Sevil Suleymani: How Shia Identity Has Led to the Assimilation of Turks in Iran

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, February 11, 2016

Sevil Suleymani

Sevil Suleymani states that various ethnic, religious groups, and intellectual currents in Iran have different positions on the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the regime that followed. In an interview with Voice of America, the Southern activist reflects on the thoughts of the younger generation, who did not experience the Pahlavi era or the Islamic Revolution.

According to Sevil Suleymani, the perspective of the new generation is not straightforward. “Young people’s views are influenced by their ethnic and religious backgrounds, as well as their personal social outlook... Those who are politically indifferent tend to view the situation based on the perception from the Shah’s era, seeing the existence of certain social freedoms and therefore labeling the revolution as a complete mistake... Of course, those who hold these views are also Persian nationalists who view the Pahlavi era as very bright. This mindset is supported among other ethnic groups as well, such as Turks, Kurds, and Arabs."

She states that those who fully support the Islamic Revolution are part of the group who believe in "religious nationalism":

“Then there is another group—those who believe in religious nationalism. They see this revolution as entirely justified and view it as a success... Despite some grievances today, they see through the eyes of some people in power that some came and corrupted this revolution.”

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's supporters greet him at Tehran airport. February 1, 1979.

Sevil Suleymani believes that the younger generation is no longer revolutionary but is now in a "reformist" mood.

The Azerbaijani activist highlights the role of religious nationalism and Shia Islam in the Islamic Revolution and evaluates its impact on the political stance of Turks, who are predominantly Shia and live mainly in the Azerbaijani provinces:

“Religious nationalism came during the Safavid era. A Shia-based empire was established... During this Revolution, it [became] a political force again and managed to take control of the movement. The Persian nationalism of the Reza Shah period was slightly different from Shia nationalism. Now, they didn’t look at your ethnic group but at your religious affiliation. Since most Turks are Shia, they were able to occupy many positions of power in this regime. Turks later also participated heavily in the Iran-Iraq war.”

She points out that in Iran, some deny the discrimination against Turks by emphasizing the fact that some Turks have positions of power. However, these Turks did not enter the upper echelons of the government due to their ethnic background but because they assimilated within the Shia ideology... Sunni Turks were unable to reach those positions.”

"For this reason, I say that during the Islamic Republic era, assimilation of Turks has been more prevalent than among other ethnic groups," Suleymani adds.

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Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Sevil Süleymani: Şiə olduqları üçün İranda ən çox türklər assimilyasiya olunublar