Milad Balsini – Radio Zamaneh – July 29, 2024
In this article, Milad Balsini uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the state of censorship on Turkish-language book publishing in Iran. Censorship on Turkish publications cannot be compared to censorship on Persian books; the censorship faced by Turkish publishing is inherently different from other types of censorship in Iran.
Introduction
Publishing professionals in Iran often use the phrase "blade of censorship" to describe the restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance on book publishing. However, this phrase is not limited to the field of book publishing; it extends to other domains like journalism, media, cinema, music, and all kinds of content production in Iran. When it comes to censorship of Turkish-language content in Iran, however, the "blade" loses its relevance, and perhaps the term "cudgel of censorship" better describes the reality of censorship in the realm of Turkish publishing. When the cudgel of censorship revolves around Turkish content production, every element, from the language (whether in terms of the specific Turkish writing style or words used) to the discourse underlying the book, and any aspect of the book that conveys concepts beyond the dominant ideology, comes under scrutiny. In other words, no matter where the cudgel of censorship lands on a Turkish book, it targets a part of its structure, ultimately resulting in Turkish publishing as a whole falling victim to censorship.
Censorship on Turkish publishing cannot be compared to censorship on Persian books, nor can it be said that even the additional layers of censorship on Persian publishing are applied to Turkish books. In essence, Turkish publishing encounters censorship that is fundamentally different from other types of censorship in Iran. Issues found in Persian book censorship also apply to Turkish books, but the unique challenges of Turkish publishing do not affect Persian books.
This article uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the state of censorship on Turkish-language publishing in Iran. The qualitative section is based on interviews with six individuals involved in this field, including two domestic publishers, author Raqiye Kabiri, Dr. Toghrul Atabay (Ph.D. in Turkish Language and Literature), Dr. Laleh Javanshir (Ph.D. in Turkology and director of Bayqush Publishing in Canada), and Orel Hatami (a sociology Ph.D. student and director of Gobustan Publishing in Turkey). The quantitative section uses available statistics since the 1979 revolution to analyze the state of Turkish-language book publishing in Iran.
Where Does Censorship Start and End?
The story begins when a publisher submits a book to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance for approval. Censorship of Turkish books starts with notifications or revisions that censors or reviewers from the Ministry send to publishers. Previously, officials from the Ministry would summon publishers and present the necessary revisions either in written or verbal form. However, since the latter part of Hassan Rouhani's second administration, these revisions are sent directly to the publisher’s profile on the Ministry's website.
A "revision" essentially serves as a censorship order, and censor or reviewer is another term for the censor. This order marks the beginning of censorship, though it’s not necessarily the end. Revisions communicate the deletions or changes requested by the Ministry to publishers. Sometimes these revisions call for the removal of a sentence, a paragraph, or even an entire section of the book. Other times, the revision may act as a "suspension order," essentially suspending or rejecting the publication request. It is rare to find a Turkish book (with the exception of religious texts like eulogies) that has not faced censorship or received a revision order. In the best-case scenario, the revision targets specific sections of the Turkish book, fragmenting the writer’s thoughts and leaving their argument incomplete.
Revisions for Turkish books encompass both the censorship applied to Persian publishing and go beyond it. The ruling authorities oppose anything that conflicts with their ideological views, addressing it under the pretext of "incompatibility with publishing rules and regulations"—whether in Persian or Turkish texts. For instance, Azerbaijani author and poet Raqiye Kabiri in her novel Doshargah used terms like "Shahnaz Crossroads" (now known as Shariati Crossroads) and Shahgolu (now Elgolu). Although these names refer to pre-1979 places, they remain commonly used among the people of Tabriz. Despite the novel’s context referring to events before the 1979 Revolution, the Ministry still objected, ordering changes to these names.
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| Figure 1. The first official letter issued regarding the novel Doshargeh by Rogheyeh Kabiri. |
In the travel memoir Writings from a Journey to China by Ms. Kabiri, titled The Scarf-Hanging Dragon, a sentence with erotic undertones was ordered to be removed or modified by the censorship authority. Ultimately, the author changed the sentence "After eating the black tarantula, would any of our men still feel like kissing the lips of these girls?" to:
"After eating this black tarantula, without thinking of these worms and tarantulas, how could they spend emotional moments with their fiancées?"
In another example, in Kabiri's novel Higher than Earth is the Soil, the censors objected to the character smoking excessively and demanded its removal.
