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Iranian Azerbaijanis

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This article is about Azeris in Iran. For Azeris in general, see the respective article.

The Azeri (more commonly Turk) population of Iran is mainly found in the northwest provinces: East Azarbaijan, West Azarbaijan, Ardabil, Zanjan, and as a minority some regions of Kurdistan, Hamadan and Markazi. Many others live in Tehran, Karaj and other regions.[1].

Background

Origins

Main articles: Caucasian origin of the Azerbaijanis and Iranian origin of the Azerbaijanis

The Iranian origins of the Azeris likely derive from ancient Iranic tribes, such as the Medes in Iranian Azarbaijan, and Scythian invaders who arrived during the eighth century BCE. It is believed that the Medes mixed with an indigenous population, the Caucasian Mannai, a Northeast Caucasian group related to the Urartians.[2] Ancient written accounts, such as one written by Arab historian Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Masudi(896-956), attest to an Iranian presence in the region:

The Persians are a people whose borders are the Mahat Mountains and Azarbaijan up to Armenia and Aran, and Bayleqan and Darband, and Ray and Tabaristan and Masqat and Shabaran and Jorjan and Abarshahr, and that is Nishabur, and Herat and Marv and other places in land of Khorasan, and Sejistan and Kerman and Fars and Ahvaz...All these lands were once one kingdom with one sovereign and one language...although the language differed slightly. The language, however, is one, in that its letters are written the same way and used the same way in composition. There are, then, different languages such as Pahlavi, Dari, Azari, as well as other Persian languages.[3]

Scholars see cultural similarities between modern Persians and Azeris as evidence of an ancient Iranian influence.[4] Archaeological evidence indicates that the Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism was prominent throughout the Caucasus before Christianity and Islam and that the influence of various Persian Empires added to the Iranian character of the area.[5] It has also been hypothesized that the population of Iranian Azarbaijan was predominantly Persian-speaking before the Oghuz arrived. This claim is supported by the many figures of Persian literature, such as Qatran Tabrizi, Shams Tabrizi, Nezami, and Khaghani, who wrote in Persian prior to and during the Oghuz migration, as well as by Strabo, Al-Istakhri, and Al-Masudi, who all describe the language of the region as Persian. The claim is mentioned by other medieval historians, such as Al-Muqaddasi.[6] Other common Perso-Azeribaijani features include Iranian place names such as Tabriz[7] and the name Azerbaijan itself.

Various sources such as Encyclopaedia Iranica explain how, "The Turkish speakers of Azerbaijan (q.v.) are mainly descended from the earlier Iranian speakers, several pockets of whom still exist in the region."[8] The modern presence of the Iranian Talysh and Tats in Azerbaijan is further evidence of the former Iranian character of the region.[9][10] As a precursor to these modern groups, the ancient Azaris are also hypothesized as ancestors of the modern Azerbaijanis.

20th century

Ahmad Kasravi, one of the most famous Iranians in Iran's modern history. He is known for his discovery of the Ancient Azari language.

Resentment came with Pahlavi policies that suppressed the use of the Azerbaijani language in local government, schools, and the press.[11] However with the advent of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, emphasis shifted away from nationalism as the new government highlighted religion as the main unifying factor. Within the Islamic Revolutionary government there emerged an Azeri nationalist faction led by Ayatollah Kazem Shariatmadari, who advocated greater regional autonomy and wanted the constitution to be revised to include secularists and opposition parties; this was denied.[12] Azeri nationalism has oscillated since the Islamic revolution and recently escalated into riots over the publication in May 2006 of a cartoon that many Azeris found offensive.[13][14] The cartoon was drawn by Mana Neyestani, an ethnic Azeri, who was fired along with his editor as a result of the controversy.[15][16]

Despite sporadic problems, Azeris are an intrinsic community within Iran.[17] Currently, the living conditions of Azeris in Iran closely resemble that of Persians:

The life styles of urban Azarbaijanis do not differ from those of Persians, and there is considerable intermarriage among the upper classes in cities of mixed populations. Similarly, customs among Azarbaijani villagers do not appear to differ markedly from those of Persian villagers.[1]

Azeris in Iran are in high positions of authority with the Azeri Ayatollah Ali Khamenei currently sitting as the Supreme Leader. Azeris in Iran remain quite conservative in comparison to most Azeris in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Nonetheless, since the Republic of Azerbaijan's independence in 1991, there has been renewed interest and contact between Azeris on both sides of the border. Andrew Burke writes:

Azari are famously active in commerce and in bazaars all over Iran their voluble voices can be heard. Older Azari men where the traditional wool hat and their music and dances have become part of the mainstream culture. Azaris are well integrated and many Azari Iranians are prominent in Persian literature, politics and clerical world.[18]

