Nine percent of books published in the province last year were in Turkish.
The Head of the East Azerbaijan Province Department of Culture and Islamic Guidance reported a 100% increase in book publication compared to previous years.
According to Mohammad Mohammadi-Pour, approximately 9% of the books published in East Azerbaijan during the last Hijri year were in Turkish.
In an interview with the Anaj news agency, the cultural department head stated that during the Hijri year 1395 (March 20, 2016 – March 20, 2017), around 1,600 books were published in the province, with approximately 150 of them in Turkish.
Activists involved in book publishing and the book market in Iranian Azerbaijan and Tehran have highlighted the limitations and challenges imposed on the publication of Turkish books. At the same time, they emphasized the growing interest in Turkish books among the population.
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| The Turkish short story collection "Qırmızım" by Qəfur İmamizadə Xiyavi, who won first place in the 2016 International Mahmud Kashgari Short Story Competition with his story of the same name, has been published in Iranian Azerbaijan. |
In a previous interview with Voice of America, activist Vahid Faizpour stated:
"Regarding the publication of Turkish books, it’s important to draw attention not only to the challenges of publication but also to the lack of legal provisions for Turkish education in Iran... However, despite starting from scratch after the Revolution and enduring all kinds of restrictions, the number of Turkish readers has been increasing, in contrast to the declining readership in Persian-speaking communities."
Author and Turkish language instructor Mohammad Rahmanifar noted that campaigns focused on mother tongue education have significantly increased the number of people reading and writing in Turkish.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Keçən il Şərqi Azərbaycanda türk dilində 150 kitab nəşr edilib