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| Image No. 2. Official letter issued regarding the novel "The Dragon in the Middle of the Pond" by Roghieh Kabiri. |
Beyond the ideological regulations that oppose the content of Turkish-language books—which obviously can also be encountered in Persian publications—Turkish-language publishing faces a distinct and even more differentiated form of censorship in Iran, one that can be termed "content censorship." First, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has imposed a specific writing style for Turkish, which contradicts the language's orthographic rules. Turkish is a phonetic language, meaning words should be written exactly as they are pronounced. This rule applies to all words, regardless of whether they are of Turkish origin or borrowed from other languages. For instance, words like kitab (کتاب), Allah (الله), nömrə (نمره), hazır (حاضر), etc., which entered Turkish from Arabic, are pronounced and written as kitab, Allah, nömrə, hazır, respectively. However, the Ministry, labeling these as loanwords, insists they be written in Turkish texts following Persian orthography. This leads to a disregard for Turkish grammar rules in writing, resulting in grammatically inconsistent texts that fall under the Ministry's censorship restrictions.
To clarify, consider an example in Persian. Words like qebraq (قبراق), soqlı (سوگلی), šoluq (شلوغ), xanom (خانم), qab-lama (قابلمه), etc., originated from Turkish and are pronounced and written according to Persian grammar. Now imagine Persian writers being forced to write these words following Turkish phonetic rules: qıvraq instead of qebraq, sevgili instead of soqlı, şuluq instead of šoluq, xanım instead of xanom, qablama instead of qab-lama.
At times, some Persian writers introduce new forms of certain commonly used words in Persian without encountering any censorship or objections from the Ministry’s censors. This is because the Turkish language itself is subject to censorship in Iran, and this type of restriction does not extend to Persian. For instance, in Mehdi Afshari’s translation of Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, he writes stabl instead of asṭabl (stable), sabun instead of sabon (soap), zegal instead of zoqal (charcoal), and šast instead of šasṭ (sixty), providing footnotes on each page to explain his choices in spelling (Afshari, 1402). Such explanations find little acceptance when it comes to Turkish, and some publishers of Turkish books, when providing documentation to explain certain orthographic choices, even face suspension and rejection of publication licenses.
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| Image No. 3. The first official letter regarding the Turkish translation of the book "Momo" by Michael Ende, which requires the correction of loanwords. |
In addition to loanwords, which the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance insists be written in Turkish texts according to Persian orthography, two other positions have been taken regarding Turkish vocabulary. The first concerns terms that have entered from the Republic of Turkey and Azerbaijan, while the second involves words that, due to the absence of formal recognition and the lack of official status for Turkish in Iran—as well as the prevalence of Persian in daily life—have gradually fallen out of use but have reentered the language of Turks in Iran through various media from Turkey and Azerbaijan. If these scientific terms and words are used in Turkish books, the Ministry, referring to them as “Caucasian Turkish,” “Istanbul Turkish,” “foreign terms,” or “alien words,” demands they be replaced with “Iranian Turkish,” “the Azeri language commonly spoken in northwestern Iran,” “commonly used equivalents,” or, more accurately, with Persian terms. The result of this practice is that written Turkish is limited to daily speech or incorporates Persian words into Turkish texts.
Concerning the first issue—terms (especially scientific ones) that have entered the language of Turks in Iran from Azerbaijan and Turkey—the Ministry’s insistence on replacing these with “Iranian Turkish,” “the Azeri language commonly spoken in northwestern Iran,” or “commonly used equivalents” can be seen as an attempt to further distinguish between Turkish speakers on either side of the Aras River, particularly since the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. Although before this war, when the Department of Turkish Language and Literature was opened at Tabriz University, it was announced that the curriculum would be based on the Tabriz school and dialect. However, Turkish has a standardized written form, and in terms of writing, there is no room for discussion over the dialect of this or that city. Secondly, any local dialect in any of the Turkish-speaking cities has no more than a few thousand words in its vocabulary—words that, due to the prohibition on mother-tongue education over the past hundred years, are increasingly disappearing and being replaced by the official language’s vocabulary. Besides, the everyday language of any dialect does not exceed 3,000 words in its lexicon and is limited to casual, colloquial usage without the necessary scientific and technical terminology. Expressing scientific and literary nuances requires tens of thousands of words for technical, scientific, and literary terminology. Therefore, everyday language or the local dialect of any Turkish-speaking region cannot meet the needs of literary/written Turkish, as the Ministry insists on publishers, authors, translators, and others using the “Azeri language commonly spoken in northwestern Iran.” Moreover, publishers cannot identify the terms the Ministry intends to target. Some publishers report that the Ministry has even requested the replacement of simple, everyday words like yuxu (sleep), tanrı (God), and gedik (mountain pass) in Turkish texts. As a result, publishers cannot determine which words should be replaced with what, nor is the Ministry’s intent clear in this regard. Concepts like “Caucasian Turkish” or “Iranian Turkish” in the Ministry’s revisions are not well-defined; the Ministry has not published even a ten-page booklet clarifying these terms, leaving publishers uncertain about their expectations.
