Amir Rastaq, Culture and Arts Journalist - BBC Persian - January 31, 2014
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The implementation of a section of Article 15 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran has become a fresh point of contention between cultural and political circles.
According to this article:
"The official and common language and script of the people of Iran is Persian. Official documents, correspondence, texts, and textbooks must be in this language and script. However, the use of local and ethnic languages in the press and mass media and the teaching of their literature in schools, alongside Persian, is permitted."
In the years following the revolution, implementing this law in the context of using local scripts and languages in the press faced no significant issues. Publications and books in ethnic languages have been and continue to be produced. Even provincial television networks primarily broadcast programs in local languages without any restriction. However, operationalizing the part of the law referring to "teaching their literature in schools, alongside Persian" has never materialized in the 35 years since the revolution.
Rouhani’s Administration Takes a Step Forward
President Hassan Rouhani’s pre-election promises and the appointment of a well-known figure, Ali Younesi, as the Special Assistant to the President on Ethnic and Religious Minorities’ Affairs signaled the administration’s seriousness in addressing this issue.
In his third public statement, issued a few days before the election in mid-June, Rouhani emphasized the “full implementation” of Article 15, advocating for “the formal teaching of Iranian mother tongues (Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic, etc.) in schools and universities.”
Months later, during Rouhani’s visit to Khuzestan, Younesi referred to meetings with Minister of Education Ali Asghar Fani and noted:
"Teaching the mother tongue is among the plans of the Ministry of Education, and once the necessary programs are developed, the results will be announced."
Ultimately, in a meeting on January 27, Minister Fani mentioned the formation of a working group and a think tank to address this matter and coordinate efforts to implement mother-tongue education while continuing to promote Persian education among ethnic communities.
Dissenting Voices: Whiff of Foreign Conspiracy?
These remarks and actions did not go unchallenged, as members of the Persian Language and Literature Academy criticized the government’s approach. The specifics of how this policy would be implemented remain unclear.
The Academy’s website reported that much of the January 27 meeting revolved around critiques of teaching mother tongues in schools.
Mohammad Ali Movahed, a native of Azerbaijan, opposed direct government involvement in teaching local languages, stating:
"We have a standard language, which is our official language. If the government neglects it and ventures into the domain of local languages, our efforts will fail."
Mohammad Dabirmoghaddam emphasized scientific research, highlighting challenges:
"Some languages have numerous dialects and variations. Choosing one for educational purposes will inevitably lead to issues."
Bahaeddin Khoramshahi urged the government to clarify the scope and approach to mother-tongue education.
The harshest criticisms came from Salim Neisari and Fathollah Mojtabaei. Neisari called the move “dangerous,” while Mojtabaei implicated foreign powers. He stated:
"There’s no doubt this issue has been imported into Iran by external forces—England and our northern neighbors are pushing this agenda. If we turn mother tongues into scientific and educational languages, we will undoubtedly regress. This is a dangerous matter, reeking of conspiracy."
Zhaleh Amoozgar, another Academy member, shared her personal experience from Azerbaijan:
"As an Azerbaijani, I completed primary school, high school, and university in Azerbaijan. We always learned in Persian and spoke Turkish among ourselves, enjoyed Shahriar’s poems in Turkish, but communicated in Persian at the university. The country needs a standard language. As someone raised in Azerbaijan, I say that Turkish was never a barrier to learning Persian. However, using a language other than Persian as a scientific medium would be genuinely dangerous."
Moderate Views: Dual-Language Education in Schools
Prominent linguist Mohammad Reza Bateni has consistently supported the right of ethnic groups to learn their mother tongue alongside the official language. In a roundtable discussion on International Mother Language Day (February 21), Bateni likened Iran to the United States, a linguistic mosaic.
"In the U.S., 90 million Spanish speakers have their textbooks and language taught in schools, but their official and administrative language remains English." He argued that Persian, as the official language of Iran, should be preserved while mother tongues are also taught.
More than 25 years ago, Nasrollah Pourjavadi articulated a similar sentiment in his article “Iran, the Oppressed,” published in Nashr-e Danesh magazine. Pourjavadi emphasized:
"Persian became the official language due to its historical significance and the rich cultural legacy behind it. This language is the second language of the Islamic world, and countless cultural treasures of Islam and Iran are preserved in it. The development and enrichment of Persian were contributions from Iranians of various ethnicities, as well as intellectuals from beyond the Oxus and Sindh."
The Road Ahead
Amidst the debates between supporters and opponents, the Rouhani administration, and the two working groups established by the Ministry of Education, face the challenge of responding to critics and crafting a practical plan for implementing mother-tongue education. Time will tell how this contentious issue unfolds.
The link to the original article in Farsi on BBC Persian:
تدریس زبان مادری در مدارس؛ اجرای قانون اساسی یا توطئه خارجی؟