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Pan-Iranism is an ideology that advocates solidarity and reunification of Iranian peoples living in the Iranian continent and Iranian plateau (Falāte Īrān), including Ossetians, Kurds, Armenians, Persians (including the Tajiks and Qizilbash), Hazaras, Pashtuns, Baluchis, and Zazas. Virtually all Pan-Iranists also include the Azeris (the first theoretician being an Azerbaijani by the name of Mahmud Afshar), who although speak a Turkic language with considerable Persian vocabulary, are partly or mostly of native Iranian descent^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4].^[5]^[6].

These peoples lived within the same empire most of the time until the mid-1800s, when much territory - including the region comprising the present-day Republic of Azerbaijan - was lost to the Russian Empire, . See also: Greater Iran and The Great Game.

Iranian philosopher Dr. Mahmoud Afshar (of Turkic-speaking Iranian Afshar origin and father of Iraj Afshar) developed the Pan-Iranist ideology in the early 1920s as a reaction against the rising tide of Pan-Turkism and Pan-Arabism, which were seen as potential threats to the territorial integrity of Iran. Unlike similar movements of the time in other countries, Pan-Iranism was ethnically and linguistically inclusive and solely concerned with territorial nationalism, rather than ethnic or racial nationalism. ^[7]. On the eve of World War I, pan-Turkist propaganda focused on the Turkic-speaking lands of Iran, Caucusus and Central Asia^[8]. The ultimate purpose of persuading these populations to secede from the larger political entities to which they belonged and to join the new pan-Turkic homeland^[8]. It was the latter appeal to Iranian Azerbaijanis, which contrary to Pan-Turkist intentions, caused a small group of Azerbaijani intellectuals to become the strongest advocates of the territorial integrity of Iran^[8]. After the constitutional revolution in Iran, a romantic nationalism was adopted by Azerbaijani Democrats as a reaction to the pan-Turkist irredentist policies emanating from modern Turkey and threatening Iran’s territorial integrity^[8]. It was during this period that Iranism and linguistic homogenization policies were proposed as a defensive nature against all others^[8]. Contrary to what one might expect, foremost among innovating this defensive nationalism were Iranian Azerbaijanis^[8]. They viewed that assuring the territorial integrity of the country was the first step in building a society based on law and modern state^[8]. Through this framework, their political loyalty outweighed their ethnic and regional affiliations^[8]. The adoptions of this integrationist policies paved the way for the emergence of the titular ethnic group’s cultural nationalism^[8].

History

With the collapse of the Qajar dynasty, which had descended into corruption, and the rise of Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1925, who began introducing secular reforms limiting the power of the Shia clergy, Iranian nationalist and socialist thinkers had hoped that this new era would also witness the introduction of democratic reforms. However, such reforms did not take place. This culminated in the gradual rise of a loosely organized grass roots Pan-Iranist movement made up of nationalist writers, teachers, students, and activists allied with other pro-democracy movements.

In the 1940s, the Pan-Iranist movement gained momentum after the Allied invasion. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, two political parties were formed based on the Pan-Iranist ideology, namely Mellat Iran and the Pan-Iranist Party of Iran (Hezb-e Pan-Iranist). Though sharing this same political foundation and similar viewpoints on many issues, the two groups greatly differed in their organizational structure and practice. Both these parties are currently active inside the country and abroad. Since the Iranian Revolution, there have also been other lesser known groups, both within Iran and without, which have adhered to Pan-Iranism.

