“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2025
2025
2024-12-06
Certain nationalist circles with the active involvement and sponsorship of Turkey and Azerbaijan exploit the permission for teaching the native languages of local peoples in Iranian schools. Researchers and expert analysts from Tehran's Kharazmi and Allameh Tabataba'i universities raised this issue.
According to Iranian intellectuals, books and articles are being published in the country that are based on historical, cultural, and religious falsehoods and fabricated "facts," creating a "history" and "literature" for local peoples in Iran. These efforts particularly target Azerbaijani population in Iran. In addition to promoting a fabricated cultural identity, Baku and Ankara are working to separate Azerbaijanis from the broader Iranian cultural unity and from other Iranian peoples.
The workshop (held on November 27, 2024, in Tehran), during which Iranian scholars expressed their concerns, was dedicated to the historical and legal issues surrounding Article 15 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The event was attended by scholars, university lecturers, experts, and students from various institutions. According to that article,
The official language and script of Iran, the lingua franca of its people, is Persian. Official documents, correspondence, and texts, as well as textbooks, must be in this language and script. However, 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.
According to scholars and experts, this article of the Constitution is being exploited by certain circles to promote nationalist ideas among the youth. These activities are taking place with foreign interference and sponsorship, particularly targeting Iran's Azari population. They argue that while these issues may sometimes seem superficial, they are deeply rooted in society and pose a potential threat to national security. This is happening at a time when Iranians are paying greater attention to issues of national and cultural identity.
To address this challenge, scholars and experts have emphasized the importance of revising and reforming the activities of Persian language and literature departments and educational centers. They also stress the need for intolerance toward the introduction of false and deliberately biased content in published literature. In their view, Persian must continue to serve as a unifying language for local dialects and as a means of ensuring Iran’s national cohesion.
Highlighting the importance of Article 15 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which ensures the national identity and equality of rights for all the peoples of Iran, scholars also addressed the issue that the constitutions of neighboring countries (namely Azerbaijan and Turkey) enshrine the principle of "one identity and one nation" for their multiethnic populations.
Source مرجعیتسازی جعلی فرهنگی، تمدنی، هویتی و تاریخی وحدت کشور را تهدید میکند - ایسنا