Mohammad Rahmanifar - 13 December 2023
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| Remembering the destruction of culture and language: A burning book symbolizes the efforts to erase the Turkish language in South Azerbaijan. Yet, the spirit of resistance lives on as cultural activists continue to preserve and promote their heritage through books in their mother tongue. |
Before the fall of the Qajar dynasty and the rise of Reza Shah to the throne in 1925, it was possible to publish books in Turkish, Persian, and Arabic in Iran and South Azerbaijan. However, during Reza Shah's reign, not only were books banned, but the writing and publication of Turkish were also forbidden. During this period, a total of 13 newspapers and publications were released in Azerbaijan—12 in Persian and one in Armenian. In other words, throughout his rule, no Turkish-language newspapers were published in Azerbaijan.
After the fall of Reza Shah in 1941, the Turkish people of South Azerbaijan regained the opportunity to publish books and newspapers in their mother tongue. With the establishment of the Azerbaijani National Government in 1945, Turkish became the official language of the government, and numerous books, newspapers, journals, government documents, and textbooks were published in this language. However, this period of flourishing for the Turkish language was short-lived, and in 1946, the Iranian army attacked South Azerbaijan and overthrew the national government. This time, the Tehran government did not just reinstate the ban on the mother tongue of the Turks but also systematically burned Turkish books in all the cities of South Azerbaijan.
What did the eyewitnesses say?
One of the first law professors in Iran, former University of Hawaii faculty, and head of the Tehran court, Professor Dr. Mahmoud Akhundi Asl, in his memoirs published in Iran, writes:
"I distinctly remember when government soldiers entered the city of Ahar, they invited the students to a welcoming ceremony and asked each student to bring their textbooks to burn them during the march. This book-burning ceremony was to ensure that no traces of them remained. I loved my textbooks and did not want to lose them. I did not participate in this event to prevent my books from being burned. Those books are still on the shelves of my library. Whenever I get a chance, I open them and read them, and tears of regret flow from my eyes."
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| Prof. Mahmood Akhondi's Memoir Regarding the Turkish Book-Burning Ceremony in Azerbaijan After the Fall of the Azerbaijani National Government by the Shah's Army |
However, other Turkish books were not as fortunate as Dr. Mahmoud Akhundi Asl's textbooks. Asad Behrangi, the older brother of the famous Azerbaijani writer Samad Behrangi, recalls in a book about his brother’s life:
"A week after December 12, we went to school. I noticed that the name of our school, which was ‘21 Azar,’ had been changed to ‘15 Bahman.’ The new principal had arrived, and the children said that Mr. Rafati had been arrested. The principal, who was standing in front of the line, said in Persian: 'Children, Pishveri fled, the braggers were defeated, the rebellion is over. Pishveri left, and took his language with him! Now, we will go to destroy his other works!' We lined up and entered a narrow street that led to the Mirza Hossein Vaezi alley. In the Liloa square, a fire had been lit, and children from other schools had gathered. We threw books into the fire one by one. The new principal gave a candy to each child who threw their book into the fire. The school principals were very careful to make sure no one hid their books. I too threw my books into the fire. After the ‘book-burning’ ceremony, the school bell rang, and we were told to go home and return tomorrow. My father seemed very angry at home and kept asking, 'What sin did the books commit?'"
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| Asad Behrangi’s Memoir of the Turkish Book-Burning Ceremony |
From the moment the Iranian army entered South Azerbaijan, all Azerbaijani newspapers and publications were immediately shut down. Only a few Tehran newspapers briefly and distortedly covered these events. For example, a newspaper called Ettela'at reported the following: "Turkish books were burned. Signs were changed, and the market was opened with a grand ceremony. The people of Tabriz and the students at the Ferdowsi High School yesterday thanked Colonel Zanganeh, the hero of the battle in Urmia, and expressed their enthusiastic emotions. Yesterday, people burned Turkish books in front of the municipality." What was published in this newspaper was nothing more than official government propaganda. It seemed as if the Turks of Azerbaijan had voluntarily burned the books written in their mother tongue and thanked the military commander who had committed atrocities in Urmia. However, this newspaper is one of the few Iranian newspapers that acknowledges the book burning.