References

^ Professor Richard Frye states:The Turkish speakers of Azerbaijan are mainly descended from the earlier Iranian speakers, several pockets of whom still exist in the region (Frye, Richard Nelson, “Peoples of Iran”, in Encyclopedia Iranica).
^ Swietochowski, Tadeusz. “ AZERBAIJAN , REPUBLIC OF”,., Vol. 3, Colliers Encyclopedia CD-ROM, 02-28-1996: “The original Persian population became fused with the Turks, and gradually the Persian language was supplanted by a Turkic dialect that evolved into the distinct Azerbaijani language.”
^ Golden, P.B. “An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples”,Otto Harrosowitz, 1992. “The Azeris of today are an overwhelmingly sedentary, detribalized people. Anthropologically, they are little distinguished from the Iranian neighbo”
^ Xavier Planhol, “Lands of Iran” in Encyclopedia Iranica. Excerpt: The toponyms, with more than half of the place names of Iranian origin in some areas, such as the Sahand, a huge volcanic massif south of Tabriz, or the Qara Dagh, near the border (Planhol, 1966, p. 305; Bazin, 1982, p. 28) bears witness to this continuity. The language itself provides eloquent proof. Azeri, not unlike Uzbek (see above), lost the vocal harmony typical of Turkish languages. It is a Turkish language learned and spoken by Iranian peasants.”(Encyclopedia Iranica, “Lands of Iran”)
^ “Thus Turkish nomads, in spite of their deep penetration throughout Iranian lands, only slightly influenced the local culture. Elements borrowed by the Iranians from their invaders were negligible.”(X.D. Planhol, LANDS OF IRAN in Encyclopedia Iranica)
^ История Востока. В 6 т. Т. 2. Восток в средние века. Глава V. — М.: «Восточная литература», 2002. — ISBN 5-02-017711-3 . Excerpt: ""Говоря о возникновении азербайджанской культуры именно в XIV-XV вв., следует иметь в виду прежде всего литературу и другие части культуры, органически связанные с языком. Что касается материальной культуры, то она оставалась традиционной и после тюркизации местного населения. Впрочем, наличие мощного пласта иранцев, принявших участие в формировании азербайджанского этноса, наложило свой отпечаток прежде всего на лексику азербайджанского языка, в котором огромное число иранских и арабских слов. Последние вошли и в азербайджанский, и в турецкий язык главным образом через иранское посредство. Став самостоятельной, азербайджанская культура сохранила тесные связи с иранской и арабской. Они скреплялись и общей религией, и общими культурно-историческими традициями." (History of the East. 6 v. 2. East during the Middle Ages. Chapter V. - M.: «Eastern literature», 2002. - ISBN 5-02-017711-3.). Translation:"However, the availability of powerful layer of Iranians took part in the formation of the Azerbaijani ethnic group, left their mark primarily in the Azerbaijani language, in which a great number of Iranian and Arab words. The latter included in the Azeri, and Turkish language primarily through Iranian mediation."
^ Perspectives on Iranian identity, pg.26
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Touraj Atabaki, “Recasting Oneself, Rejecting the Other: Pan-Turkism and Iranian Nationalism” in Van Schendel, Willem(Editor). Identity Politics in Central Asia and the Muslim World: Nationalism, Ethnicity and Labour in the Twentieth Century. London, GBR: I. B. Tauris & Company, Limited, 2001. Actual Quote:
As far as Iran is concerned, it is widely argued that Iranian nationalism was born as a state ideology in the Reza Shah era, based on philological nationalism and as a result of his innovative success in creating a modern nation-state in Iran. However, what is often neglected is that Iranian nationalism has its roots in the political upheavals of the nineteenth century and the disintegration immediately following the Constitutional revolution of 1905– 9. It was during this period that Iranism gradually took shape as a defensive discourse for constructing a bounded territorial entity – the ‘pure Iran’ standing against all others. Consequently, over time there emerged among the country’s intelligentsia a political xenophobia which contributed to the formation of Iranian defensive nationalism. It is noteworthy that, contrary to what one might expect, many of the leading agents of the construction of an Iranian bounded territorial entity came from non Persian-speaking ethnic minorities, and the foremost were the Azerbaijanis, rather than the nation’s titular ethnic group, the Persians.
....
In the middle of April 1918, the Ottoman army invaded Azerbaijan for the second time.
...
Contrary to their expectations, however, the Ottomans did not achieve impressive success in Azerbaijan. Although the province remained under quasi-occupation by Ottoman troops for months, attempting to win endorsement for pan-Turkism ended in failure.
...
The most important political development affecting the Middle East at the beginning of the twentieth century was the collapse of the Ottoman and the Russian empires. The idea of a greater homeland for all Turks was propagated by pan-Turkism, which was adopted almost at once as a main ideological pillar by the Committee of Union and Progress and somewhat later by other political caucuses in what remained of the Ottoman Empire. On the eve of World War I, pan-Turkist propaganda focused chiefly on the Turkic-speaking peoples of the southern Caucasus, in Iranian Azerbaijan and Turkistan in Central Asia, with the ultimate purpose of persuading them all to secede from the larger political entities to which they belonged and to join the new pan-Turkic homeland. Interestingly, it was this latter appeal to Iranian Azerbaijanis which, contrary to pan-Turkist intentions, caused a small group of Azerbaijani intellectuals to become the most vociferous advocates of Iran’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. If in Europe ‘romantic nationalism responded to the damage likely to be caused by modernism by providing a new and larger sense of belonging, an all-encompassing totality, which brought about new social ties, identity and meaning, and a new sense of history from one’s origin on to an illustrious future’,(42) in Iran after the Constitutional movement romantic nationalism was adopted by the Azerbaijani Democrats as a reaction to the irredentist policies threatening the country’s territorial integrity. In their view, assuring territorial integrity was a necessary first step on the road to establishing the rule of law in society and a competent modern state which would safeguard collective as well as individual rights. It was within this context that their political loyalty outweighed their other ethnic or regional affinities. The failure of the Democrats in the arena of Iranian politics after the Constitutional movement and the start of modern state-building paved the way for the emergence of the titular ethnic group’s cultural nationalism. Whereas the adoption of integrationist policies preserved Iran’s geographic integrity and provided the majority of Iranians with a secure and firm national identity, the blatant ignoring of other demands of the Constitutional movement, such as the call for formation of society based on law and order, left the country still searching for a political identity.

