How is "ancient" Iran portrayed in the textbooks of the Islamic Republic?

Azam Ahmadi, political researcher - November 10, 2019

The Islamic Republic suppresses any divergent interpretation of historical figures and events to ensure that only the official narrative of Iranian history remains intact.

The Islamic Republic has always been accused by its opponents of neglecting "ancient Iranian history." Many of these opponents are supporters of the Pahlavi regime, which emphasized nationalist ideology during its reign, sometimes adopting extremist tendencies. According to this group of opponents, the national identity has been sacrificed for the Shiite-Islamic identity of the Islamic Republic. Furthermore, this claim is not only raised by the opposition to the Islamic Republic but can also be heard from various groups and spectrums within the country.

But how compatible are these claims with reality? To answer this question, we examine the Islamic Republic of Iran's official narrative on its history and scrutinize the educational system, which is considered one of the important institutions in shaping identity and propagating the dominant ideology.

Artum Dinc: The May 2006 Uprising in Iranian Azerbaijan Went Beyond a Cartoon Protest

Əlirza Quluncu (Alirza Quluncu) - May 24, 2014

Artum Dinc

Artum Dinc views the May 2006 protests as a powerful manifestation of the enduring grievances of marginalized ethnic Turks in Iranian society. These protests were initially sparked by a derogatory cartoon published in an Iranian newspaper, leading to widespread outrage and demonstrations across Iranian Azerbaijani cities, including Tehran and other areas with sizable Turkish populations.

Artum Dinc: 'Mankurtization' and Persianization as Power Practices and Control Mechanisms

Əlirza Quluncu (Alirza Quluncu) - July 24, 2013

Artum Dinc

In an interview with Voice of America, Artum Dinc, a sociologist and doctoral student in the sociology department at Ankara University, discussed the reasons why some members of assimilated communities engage in activities against their own language and culture and the sociological and socio-psychological meanings and functions of the commonly used term "mankurt" in Iranian Azerbaijan.

Nazrin Aghamaliyeva on Hadis, AnimaFilm Festival, & Vaginismus

 

 

Leila Mekhdi - Caspian Post - 29 March 2024

The animation artist behind a successful short animation film, Hadis, talks about the struggles of Azerbaijani Turks in Iran and the censorship of taboo topics in Azerbaijan.

In May 2023, a short animation film, Hadis, was screened at the largest animation festival in the world, Annecy International Film Festival, becoming a significant event for Nazrin Aghamaliyeva for two reasons. First of all, the film was an homage to Hadis Najafi, a young Azerbaijani Turk in Iran killed during the women-led protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022. Secondly, it was Nazrin’s debut as a young animation artist and director. “It was like an Oscar for me,” she says.

Vahid Qarabağlı: The Iranian state tries to border the Turkish language, keeping it at a local level

February 22, 2024 - Əlirza Quluncu (Alirza Quluncu)

Sociologist and language activist Vahid Qarabağlı stated in an interview with Voice of America on International Mother Language Day that the Iranian state is trying to keep the Turkish language at a local level.

A poster was displayed at one of the Tractor football club's games in Tehran. It reads, "Open schools for Turkish education."

Qarabağlı also says that the Turkish language is central to the civil struggle in Iranian Azerbaijan.

"The civil movement in Southern Azerbaijan and the movement of Turks place language at the center. Because they feel that the Turkish community and the Azerbaijan region are subjected to a form of discrimination through language."

Vahid Qarabağlı: "Assimilation policy in Iran is systematic and institutional"

December 03, 2023 - Əlirza Quluncu (Alirza Quluncu)

Vahid Qarabağlı

Sociologist Vahid Qarabağlı, speaking to Voice of America, says that the assimilation policy towards Turks in Iran is not based on the wishes of some ultra-nationalist groups but instead applied through institutional and systematic state policies.

"When discussing the assimilation policy towards Turkish and the process of weakening Turkish in Iran, I see this as institutional and a product of a socio-historical process," Qarabağlı says.

He mentions that various institutions, from educational institutions to legislative and law enforcement bodies, play a role in the assimilation system.

Vahid Qarabağlı: "Iranian society becomes more politically active after mass protests"

April 28, 2023 - Əlirza Quluncu (Alirza Quluncu)

Vahid Qarabağlı

Vahid Qarabağlı, a sociologist and Turkish language activist who spoke to Voice of America, says that the recent mass protests against the government in Iran have further politicized Iranian society. He emphasizes that political dissent is no longer limited to certain segments of society, such as elites, student activists, women activists, and minoritized ethnic activists.

"After the protests, we saw a broad politicization in Iranian society. Prior to that, those interested in politics were certain groups and classes; the elites, student activists, women activists, and ethnic activist groups. However, then the pressure from the regime increased. There were protests in all cities. The protests continued for months, and people talked about it. A new generation joined the protests. This further politicized Iranian society," Qarabağlı says.