Moreover, over 90 percent of the terminology needed to convey modern concepts emerged in the 20th century, created by language academies in contemporary times for various languages. For instance, in the 19th century, none of the Turkish, Persian, or Arabic languages (the region's most widely spoken) had equivalents for major terms like culture, critique, modernity, citizen, and nation, which had entered the region from Europe. However, the Persian language in Iran, with its Academy of Language and Literature, was able to meet these needs. Without such an academy, Persian would also lack the vocabulary and terminology needed for contemporary authorship and translation, as Persian, too, did not have the words and expressions to represent modern life until roughly a century ago. Terms commonly used today were not coined until the early 20th century and, in some cases, even after World War II. Although Persian had a rich literary heritage, it was only through the modern Iranian state’s commitment and the efforts of the Persian Academy of Language and Literature that the language took on its current form. However, Turkish, due to the lack of an official governing body, has not had these needs met, and despite its 1,300-year written tradition, remains limited to the everyday, informal language of the street and popular literature.
Regarding the second issue—forgotten words among Turks that have been revived through various media from Turkey and Azerbaijan but, if used in Turkish books, are opposed by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance—it can be noted that the Ministry has not issued any directive for Turkish words. This is because passing any such resolution would mean officially recognizing the Turkish language. Therefore, certain Turkish words are labeled as foreign, and this foreign-labeling encompasses a wide range of words. It does not matter whether they are used in the Republic of Azerbaijan or Turkey, or are part of the everyday language of Turks in Iran. Some words labeled as foreign by the Ministry were, until recently, still used in Turkish dialects across the Iranian plateau. However, due to the dominance of Persian in daily life, these words are no longer used by the younger generations and are thus considered foreign because of their limited usage. Consequently, the vocabulary of this language continues to shrink, and some words are being forgotten altogether. Additionally, due to a lack of writing and the use of Turkish solely in everyday conversation, many words have lost their multiple meanings, and the single remaining meaning has been restricted to a specific domain. In other words, the semantic richness of the remaining Turkish words is also narrowing day by day. For instance, in the entry for the word yapmaq in the Turkish Language Institution’s dictionary in the Republic of Turkey, 20 different meanings are recorded. However, among Turks in Iran, this word only remains in use for “making bread” (çörek yapmaq).
The Turkish language, on the one hand, is gradually losing many words due to a lack of official recognition and the absence of a governing body like an academy in Iran. On the other hand, it has not acquired words and terminology that would represent modern life. Additionally, alongside the Persian language assimilation of Turkish speakers, there has been intense opposition to the Turkish language, culture, and history in Iran, blocking any efforts in this direction. Thus, it is natural for Turkish writers in Iran to benefit from linguistic resources from the Republic of Turkey and Azerbaijan.
In stark contrast to this, Iran has made significant efforts over the years to expand its cultural influence in Afghanistan through Persian language and literature, which has often been a controversial issue among Iranians and Afghans. In one instance, Iran held a training course for Afghan textbook authors in 2008 and established a teacher training center in Afghanistan. In another case, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, head of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature, during the first "Iran-Afghanistan Cultural Dialogue Conference" in December 2016, co-hosted by the Afghan Strategic Studies Office and Iran's Allameh Tabataba’i University, stated his willingness to assist the Afghan government in strengthening Persian vocabulary in that country. At the same conference, Haddad-Adel mentioned:
The Academy of Persian Language and Literature in Iran has found over 55,000 Persian equivalents for foreign words over its years of activity. Iran is prepared to provide these words to the Afghan government to facilitate Persian language education in that country's schools.