External links

[1] Professor Richard Frye states:The Turkish speakers of Azerbaijan are mainly descended from the earlier Iranian speakers, several pockets of whom still exist in the region (Frye, Richard Nelson, “Peoples of Iran”, in Encyclopedia Iranica).

[2] Swietochowski, Tadeusz. “ AZERBAIJAN , REPUBLIC OF”,., Vol. 3, Colliers Encyclopedia CD-ROM, 02-28-1996: “The original Persian population became fused with the Turks, and gradually the Persian language was supplanted by a Turkic dialect that evolved into the distinct Azerbaijani language.”

[3] Golden, P.B. “An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples”,Otto Harrosowitz, 1992. “The Azeris of today are an overwhelmingly sedentary, detribalized people. Anthropologically, they are little distinguished from the Iranian neighbo”

[4] Xavier Planhol, “Lands of Iran” in Encyclopedia Iranica. Excerpt: The toponyms, with more than half of the place names of Iranian origin in some areas, such as the Sahand, a huge volcanic massif south of Tabriz, or the Qara Dagh, near the border (Planhol, 1966, p. 305; Bazin, 1982, p. 28) bears witness to this continuity. The language itself provides eloquent proof. Azeri, not unlike Uzbek (see above), lost the vocal harmony typical of Turkish languages. It is a Turkish language learned and spoken by Iranian peasants.”(Encyclopedia Iranica, “Lands of Iran”)

[5] “Thus Turkish nomads, in spite of their deep penetration throughout Iranian lands, only slightly influenced the local culture. Elements borrowed by the Iranians from their invaders were negligible.”(X.D. Planhol, LANDS OF IRAN in Encyclopedia Iranica)

[6] История Востока. В 6 т. Т. 2. Восток в средние века. Глава V. — М.: «Восточная литература», 2002. — ISBN 5-02-017711-3 . Excerpt: ""Говоря о возникновении азербайджанской культуры именно в XIV-XV вв., следует иметь в виду прежде всего литературу и другие части культуры, органически связанные с языком. Что касается материальной культуры, то она оставалась традиционной и после тюркизации местного населения. Впрочем, наличие мощного пласта иранцев, принявших участие в формировании азербайджанского этноса, наложило свой отпечаток прежде всего на лексику азербайджанского языка, в котором огромное число иранских и арабских слов. Последние вошли и в азербайджанский, и в турецкий язык главным образом через иранское посредство. Став самостоятельной, азербайджанская культура сохранила тесные связи с иранской и арабской. Они скреплялись и общей религией, и общими культурно-историческими традициями." (History of the East. 6 v. 2. East during the Middle Ages. Chapter V. - M.: «Eastern literature», 2002. - ISBN 5-02-017711-3.). Translation:"However, the availability of powerful layer of Iranians took part in the formation of the Azerbaijani ethnic group, left their mark primarily in the Azerbaijani language, in which a great number of Iranian and Arab words. The latter included in the Azeri, and Turkish language primarily through Iranian mediation."

