September 22, 2015 - Əlirza Quluncu (Alirza Quluncu)
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Dr. Hadi Sultan-Qurraie |
Literary scholar Hadi Sultan Qurrayi discussed his book published in English on the policy of Persianization in Iran during an interview with Voice of America. Decolonizing Minds: Knowing the Unknown Space Known as Iran, authored by Dr. Hadi Sultan-Qurraie, a comparative literature professor at the University of Washington, examines the symbolism propagated in Iranian media and educational systems under the Persianization policy.
Dr. Sultan-Qurraie elaborated on the identity politics pursued, especially during the Pahlavi regime in Iran. He expressed his own exposure to and belief in these ideologies during those years:
"I am a case in point. We were taught in such a phase that, at that time, they had begun Persianizing Iran. That is the Pahlavi government, or even since the Constitutional period, there has been a policy to Persianize the country. However, there are many nationalities in this country. There are no such statistics in Iran to tell how many individuals belong to which nationality. But I, as a Turk myself, have travelled all over Iran and have seen Turks there. Turks themselves are a majority."
According to Sultan Qurrayi, colonization in Iran begins with the denial and marginalization of identities.
"Colonization starts from here. By denying someone's freedom and identity, they marginalize and then a separate power takes it away through radio and TV and Persianizes it, or in North Azerbaijan they Russify it...," he said.
Speaking about the importance of books written on "decolonizing minds," the scholar highlights that after reading books by African scholars, he realized that he had been colonized without even knowing it.
"I am not the same person I was 40 years ago now... After reading what African authors have written on this topic, I understood that I have been colonized; I had no idea about myself."
He mentions the famous work of Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong'o, "Decolonizing the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature," as one of the influential books he read.
Assessing the policy of colonial powers on languages, the scholar says, "Colonizers, to colonize Africa, first put their languages in place and then change the minds on that basis... Now they come to us and say, 'You don't know, your language is Persian. ' Or they divide the Turkish language into various dialects, like the politics of divide and rule."
In his book, Sultan Qurrayi explains both Iran's indirect colonization by other powers and its colonization policy towards non-Persian communities.
In his published book, the American university professor evaluates the use of symbols in Iranian literary history and understanding of history in the direction of Persianization policy.
The book extensively discusses various topics, such as the Aryan myth, the poet Ferdowsi as a symbol of Iranian nationalism, and the Cyrus Cylinder, to illustrate how they have been utilized in the country's identity politics.
As a literary scholar working as a university professor in America, he also points out the portrayal of Persian as a more beautiful and "sweet" language compared to other languages in Iranian society. He also highlights the ignorance and lack of knowledge about non-Persian cultures in Iranian society, emphasizing that the Iranian population must be informed about other cultures.
Link to the interview: https://www.amerikaninsesi.org/a/hadi-sultan-qurraie/2973548.html