The Köçürmə Movement
The term köçürmə, derived from the verb root köçür(mək), meaning “to transfer, remit, or transcribe,” which itself comes from the extended root verb köç(mək) meaning “to migrate” (related to the word “kuch” in Persian), refers here to the transfer of Turkish text, usually written in Latin script in the Republic of Azerbaijan, into Arabic script (in linguistic terms: transcription) for publication and distribution in Iran. It is worth mentioning that in different periods of modern history, the Turkish language in Azerbaijan has been written in three scripts—Arabic, Latin, and Cyrillic (Cyrillic script). However, in Iran, Turkish has consistently been written in Arabic script, following the model of Persian (even during the period when Turkish was officially recognized in Azerbaijan under the Autonomous Government) and in compliance with the directives of official bodies. Therefore, for the exchange of Turkish texts on both sides of the Aras River, it is necessary to convert texts from the source script to the target script. This process has been called köçürmə by activists in this field. In recent decades, computer experts even developed software known as köçürgə to speed up this process, which accelerated the preparation of Turkish books in Iran.
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| Image No. 4. The cover image of the Turkish translation of the novel "Kyoto" (the ancient capital) by Yasunari Kawabata, which has been published in Iran in a distorted form. |
Köçürmə can be seen as an initiative to promote the Turkish language in Iran, helping to keep the structure of Turkish alive in the absence of native language education. Additionally, by utilizing the translation and creation of various Turkish books in Iran, Köçürmə can even be considered a movement that connects the shared Turkish language on both sides of the Aras River.
It is clear that the lack of education in the mother tongue has reduced the ability among Turks to author or translate any work, except in exceptional cases. Considering this, the entry of Turkish works into Iran through Köçürmə allows both potential and active Turkish-speaking audiences to engage with these works. Among the Köçürmə publications are works by Azerbaijani authors as well as translations of world literary works into Turkish. Therefore, Köçürmə, much like translation, can be regarded as a barrier against the isolation, passivity, and even decline of Turkish language and literature in Iran.
Some people criticize the works published through Köçürmə. Some argue that instead of Köçürmə, the PDF files of Turkish works in Latin script published in the Republic of Azerbaijan could simply be used. Others believe that, since many prominent literary works of the world are available in Persian translation and can be read in that language, there is no need for Turkish translation via Köçürmə. In response to the first group, it can be said that it is not only about the ability to read but also about the significance of officially recognizing the Turkish language through its publication in Iran. Reading PDF files of works published in Turkish in Latin script in Azerbaijan is only useful for those already familiar with the language and script. However, publishing these works in Arabic script in Iran expands their reach within society and makes them accessible to a much broader range of potential Turkish-speaking readers. A response to the second group follows along the same lines. The Azerbaijani civil society has fostered today’s Turkish readers and writers, and many texts have already been prepared for these potential and active readers. Nevertheless, according to many experts, Köçürmə represents a transitional phase for the Turkish language in Iran. Once the Turkish publishing market has been saturated with such works, the next step should be to translate works into Turkish within Iran. In other words, Köçürmə can be seen as a prelude to a period of translation, followed by an era of widespread Turkish authorship in Iran.
While Köçürmə books were previously published despite immense pressure, over the past year, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has stopped issuing permits for Turkish works published in Azerbaijan through Köçürmə, introducing terms such as “Caucasian Turkish,” “Iranian Turkish,” “Istanbul Turkish,” and so forth. A similar situation occurred during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency, when for a time the issuance of permits for Turkish books was entirely suspended. At that time, someone submitted a Köçürmə version of a book called The Fourteen Innocents to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance for publication approval. This book was originally authored in Persian by an Iranian cleric, then translated into Turkish and published in Azerbaijan. Letters were exchanged with the author to gain religious permission to publish it. However, even this book, which symbolized the dominant ideology in Iran, was denied a publication permit simply because it was in Turkish.
The greatest achievement of the Köçürmə movement for Turkish language audiences in Iran is the availability of literary prose, literary criticism, philosophy, and texts related to the humanities, which unfortunately face even stricter censorship compared to other types of Turkish books. The more modern and progressive the Turkish texts are, the greater the resistance against them. In other words, works that contain modern content attract significant sensitivity from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, resulting in lengthy delays in the approval process.
The difference that literary prose, philosophy, and humanities books in Turkish have brought to reading has helped fulfill the primary mission of study for Turkish language audiences. In the past, reading in Turkish was mostly symbolic and did not achieve its purpose. Naturally, the goal of reading is learning, adding to the audience's knowledge. However, due to a lack of resources in the past, the purpose of reading among Turkish speakers often revolved around enjoying works such as Heydar Baba by Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar or bayati (a type of poetic form in Turkish literature), with serious reading occurring in Persian texts, as the prevailing cultural policies had directed the Turkish language towards such limitations.