[7] Perspectives on Iranian identity, pg.26

[RecastingAtabaki-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Touraj Atabaki, “Recasting Oneself, Rejecting the Other: Pan-Turkism and Iranian Nationalism” in Van Schendel, Willem(Editor). Identity Politics in Central Asia and the Muslim World: Nationalism, Ethnicity and Labour in the Twentieth Century. London, GBR: I. B. Tauris & Company, Limited, 2001. Actual Quote:
As far as Iran is concerned, it is widely argued that Iranian nationalism was born as a state ideology in the Reza Shah era, based on philological nationalism and as a result of his innovative success in creating a modern nation-state in Iran. However, what is often neglected is that Iranian nationalism has its roots in the political upheavals of the nineteenth century and the disintegration immediately following the Constitutional revolution of 1905– 9. It was during this period that Iranism gradually took shape as a defensive discourse for constructing a bounded territorial entity – the ‘pure Iran’ standing against all others. Consequently, over time there emerged among the country’s intelligentsia a political xenophobia which contributed to the formation of Iranian defensive nationalism. It is noteworthy that, contrary to what one might expect, many of the leading agents of the construction of an Iranian bounded territorial entity came from non Persian-speaking ethnic minorities, and the foremost were the Azerbaijanis, rather than the nation’s titular ethnic group, the Persians.
....
In the middle of April 1918, the Ottoman army invaded Azerbaijan for the second time.
...
Contrary to their expectations, however, the Ottomans did not achieve impressive success in Azerbaijan. Although the province remained under quasi-occupation by Ottoman troops for months, attempting to win endorsement for pan-Turkism ended in failure.
...
The most important political development affecting the Middle East at the beginning of the twentieth century was the collapse of the Ottoman and the Russian empires. The idea of a greater homeland for all Turks was propagated by pan-Turkism, which was adopted almost at once as a main ideological pillar by the Committee of Union and Progress and somewhat later by other political caucuses in what remained of the Ottoman Empire. On the eve of World War I, pan-Turkist propaganda focused chiefly on the Turkic-speaking peoples of the southern Caucasus, in Iranian Azerbaijan and Turkistan in Central Asia, with the ultimate purpose of persuading them all to secede from the larger political entities to which they belonged and to join the new pan-Turkic homeland. Interestingly, it was this latter appeal to Iranian Azerbaijanis which, contrary to pan-Turkist intentions, caused a small group of Azerbaijani intellectuals to become the most vociferous advocates of Iran’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. If in Europe ‘romantic nationalism responded to the damage likely to be caused by modernism by providing a new and larger sense of belonging, an all-encompassing totality, which brought about new social ties, identity and meaning, and a new sense of history from one’s origin on to an illustrious future’,(42) in Iran after the Constitutional movement romantic nationalism was adopted by the Azerbaijani Democrats as a reaction to the irredentist policies threatening the country’s territorial integrity. In their view, assuring territorial integrity was a necessary first step on the road to establishing the rule of law in society and a competent modern state which would safeguard collective as well as individual rights. It was within this context that their political loyalty outweighed their other ethnic or regional affinities. The failure of the Democrats in the arena of Iranian politics after the Constitutional movement and the start of modern state-building paved the way for the emergence of the titular ethnic group’s cultural nationalism. Whereas the adoption of integrationist policies preserved Iran’s geographic integrity and provided the majority of Iranians with a secure and firm national identity, the blatant ignoring of other demands of the Constitutional movement, such as the call for formation of society based on law and order, left the country still searching for a political identity.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Refimprove|date=September 2007}}
 [[Image:Greater Iran.GIF|thumb|240px|right|Geographically and culturally, Greater Iran includes all of the [[Iranian plateau]], stretching to [[Central Asia]] ([[Bactria]]) and the [[Hindukush]] to the northeast and [[Afghanistan]] and Western [[Pakistan]] in the southeast and into eastern [[Syria]] and the [[Caucasus]] to the northwest.]]
