Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, October 17, 2017
.jpg) |
| Mohammad Rahmanifar |
Mohammad Rahmanifar says that there are both politicians who view the teaching of the Turkish language in the Islamic Republic of Iran positively and those who are completely opposed to it.
Speaking to Voice of America from Tabriz, the writer and Turkish language teacher stated that as a result of campaigns organized regarding the mother tongue, the number of people in the society who can read and write in Turkish has rapidly increased, and the term "Turk" has also started to be heard from official platforms.
According to him, "Discussions are taking place at the state level regarding the teaching of Turkish and even the preparation of textbooks... Now, the state has split into two camps on this issue. One group has concluded that this language should be taught—or at least they are thinking about how to start it. On the other hand, there are people like Gholamali Haddad-Adel, who absolutely do not want to allow this. They are numerous at the state level."
Rahmanifar emphasizes that there are state-level disputes about the issue of teaching the Turkish language, but he interprets this as a sign that the campaigns for the mother tongue have been effective.
"However, at the state level, there is still no tangible result," he adds.
Rahmanifar states, "But what is important is that our demands are related to the language. It is being said from official platforms. After more than 100 years of calling us Azeri, today we see that from the leaders of this country to the members of parliament, they are calling themselves and us Turks on official platforms. Sometimes, they talk about the necessity of teaching the Turkish language from these platforms."
According to the writer, what comes from the officials is actually the demands present within the society.
"Even if they do not believe in it, this idea is spreading within the society. I believe that the nation must want it. If the nation resists and desires it, it will eventually achieve its goal, whether sooner or later," he adds.