According to Bulent Gokay:

The Northern part of Iran , that used to be called Azerbaijan , is inhabited by 17 million Azeris. This population has been traditionally well integrated with the multi-ethnic Iranian state. [19]

Richard Thomas, Roger East, and Alan John Day state:

The 15-20 million Azari Turks living in northern Iran, ethnically identical to Azeris, have embraced Shia Islam and are well integrated into Iranian society[20]

According Michael P. Croissant:

Although Iran's fifteen-million Azeri population is well integrated into Iranian society and has shown little desire to secede, Tehran has nonetheless shown extreme concern with prospects of the rise of sentiments calling for union between the two Azerbaijans.[21]

Iranian Azerbaijan has seen some anti-government protests by Iranian Azeris in recent years, most notably in 2003, 2006, and 2007. In cities across northern Iran in mid-February 2007, tens of thousands of ethnic Azeris marched in observance of International Mother Language Day, although it's been said that the subtext was a protest against what the marchers perceive to be "the systematic, state-sponsored suppression of their heritage and language".[22]

While Iranian Azeris may seek greater cultural rights, few Iranian Azeris display separatist tendencies. Extensive reporting by Afshin Molavi, an Iranian Azeri scholar, in the three major Azerbaijani provinces of Iran, as well as among Iranian Azeris in Tehran, found that irredentist or unificationist sentiment was not widely held among Iranian Azeris. Few people framed their genuine political, social and economic frustration – feelings that are shared by the majority of Iranians – within an ethnic context.[23]

According to another Iranian Azeri scholar Dr. Hassan Javadi – a Tabriz-born, Cambridge-educated scholar of Azerbaijani literature and professor of Persian, Azerbaijani and English literature at George Washington University – Iranian Azeris have more important matters on their mind than cultural rights. "Iran’s Azeri community, like the rest of the country, is engaged in the movement for reform and democracy," Javadi told the Central Asia Caucasus Institute crowd, adding that separatist groups represent "fringe thinking." He also told EurasiaNet: "I get no sense that these cultural issues outweigh national ones, nor do I have any sense that there is widespread talk of secession."[23]

Ethnic status in Iran

Main article: Ethnic minorities in Iran

Generally, Azeris in Iran were regarded as "a well integrated linguistic minority" by academics prior to Iran's Islamic Revolution.[24][25] Until the Pahlavi period in the 20th century, "the identity of Iran was not exclusively Persian, but supra-ethnic", as much of the political leadership, starting from the 11th century, had been Turkic.[26] The Iranian and Turkic groups were integrated until 20th century nationalism and communalism began to alter popular perception.[26] Despite friction, Azerbaijanis in Iran came to be well represented at all levels of, "political, military, and intellectual hierarchies, as well as the religious hierarchy."[27]

According to Amnesty International:

"Iranian Azeri Turks, who are mainly Shi’a Muslims, are the largest minority in Iran, [and are] believed to constitute up to 25 per cent of the population. They are located mainly in the north and north-west of Iran. As Shi’a, they are not subject to the same kinds of discrimination as minorities of other religions, and are well-integrated into the economy, but there is a growing demand for greater cultural and linguistic rights, including implementation of their constitutional right to education through the medium of Turkish."[28]

In addition, the current Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, is an Azari, along with much of Iran's military, economic,[29] and political leadership, a fact which seriously undermines claims of discrimination of Azaris in Iran or that they do not have equal opportunities compared to other ethnic groups in Iran. However, At the end of June 2005, scores of people were reportedly arrested following an Azari gathering at Babak Castle in the city of Kalaybar. Much more wide spread protests across major cities of Iranian Azerbaijan in May, 2006 triggered by a cartoon, drawn by an Azeri cartoonist, allegedly with abusive contents towards the Azerbaijani language, were met with repression.[30][31]

In contrast to the claims of de-facto discrimination of some Azeris in Iran, the government claims that its policy in the past 30 years has been one of pan-Islamism, which is based on a common Islamic religion of which diverse ethnic groups may be part, and which does not favor or repress any particular ethnicity, including the Persian majority.[32] Persian language is thus merely used as the lingua franca of the country, which helps maintain Iran's traditional centralized model of government. But Azari language and culture is still nevertheless taught and studied at the university level in Iran and there are publications of books, newspaper as well as radio broadcasts in the language.[33]

Furthermore, Article 15 of Iran's constitution reads:

"The use of regional and tribal languages in the press and mass media, as well as for teaching of their literature in schools, is allowed in addition to Persian."[34]