-'''Pan-Iranism''' is an [[ideology]] that advocates solidarity and reunification of [[Iranian people]]s living in the [[Iranian continent]] and [[Iranian plateau]] (''Falāte Īrān''), including [[Ossetians]], [[Kurdish people|Kurds]], [[Armenians]], [[Persians]] (including the [[Tājik people|Tajiks]] and [[Qizilbash]]), [[Hazara people|Hazaras]], [[Pashtuns]], [[Baluchis]], and [[Zaza people|Zazas]]. Virtually all Pan-Iranists also include the [[Azerbaijani people|Azeris]] and [[Uzbeks]], who although speak a [[Turkic language]] with considerable [[Persian language|Persian]] vocabulary, are partly or fully of native [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] descent<ref> Professor Richard Frye states:The Turkish speakers of Azerbaijan are mainly descended from the earlier Iranian speakers, several pockets of whom still exist in the region (Frye, Richard Nelson, “Peoples of Iran”, in Encyclopedia Iranica).</ref><ref> Swietochowski, Tadeusz. “ AZERBAIJAN , REPUBLIC OF”,., Vol. 3, Colliers Encyclopedia CD-ROM, 02-28-1996: “The original Persian population became fused with the Turks, and gradually the Persian language was supplanted by a Turkic dialect that evolved into the distinct Azerbaijani language.”</ref><ref> Golden, P.B. “An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples”,Otto Harrosowitz, 1992. “The Azeris of today are an overwhelmingly sedentary, detribalized people. Anthropologically, they are little distinguished from the Iranian neighbo”</ref><ref>Xavier Planhol, “Lands of Iran” in Encyclopedia Iranica.  Excerpt: The toponyms, with more than half of the place names of Iranian origin in some areas, such as the Sahand, a huge volcanic massif south of Tabriz, or the Qara Dagh, near the border (Planhol, 1966, p. 305; Bazin, 1982, p. 28) bears witness to this continuity. The language itself provides eloquent proof. Azeri, not unlike Uzbek (see above), lost the vocal harmony typical of Turkish languages. It is a Turkish language learned and spoken by Iranian peasants.”(Encyclopedia Iranica, “Lands of Iran”)</ref>.<ref> “Thus Turkish nomads, in spite of their deep penetration throughout Iranian lands, only slightly influenced the local culture. Elements borrowed by the Iranians from their invaders were negligible.”(X.D. Planhol, LANDS OF IRAN in Encyclopedia Iranica)</ref>.
+'''Pan-Iranism''' is an [[ideology]] that advocates solidarity and reunification of [[Iranian people]]s living in the [[Iranian continent]] and [[Iranian plateau]] (''Falāte Īrān''), including [[Ossetians]], [[Kurdish people|Kurds]], [[Armenians]], [[Persians]] (including the [[Tājik people|Tajiks]] and [[Qizilbash]]), [[Hazara people|Hazaras]], [[Pashtuns]], [[Baluchis]], and [[Zaza people|Zazas]]. Virtually all Pan-Iranists also include the [[Azerbaijani people|Azeris]] (the first theoretician being an Azerbaijani by the name of Mahmud Afshar), who although speak a [[Turkic language]] with considerable [[Persian language|Persian]] vocabulary, are partly or mostly of native [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] descent<ref> Professor Richard Frye states:The Turkish speakers of Azerbaijan are mainly descended from the earlier Iranian speakers, several pockets of whom still exist in the region (Frye, Richard Nelson, “Peoples of Iran”, in Encyclopedia Iranica).</ref><ref> Swietochowski, Tadeusz. “ AZERBAIJAN , REPUBLIC OF”,., Vol. 3, Colliers Encyclopedia CD-ROM, 02-28-1996: “The original Persian population became fused with the Turks, and gradually the Persian language was supplanted by a Turkic dialect that evolved into the distinct Azerbaijani language.”</ref><ref> Golden, P.B. “An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples”,Otto Harrosowitz, 1992. “The Azeris of today are an overwhelmingly sedentary, detribalized people. Anthropologically, they are little distinguished from the Iranian neighbo”</ref><ref>Xavier Planhol, “Lands of Iran” in Encyclopedia Iranica.  Excerpt: The toponyms, with more than half of the place names of Iranian origin in some areas, such as the Sahand, a huge volcanic massif south of Tabriz, or the Qara Dagh, near the border (Planhol, 1966, p. 305; Bazin, 1982, p. 28) bears witness to this continuity. The language itself provides eloquent proof. Azeri, not unlike Uzbek (see above), lost the vocal harmony typical of Turkish languages. It is a Turkish language learned and spoken by Iranian peasants.”(Encyclopedia Iranica, “Lands of Iran”)</ref>.<ref> “Thus Turkish nomads, in spite of their deep penetration throughout Iranian lands, only slightly influenced the local culture. Elements borrowed by the Iranians from their invaders were negligible.”(X.D. Planhol, LANDS OF IRAN in Encyclopedia Iranica)</ref><ref>История Востока. В 6 т. Т. 2. Восток в средние века. Глава V. — М.: «Восточная литература», 2002. — ISBN 5-02-017711-3 .  Excerpt: ""Говоря о возникновении азербайджанской культуры именно в XIV-XV вв., следует иметь в виду прежде всего литературу и другие части культуры, органически связанные с языком. Что касается материальной культуры, то она оставалась традиционной и после тюркизации местного населения. Впрочем, наличие мощного пласта иранцев, принявших участие в формировании азербайджанского этноса, наложило свой отпечаток прежде всего на лексику азербайджанского языка, в котором огромное число иранских и арабских слов. Последние вошли и в азербайджанский, и в турецкий язык главным образом через иранское посредство. Став самостоятельной, азербайджанская культура сохранила тесные связи с иранской и арабской. Они скреплялись и общей религией, и общими культурно-историческими традициями."
