Death to America
Death to America
The literal meaning of the Persian phrase "Marg bar Âmrikâ" is "Death to America." In most official Iranian translations, the phrase is translated into English as the less crude "Down with America."[12][13] The chant "Death to America" has come to be employed by various anti-American groups and protesters worldwide.[14]
Iranian officials generally explain that the slogan in its historical context has been provoked by the U.S. government's hostile policies towards Iran and expresses outrage at those policies, and does not wish for literal death for American people themselves.
History
Following the fall of the pro-American
Throughout the existence of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the slogan has formed a pillar of its revolutionary values.
However, according to
According to
On March 29, 2013, during a public gathering in Kim Il Sung Square, Pyongyang to support Kim Jong Un call to arms, attendees had chanted 'Death to the U.S. imperialists'.[10]
On March 21, 2015, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei backed and shouted the phrase 'Death to America' while addressing a public gathering in Iran, during the holiday of Nowruz, the Persian New Year.[28][29][30] In a statement published on his website on November 3, 2015, Khamenei said: "It goes without saying that the slogan does not mean death to the American nation; this slogan means death to the U.S.'s policies, death to arrogance."[31][32]
On June 23, 2017, during
Many anti-Iranian government protesters, both within Iran and abroad, used similar phrases to demonstrate against the theocratic government. Slogans such as "Death to
At the funeral of Qasem Soleimani, the chant "Death to America" could be heard from many mourners across Baghdad, Islamabad, Karachi and many other cities.[6][7][8]
Usage in the Arab world
Supporters of Hezbollah, the Shi'a Islamic militant group based in Lebanon that is closely aligned to Iran, regularly chant "Death to America" in street demonstrations.[42] A week before the March 20, 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah declared, "In the past, when the Marines were in Beirut, we screamed, 'Death to America!' Today, when the region is being filled with hundreds of thousands of American soldiers, 'Death to America!' was, is and will stay our slogan."[3]
The slogan of the
Interpretation and meaning
Mohammad Nahavandian, chief of staff for Iranian former President Hassan Rouhani has said that:
If you go and ask anyone who uses that slogan [...] what he is against, it is interference in Iran's policies by overthrowing a nationally elected prime minister at the time of [Mohammad] Mossadegh. For them, what they are against is the kind of government who shoots an airplane full of innocent passengers. For them, it's not the people of America, per se. For them, they are opposed to that sort of policy, that sort of attitude, that sort of arrogance. It's not a nation. It's a system of behavior."[15]
"Regarding the words 'Death to America', we mean American politics, not the American people", says Hussein al Hamran, head of Foreign Relations for Ansar Allah (Houthis).
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has also dismissed the literal interpretation of the slogan, stating that the slogan is to express opposition to US intrusive policies rather than hatred against American people.[46]
On 8 February 2019, Ali Khamenei stated "Death to America means death to [Donald] Trump, [John] Bolton and [Mike] Pompeo. We criticize American politicians who are managing that country. Iranian nation are not against American people."[17]
Travel writer
See also
- Great Satan
- Global arrogance
- Gott strafe England
- Anti-American sentiment in Afghanistan
- Anti-American sentiment in Iran
- Anti-American sentiment in Pakistan
- Slogans of the 1979 Iranian Revolution
- American Islam (term)
- Carthago delenda est
- Death to Arabs
- Propaganda in North Korea
- Sayyid Qutb
Notes
- romanized: America ke liye mout
References
- ^ a b Arash Karami: Khomeini Orders Media to End 'Death to America' Chant Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Iran Pulse, October 13, 2013
- ^ "Protestors Chant 'Death to America' Amid Leaflet Outcry". TOLOnews. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
- ^ a b "Hezbollah Vows Anew to Target Americans". Los Angeles Times. 17 April 2003.
