The story of developing something on the edge of religion and tech in Iran: Nazri Yab
It started with a tweet on November 24, 2011:
This sparked something in me once I realized it could solve an important problem — many people said it’s difficult to find or remember which places offer free meals, so this problem leads to more traffic, more fuel consumption, etc. I saw an opportunity to help address this issue.
What's Nazri?
The tradition of Nazri dates back centuries and exists across different cultures and religions. In Shiite Islam, it is a vow or commitment to carry out an act of charity, often by feeding the poor, in fulfilment of a demand.
In Iran over the past decade, these Nazri traditions have shifted from feeding the poor toward public acts of charity used for self-promotion. For example, during some Islamic mourning events, individuals or (semi) private groups now cook food and distribute it to crowds outside their homes.
Similarly, some set up tents on street corners to offer passersby free tea or juice.
Nazri Yab
I started a website called “Nazri Yab” (which means “Finding Nazri” in Farsi) by creating a crowdsourced database where people could submit locations of Nazri acts and pin them on a map. With the help of my friend Arman, a talented front-end developer, I was able to launch a basic version of the site within just 4 hours.
This platform enabled people to easily find Nazri events happening around them. To kickstart the data, I added some initial Nazri locations I knew about in my neighbourhood.
With the site launching close to Ashoura, an important day of charitable giving in Shiite Islam, the idea caught on rapidly. Within days, we had hundreds of submissions from people across the country.
Becoming popular
Within months, Nazri Yab took off beyond our expectations — from 1000 users on the first day to over 100,000 active users within a week. My friends contributed in different ways such as introduction videos, and technical stuff allowing us to scale.
The rapid growth soon attracted media attention. We did interviews with local newspapers, TV channels and were even featured in the Washington Post. Many people tweeted about Nazri Yab, though some tweets expressed opposition to the cultural aims of the site.
Like every growth in Iran, we faced significant backlash, including from government-sponsored groups opposed to the site’s cultural aims to the governmental controlling approach. However, we overcame these challenges through perseverance and ingenuity.
We passed many different hard situations during this time:
- Website Blockage (2013)
- Summons from the government authorities (2014)
- Many threats from government-sponsored extremist groups (2013~2018)
- Take over the domain (2017)
But in any case, I was able to get out of these situations; of course, with monetary and spiritual costs.
Forced sunset
After years of harassment and serious threats with accusations that could have severe consequences for myself and others involved. Fearing for our safety, we made the difficult decision to step away from Nazri Yab without fully shutting it down.
While disheartening, the experience inspired other public benefit projects. It showed us the power of online tools to drive change, even in the face of opposition. This sparked our launch of Darukhane Yab in 2021 — a service helping people find nearby pharmacies during COVID.
I remain hopeful that social impact initiatives like Nazri Yab can persevere in trying conditions. The journey was rewarding, enabling connections and shifting attitudes. Nazri Yab represents the resilience of the human spirit and technology’s potential to uplift communities.
Time to say goodbye
After much deliberation, we have made the difficult decision to permanently shut down Nazri Yab, effective today. The costs of keeping the platform updated and running smoothly have become prohibitively high for our small team and the project is outdated and is not useful like the past and Iran’s society is changing.
We want to thank the thousands of users who made Nazri Yab such a vibrant community and powerful force for social good in Iran. Your passion and resilience were an inspiration. Nazri Yab represented the ability of technology to empower people and strengthen communities.
While we are saddened to see it go, we know Nazri Yab sparked change that will endure. Its legacy lives on through the connections formed and attitudes shifted.
Thank you for being part of this journey. We hope our paths cross again in future initiatives to drive positive change.
While disheartening, shutting down Nazri Yab closes a meaningful chapter in our work empowering communities through technology. We remain committed to this mission.
