Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, November 02, 2015
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| Abdulla Tamimi |
Arab Member of Parliament Protests the Denial of Arab Identity in Iran and Insults Toward Arabs on Television
In a speech in the Iranian Parliament, Abdullah Tamimi, the MP from Fallahiyeh (Shadgan), protested the denial of Arab identity in Iran and the insults toward Arabs on national television. His strong words have caught the attention of Persian-speaking media, political circles, and South Azerbaijani activists.
In response to insulting comments made by Iranian actor Akbar Abdi on a live television program about Arabs, the Arab MP harshly criticized Iran’s national television, stating that it is pursuing a dangerous policy.
"Furthermore, we are not 'Arabic-speaking,' we are true Arabs," Tamimi's remarks, protesting the denial of Arab identity in Iran, particularly caught the attention of Turkish activists in Iranian Azerbaijan.Some South Azerbaijani social media users, who shared Tamimi's words, pointed out that Turks in Iran face a similar "denial policy." However, they emphasized that the MPs from Azerbaijani cities have not voiced any protests.
In addition to some politicians close to the Iranian government, many intellectuals, politicians, artists, and writers outside of the government have occasionally stated that there is no such thing as Turkish or Arab identity in Iran, referring to Arabs as "Arabic-speaking," Turks as "Turkish-speaking," and even using terms like "Azeri" to describe them.
"Other than Turks, no other ethnic group in Iran has had its national identity changed. Arabs, Kurds, and Baluchis have not been given other names. However, the term 'Azeri' is artificially assigned to the Turkish language in official circles," said South Azerbaijani activist Ibrahim Savalan in an interview with Voice of America in February, drawing attention to the attempts to change the names of "Turk" and "Turkish" in Iran.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
İran parlamentinin ərəb vəkili: Biz “Ərəbdilli” deyil, əsl Ərəbik