Media, Islam, and the Public Sphere: Radio and Religion in Pahlavi Iran, 1939–1957core
RADPUB · Horizon Europe grant · 2027-09-01–2029-08-31
EC contribution
Total cost
Beneficiaries
About the data
Source: CORDIS (official EU open data), Horizon Europe. Framework HORIZON · call HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF · scheme HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF · topic HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF-01-01. CORDIS record →
Objective
This project examines how early Persian-language radio networks emerged from Nazi foreign policy during World War II and transformed the public presence of Islam in Pahlavi Iran between 1939 and 1957. Special attention is given to the Radio Berlin Persian Service (1939–1945), which pioneered broadcasting religious content in Persian, merged with racist, antisemitic, and anti-imperialist propaganda. Its nationwide reception strongly resonated with Iranian clerics, prompting the BBC to establish its own Persian Service in 1940, and directly influencing the development of Radio Tehran (1940–1957), where, by the early 1950s, religious programming occupied more airtime than other content. Radio broadcasting thus became a powerful medium for transforming the public practices, perceptions, and prominence of Islam in modern Iran. The project focuses on three figures who embodied this transformation: Bahram Shahrokh, Radio Berlin's Persian-speaking announcer and Iran’s propaganda chief in the post-WWII years
Beneficiaries (1)
| Organisation | Country | Role | EC contribution | SME |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD | UK | coordinator | €260,348 |
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