The activities over the past 20 years regarding Turkish prose have led audiences to return to the primary goal of reading in Turkish. Although modern Turkish prose has always existed for the past 100 years, it has been widely published and made available to audiences in the last two decades. This has resulted in progress for Turkish prose in various fields, bringing forth numerous books and advancements in the realm of Turkish literature. As a result of these advancements, there has also been an increase in serious audiences for Turkish prose. All opposition is directed against these advancements, and in a way, the content serves as an excuse for censoring the Turkish language itself, as it remains limited to the likes of Shahriar's poems or a few half-hearted folkloric works. This situation echoes a statement made by Seyed Javad Tabatabai in a conversation:
“What basic sources of human culture exist in the Azerbaijani language that they want to establish an Azerbaijani school! All the existing literary resources in Azerbaijani could be taught in two semesters for pan-Turkists.” (Mahramaneh, 2013)
Censorship Within Censorship
The method of censoring Turkish books in Iran reflects a lack of freedom of expression and also a lack of freedom after expression. This means that in addition to the months of waiting for approval from the Ministry of Culture, after a book is published, one must remain vigilant for the possibility of renewed censorship in various forms. The Ministry not only applies censorship before publication but also tightens the market for Turkish book sales after granting permits and publishing.
One of the most exceptional methods of censoring published Turkish books was seen during the 18th International Book Fair in Tabriz in 2023. Notably, this censorship method was implemented for the first time in Iranian history and only in Tabriz. During that period, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance assigned all aspects of organizing and selling the Tabriz Book Fair to the Book House, where no independent booths were allocated to any publishers. Publishers intending to participate in the fair were required to submit approximately five copies of each of their published titles to the Book House, which would then conduct its own review and only display the books it deemed appropriate at the fair. According to the guidelines, all sales revenue was to be deposited in the Book House's account, and one month after the fair's conclusion, the cost of the books would be transferred to the publishers with a 40% discount deducted, while unsold books would be returned to the publishers. This method of organizing the Tabriz Book Fair was executed at a time when publishers had been waiting for four years to resume the international book fair. As a result of this obstruction by the Ministry of Culture, nearly all Turkish book publishers, despite various threats, boycotted the fair and avoided participation.
In another example, during the 35th International Book Fair in Tehran, held from May 9 to 19, 2024, just two days before the fair’s conclusion, officials collected a large number of Turkish books, including Turkish poetry, stories by Samad Behrangi, works by Professor Mohammad Taghi Zeydabadi, and books related to the history and geography of Azerbaijan, despite them having been approved for publication by the Savalan Igidlery Publishing House.
In addition to collecting and restricting the sale of Turkish books, the Public Libraries Organization and other relevant institutions have never purchased any books from Turkish publishers, except for a few specific titles, nor have they made them available in public libraries for readers. Even some publishers, despite voluntarily purchasing certain Turkish books at their own expense and donating them to public libraries in cities across Azerbaijan, found that these books were neither registered in library systems nor placed on the shelves.
The Formless Nature of Planned Censorship
Although several instances of censorship regarding Turkish books have been mentioned, there is no uniform policy for censoring Turkish books in Iran, leaving publishers confused about which methods to employ to navigate the censorship of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. The only consistent approach from the Ministry is that censorship of Turkish books will never be lifted; rather, it will always be implemented in various new ways. For instance, after specific censorship issues are addressed, there may be the possibility of issuing new directives or amendments. There have been cases where a Turkish book has undergone 11 consecutive revisions, or situations where a book was declared unauthorized after revisions had been made!
Nevertheless, there have been instances where the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance or other related institutions have funded or compiled certain Turkish dictionaries and even sent them as gifts to various Turkish book publishers after publication. However, references to these dictionaries in letters written by publishers in response to the amendments issued by the Ministry are not accepted, and in some cases, referencing those same dictionaries has led to the rejection or suspension of Turkish book licenses.
