Reflections of the so-called Iranologists of Persian Chauvinism

Chauvinism is a word derived from the name of a person. Nicolas Chauvin, a soldier with unwavering, fanatical loyalty to Napoleon. "Chauvinism" is an exaggerated, fundamentalist nationalism, and the person to whom it is passionately attached is called a "chauvinist". What do I mean, dear readers? Isn't it simply this? To favor one's own nation over other nations and to show this everywhere in the form of contempt and hatred. The approach in Europe today is to humiliate and belittle the people of all third world countries and to show a kind of superiority.  This is such a form of behavior that it is the reflection of an openly declared attitude in the field, not in a veiled way. Let's come to our geography. The most typical example of this is "Persian chauvinism". Its target audience is undoubtedly the Turks. Its most prominent characteristic is the exaggeration of feelings of hatred and malice, whether they are based on a cause or not. The reason is, without going too far, "Turkophobia", the fear of Turks.  Let us note that just like anti-Semitism, it is a hatred of Turks that has been built up over millennia. 

In 1925, with the end of the rule of Turks like the Qajar Turks, the era of the Iranian Pahlavi dynasty began and Persian chauvinism began to rise. So much so that the royal city of Persepolis was renamed 'Iran' instead of 'Persia'. With this name change, it was claimed that Iran was the homeland of the Aryan race and that all communities living in the country were Persian, and an oppressive, imposing regime began. "Haray haray men Türk'em", which means "Enough is enough, I am Turk" in Turkey Turkish, has been the reflex of South Azerbaijan to resist. Now can you imagine that in Iran, the country with the world's 4th largest oil reserves and the arch-enemy of the US-Israeli-Saudi bloc, almost half of the population speaks Turkish/Turkish. They have continued their struggle for identity against Persian chauvinism until today and have kept this struggle on the agenda. (2)

Persian chauvinism is the raison d'être of the imposing Persian culture, which creates an other at the level of a permanent enemy. In other words, it is the clarification and testing of the resistance reflex of the Turks in the field. More precisely, it is a strategy to exist by creating an enemy through "Otherization". This strategy is an area where the Pharisaic administration has been extremely successful. Moreover, the 'Pharisaic Iranian regime', based on Persian chauvinism, is very skillful in measuring the resistance reflex of the peoples in the Middle East. Measuring the reflex of resistance means distorting a sensitivity, a sensitivity in the region and, when necessary, scratching the reflex of resistance of those living in the region, mostly those with minority status, and identifying the sensitive points of the state and developing measures to be taken by the state against them. This situation is dominant in the West, for example, the Danish and French cartoon crises are typical examples of this. The cartoon crises in the West are a reflection of both Islamophobia and Islamophobic attitudes, cultural stances and cultural philosophies. However, in Iran, this situation has been reduced to identity conflict. On May 12, 2006, in the Friday supplement for children and young people of a state newspaper called 'Iran', which is published in all cities of Iran, a caricature likening South Azerbaijan Turks to a cockroach aiming to devalue and discredit them angered Turks and caused them to take to the streets.

From the beginning of the Xth century when the Ghaznavids established sovereignty in Iran until the beginning of the XXth century, except for some periods, the Turks have been the sovereign nation, the dominant element (core state) in this country. The founders of the Safavid State, which was established in 1501 under the leadership of Shah Ismail, were Anatolian Turks from various regions of Anatolia such as Antalya, Maras, Amasya, Sivas and Tokat who traveled to Iran upon the invitation of Ardebil sheikhs. After Yavuz Sultan Selim, Anatolian Turks migrated intensively to Iran and the Golan Heights. This is not only according to Ottoman sources. Western sources also reveal these descriptions.  In their works on Iran, Western experts have always emphasized the fact that Iran was ruled by Turks from the time the Ghaznavids dominated Iran until the fall of the Qajars. 

For example, the German Turcologist Gerhard Doerfer, speaking of the fact that "Iran was under Turkish rule from 997 to 1925, that is, for almost a thousand years", clearly states the fact that "during these thousand years, the members of the court, the army and the nobility in Iran were composed of Turks". We must know, we have to learn. There is no objection to this description such as "They are not telling the truth", and this has been openly admitted by the Pahlavis themselves. 

In 1925, Reza Shah Pahlavi, who put an end to the rule of the Turkish origin Qajar dynasty in Iran and established the Pahlavi dynasty based on Persian nationalism, could not help expressing his confession as follows in a statement published in the newspaper "Mîhen" on March 13, 1924, even before he sat on the throne: 

"We must confess that for more than a thousand years Iran has lived under the rule of Turkish conquerors" (3)  

While this fact is obvious, unfortunately, there are plenty of so-called "Iranologists" of Persian chauvinism in our country, like "sheep licking the butcher's knife" or "a prisoner in love with his executioner". One of their important characteristics is their claim that they are "Iranologists". Yes, they prefer to use this title, but in fact, they are only "Persianologists" and only "Persianologists". They do not express that they are Acemalogs, because according to them, they do not accept the existence of any nation other than the Persians in Iran, which is an ancient civilization. They are "Freshwater Iranalogs" like "Freshwater Franks". Recently, they have exaggerated their mehd-i senalar, naat-i sharifs or praises to the Persians. Let's name this together. 

