An Analysis of the Geography of Resistance in Ali Mohammad Mo'addab's Peotry

Works devoted to resistance literature are often portrayed as a form of orientation against invading the homeland or obstacles on the way of national-religious ideals realization. In the meantime, the homeland in the poems of some poets finds meaning in a broader level than their community, city, and geographical area. Geography is an area that is divided according to several factors such as climate, land surface, religion, etc. Therefore, it can be said that resistance geography encompasses the level, scope and geographical area in which poets or writers, in their poetry or prose, defend the oppressed peoples of that country against foreign invasive forces or tyrant rulers. Ali Mohammed Mo'addab is one of the poets who has chosen resistance as the theme of his poetry in its national and transnational dimension and his poetic thoughts and emotions are influenced by world events around him. Given the influence of resistance literature on the general culture of society and the fact that Ali Mohammed Mo'addab has devoted a considerable portion of his poetry to resistance themes, it is important to read and examine these poems in greater depth.

In this paper, the geography of resistance in Ali Mohammad Mo'addab's poetry has been analyzed in a descriptive-analytic method using library and documentary approach. In order to answer the questions posed in this study, i.e., how have national and transnational resistance components been reflected in resistance poetry? and which countries other than Iran have addressed resistance issues?

Ali Mohammad Mo'addab is a contemporary Iranian poet, writer and journalist. He has had two approaches in his poems in introducing resistance themes in his poetry. In a general and comprehensive view, he has dealt with the nations that have been oppressed and fought against throughout history. In fact, Mo'addab has looked at the conditions of people in Iran, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Haiti and Japan. In his poems of resistance, he has addressed both the Islamic Revolution and the issues of eight years of sacred defense. Therefore, issues regarding Imam Khomeini, war and martyrdom in his poetry are particularly prominent. Mo'addab is an ideological poet and he writes his poems based on a clear ideology. Much of Ali Mohammad Mo'addab's poetry is devoted to the issue of Palestine. He is one of the first poets to point out the Syrian war and ISIL attack in his poems. He has also looked at Lebanon in his poetry and he has referred to the testimony of the fighters of that land. To this end, he uses the language of peace, a common language throughout the world. In his terms, all those who have been oppressed are of one homeland and one race, and he stands up and defends their sorrows. Even eight years of war between Iran and Iraq does not prevent him from ignoring the Iraqi people and their current terrible conditions. Mo'addab takes a critical stance in responding to the conditions prevailing in Afghanistan in his poetry.
Ali Mohammed's second approach in expressing the themes of resistance is to address the domineering and transgressive countries such as the United States, Britain, the Quds occupation regime and their tribes, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Mo'addab has exposed the crimes of the hegemonic countries. In the meantime, his criticism and protest are more focused on America that in the last century, it has cast its shadow on the international community, and especially the Middle East and it doesn't do anything to achieve its goals. Mo'addab, as a staunch defender of Palestinians, is a serious critic of the Quds occupation regime. He has also mentioned British domination in Iran and India in a symbolic expression in his poem. He has also condemned the air strikes and the Saudi invasion of Yemen, Syria and Bahrain. Egypt has been noted for its proximity to Palestine in his poetry. Mo'addab in his poems has criticized the Arab countries, especially Egypt.

The expression of resistance issues in Ali Mohammad Mo'addab's poetry can be examined at both national and transnational levels. He has followed two approaches in stating these issues. First, he appears as a supporter of the oppressed. Second,  he appears as a as a protester, he aims at exposing the crimes of the aggressive and the world arrogant. Addressing the values and aspirations of the Islamic Revolution and eight years of sacred defense encompasses much of Ali Mohammed Moaddab's poems of resistance. In terms of transnational resistance issues, Palestine and Gaza have the most frequency, in a way that Mo'addab, in addition to his other collections of poetry, has devoted a special collection to this theme entitled 'The Bombing Trip'. He is also the first Iranian poet to stand up for Syria and record ISIL's crimes against its people in his poems. Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq are other Islamic countries, the people of which Mo'addab has defended. Considering the imposed war, this act by mo'addab indicates that patriotism is widespread in his poetry and that he has considered all the oppressed of one land and one race. Muslims and non-Muslims are not different in Mo'addab's eyes; Hence, he did not ignore people of Haiti and Hiroshima and their massacre. Mo'addab has chosen to expose the crimes of America, Britain, Russia and Saudi Arabia as his poetry's mission. It therefore recounts the damage they have incurred to Iranians and other Muslim nations throughout history. His point has always been to criticize the indifference of Muslim countries, especially Egypt and Turkey, and the news media in response to the atrocities committed and the oppression perpetrated on Muslim nations. In a nutshell, the geography of resistance in Ali Mohammad Mo'addab's poetry has a wide domain across the globe and in the center of the Middle East.