One example is "Farsi-Turkish Azerbaijani Dictionary" by Mahmoud Dasht Pish, published in the late 1380s (2000s) at the expense of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Another example is "Sözlerin Uyan Yazılışı," published in 1398 (2019) by the Foundation of Culture and Literature of Azerbaijan. A more recent case is the "Azerbaijani Turkish Dictionary," which was published by Ahmad Bioteh, a representative of the 12th term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly for the electoral district of Ardabil, Namin, Nir, and Sarein, along with Seyyed Hassan Ameli, the Friday prayer leader of Ardabil, at the expense of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. It was unveiled on March 2, 2020, coinciding with International Mother Language Day.
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| Image No. 5. The official letter issued for the short story collection "Marjaleshme," whose license was suspended after referral to the Persian to Azerbaijani Turkish dictionary. |
The lack of a uniform policy within the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in dealing with Turkish books can be compared to Hannah Arendt's concepts of "planned shapelessness" and "permanent lawlessness" in relation to the governance style of totalitarian regimes. In this context, totalitarian governments, such as the Nazis, showed little interest in adhering to their own laws. What mattered to them was "moving towards ever-fresh areas," to the extent that "the intention and scope of action of the state's secret police" and other governmental or party institutions of the Nazis "could not be discerned from their respective laws and regulations" (Arendt, 1966, p. 189). Another example can be seen in Germany under Hitler and the Soviet Union under Stalin, where two parallel administrative structures were established for a single purpose. The primary goal of creating these parallel offices or constantly issued laws was not to enhance governance efficiency but rather to render laws and institutions impotent against the "will of the Führer" or the "will of the Big Brother." In this case, instead of established laws and administrative structures, it was the will of the Führer or Big Brother that could be applied to society at any moment.
The Turkish dictionaries, which are published at the full expense of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and are gifted to Turkish book publishers by trusted individuals from that ministry, are similarly disregarded by the censors when publishers reference them. In some instances, citing these dictionaries has even led to the rejection of books by censors, akin to the written but unenforced laws of the National Socialist German Workers' Party and the Communist Party of Russia. This ultimately allows the anti-Turkish/Turkic sentiment to persist in a form of planned shapelessness. This lawlessness has another dimension; if specific laws were applied, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance would be recognizing this language, thereby creating a unique written form of Turkish that could unite all speakers of this language in Iran around it.
Censorship Is No Longer a Solution!
The censorship of Turkish books has existed from the beginning, and as long as Persian remains the only official language of the country, it will continue. However, the sensitivities surrounding the official status of Turkish among its speakers will not only not prevent access to Turkish resources due to censorship but will also make it impossible to block the discourse around the formalization of the Turkish language in Iran.
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| Chart No. 1. Statistics on the publication of Turkish books in Iran from 1979 to 2018 (Source: Shoghpour, Hariri, Abadari, pp. 199-198, 2022). |
As indicated in the above chart, over the course of 40 years, from 1979 to 2018, the annual publication of Turkish books in Iran has risen from 74 to 374 titles. This means that despite all the limitations, Turkish book publishing has grown by over 500% during this period. Nonetheless, this number is still insignificant compared to the publication of Persian books. In 2018, when the highest number of Turkish books, 374 titles, was published in Iran, it accounted for less than 8% of the total books published in the country (same, p. 199). However, comparing the number of Turkish titles to Persian books is not a valid comparison, and to understand the progress of Turkish publishing in Iran correctly, one must pay attention to the increase in the self-publication of Turkish books during this period. Over the last 100 years, Persian has been the only official language of the country, and the government has spent billions annually to promote it, embedding the Persian language into the daily lives of the people through various means such as education and media. Yet, Turkish publishing has achieved its over 500% growth during the mentioned 40 years despite all the censorship, suppression, opposition, and sabotage, solely through the sensitivities of its speakers, and with empty hands.
This sensitivity does not solely rely on the permits issued by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance for Turkish books but has found various strategies to circumvent censorship. One example of this sensitivity is the establishment of Turkish publishing houses abroad and the reflection of their achievements back into the country. Qubustan and Bayqush are among those publishing houses set up to bypass censorship in Turkish publishing outside the country. Neither of these two publishers publishes books that could be released in Iran; rather, they only publish books that have faced censorship from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance or whose permits have been suspended. This approach assists writers, translators, and others who could not publish their works in Iran while also recording the censorship of Turkish books in history, allowing future generations to understand the tumultuous journey of the Turkish language in Iran.
