4 ms·

TIL Iran has a 'Minister of Agricultural Jihad'. I assume they declare holy war on crickets or something.

by softg 3y ago

swader999 3y ago
It's almost as ridiculous as using czar in titles.
- euroderf 3y ago
  That was just a spate of authoritarianism envy.
  - lainga 3y ago
    Headline disease. Czar nabs top vetting job, slams snub.
- jjgreen 3y ago
  Example: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/04/food-tsar-blames-shortages-on-uks-weird-supermarket-culture https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/04/food-tsa...
Etheryte 3y ago
Jihad as a broader term means to strive or struggle towards something, and it can refer to nearly any kind of pursuit, whether internal or external. To put another way, you could also roughly translate it as the Minister of the Agricultural Effort, albeit that would lose nuance.
- mc32 3y ago
  It’s probably akin to our “czars” when we declare “war” on some unwanted thing.
  - dragonwriter 3y ago
    In the US government: 1. “czar” is an informal title, not an official title (the “Drug Czar” is formally titled “Director of the Office National Drug Control Policy”) 2. The “czar" informal title has nothing to do with a “war” (this is a false generalization from the Drug Czar and the War on Drugs), but with the position of coordinating policy for the executive branch for an effort that cuts across multiple cabinet level agencies.
- softg 3y ago
  As a broader term maybe, but you can't deny the religious connotation of the word, especially under a theocratic regime. Also I am not entirely sure if the broader sense of the word would be obvious to Iranians, who do not speak Arabic (except in the southwest). I wonder if anyone who speaks persian can confirm that that they use jihad for struggle/effort outside of religion.
  - bozhark 3y ago
    Would Minister of the Agricultural Crusade work better?
  - Etheryte 3y ago
    I agree with the religious connotation, but I think it's hard to separate anything from religious context in a theocracy. If everything is done in the name of that one singular purpose, every institution becomes an end towards that goal. In that sense I agree, that's what I meant with the lost nuance, but I wouldn't really go so far as to singly connect it to the holy war concept.
fragmede 3y ago
ITT: Americans with no clue about foreign languages
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
Bilal_io 3y ago
First, the word Jihad in Arabic doesn't mean holy war. It generally means to struggle or put effort to improve. Someone could say "jahid nafsak" to mean "stop your desires". Based on [0] which links to [1] there was an agricultural initiative called jihad of construction to improve and develop the country. It was later merged 2ith the ministry of agriculture. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Agriculture_Jihad https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Agriculture_Jiha... [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihad_of_Construction https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihad_of_Construction
- softg 3y ago
  What matters is what the word jihad means in Persian, not Arabic. Both of your links point out that jihad was added during/after the Islamic Revolution, when the country was swept by a wave of religious fervor. Unless a Persian speaker contradicts me, I think my point stands.
  - enterprise_cog 3y ago
    It means the same in Farsi. Meaning depends on context and it is not a religious context.
  - stareatgoats 3y ago
    Your point being that the 'Ministry of Agricultural Jihad' has declared a holy war on crickets or something. Not a hill I would recommend to die on tbh.
    - softg 3y ago
      Meh. I'm Turkish, I was raised as a muslim. My entire family are muslims. I am not going to let random people on an English language forum accuse me of being insensitive towards muslims. That's the hill I can die on I guess. In Turkish, jihad (cihat) is only used for holy war. Nobody but the most demented religious zealot would suggest a ministry of agricultural jihad. Now, discussions on the subtleties of the meaning of the word jihad in Arabic are interesting, but they do not mean much because Iran isn't an Arab country. I do not speak Persian and I can't tell if jihad is used for 'struggle/effort' in that way in that language. We use other Arabic words like 'mücadele' for 'struggle' for example, but not jihad.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
vkou 3y ago
When the US declares a 'War on Poverty', do you also assume that the Pentagon deploys a three-star general to plan and carry out a shock-and-awe campaign against rural and inner-city communities? When Canada appoints a 'Minister of Finance', does she have to be a Protestant clergymember? Does she lead prayer ceremonies? Does she sanctify wine and holy water? Does one of her duties involve feeding a congregation with only two loaves and five loonies?
AnimalMuppet 3y ago
> I assume they declare holy war on crickets or something. No, that's the Mormons.

