It's hard to be too critical of an event that's "anti-Daesh." We'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who isn't.
But it's also hard not to look at any widely publicized event organized by Iran with some level of skepticism.
Earlier this week the Islamic Republic created a cartoon contest that ultimately ended in an exhibition displayed in Tehran. Iran says there's been no shortage of submissions — the country claims a competitive process, with only 280 of the 400 submissions from all over the world chosen for display.
The contest's executive secretary, Mohammad Habibi, told Iran's Press TV he wanted artists to raise public awareness on the militant group. OK, fair enough. But Iran's censorship records show the country's not exactly known as a free speech advocate.
The organizers' selection process is a bit of a mystery. Looking at the cartoons, it's safe to say a lot of anti-Daesh sentiments from the cartoonists are also blatantly anti-US and anti-Israel messages. In fact most of them seem to support conspiracy theories of the three working together to achieve a means.
Here's a sample of the cartoons that made the cut (resistart.ir):
By Saeed Sadeghi, Iran
By Mahmood Azadnia, Iran
By Mahdi Rasouli, Iran
