Samad Pourmusavi: Turks Going to the Ballot Box Will Vote for Their Desires and Azerbaijan, Not the Iranian Regime

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, June 24, 2024

Samad Pourmusavi

The approval of the candidacy of Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist member of parliament from Tabriz, by the Guardian Council for Iran’s upcoming early presidential elections has led to an increase in political activism in Iranian Azerbaijan and the Turkish community in Tehran.

Speaking to Voice of America, political activist and researcher Samad Pourmusavi believes that in the upcoming presidential elections, “the Turks going to the ballot box will not vote for the Islamic Republic regime or even for Pezeshkian himself, but for Azerbaijan and their own desires.”

Samad Pourmusavi: The Struggle for Language and Identity in Iranian Azerbaijan

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, November 21, 2023

 Samad Pourmusavi

Recently, McGill University’s Mosaïque: Research Network for Studies in Literacy, Discourse, and Society organized an online symposium titled "Language, People, and Society: Iranian Minority Languages and Literary Traditions." The participants of the symposium presented their papers in Turkish, Kurdish, and Persian.

One of the participants, researcher and language rights activist Samad Pourmusavi, spoke to Voice of America about his presentation titled “The Azerbaijani National Movement and the Idea of Establishing Underground Language and Culture Centers” and also shared his views on the language issue in the current national movement.

Samad Pourmusavi: Iranian Government Must Be Held Accountable for Lake Urmia's Ecological Disaster

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, July 24, 2023

Samad Pourmusavi

Political and cultural activist and researcher Samad Pourmusavi, in an interview with Voice of America, stated that the Iranian government is trying to deflect responsibility for the drying up of Lake Urmia by shifting the focus of the issue elsewhere.

Samad Pourmusavi: Shia Islam and Iranian Nationalism Are Interwoven in the Iranian State Ideology

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, June 1, 2023

Semed Purmusevi

Recently, under the directive of Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Friday prayer leaders in various cities delivered sermons commemorating "Ferdowsi Memorial Day and Persian Language Preservation Day," symbols of Iranian nationalism.

Some political activists have suggested that nationalist forces are becoming stronger within the Iranian government. However, political activist and researcher Samad Pourmusavi, in an interview with Voice of America, argues that Shia Islam and nationalism have always been intertwined within the structure of the Iranian state.

Samad Pourmusavi: The Silent Threat to Turkish in Iranian Azerbaijan

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, June 22, 2022

Samad Pourmusavi

In an interview with Voice of America, researcher Samad Pourmusavi discussed the restrictions and limitations on the Turkish language in Iran, the struggles against these limitations, and the reactions to them. Pourmusavi emphasized that in Iranian Azerbaijan, particularly among intellectuals, there is a lack of attention to the Turkish language.

Samad Pourmusavi: Iran’s Policy Towards Non-Persian Ethnic Groups Remains Unchanged

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, February 21, 2014

Samad Pourmusavi

Samad Pourmusavi does not believe that there will be any significant change in Iran’s policies towards non-Persian ethnic groups and their languages and cultures under the Hassan Rouhani government. The Southern activist, artist, and former political prisoner emphasized in an interview with Voice of America that the Islamic Republic of Iran has a consistent and unchanging policy in this regard.

Samad Pourmusavi: The National Movement of Azerbaijan Has Evolved Into an Independent Political Entity

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, May 17, 2013

 Samad Pourmusavi

In an interview with Voice of America on May 9, the "South Azerbaijan Student Day," and the student movement in Iranian Azerbaijan, former student activist Samad Pourmusavi discussed the student protests that emerged in Tabriz in the 1990s, the roots of these protests, the Iranian government's attempts to control the student movement, the transition of the national movement into a political phase, and the characteristics of the student movements.