December 03, 2023 - Əlirza Quluncu (Alirza Quluncu)
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Vahid Qarabağlı |
Sociologist Vahid Qarabağlı, speaking to Voice of America, says that the assimilation policy towards Turks in Iran is not based on the wishes of some ultra-nationalist groups but instead applied through institutional and systematic state policies.
"When discussing the assimilation policy towards Turkish and the process of weakening Turkish in Iran, I see this as institutional and a product of a socio-historical process," Qarabağlı says.
He mentions that various institutions, from educational institutions to legislative and law enforcement bodies, play a role in the assimilation system.
Qarabağlı's observations paint a grim picture. He points out that All state institutions, including the judiciary, legislation, and constitution, favour the Persian language, thereby marginalizing other languages. When Turkish activists dare to question this injustice, for instance, when they simply demand education in their native language, the judiciary system and intelligence system step in to silence these activists.
Qarabağlı argues that reducing the systematic and institutional assimilation system of the state against diversity and difference in the country solely to the "Iran Shahri ideology" of small elite nationalists is not accurate.
In recent years, some local politicians and civil activists in Iranian Azerbaijan have voiced concerns about the influence of proponents of the 'Iran-Shahri ideology.' This ideology, which promotes the concept of 'Greater Iran' or Pan-Iranism, is believed to have infiltrated government agencies. Earlier, Tabriz MP Ahmad Alireza Beygi criticized Iranian officials for their anti-Turkey and anti-Azerbaijan statements, highlighting the influence of advocates of the 'Iran-Shahri ideology' within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Vahid Qarabağlı, "there is a systematic and institutional process here. They have the power, and they apply it. They pass laws regarding languages and promote a certain policy. Some advocate for a discourse called Iran-Shahri that extends beyond Iran's borders and sees Iran as a representative of "the great Persian civilization." However, the Iran-Shahri ideology is just one form or discourse of nationalist politics and ideology in Iran."
He adds, "Reducing the entire issue of institutionalized and century-long centralist policies, ethnic, and language marginalization to the Iran-Shahri ideology would be ignoring the functions of the institutions within the system and the dominance of the Persian language in the constitution and the government's politics. That is defined as maintaining and reinforcing its hegemony over other languages and speakers. Reducing the issue's importance to the promoters of one ideology can mislead us in achieving fundamental change in the system, as it fails to recognize the problem as structural, institutional, and broader, requiring broader structural changes.
Original link to the interview: https://www.amerikaninsesi.org/a/7381412.html