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| An Iranian newspaper, Ettela'at, distortedly reported the book burning in Tabriz, portraying it as a voluntary act by the people, while masking the regime's cultural and linguistic genocide. |
Meanwhile, the newspaper Atash, a supporter of the Pahlavi monarchy, does not hide its joy over the burning of Turkish books: "Students from Tabriz held a celebration in the square in front of the municipality, with many locals in attendance. Journalists from the capital's press, members of the army, and government officials were present. First, a large fire was lit in the middle of the square, and amidst the cheers and excitement of the attendees, slogans such as ‘Long live the beloved Shah, long live Qavam al-Saltanah,’ ‘May the enemies of Azerbaijan be destroyed,’ and ‘Death to the traitors of Iran’ were shouted. Many of the classic Turkish books that the notorious Democratic Party had forced students to study were thrown into the fire."
Both the moderates who support the Islamic Republic of Iran and the opponents of the current regime speak in a way that suggests the Turks of South Azerbaijan hated the books in their mother tongue! The way the above newspapers report this is an example of this. It is clear that there were people who feared keeping Turkish books and thus burned them. However, the reason for these individuals' apparent dislike of Turkish books seems highly inappropriate. The claim that "the people did not want their books in Turkish and voluntarily burned them" does not seem plausible. Seyed Said Sadri also points to this concern in his report on the burning of Turkish books in the city of Miane:
"On December 12, 1946, after the army entered the city of Miane, over the course of several days, all Turkish books were collected. Eyewitnesses say that because people were afraid of the army and its leaders, they gathered the books and handed them over to the local government. In the same month, all the books were collected and burned at the upper crossroads."
The topic of burning Turkish books in Iran was long suppressed. However, with the rise of national consciousness among the youth in recent years, the eyewitnesses of that period broke their silence. Azerbaijani youth, aware that the memories of these individuals are a valuable treasure of South Azerbaijan's history, are trying to document the past by interviewing them. One of these interviews was conducted with Dr. Ahmad Saei, a professor at the University of Tehran. In his interview, Saei refers to the following regarding the "book burning":
"Our first-grade class coincided with the Democratic Party movement. Our books were in Turkish, and the teacher taught in Turkish. I believe it was in December 1946, when one day, the principal, Mehdi Zadeh, told us to bring all our books to school. A large number of books were collected, and all of them were burned. In our childhood world, we were happy to play with fire and thought that we would never have to do homework again."
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| Dr. Ahmad Saei recalls how, in December 1946, his first-grade class was forced to burn their Turkish-language books, while children naively celebrated the fire, unaware of its cultural significance. |
Campaign: One Book for Every Burned Book
The national movement of the Turks of South Azerbaijan is committed to a non-violent struggle. One way they resist the systemic linguistic and cultural assimilation is through cultural activism, particularly by purchasing and distributing books written in their mother tongue on the anniversary of the Turkish book burning event carried out by the central Tehran regime in Azerbaijan. Thus, if they wanted to destroy our culture, language, and books, we will take our greatest revenge by keeping our culture, language, and books alive.
In this regard, every year on December 17, cultural activists in Azerbaijan purchase Turkish books in large quantities and distribute them to youth, adolescents, and children.
This cultural movement is nothing but beneficial in every respect. First and foremost, it supports the writers and publishers of Turkish books in the very difficult and stagnant book market in Iran. These days, many publishers and writers from South Azerbaijan are working hard to sell their books at a discount to volunteers, allowing them to participate in this charitable movement.
Secondly, it generally increases the level of book reading, especially books written in Azerbaijani Turkish.
Thirdly, since these books are distributed among children and adolescents in the streets, many of them will see and read books in their mother tongue for the first time.
Undoubtedly, maintaining such civil challenges in a place like South Azerbaijan is difficult and stressful. However, cultural activists from Azerbaijan have been continuing this campaign for nearly 10 years, despite all the problems and obstacles, and they believe that one day there will be no barrier to their mother tongue.
Here are some photos from the Turkish book giveaway campaign in various cities across South Azerbaijan.