Iranian Azerbaijani Turkish Rights Activist Released From Prison, Flouts Court-Ordered ‘Internal Exile’

March 01, 2023 - Alirza Quluncu

FILE - Abbas Lisani is seen in this undated photograph from social media.

A prominent Iranian Azerbaijani civil rights activist freed from prison last week in Iran is publicly defying his court-ordered sentence of “internal exile” in an act of civil disobedience.

Abbas Lisani served more than four years in prison after Iran's Revolutionary Court in Tabriz convicted him in 2019 of "forming groups with the purpose of disrupting national security."

The verdict cited his speeches, media interviews, and participation in protests as evidence of activities to disrupt national security. The long-time activist has spent nearly 10 years total in prison for his civil campaigns, such as taking part in cultural gatherings to mark International Mother Language Day.

Iran Protest Crackdown Targets Lawyers

December 13, 2022 - Alirza Quluncu

Sina Yousefi, Amir Mehdipour and Ghasem Bodi are seen in undated photos from social media.

As Iran's anti-government protests continue, lawyers who have pledged to provide legal aid to protesters have come under increasing pressure from the country's judiciary and security forces. Since the beginning of nationwide protests in Iran in September, activists say at least 16 human rights lawyers have been arrested across the country, including four recently in the country's East Azerbaijan province.

Local sources say dozens of Azerbaijani-Turkish lawyers are coming under increasing government pressure for criticizing the crackdown on demonstrations and providing legal aid to those arrested during anti-government demonstrations. The East Azerbaijan provincial bar association is allegedly also under scrutiny.

Student Death Fuels Protests Among Iran's Azerbaijani Turks

November 21, 2022 - Alirza Quluncu

Azerbaijani Turk protester Aylar Haghi died on November 16.

Iranian authorities are reportedly detaining dozens of people among the Azerbaijani Turk communities in the country's northwest after a local medical student was killed during an anti-government protest last week.

Aylar Haqqi, a 23-year-old medical student, was killed last Wednesday while attending protests in Tabriz. On Friday, mourners attending her funeral at Tabriz's Vadi Rahmat Cemetery were attacked by Iranian security forces.

Azerbaijani Turks in Iran Demand 'Freedom, Justice, National Government'

Alirza Quluncu - November 11, 2022 - VOA NEWS ON IRAN

As anti-government protests continue across Iran, "freedom, justice and national government" has become a common slogan on the streets of Tabriz, Urmia and Ardabil, the three largest Azerbaijani-Turkish population centers in northwestern Iran.

The demands quickly caught the attention of the country’s other non-Persian communities.

A Story Of Power, Oppression And Resistance: How Iranian Women Are Leading A Revolution

 Janice Gassam Asare, Senior Contributor
I help create strategies for more diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Nov 8, 2022

Sevil Suleymani

The death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini has sparked protests in Iran. Amini was arrested for breaking the country’s law that requires women to cover their hair with a headscarf and she later died while in police custody. Since Amini’s death, women and girls in Iran have been removing their headscarves as a form of protest. Now, all eyes are on Iran, with some equating women’s removal of their headscarves to the fall of the Berlin Wall. At least 1,000 people have now been charged for their involvement in the protests, which began in mid-September. Sevil Suleymani is an Iranian woman who has been using her social media to speak out about what’s been happening in Iran. Suleymani sat down to discuss the state of the country and why Iranian women from marginalized backgrounds must be centered in the public discourse.

Vahid Qarabağlı: Iran does not allow Turkish language to enter official institutions

May 23, 2022 - Əlirza Quluncu (Alirza Quluncu)

Vahid Qarabağlı

Sociologist Vahid Qarabağlı evaluates the restrictions and prohibitions on non-Persian languages in Iran from a sociolinguistic perspective in a conversation with Voice of America. According to him, by preventing Turkish language from entering official institutions, the Iranian state delegitimizes it.

"A sociolinguistic approach to language sees it as a social phenomenon. That is, the place of language in society, its influence on society and the influence it receives from society are studied. Language affects our relationships, thoughts and our relationship with institutions in the society we live in. Our language is influenced by these institutions, including television and government institutions," says Qarabağlı. 

Decolonizing Minds: Knowing the Unknown Space Known as Iran

September 22, 2015 - Əlirza Quluncu (Alirza Quluncu)

Dr. Hadi Sultan-Qurraie

Literary scholar Hadi Sultan Qurrayi discussed his book published in English on the policy of Persianization in Iran during an interview with Voice of America. Decolonizing Minds: Knowing the Unknown Space Known as Iran, authored by Dr. Hadi Sultan-Qurraie, a comparative literature professor at the University of Washington, examines the symbolism propagated in Iranian media and educational systems under the Persianization policy.