TIL Iran has a 'Minister of Agricultural Jihad'. I assume they declare holy war on crickets or something.

by softg 3y ago

TIL Iran has a 'Minister of Agricultural Jihad'. I assume they declare holy war on crickets or something.

swader999 3y ago

It's almost as ridiculous as using czar in titles.

euroderf 3y ago
That was just a spate of authoritarianism envy.
- lainga 3y ago
  Headline disease. Czar nabs top vetting job, slams snub.
jjgreen 3y ago
Example: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/04/food-tsar-blames-shortages-on-uks-weird-supermarket-culture https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/04/food-tsa...

Etheryte 3y ago

Jihad as a broader term means to strive or struggle towards something, and it can refer to nearly any kind of pursuit, whether internal or external. To put another way, you could also roughly translate it as the Minister of the Agricultural Effort, albeit that would lose nuance.

mc32 3y ago
It’s probably akin to our “czars” when we declare “war” on some unwanted thing.
- dragonwriter 3y ago
  In the US government: 1. “czar” is an informal title, not an official title (the “Drug Czar” is formally titled “Director of the Office National Drug Control Policy”) 2. The “czar" informal title has nothing to do with a “war” (this is a false generalization from the Drug Czar and the War on Drugs), but with the position of coordinating policy for the executive branch for an effort that cuts across multiple cabinet level agencies.
softg 3y ago
As a broader term maybe, but you can't deny the religious connotation of the word, especially under a theocratic regime. Also I am not entirely sure if the broader sense of the word would be obvious to Iranians, who do not speak Arabic (except in the southwest). I wonder if anyone who speaks persian can confirm that that they use jihad for struggle/effort outside of religion.
- bozhark 3y ago
  Would Minister of the Agricultural Crusade work better?
- Etheryte 3y ago
  I agree with the religious connotation, but I think it's hard to separate anything from religious context in a theocracy. If everything is done in the name of that one singular purpose, every institution becomes an end towards that goal. In that sense I agree, that's what I meant with the lost nuance, but I wouldn't really go so far as to singly connect it to the holy war concept.

fragmede 3y ago

ITT: Americans with no clue about foreign languages

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

Bilal_io 3y ago

First, the word Jihad in Arabic doesn't mean holy war. It generally means to struggle or put effort to improve. Someone could say "jahid nafsak" to mean "stop your desires". Based on [0] which links to [1] there was an agricultural initiative called jihad of construction to improve and develop the country. It was later merged 2ith the ministry of agriculture. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Agriculture_Jihad https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Agriculture_Jiha... [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihad_of_Construction https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihad_of_Construction

softg 3y ago
What matters is what the word jihad means in Persian, not Arabic. Both of your links point out that jihad was added during/after the Islamic Revolution, when the country was swept by a wave of religious fervor. Unless a Persian speaker contradicts me, I think my point stands.
- enterprise_cog 3y ago
  It means the same in Farsi. Meaning depends on context and it is not a religious context.
- stareatgoats 3y ago
  Your point being that the 'Ministry of Agricultural Jihad' has declared a holy war on crickets or something. Not a hill I would recommend to die on tbh.
  - softg 3y ago
    Meh. I'm Turkish, I was raised as a muslim. My entire family are muslims. I am not going to let random people on an English language forum accuse me of being insensitive towards muslims. That's the hill I can die on I guess. In Turkish, jihad (cihat) is only used for holy war. Nobody but the most demented religious zealot would suggest a ministry of agricultural jihad. Now, discussions on the subtleties of the meaning of the word jihad in Arabic are interesting, but they do not mean much because Iran isn't an Arab country. I do not speak Persian and I can't tell if jihad is used for 'struggle/effort' in that way in that language. We use other Arabic words like 'mücadele' for 'struggle' for example, but not jihad.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

vkou 3y ago

When the US declares a 'War on Poverty', do you also assume that the Pentagon deploys a three-star general to plan and carry out a shock-and-awe campaign against rural and inner-city communities? When Canada appoints a 'Minister of Finance', does she have to be a Protestant clergymember? Does she lead prayer ceremonies? Does she sanctify wine and holy water? Does one of her duties involve feeding a congregation with only two loaves and five loonies?

AnimalMuppet 3y ago

> I assume they declare holy war on crickets or something. No, that's the Mormons.