Bayqush was originally a student publication that was published in Turkish at the University of Tabriz in the late 1990s but was eventually suspended due to pressure from university officials. Dr. Laleh Javanshir and Samad Pourmousavi, the operators of that student publication, later established a publishing house of the same name in Canada to continue both Turkish publishing and their struggle against the censorship of Turkish books in Iran. In addition to this publishing house, they are also the directors of the nonprofit organization Az Civic Nation. Their first initiative regarding the establishment of Bayqush Publishing was the printing and publication of activities carried out by that organization; however, since publishing those works in Iran was not possible and would certainly face censorship, they decided to establish their publishing house in Toronto. On the other hand, they also targeted the publication of Turkish books that have faced censorship and had their publication permits denied in Iran.
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| Image No. 6. "The History of the Ozan Ashiq Tradition" by Qara Namazov, an example of books published by Bayqush Publishing. |
The managers of Bayqush Publishing pay royalties to authors, translators, and those who present the books in a collaborative manner by sending several copies of the book. The customers of Bayqush Publishing's books are mostly audiences outside of Iran. There is also a cap on the sales of each book, and once that number is reached, the PDF file of the book is made available on the internet for free and without any restrictions.
Qubustan Publishing, which started its activities in Turkey in August 2022, is striving to publish the "Turk issue in Iran" in various languages, including Turkish, Persian, and English, and to present its achievements not only to audiences within Iran but also in Europe and America. Even Oral Khatami, as the manager of Qubustan Publishing, personally sends the published books to public libraries and humanities departments of universities in Turkey. Additionally, Qubustan Publishing translates the works of Turkish authors published in Persian in Iran into Turkish and publishes them abroad. Among these is the translation of plays by Gholam-Hossein Sa'edi.
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| Image No. 7. "Water Crisis" [9] is an example of books published by Qobustan Publishing. |
Tribune, as both a printed publication and an internet site, has gone through three phases since its establishment. Tribune was first launched in the spring of 1996 in Stockholm as a magazine and continued to publish six issues until the winter of 2001 as an effort to generate discussion around issues of discrimination based on linguistic, gender, cultural, and ethnic affiliations. In the first phase of Tribune's publication, the publication's managers (Mohammad-Reza Ardebili, Younes Shamli, and Alireza Ardebili) sent as many copies of the magazine as possible to neighboring countries of Iran and left the rest to "fate." Among the travelers heading into Iran from neighboring countries, there were some who risked the negative consequences of carrying copies or sets of Tribune. The rest of the work was left to enthusiasts who helped distribute it by reproducing all or part of its content.
After four years and the publication of six issues spanning 1,876 pages and nearly 200 articles, critiques, studies, etc., in both Persian and Turkish, Tribune ceased publication. Although it had briefly entered a dual existence (on paper and in the virtual world), it continued to exist only in the virtual realm for over a decade and a half. In the spring of 2023, it resumed printing as a magazine, and as of the writing of this article, its 14th issue is ready for publication.
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| Image No. 8. Issue Nine of the Tribune, August 2023, Special Edition on Women of Azerbaijan. |
Conclusion
The censorship of Turkish books in Iran is merely one aspect of the policy of assimilation or homogenization of its speakers within the Persian language, which has been rigorously pursued since the formation of the modern state in Iran. In this context, the Persian language has not only been formalized through hegemony in the Gramscian sense, which entails "a degree of consent from the dominated group," but has also been enforced through the coercive power that the ruling body has exerted to impose it on non-Persians. Therefore, the government employs censorship and restricts the publication and distribution of Turkish books to as much as possible deny the discourse surrounding the official status of this language at the national level. In this regard, the purpose of calling this language "Iranian Turkish" is to detach it from its roots, to superficialize and limit Turkish to the assimilated language that, incidentally, has been a product of the ruling body of Iran over the last hundred years. This is a language that has been both a victim of assimilation into Persian and unable to respond to modern life. The government does not allow the Turkish language in Iran to fulfill such needs. Nonetheless, the sensitivities regarding this language among Turkish speakers have, in the first place, prevented their complete assimilation into Persian and have, in the second place, led to the publication and dissemination of Turkish works in Iran. These two factors have laid the groundwork for raising the discourse of the official status of the Turkish language nationally and for gradually diminishing the possibility of concealment, distortion, and hostility towards this language.
Footnotes:
Long Live Catalonia, George Orwell, translated by Mahdi Afshari, Majid Publications, Behsokhan Publishing, sixth edition, pp. 16, 99, 104, 106, Tehran 1402.
