In Iran, even President Masoud Pezeshkian is being culturally oppressed
By Mordechai Kedar, Middle East scholar
Azerbaijanis in Iran, like many other non-Persian ethnic minority groups living under the Islamic Republic, face repression and are denied the right to speak in their mother tongue at official gatherings, even if they are the president of Iran. Don't they deserve better, Mordechai Kedar writes.
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A traditional cultural week was recently celebrated in the northern Iranian city of Tabriz. The event aimed to showcase the rich and diverse culture of the city, featuring traditional music and dance performances, art exhibitions, theatre, screenings of films about Tabrizian culture, lectures, and workshops.
In addition to celebrating Tabriz's culture, the week also strengthened the bonds between the generations and promoted tourism to the city.
For centuries, Tabriz was the capital city of the Azerbaijani people. Today, it is the cultural capital of the region of South Azerbaijan, with a predominantly Azerbaijani Turkic-speaking population.
Although the territory is technically under Iranian sovereignty and Persian is widely understood, the culture remains Azerbaijani Turkic, and most of the population in fact speaks Azerbaijani, a Turkic dialect, as their mother tongue.
The cultural week is an excellent opportunity to learn about the local culture, which harmoniously blends Azerbaijani and Persian traditions, offering a memorable experience.
The week concluded with a ceremony attended by Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian. While official ceremonies such as these usually don't spark any significant political events, this time, a dramatic moment occurred during the president's speech.
Pezeshkian decided to honour a famous poet from Tabriz, Mohammad Hossein Behjat Tabrizi, known as Shahriyar, by reading a few lines from his poem 'Heydar Baba Salam.'
The poem was written in Azerbaijani, not Persian, since many people in northwestern Iran and Tabriz specifically are Azerbaijani — or Azeris, as they are called in Iran — and don't speak Persian.
This division between Azerbaijanis in Azerbaijan and those in Iran serves as a reminder that Iran came out of the Persian Empire, which conquered various peoples, many of whom still live under Persian rule, such as the Azerbaijanis, Baluchis, Kurds and Arabs.
Azerbaijanis are considered an integral part of Iranian society and were historically regarded as one of the highest classes.
Even Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is half Azerbaijani.
The difference between Azerbaijanis in Azerbaijan and those in Iran is that the former were conquered by the Russian Empire, while the Persian Empire conquered the latter.
Iran honours locals and their culture
It makes sense that the Iranian president would honour the locals and their culture, especially at an event that aims to celebrate Tabriz's diverse culture.
After all, if we were to celebrate Persian culture in Iraq, it would be natural to read poems in Persian rather than Arabic, which is likely what the Iranian president was thinking.
However, before taking the stage, the event organisers advised Pezeshkian not to read poetry in Azerbaijani.
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Pezeshkian shared this with the audience and stated that he would read two lines from Shahriyar's poem.
He began with these lines: 'Heydar Baba, igit emek itirmez/Omur gecer efsus bere bitirmez/Namerd olan omru basa yetirmez/Biz de vallah unutmarık sizleri/Gorenmesek helal edin bizleri.'
Since I believe that the readers of this passage, like some of the attendees at the ceremony, may not speak Azerbaijani, I will do what Pezeshkian did not do and provide the translation: 'Heyder Baba, a brave man does not tire/Life passes, but the legend does not end/A coward does not live to see the end of life/We swear we will not forget you/If we do not see you, forgive us.'
Those are beautiful words that warm the heart.
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Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian just outside Tehran, July 2024
AP Photo/Vahid Salemi
Pezeshkian was stopped by one of the officials organising the ceremony, and it appears that he was warned not to continue reading in Azerbaijani.
In response, Pezeshkian laughingly made light of the interruption in front of the Turkic-Azerbaijani-Persian audience and said, 'No problem. No problem reading two Turkic poems,' with a smile.
His lighthearted response made the audience laugh and cheer in applause. You might be wondering where his love for Turkic poetry came from.
Like Khamenei, Pezeshkian is also half Azerbaijani on his father's side. Although not from Tabriz, Pezeshkian was born not far from there, in Mahabad, the capital of West Azerbaijan Province in Iran.
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Pezeshkian represented the Tabriz region in Iran's parliament for several years. Thus. his ability to read Azerbaijani and his love for Azerbaijani Turkic poetry.
Reminiscent of the past
This event is reminiscent of a visit by former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who also visited Tabriz and read Azerbaijani Turkic poetry.
During that event, the audience joined Ahmadinejad in singing Turkic poems. It turns out that an event honouring Azerbaijani culture in Iran could have gone unnoticed if they hadn't stopped the president in the middle of reading a poem and paying tribute to an important poet.
Was Pezeshkian stopped because he is Azerbaijani? It's hard to say for sure, but what is surprising is that the Iranian president was not allowed to finish reading the Turkic poem.
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Many Azerbaijanis live in Iran; 40% of Iran is Azerbaijani, and they are considered one of the largest minorities in the country.
Azerbaijani Turkic is spoken by millions and holds cultural significance for them, despite not being considered an official language in Iran.
Seemingly, it was important for Pezeshkian to continue reading in his father's language because Turkic speakers in the audience would have enjoyed the poem. But mainly because this was part of a ceremony celebrating the culture of Tabriz, a Persian-Azerbaijani city that embraces both cultures and languages.
Azerbaijanis in Iran, like many other non-Persian ethnic minority groups living under the Islamic Republic, face repression and are denied the right to speak in their mother tongue at official gatherings, even if they are the president of Iran.
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Don't they deserve better?
Mordechai Kedar is a Middle East scholar and commentator on the region.
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