March 19, 2025
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| The Iranian identity booklet, also known as the Shenasnameh |
Alirza Quluncu & Vüqar Bəhmənzadə, Voice of America, March 14, 2025
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| Tabriz University |
University professors from Azerbaijan’s provinces have sent a letter to the president, urging the government to take immediate steps to ensure the teaching of their mother tongue in schools and universities.
Among the 196 signatories of the letter are faculty members from universities in Tabriz, Ardabil, Urmia, and Maragheh. They have called on the president to introduce a bill in parliament for the teaching of their native language.
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| Islamic Republic of Iran Parliament |
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| The poster of the play Dənizdə (At Sea). |
The Turkish-language play At Sea (Dənizdə), directed by theatre arts instructor and director Ali Fotouhi, has been on stage at Tabriz City Theater since Sunday.
According to reports from Nasr News and various social media channels, the play is being performed at the Ustad Sadiqi Hall within the Tabriz City Theater complex and will run for 10 days.
Originally written by renowned Polish playwright Sławomir Mrożek, the play has been translated from English into Turkish by Mehdi Velizadeh.
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| Vahid Qarabaghli |
Sociologist and activist Vahid Qarabagli discussed the recent debates surrounding "racist chants" that have been prominent in Iranian Azerbaijan and Tehran's sports and political circles in an interview with Voice of America.
Qarabagli expressed his hope that with the strengthening of the "anti-racism discourse" in Iranian Azerbaijan, there will be an increase in awareness about racial slurs in Iranian society.
According to Qarabagli, racist chants in stadiums should be seen as a reflection of broader racist discourses, policies, and practices within mainstream society, and addressing these societal issues is key to eliminating racism.
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| Ardabil |
Ahead of International Mother Language Day on February 21, national activists in Iranian Azerbaijan have distributed books in Azerbaijani Turkish, particularly among schoolchildren.
According to reports shared on social media, activists in Tabriz, Ardabil, Urmia, Khiyav, Parsabad (Mugan), Qoshachay, Bostanabad (Ujan), and other cities distributed books teaching the grammar of Turkish, as well as fairy tale books for children. This initiative aims to raise public awareness about the importance of the mother tongue.
February 20, 2025
Accompanying the image is the text: "…Oh brothers, I was not created as a langualess nation — why are you shoving these languages into my mouth?"
This satire humorously critiques the imposition of foreign languages and cultures on the Azerbaijani Turks of the time—a policy that has persisted in Iran for over a century.
Founded by Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, Molla Nasraddin was a pioneering satirical magazine that played a key role in early 20th-century Azerbaijani literature and culture. Renowned for addressing significant social and political issues, the magazine actively engaged with topics such as language and alphabet reforms.
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| Environmental destruction driven by unsustainable resource exploitation. |
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| Teoman Aktan, political scientist |
Political scientist and activist Teoman Aktan, in an interview with Voice of America, analyzed the events that took place on January 26 during the match between Tractor Azerbaijan and Persepolis in Tehran, which remains a topic of heated debate.
February 16, 2025
During the closing ceremony of Tabriz Cultural Week, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was interrupted and warned by an official while reciting lines from the famous poem Heydar Baba’ya Salam by Mohammad Hossein Behjat Tabrizi (Shahriar).
Before reciting the poem, Pezeshkian noted that he intended to read two lines from Shahriar’s poetry but mentioned that some officials and ministers in the audience did not understand Turkish, so he would continue his speech in Persian. He then began to recite:
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| The owner of Tabriz's "Tractor Azerbaijan" club, Mohammad Reza Zonouzi. |
Despite the Iranian Football Federation’s announcement, the heated debate surrounding the events of the January 26 match between "Tractor Azerbaijan" and "Persepolis" continues.
The owner of the Tractor club, Mohammad Reza Zonouzi, sharply criticized the decision of the Federation’s disciplinary committee. Zonuzi emphasized that the decision was more of an encouragement than a punishment for the Persepolis supporters who shouted "racist chants."
Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, February 12, 2025
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| Ilqar Ulusoy, political activist |
Political activist Ilqar Ulusoy discussed the controversy that arose after the racist chants directed at Turks during the January 26 match between "Tractor Azerbaijan" and "Persepolis" in an interview with Voice of America.
Hamid Melikoglu, Voice of America, February 8, 2025
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| "Tractor" fans have previously protested against racist chants being shouted in the stadium, but the issue has still not been resolved. |
The Human Rights Commission of the East Azerbaijan Bar Association has issued a statement condemning the racist chants heard during the match between "Tractor" and "Persepolis." The commission denounced such slogans and demanded strict measures against those responsible for these actions.
The statement was published on the Instagram page of the East Azerbaijan Bar Association and the Vokalapress website.
Narges Rezaie / Anadolu Agency - February 5, 2025
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| The supporters of Tractor Azerbaijan |
Following the "racist" chants against Turkish people during the recent match between Persepolis and Tractor teams, which sparked widespread reactions and led to a warning in the Iranian parliament yesterday, Ali Jafari Azar, the representative of Tabriz in the parliament, explicitly criticized the "various forms of rudeness, immorality, disorder, and racial and ethnic insults by some fans and certain officials of the host team and event organizers at Azadi Stadium in Tehran." He added that the matter is being examined from a legal perspective, and discussions about escalating it to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA are underway if domestic authorities and the Iranian Football Federation fail to address it. Anadolu evaluated this issue from a social perspective.
February 2, 2025 - Omid Shamizi / Anadolu Agency
The tense match between the teams of Persepolis and Tractor in the 17th week of Iran's Premier League was accompanied by numerous controversies and tensions. Even a week after the game, the fallout continues.
Iranian Azerbaijani Turks, especially, have protested the "racist" chants directed at them during the match. The management of Tractor has threatened to escalate the issue to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA if the relevant domestic bodies and the Iran Football Federation fail to address the matter.
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| Human Rights Lawyer Mohammadreza Faghihi |
The international human rights organization Front Line Defenders has recently issued a statement of support for human rights lawyer Mohammadreza Faghihi, who was sent to Tehran's Evin Prison.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Dublin-based organization called on Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release the lawyer.
Mohammadreza Faghihi, originally from Iranian Azerbaijan, was sent to Evin Prison on January 21 to serve a five-year sentence he had previously been convicted of.
Ahmad Dursun/Anadolu Agency - January 29, 2025
The Turkish-language theater play Sattar Khan: National Hero was met with widespread acclaim from viewers in both Tehran and Tabriz.
This play highlights the sacrifices of Sattar Khan in the struggle for freedom, as well as the cultural diversity and historical heritage of Iran.
The play was initially performed in Tabriz for 20 days, with 25,000 spectators attending, before being included in the Fajr International Theater Festival in Tehran.
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