- ^ a b "Yemen's 'Death to America' rebels bring calm to northern Yemen". The Christian Science Monitor. 28 October 2012.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
- ^ a b "Mourners shout 'Death to America' at funeral for Iranian general". ITV News. 4 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
- ^ a b c Peshimam, Syed Raza Hassan, Gibran Naiyyar (2020-01-05). "Thousands protest in Pakistan over U.S. killing of Iranian commander". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Pakistan Stress Neutrality, Big Rally Protests Killing of Soleimani | Voice of America - English". www.voanews.com. 5 January 2020. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
- ^ a b "North Korea's bold wave of propaganda art - in pictures". www.theguardian.com. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
- ^ a b "North Korea Holds Mass Rally — Soldiers And Students Chant 'Death To US Imperialists'". www.businessinsider.com. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
- ISBN 9780313324864.
- ^ a b "The politics of 'Death to America'". The Washington Post. 8 October 2013.
- ^ a b "Iran's hardliners planning 'Death to America' rally on anniversary of US Embassy attack". The National. 22 October 2013.
- ^ Herbst, p. 6-7
- ^ a b ""Death to America" and the Iran Deal". New Yorker. 30 July 2015.
- ^ Melvin, Don (5 November 2015). "Iranian leader: 'Death to America' refers to policies, not the nation". CNN. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ a b Erdbrink, Thomas (8 February 2019). "'Death to America' Means 'Death to Trump'". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "Down with USA' means down with Trump, Bolton, and Pompeo". english.khamenei. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "عکس/سعید جلیلی در همایش زنده باد مرگ بر آمریکا | مرگ بر آمریکا | قرارگاه سایبری صیانت از شعار مردمی مرگ بر آمریکا". margbaramerica.net. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
- ISBN 9780521805094.
- ISBN 9780871139252.
death to america.
- ^ Bowden, p. 584
- ^ Taylor, Adam (4 November 2015). "Why 'Death to America' won't go away". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- ^ "Millions Of Iranians Demonstrate Against U.S." Associated Press News. 3 November 1987.
- ISBN 9781848852822.
- ^ Khomeini 'sought to drop Death to America chant', Guardian, Robert Tait, 20 August 2007
- ^ 34 Years of Getting to No with Iran. Politico Magazine. Barbara Slavin. November 19, 2013. Permanent Archived Link. Permanent Archived Link at WebCite. Retrieved and archived on July 4th, 2016.
- ^ "'Death to America': Iran's Supreme Leader accuses the US of 'bullying'". Euronews. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- ^ "Iran's supreme leader screams 'Death to America' amid ongoing nuclear talks". New York Post. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
- ^ "Obama downplays Iran 'death to America' remarks, toes hard line on Benjamin Netanyahu". The Washington Times. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
- ^ Dehghan, Saeed (November 3, 2015). "Iran's Ayatollah clarifies that 'death to America' slogan refers to policies". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ Vinograd, Cassandra (3 November 2015). "Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Explains 'Death to America' Slogan". NBC News. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ "'Death to Israel.', 'Death to America' at Iranian parade". Arutz Sheva. June 23, 2017.
- ^ "'Death to America' emoji reportedly included in Iran messaging app". CNBC. April 25, 2018.
- ^ Iran lawmakers shout 'death to America,' burn U.S. flag after Trump nixes nuclear deal usatoday.com
- ^ Parke, Caleb (November 5, 2018). "Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam leader, leads 'Death to America' chant in Iran". Fox News.
- ^ Renowned antisemite louis farrakhan chants death to america on solidarity trip to Iran algemeiner.com
- ^ 'Death to Khamenei': After Protests, Iran's President Apologizes Over Power Blackouts
- ^ "'Death to the Dictator' - Iran protests rage on". Archived from the original on 2022-11-29. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ^ Iran protests: Crowds in Tehran refuse to walk on U.S. and Israeli flags
- ^ Trump hails Iran protesters for not trampling US flag, Hurriyet Daily News
- ISBN 9781588368997.
- ^ "With Arms for Yemen Rebels, Iran Seeks Wider Mideast Role". The New York Times. 15 March 2012.
- ^ "Yemen in crisis". Esquire. 4 Jun 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
- ^ "Photo Essay: Rise of the Houthis". Newsweek. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ "'Death to America' chants not personal, Rouhani says". Retrieved 2017-10-15.
- ISBN 978-0-8133-5116-2.