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| Vahid Faizpur |
According to Vahid Faizpur, despite the challenges faced by those engaged in Turkish-language writing and publishing activities in Iranian Azerbaijan, the growing attention to identity issues has led to an increased interest in Turkish books. Speaking to Voice of America from Urmia, the cultural activist discussed the state of Turkish-language book publishing in Iranian Azerbaijan and Tehran after the Islamic Revolution, as well as the diversity of topics covered and the dissemination of these books to readers.
“Civil society in Azerbaijan cannot exist without considering Turkish. Unfortunately, the dominant totalitarian mindset and chauvinistic views in Iran restrict the public sphere for non-Persian nations through the dominant culture, providing neither legal opportunities nor access to education in Turkish. This mindset perceives cultural pluralism as a threat. Therefore, the cultural society of Azerbaijan has to separate itself from the cultural society in Iran, which is based on the Persian language.”
Regarding books, Faizpur explained, “In Iran, the entire book sector—its production and publication—faces significant challenges, and due to the centralist mindset, the situation for Turkish publishing is even worse.” He emphasized that issues such as censorship, the complexities of obtaining publication permits, restrictions on freedom of expression, and other obstacles faced by writers and publishers in Iran are applied even more harshly in Azerbaijan.
Faizpur stated that, as a result of these problems, the level of book reading in Iran is generally very low.
He noted that the civil society of Azerbaijan, which had been heavily damaged following the overthrow of the National Government of Azerbaijan in 1945-46, began to regenerate from scratch after the atmosphere created by the 1979 Islamic Revolution:
“When it comes to publishing Turkish books, we must also consider the lack of legal provisions for education in Turkish in Iran... However, Turkish publishing, which started from scratch after the Revolution, has been growing despite all the pressures. Contrary to the decreasing readership among the Persian-speaking community, the number of Turkish readers is increasing.”
Faizpur explained that the violent suppression of the National Government of Azerbaijan in 1945 and the burning of Turkish books caused severe damage to the cultural society in Azerbaijan, forcing it to start over after the Revolution.
He elaborated on the progress made in Turkish publishing after the Revolution: “In the early years, intellectuals who had witnessed the National Government period emphasized the importance of the Turkish language and began publishing Turkish books. They were also active in the press. Azerbaijani intellectuals worked hard to overcome the effects of a long period of stagnation. The influence of Varlıq journal in this regard cannot be denied...
Gradually, grammar books, works by earlier writers and poets, documents, textbooks from the National Government era, dictionaries, and history books began to reach readers. Intellectuals from the National Government period made efforts to provide the initial materials necessary for intellectual development within the framework of Turkish...
As these efforts continued, book publishing expanded into various fields, and the range of topics broadened.”
The activist from Urmia also provided information about publishers of Turkish-language books in Azerbaijan’s provinces and Tehran, explaining their efforts to reach readers and the challenges they face in this area.
Despite all these difficulties, Faizpur emphasized that the growing concern with identity issues has increased the popularity of Turkish books.
Faizpur gave detailed information to Voice of America about the restrictions and difficulties in the publishing process:
“Two main problems exist across the country. First, the authorities restrict the space for ideas they do not approve of. Books are a product of thought. Second, the laws related to book publishing are not transparent, which makes obtaining publication permits difficult. These problems are even more pronounced for Turkish books.
In addition, there is a chauvinistic view toward Turkish books. Publishers and writers are left wondering which words will be removed. They claim certain words are foreign, saying, ‘This is the Baku dialect, or the Turkish of Turkey.’ Issues arise over spelling rules and language. Since they view Turkish as a factor disrupting national unity, they seek to distort its grammar,” he added.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Vəhid Faizpur: İranda türkcə kitab oxuyanların sayı artmaqdadır