The censorship policy of Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Guidance makes it more difficult to publish books written in Turkish in Iranian Azerbaijan and Tehran.
Recently, some authors have been sharing copies of documents on social media that demonstrate examples of censorship applied to Turkish-language books in Iran.
The Ministry of Culture denied permission to publish a collection of short stories by the Tabriz-based author and artist Riza Huseyni, arguing that the language form and some of the words used in the book were in "Istanbul Turkish."
Riza Huseyni shared a copy of the expert’s commentary on his book "Exiled" on his Instagram page.
"The published writings in the book do not conform to publication rules and regulations, so the file should be resubmitted after revisions are made to the aforementioned sections," the document reads.
The expert also wrote that "there is no legal or content-related issue with the stories. However, in terms of language form, there are many words in 'Istanbul Turkish.' These need to be corrected, and the words should be replaced with 'Iranian Azeri' terms. The book can be published after the revisions. Examples include: iki sıra (two rows), üzərində (over), gərginlik (tension), sadəcə (just), mavi (blue), ortam (environment), karakter (character), uyğun (suitable), kürək (spade), and other words.
Individuals and organizations involved in publishing, printing, and selling Turkish-language books in Iranian Azerbaijan and Tehran are regularly subjected to pressure. In recent years, some cultural activists who printed Turkish-language calendars have been arrested and tried. Writers point out that they are under heavy censorship pressure not only regarding the content of their works but also in terms of the words and terms they use, as well as writing conventions. Even books that have been granted publication permits are sometimes confiscated from book fairs.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
İran mədəniyyət nazirliyi türkcə kitabların “İstanbul türkcəsi”ndə yazıldığını iddia edərək nəşrinə icazə vermir