+(History of the East. 6 v. 2. East during the Middle Ages. Chapter V. - M.: «Eastern literature», 2002. - ISBN 5-02-017711-3.). Translation:"However, the availability of powerful layer of Iranians took part in the formation of the Azerbaijani ethnic group, left their mark primarily in the Azerbaijani language, in which a great number of Iranian and Arab words. The latter included in the Azeri, and Turkish language primarily through Iranian mediation."</ref>.
 These peoples lived within the same [[Persian Empire|empire]] most of the time until the mid-1800s, when much territory - including the region comprising the present-day [[Azerbaijan|Republic of Azerbaijan]] - was lost to the [[Russian Empire]], . ''See also: [[Greater Iran]] and [[The Great Game]]''.
-Iranian philosopher Dr. Mahmoud Afshar (of [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]]-speaking [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] [[Afshar tribe|Afshar]] origin and father of [[Iraj Afshar]]) developed the Pan-Iranist ideology in the early 1920s as a reaction against the rising tide of [[Pan-Turkism]] and [[Pan-Arabism]], which were seen as potential threats to the territorial integrity of Iran. Unlike similar movements of the time in other countries, Pan-Iranism was ethnically and linguistically inclusive and solely concerned with territorial nationalism, rather than ethnic or racial nationalism. <ref>[https://www.gozaar.org/uploaded_files/Iranian_Identity%5B1%5D.pdf Perspectives on Iranian identity, pg.26]</ref>
+Iranian philosopher Dr. Mahmoud Afshar (of [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]]-speaking [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] [[Afshar tribe|Afshar]] origin and father of [[Iraj Afshar]]) developed the Pan-Iranist ideology in the early 1920s as a reaction against the rising tide of [[Pan-Turkism]] and [[Pan-Arabism]], which were seen as potential threats to the territorial integrity of Iran. Unlike similar movements of the time in other countries, Pan-Iranism was ethnically and linguistically inclusive and solely concerned with territorial nationalism, rather than ethnic or racial nationalism. <ref>[https://www.gozaar.org/uploaded_files/Iranian_Identity%5B1%5D.pdf Perspectives on Iranian identity, pg.26]</ref>.  On the eve of World War I, [[pan-Turkist]] propaganda focused on the Turkic-speaking lands of Iran, Caucusus and Central Asia<ref name="RecastingAtabaki">  Touraj Atabaki, “Recasting Oneself, Rejecting the Other: Pan-Turkism and Iranian Nationalism” in Van Schendel, Willem(Editor). Identity Politics in Central Asia and the Muslim World: Nationalism, Ethnicity and Labour in the Twentieth Century. London, GBR: I. B. Tauris & Company, Limited, 2001.  Actual Quote: {{quote|As far as Iran is concerned, it is widely argued that Iranian nationalism was born as a state ideology in the Reza Shah era, based on philological nationalism and as a result of his innovative success in creating a modern nation-state in Iran. However, what is often neglected is that Iranian nationalism has its roots in the political upheavals of the nineteenth century and the disintegration immediately following the Constitutional revolution of 1905– 9. It was during this period that Iranism gradually took shape as a defensive discourse for constructing a bounded territorial entity – the ‘pure Iran’ standing against all others. Consequently, over time there emerged among the country’s intelligentsia a political xenophobia which contributed to the formation of Iranian defensive nationalism. It is noteworthy that, contrary to what one might expect, many of the leading agents of the construction of an Iranian bounded territorial entity came from non Persian-speaking ethnic minorities, and the foremost were the Azerbaijanis, rather than the nation’s titular ethnic group, the Persians.
+....
+In the middle of April 1918, the Ottoman army invaded Azerbaijan for the second time.
+...
+Contrary to their expectations, however, the Ottomans did not achieve impressive success in Azerbaijan. Although the province remained under quasi-occupation by Ottoman troops for months, attempting to win endorsement for pan-Turkism ended in failure.
