BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 7. The Israeli
publication The Jerusalem Post referenced a passage from
Shakhriyar’s famous poem “Heydar Baba Salam” in its recent article
about the cultural week held in Tabriz, Trend reports via the
State Committee on Work with Diaspora.
“The moment when Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian recited a
poem in his native language during the cultural week in Tabriz was
significant, as it resonated with the Azerbaijani audience in
attendance. This act not only highlighted his connection to the
language but was also an integral part of the event celebrating the
diverse cultural heritage of Tabriz, an ancient Azerbaijani city
that has long been a crossroads of various cultures,” it said.
Mordechai Keidar, a renowned expert on Iran and the Arab world,
noted this moment in an article titled “President Pezeshkian of
Iran is culturally oppressed,” published in The Jerusalem Post, one
of the most influential global publications. Kedar, a former
lieutenant colonel in the Intelligence Corps of the Israel Defense
Forces, is also a professor of oriental studies at Bar-Ilan
University in Israel, where he serves as the director of the Center
for Near Eastern and Islamic Studies. Additionally, he is a
researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies.
Tabriz, which for centuries served as the capital of the
Azerbaijani people, is now recognized as the cultural capital of
South Azerbaijan, home to a population that is overwhelmingly
composed of Azerbaijani Turks. Although the region is
administratively under the sovereignty of Iran, and Persian is
widely spoken, the culture of South Azerbaijan remains deeply
rooted in its Azerbaijani heritage. The majority of the population
speaks Azerbaijani as their native language, making the culture of
South Azerbaijan an inseparable part of the broader unified
Azerbaijani identity.
The article highlighted a dramatic moment during Pezeshkian’s
speech at the closing ceremony of the cultural week. During his
speech, the president honored the famous Tabriz poet Mohammad
Hossein Behjat Tabrizi, known as “Shahriyar,” by quoting a few
lines from his poem “Heydar Baba Salam.” At that moment, one of the
officials organizing the event interrupted and warned Pezeshkian
not to recite the poem in Azerbaijani. Pezeshkian’s smiling
response, “No problem. No problem reading two Turkic poems,” earned
applause from the audience. Dr. Kedar included the translated lines
from the poem in his article.
The article also recalled former Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad’s visit to Tabriz, during which he joined the audience
in reading Azerbaijani poetry. The author sarcastically pointed out
that had the president not been interrupted at an event celebrating
Azerbaijani culture in Iran, it might have gone unnoticed
entirely.
For more details, you can read the full article here: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-844092
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