Famous Azeris of Iran

Azeris (Azaris) have participated in Iran's history and politics, and continue to do so. Some of the most famous Azeris of Iran involved on national levels are:

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

In politics

Grand Ayatollahs

In addition to those mentioned above:

In literature

In the arts

In sports

Scientists

Other

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b Azarbaijanis
  2. ^ "Ancient Persia", Encyclopedia Americana (retrieved 8 June 2006).
  3. ^ (Al Mas'udi, Kitab al-Tanbih wa-l-Ishraf, De Goeje, M.J. (ed.), Leiden, Brill, 1894, pp. 77-8)
  4. ^ "Azerbaijan", Columbia Encyclopedia (retrieved 8 June 2006).
  5. ^ "Various Fire-Temples", University of Calgary (retrieved 8 June 2006).
  6. ^ Al-Muqaddasi, Ahsan al-Taqāsīm, p. 259 & 378, "... the Azerbaijani language is not pretty [...] but their Persian is intelligible, and in articulation it is very similar to the Persian of Khorasan ...", tenth century, Persia (retrieved 18 June 2006).
  7. ^ "Tabriz" (retrieved 8 June 2006).
  8. ^ R. N. Frye: Encyclopaedia Iranica, May 2, 2006
  9. ^ "Report for Talysh", Ethnologue (retrieved 8 June 2006).
  10. ^ "Report for Tats", Ethnologue (retrieved 8 June 2006).
  11. ^ Iran between Two Revolutions by Ervand Abrahamian, p. 131. Princeton University Press (1982), ISBN 0691101345 (retrieved 10 June 2006).
  12. ^ "Shi'ite Leadership: In the Shadow of Conflicting Ideologies", by David Menashri, Iranian Studies, 13:1-4 (1980) (retrieved 10 June 2006).
  13. ^ "Ethnic Tensions Over Cartoon Set Off Riots in Northwest Iran" - The New York Times (retrieved 12 June 2006)
  14. ^ "Iran Azeris protest over cartoon" - BBC (retrieved 12 June 2006)
  15. ^ "Cockroach Cartoonist Jailed In Iran" - The Comics Reporter, May 24, 2006 (retrieved 15 June 2006)
  16. ^ "Iranian paper banned over cartoon" - BBC News, May 23, 2006 (retrieved 15 June 2006)
  17. ^ [1]
  18. ^ Burke, Andrew. Iran. Lonely Planet, Nov 1, 2004, P 42-43. 1740594258
  19. ^ Bulent Gokay, The Politics of Caspian Oil, Palgrave Macmillan, 2001, pg 30
  20. ^ Richard Thomas, Roger East, Alan John Day,Political and Economic Dictionary of Eastern Europe , Routledge, 2002, pg 41
  21. ^ Michael P. Croissant, "The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict: Causes and Implications" , Praeger/Greenwood, 1998, pg 61
  22. ^ Karl Rahder. The Southern Azerbaijan problem, ISN Security Watch, 19/04/07
  23. ^ a b http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/culture/articles/eav041503.shtml
  24. ^ Higgins, Patricia J. (1984) "Minority-State Relations in Contemporary Iran" Iranian Studies 17(1): pp. 37-71, p. 59
  25. ^ Binder, Leonard (1962) Iran: Political Development in a Changing Society University of California Press, Berkeley, Calif., pp. 160-161, OCLC 408909
  26. ^ a b Ibid.
  27. ^ Ibid.
  28. ^ Amnesty International. Iran. New government fails to address dire human rights situation
  29. ^ Professor Svante Cornell - PDF
  30. ^ http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130462005?open&of=ENG-IRN
  31. ^ http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGMDE130742006
  32. ^ For more information see: Ali Morshedizad,Roshanfekrane Azari va Hoviyate Melli va Ghomi (Azari Intellectuals and Their Attitude to Natinal and Ethnic Identity (Tehran: Nashr-e Markaz publishing co., 1380)
  33. ^ Annika Rabo, Bo Utas, “The role of the state in West Asia”, Swedish Research institute in Istanbul , 2005. pg 156. Excerpt:"There is in fact, a considerable publication (book, newspaper, etc.) taking place in the two largest minority languages in the Azerbaijani language and Kurdish, and in the academic year 2004-05 B.A. programmes in the Azerbaijani language and literature (in Tabriz) and in the Kurdish language and literature (in Sanandaj) are offered in Iran for the very first time"
  34. ^ Iran - Constitution
  35. ^ a b Clawson, Patrick. Eternal Iran, 2005, ISBN 1-4039-6276-6, Palgrave Macmillan, p.5
  36. ^ (autobiography)
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