What is this? In short, it is a Tehran-driven initiative that ignores the Turks of South Azerbaijan. Do you want an example? Here is an example. The "First International Congress of Iranian Studies", which was held in Istanbul for three days on June 16-18, 2023, broke new ground with its attitude excluding South Azerbaijan Turks. When the congress papers are analyzed in their entirety, an attitude that almost ignores the South Azerbaijani Turks is clearly seen. The event was organized by Dr. Rahman Dağ from Nous Akademy, Dr. Özgür Tüfekçi from KTU Strategic Research Center, Dr. Ahmet Yeşil from Iran Studies Journal, Dr. Mohsen Ghanbari from Al-Mustafa University, Dr. Gholamhosein Gholamhoseinzadeh from Tehran Persian Language-Literature Association.  The Keynote Speech was delivered by Prof. Dr. Ilber Ortaylı, whom Persian nationalists constantly cite as an example for the Turks. In his talk "Iran from the Past to the Present" organized by Prof. Ortaylı within the framework of the "100th Anniversary of our Republic Events" at Altınbaş University in Istanbul, the Turkish perception in Iran is described as follows:

"It is not possible to understand Iranian literature, Iranian historiography, Iranian science without the Turkish element, and it will not continue. In other words, Turks are extremely important and heavy in the life of Iran. Therefore, we cannot say that Turks in Iran are oppressed like in other countries. On the contrary, they walk around saying 'we own the place'." (4)

Yes, as he says, while we agree with his first point, the fact that Turks walk around in Iran saying "we own the country" dictates a very misleading situation. This statement is nothing more than a coercive statement, as if it was forced. Needless to say, this situation is beyond impossible for those who spend 24 hours in South Azerbaijan. If only it could happen. It is wrong to use such a description to whitewash the Ahunt Administration. Providing misleading information in this way leads to a chain of mistakes. There are so many examples in this regard, one of which took place in 2015 on a children's program called "Fitile" on an Iranian television channel. The receptionist's response to a father and son who complained about the stench of the hotel and spoke in Azerbaijani Turkish that they had bad breath and the implication that the father and son cleaned their teeth with a toilet brush caused the reaction of South Azerbaijani Turks. (4)

Another issue that needs to be emphasized is Iran's conscious determination to use the parameter of helping Armenia against Azerbaijan. This situation is pushing the limits of tolerance of both South Azerbaijani Turks and Turkey and Azerbaijan. In addition to this, the plan to open transportation lines between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan via Zangezur as per the ceasefire agreement has changed the dimension of the crisis considerably. If Zangezur, which Azerbaijan considers to be its ancestral land, changes hands - and it is bound to do so - Baku will be in full control of the Aras River. Indeed, Iran values the fact that the status superiority of the Zangezur Corridor will be ceded to Azerbaijan and Turkey, especially Israel, with the following negative considerations: 

1. Once the corridor is opened from Zangezur, Iran will lose its advantage as a route between Asia and Europe. Iran's importance in China's Road and Belt Project will decrease. 

2. The border with Armenia will change, transportation lines will be cut and the geostrategic balance will change.

3. Access to Russia, the Caucasus and the Black Sea will become more difficult.

4. Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan connection will no longer be provided through Iran, which will result in economic losses.

5. Tehran's influence in the region will weaken.

6. If Turkmen gas is connected to Turkey-Europe through this corridor, the demand for Iranian gas will decrease.

Yes, dear readers, Iran is once again alone with its fear of the Turks. However, what should not be forgotten in the face of this situation is the necessity of the South Azerbaijan National Movement to be united and whole. This movement is integrated with its domestic and international actions. The Turks of South Azerbaijan have been protesting both the 2006 cartoon and the provoked 2015 television program crisis and the military aid sent by Iran to Armenia before and after the 44-day Karabakh war, which caused the glass to overflow and the movements were violently protested. 

The South Azerbaijani Turks, who have always been overly and always sensitive to national demands, have also made it a goal to carry their national demands to foreign grounds. In this context, the Brussels march to the EU headquarters in late March 2023 and the march in Berlin, the capital of Germany, shook Belgium and Germany. The marches in Brussels and Berlin also constituted a parameter of the transition of the national movements of the South Azerbaijani Turks from passive to active. After the First and Second South Azerbaijan Forums, the Third South Azerbaijan Forum was held on April 29, 2023 at Nişantaşı University in Istanbul, which was also an important indicator of the transition to neutrality. 

Now, after all these, I would like to say that, like the Syrian Kurdish National Council (ENKS) convened in Gaziantep, the conditions for the convening of the South Azerbaijan National Congress in Van or Baku should be prepared and this congress should be convened without delay. What is urgently needed is for civil society organizations working in the field of South Azerbaijan to show the ability to come together without preconditions and embrace each other. The "Joint Democratic Platform Initiative" is an important step in the struggle of the South Azerbaijani Turks for unity and existence, this must be realized immediately, dear readers

Footnotes

(1) Mehmet Kısak, "A Source of Legitimacy for Persian Nationalism: Emphasis on the Ancient Past" Journal of Eurasian International Studies, Ankara, vol.11, Sa.34, March 2023, p.365.

(2) Kürşad Zorlu, "Haray haray men Türk'em...", Vatan Newspaper, January 5, 2018; https://www.gazetevatan.com/yazarlar/kursad-zorlu/haray-haray-men-turk-em-1132365/Erişim Date 18.06.2023

(3) Namıq Musalı, "On the Issues of Turkish Identity and the Position of Turkish in the Qajar Period", ASOBID Amasya University Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 2, Sa. 4, December 2018, p.133.

(4)https://www.canlihaber.com/haber/5250440/irandaki-o-program-turkleri-ayaga-kaldirdi/Erişim Date 18.06.2023/