimizadeh, Hesam Fetrati and Niaz Zia-Bakhsh.
Selection and assessment of the entries at the final stage will be conducted by a five-member panel made up of university instructors, children and young adults book illustrators and experts on painting and caricature.
Shojaei, who is also head of Iran’s Caricature House, pointed out that the entity will not follow its educational objectives directly; rather it will create conditions for promoting their creativity by identifying their talents.
Meanwhile, Zia-Bakhsh, the executive director and a member of the festival’s panel of jury, said that the event will be held in two categories for children and young adults.
The event is focusing on non-existent creatures as well as free subjects with the aim of presenting new ideas and portraying an imaginative world, he said.
On the number of participants, he said that a total of 7,533 works by 3,020 children have been sent to secretariat of the event, of which only 500 were selected for the final stage.