Arendt, Hannah, Totalitarianism, translated by Mohsen Salathi, Tehran, Tahsil Publishing, seventeenth edition, 1400.
Hamed Zarei, Mansour Hashemi, Mohammad Ghouchani, Mehrnameh, Settling Scores with the Guerrillas / An Autobiographical and Critical Conversation with Dr. Seyyed Javad Tabatabai, issue 29, p. 181, Tir 1392.
Shoghpour, Davood; Hariri, Najla; Abadari, Zahra (1401), An Examination of the State of Book Publishing in Azerbaijani Turkish from 1358 to 1397, Library and Information Science, 25 (3), 189-213.
[1]. Roghieh Kabiri, a member of the Writers' Association, winner of several national and international awards, is the author of 20 titles including stories, novels, poetry, and travelogues in Turkish. In October 1401, coinciding with the Women, Life, Freedom movement, she announced via a statement on her Telegram channel: "In protest against the brutal suppression of the civil demands of the children of the homeland across the country and at Tabriz University, I declare that I will no longer publish any books under the supervision and censorship of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance." At the same time, Mahdieh Ahani, another Turkish women's rights activist and the owner and editor of the magazine Ban, in a video without a headscarf and in Turkish, protested against the oppression of the people, disregard for women's rights, and the permission that falsified her Turkish identity under the name "Azerbaijani," by burning the permit of her magazine. In the video, Ahani stated that over the years in Ban, she has tried to defend the rights of women who have been driven off the streets. The magazine Ban published each issue on a specific topic in the format of “Hava” (meaning "in the air..."). Therefore, at the end of the video, while burning the permit of Ban, she said: “Derginin sonraki sayısı özgürlük havasında” (The next issue of the magazine will be in the air of freedom).
[2]. The original of this sentence in Turkish is: “Görersen kara böveyni yeniden sonra, bizim kişilerden kimse tapılar ki bu kızların dudaklarını öpmeye hoslanırsın?”
[3]. The original of this sentence in Turkish is: “Görersen kara böveyni yeniden sonra, bu çirkin böveleri, kurtları düşünmeden adıhalılarıyla nece duyğusal anılar yaşayabilirler?!”
[4]. In the early 1990s, Armenia attacked historical Azerbaijani territories, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts, claiming the land. As a result of this attack, Armenia pursued a policy of ethnic cleansing, occupying 20% of Azerbaijan's territory and displacing one million Azerbaijanis from their homes. The conflicts during this period between the armed forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia are referred to as the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, and the clashes that began on September 27, 2020, lasting 44 days, are known as the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. As a result of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, known in Azerbaijan as the Patriotic War, all territories occupied by Armenia were liberated and annexed to the territory of Azerbaijan.
[5]. For further reading on this subject, refer to:
TAGHİZADEHZONUZ ROBABEH, The Erosion Effect of the Dominant Language over the Other Language in Bilingual Societies: A Study on Azerbaijani Turkish and Persian, PhD Dissertation, Ankara University, Ankara 2021.
[6]. The periods of using these alphabets in Azerbaijan are as follows: the Arabic alphabet from the 7th century until 1925 (including the period of the Azerbaijan People's Republic), the Latin alphabet used concurrently with the Arabic alphabet from 1925, solely from 1929 to 1939, the Cyrillic alphabet from 1939 to 1992, and the Latin alphabet from 1992 (after regaining independence) to the present.
[7]. The full title of this book is: Azerbaijani Turkish: How It Is Written and Spelling Discussion, Uniform Writing of Words (the standard writing style and spelling of Azerbaijani Turkish words).
[8]. Az Civic Nation
[9]. “Water Crisis - The Water Crisis Arising in the Relationships between Peripheral-Central Regions of Iran” was published by the Research Committee of the “Human Rights Association of the People of Azerbaijan in Iran - Ahras” in December 2023. This research work, referencing existing statistics and information, is one of the few works written in Turkish related to the water crisis that has arisen in the relationships between peripheral areas and the centers of wealth and power in Iran. The fundamental argument of this book is “the corruption and inefficiency of the central government along with the internal colonization of peripheral regions by centers of power and wealth in Iran” leading to the emergence and growing intensification of the water crisis in Iran. In other words, the colonization of the country's peripheral regions by the centers of power and wealth in Iran on the one hand, and the corruption and inefficiency of the central government on the other, have resulted in the emergence and exacerbation of the water crisis.
Link to the original article in Farsi: https://www.radiozamaneh.com/828423/