Dr. Sultan-Qurraie elaborated on the identity politics pursued, especially during the Pahlavi regime in Iran. He expressed his own exposure to and belief in these ideologies during those years: 

The Politics of Iran's 'Forbidden Names'

Rikar Hussein, Aziza Goyushzade, Alirza Quluncu - VOA NEWS ON IRAN - May 19, 2022

On February 14, the Marand High Court in Iran's northern province of East Azerbaijan ruled that a newborn boy could not be named "Türkay" — a word meaning "Turkish moon" in Turkish.

His parents, disturbed but not surprised by the decision, decided to fight back. Following more than two months of legal battles, the East Azerbaijan Appellate Court in late April decided that the name was not actually on the list of "banned names," and the family could use it for their son.

It was a rare win for ethnic minority families in Iran who have long been frustrated by the government's refusal to allow them to name their children as they wish.

"Finally, another Turk got his ID card," tweeted family lawyer Sina Yousefi in Tabriz alongside the picture of the court decision.

Reza Baraheni, Writer, Poet, Literary Critic, and Public Intellectual: A Life-long Champion of Social Justice and Freedom of Speech

 Vahid Qarabagli - April 19, 2022

Reza Baraheni was one of Iran’s most important literary figures of the 20th and 21st centuries. Polymath novelist, essayist, translator, and public intellectual he was notably considered the “founder of modern literary criticism in Iran”, and was rated “Iran’s finest living poet” in 1977 by Harper’s Magazine. His works have been translated into English, French, Turkish and other languages. Well known as a prominent advocate of freedom of speech, democracy, and minority rights in Iran, he died on March 24, 2022 in Toronto, Canada, where he had lived in exile with his family since 1997. He was 86.

 

The Troubled Story of the Tabriz Ark –Are There Deeper Meanings Behind Archaeological Insensitivity?

 Vahid Qarabagli - January 31, 2022

Tabriz is now Iran’s fifth-biggest city and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. However, it was once was a major trade town on the ancient Silk Road. The Venetian merchant traveller Marco Polo praised its beauty and importance for commerce. Over the centuries, it has served as dynastic capital for the Ilkhanids, Aq Qoyunlu, Qara Qoyunlu, and Safavids. For parts of the Qajar period (1794-1925), it was the seat of the Crown Prince. It has always held a special place in the political, economic, social, and cultural life of the country.

Not surprisingly, therefore, Tabriz is home to various historical monuments, including the fabulous UNESCO-listed Historic Bazaar, the earthquake-fractured 1465 Blue Mosque and a gigantic brick structure in the downtown area known as the Ark. No, we’re not talking Noah. This ‘Ark’ (or ‘Arg’) is a kind of oversized fortress gateway that looks nothing quite like any other piece of medieval architecture you’ve ever seen.

The Influence of Turkish TV Series on Turks in South Azerbaijan and Iran

Vahid Qarabagli - The Caspian Post - December 07, 2021

Amongst Turkey’s fastest-growing exports are its TV drama serials. Known as televizyon dizileri or dizi for short, these are currently watched by an estimated 700 million people in more than 146 countries, from Latin America to the Balkans, the Middle East to Southeast Asia. Worth barely US$100,000 in 2008, dizi-exports have exploded over the past decade and by 2020 were worth an annual $500 million. And that number is expected to double again by 2023. Remarkably, Turkey is now the world’s second-largest exporter of TV drama after the US. 

How a Turk from Iranian Azerbaijan Found New Ways to Give Voice to Her Native Language

Darya Hodaei - The Caspian Post - October 19, 2021

Darya Hodaei and her family. Image: Darya Hodaei

As well as her day job as a Florida pharmacist, Darya Hodaei runs a bilingual social media-based platform called EnglishAzerbaijani [Turkish] that helps promote Azerbaijani Turkish language and culture. Darya was born and raised in Tabriz, the capital of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. A precocious child who was quickly recognized as having exceptional talents, she did well in school, gained a doctorate of pharmacy degree, and ran a community pharmacy before immigrating to the U.S. in pursuit of better opportunities. She shared her story with the Caspian Post.

 

Dr. Darya Hodaei - Promoting Turkish Language

If you’ve read her article on Caspian Post you might feel that you already know Dr. Darya Hodaei – a Florida-based Azerbaijani-Turk from Iran who is the brains behind the language website English Azerbaijani [Turkish]. On top of her day job as a pharmacist and the pressures of motherhood, she has written three bi-lingual children’s books to promote the Azerbaijani Turkish language and culture. In this podcast we get to know her a little better and hear more about her passion for her native language.

Check out her youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQO... Her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/englishazer... Her Azerbaijani-Turk/English Bilingual Children’s Books: https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Darya-Hodaei/e/B0979GQGZ4?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1634835662&sr=1-1