
Seyed Abdolrazagh Mousavi, former head of Shiraz City Council: They are breaking the law to destroy buildings / Morteza Hamounian.
Former head of the Shiraz City Council says, “We have a resolution that these 57 hectares are the cultural and historical fabric of Shiraz and should not be harmed.” However, despite this resolution and others, the development plan for the Shahcheragh Shrine, or the 57-hectare plan, is still on the agenda. This plan, along with its controversies and ambiguities, as well as potential damage to the city’s ancient monuments and cultural heritage, prompted the monthly magazine “Khat-e-Solh” to approach Seyyed Abdolrazagh Mousavi, former head of the Shiraz City Council, and ask about this public law expert who has been involved in education and training in Shiraz for many years before the City Council and has also served as the Secretary-General of the Islamic Association of Teachers in the country after the Fifth City Council, about the nature of the 57-hectare plan and its current status. Mousavi tells Khat-e
The explanation of the interview with Seyyed Abdolrazagh Musavi, former head of Shiraz City Council, is presented below for your consideration.
It is said that
The development plan of Shahcheragh Shrine (a 57-hectare plan) will result in the destruction of at least 200 to 335 historical houses in the city of Shiraz. When and on what basis was such a plan proposed? Also, if possible, could you tell us a bit about the age and cultural and historical significance of these houses for our audience?
This discussion has been ongoing since the past and was brought up during the fifth city council of Shiraz. The fifth council was also strongly convinced that any development should not harm the cultural and historical fabric of the city, as these are essential elements of the identity and past of Shiraz. Several meetings were held on this matter, some of which I attended. One of these meetings was attended by the Minister of Roads and Urban Development at the time. Due to the quarantine and COVID-19, a few meetings were also held virtually. The fifth city council insisted that any development must preserve the identity of the historical fabric. However, what is being discussed and what I am hearing today is completely different from what was discussed during the fifth council. But I cannot say precisely about the destructions and I do not have accurate information at the moment.
There are also a few points to consider about the historical significance of places. Anyone who wants to talk about these demolitions must first see this texture up close and go to these alleys and side streets. They must also have seen the past of Shiraz. Memories of a large part of the people of Shiraz are in this historical texture. One of the discussions that were raised was that some of these houses have turned into a place for drug addicts to gather. I do not deny this, but the solution lies in solving the problem of drug addicts. They must be treated. Today, most people believe that addiction is a disease and we must look at it from this perspective; instead of trying to solve the problem of addiction in Shiraz by demolishing spaces.
Another argument is that they say the holy shrines of this city need an open space that should be provided for them. This is while for years, there has been an open space that has also been destroyed and there is nothing in it. So why don’t they come and build on this destroyed space and use it? What is the insistence that we come and destroy another complex without being able to use the space we have now, which has no buildings in it?
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It is possible that even some registered historical buildings are among them. Is it legally possible for these registered buildings to be destroyed? Is there a legal solution to prevent this from happening?
Do we have cases of non-enforcement, violation, and circumvention of the law in our country? Unfortunately, the law is being circumvented to destroy buildings. The important thing is for those who are supposed to enforce the law and those who are supposed to oversee its enforcement to be sensitive to this issue. If there is no sensitivity – as there is in many cases – even if there is a law, it is being violated.
The determination of executive officials, the sensitivity of representatives of the people in the parliament – especially representatives of Shiraz – and the follow-up and insistence of the people of Shiraz and those who are familiar with the region can help prevent this obstacle. The university is also very effective. Scientific figures and those who have worked in historical areas should come to the field and be present. But the main issue is the discussion of the country’s executive body and the representatives of the parliament, and their most important responsibility is to address it.
According to the decisions of the Supreme Council of Architecture and Urban Planning on July 20, 2015, the entire 57-hectare project area is part of the cultural-historical fabric of Shiraz. According to the director of the Provincial Department of Roads and Urban Planning, there are 335 historical plots in this historical fabric, which occupy more than one-third of the total area. Despite this decision, how will these buildings be demolished?
In my opinion, it is not legally possible to demolish these buildings, but I have heard that the Minister of Roads and Urban Development has delegated his authority to the governorship in this matter. As far as I know, this is against the law. The law does not allow the minister to delegate these powers to provincial officials regarding historical structures. This act itself is a violation if it occurs.
Do you think we should consider these historical textures and houses for tourism and prevent their destruction?
In the fifth municipality and council of Shiraz, a very valuable work was done. These historical alleys were paved with heavy expenses and efforts were made to preserve and strengthen their original form and beauty. So that people can use this place with a tourist perspective. If you go to this historical fabric, you will see works that attract tourists. I mean, as a citizen of Shiraz, I see no justification for destroying this fabric.
We need to see what these destructions are after and what problem is supposed to be solved with them. I want to say that the reasons that are mentioned (such as saying that this fabric has turned into a gathering place for addicts or that the issue is the development of the shrine) can all be solved in other ways. In other words, the development of the shrine – as much as necessary and essential – is possible without damaging the historical fabric. It’s the same with addicts. Therefore, the destructions are not supposed to result in any other score or positive event that we say we prioritize tourism. The concerns that exist are achievable without damaging the historical fabric and these 57 hectares.
Some officials, such as Mosib Amiri, the head of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Research Institute, have announced in interviews with the media that they have not proposed a plan to destroy the historical fabric of Shiraz and no registered buildings are to be demolished. The extent of destruction mentioned in this regard is not accurate and the issue is only about renovation and organization between the two holy shrines (from Shahcheragh to Aladdin). Considering that the only remaining religious historical fabric of the Ahlul Bayt shrines in Iran is the historical fabric surrounding the Shahcheragh shrine, as the historical fabrics surrounding the shrines in Mashhad and Qom have been almost destroyed, how much can we trust these statements?
You must see the distance between the two shrines as a field, to see what is placed there and how much it is necessary to carry out destruction in this area. The location of the city council is in the same area that I have seen every day for four years. What is said about destruction has a lot of differences with what is necessary. Organizing this fabric does not conflict with the desire to facilitate the pilgrimage of the two shrines and there is no obligation to destroy the fabric. In some parts of the distance between the two shrines and this area, there are no buildings or houses and it is flat. The issue is that in order to facilitate the pilgrimage, we must see exactly where the destruction is supposed to take place. We also have a resolution that these 57 hectares are the cultural and historical fabric of the city of Shiraz and should not be harmed. This resolution is from the Supreme Council of Urban Planning and Architecture and the province and its officials cannot interfere with it
Thank you for the time you have given us in the monthly magazine of the Peace Line.
Tags
57-hectare plan Abdul Razzaq Mousavi Ancient artifacts City Council Cultural heritage Ezzatollah Zarghami Historic texture of Shiraz Islamic Consultative Assembly Morteza Hamounian Project of 57 hectares Representatives of the parliament Seyed Abdolrazagh Musavi Shahcheraq Shiraz City Council Supreme Council of Architecture and Urban Planning