+...
+The most important political development affecting the Middle East at the beginning of the twentieth century was the collapse of the Ottoman and the Russian empires. The idea of a greater homeland for all Turks was propagated by pan-Turkism, which was adopted almost at once as a main ideological pillar by the Committee of Union and Progress and somewhat later by other political caucuses in what remained of the Ottoman Empire. On the eve of World War I, pan-Turkist propaganda focused chiefly on the Turkic-speaking peoples of the southern Caucasus, in Iranian Azerbaijan and Turkistan in Central Asia, with the ultimate purpose of persuading them all to secede from the larger political entities to which they belonged and to join the new pan-Turkic homeland. Interestingly, it was this latter appeal to Iranian Azerbaijanis which, contrary to pan-Turkist intentions, caused a small group of Azerbaijani intellectuals to become the most vociferous advocates of Iran’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. If in Europe ‘romantic nationalism responded to the damage likely to be caused by modernism by providing a new and larger sense of belonging, an all-encompassing totality, which brought about new social ties, identity and meaning, and a new sense of history from one’s origin on to an illustrious future’,(42) in Iran after the Constitutional movement romantic nationalism was adopted by the Azerbaijani Democrats as a reaction to the irredentist policies threatening the country’s territorial integrity. In their view, assuring territorial integrity was a necessary first step on the road to establishing the rule of law in society and a competent modern state which would safeguard collective as well as individual rights. It was within this context that their political loyalty outweighed their other ethnic or regional affinities. The failure of the Democrats in the arena of Iranian politics after the Constitutional movement and the start of modern state-building paved the way for the emergence of the titular ethnic group’s cultural nationalism. Whereas the adoption of integrationist policies preserved Iran’s geographic integrity and provided the majority of Iranians with a secure and firm national identity, the blatant ignoring of other demands of the Constitutional movement, such as the call for formation of society based on law and order, left the country still searching for a political identity.}}</ref>.  The ultimate purpose of persuading these populations to secede from the larger political entities to which they belonged and to join the new pan-Turkic homeland<ref name="RecastingAtabaki"/>.  It was the latter appeal to Iranian Azerbaijanis, which contrary to [[Pan-Turkist]] intentions, caused a small group of Azerbaijani intellectuals to become the strongest advocates of the territorial integrity of Iran<ref name="RecastingAtabaki"/>.  After the constitutional revolution in Iran, a romantic nationalism was adopted by Azerbaijani Democrats as a reaction to the pan-Turkist irredentist policies emanating from modern [[Turkey]] and threatening Iran’s territorial integrity<ref name="RecastingAtabaki"/>.  It was during this period that Iranism and linguistic homogenization policies were proposed as a defensive nature against all others<ref name="RecastingAtabaki"/>.  Contrary to what one might expect, foremost among innovating this defensive nationalism were Iranian Azerbaijanis<ref name="RecastingAtabaki"/>.  They viewed that assuring the territorial integrity of the country was the first step in building a society based on law and modern state<ref name="RecastingAtabaki"/>.  Through this framework, their political loyalty outweighed their ethnic and regional affiliations<ref name="RecastingAtabaki"/>.  The adoptions of this integrationist policies paved the way for the emergence of the titular ethnic group’s cultural nationalism<ref name="RecastingAtabaki"/>.
 ==History==
 [[Image:Pan-Iranism.jpg|right|thumb|Flag of the [[Pan-Iranist party]]]]
 With the collapse of the [[Qajar dynasty]], which had descended into corruption, and the rise of [[Reza Shah Pahlavi]] in 1925, who began introducing secular reforms limiting the power of the [[Shi'a|Shia]] clergy, Iranian nationalist and socialist thinkers had hoped that this new era would also witness the introduction of [[democracy|democratic]] reforms. However, such reforms did not take place. This culminated in the gradual rise of a loosely organized [[grass roots]] Pan-Iranist movement made up of nationalist writers, teachers, students, and activists allied with other pro-democracy movements.

Revision as of 17:44, 14 July 2009

History

See also

Further reading

References

External links