Iran and South Azerbaijan – The Azeri Search for National Integrity and Cultural Identity. Part II
As more than 25 millions of Azeris struggle today under the criminal and inhuman regime of the Ayatollahs, the world community bears the responsibility to listen to them and actively contribute to their liberation.
I republished, amongst others, an Appeal to save the life of an Azeri Human Rights activist, Mr. Yunis Aghayan, and an ecological insightful concerning the great Lake Urumiyeh of South Azerbaijan that has been totally disregarded by the lunatic Ayatollahs. I also republished two appeals and petitions for the declaration of the Azeri language as official language in Iran, and first language for the primary and secondary education for all those demanding so. Focusing on the Azeri search for national integrity and cultural identity, I republished an essay composed by one of South Azerbaijan´s foremost scholars, Dr. Alireza Asgharzadeh. In the present article, I complete the republication of another earlier contribution of Dr. Alireza Asgharzadeh. In forthcoming articles I will expand further on this subject of seminal importance.
The Multiple Identities of Azerbaijan
By Dr. Alireza Asgharzadeh
http://www.en.baybak.com/the-multiple-identities-of-azerbaijan-by-dr-alireza-asgharzadeh.azr
The Azeri Diaspora
The Azeri Diaspora is a comparatively new phenomenon, rooted in a roughly three decades of history of migration. It owes its existence to two major events that took place in the recent history of the region: first, the 1978-79 Islamic Revolution in Iran; second, the demise of the Soviet Union and the establishment of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 1991. The Iranian revolution of 1978-79 was a major socio-political upheaval that affected all aspects of life in the country. In the periods during and after the Islamic Revolution, waves of mass migrations took place partly because of violations of human rights in Iran, partly as a result of the 8-year war with Iraq, and partly due to the worldwide impact of globalization along with a whole set of other economic and developmental factors.29 This migratory trend still continues, albeit on a much smaller scale.
According to the latest statistics, there are over five million Iranian immigrants in Europe and North America.30 And the current population of Iran totals to over seventy million. Given the fact that the Azeris comprise over thirty million of Iran´s total population, we can safely argue that about two million of the five million Iranian immigrants are Azeris. Thus, the main segment of an Azeri Diaspora, at least in terms of numbers and figures, come not from the north, but from Iran and the south Azerbaijan. In the case of the Azerbaijan Republic, the demise of the Soviet Union and the independence of northern Azerbaijan significantly contributed to the formation of an Azeri Diaspora. With the coming of independence, the iron curtain was lifted and the hitherto closed Azerbaijani society was exposed to the outside world in an unprecedented way. As a result, many Azeris were, for the first time, accorded the opportunity to travel, to migrate and settle down in a foreign country, for a variety of economic, educational, and sociopolitical reasons.
The coming of independence was also concomitant with the breakout of an ugly war between Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia over the Azeri enclave of Nagorno-Qarabagh. As always, millions of innocent civilians constituted the first casualties of the war. The Azerbaijani Republic produced over one million displaced persons. In effect, one out of every seven Azerbaijani citizen became a homeless refugee. Obviously, over and above all else, the refugees needed food on their plates, a roof over their heads and a place to rest. So they migrated– at least the ones who could afford it. The demon of war brought with it a large scale destruction, followed by a grave sense of uncertainty, hopelessness and restlessness. As such, even many of those who were not directly affected by the war began to migrate. A new wave of Azeri (mass) migration took place during the first five years of the independence, to be followed by the future small scale migrations.
Added to this new wave of migration was the status of hundreds of thousands of those Azeris who, as citizens of the former Soviet Union, were living in such places as Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, and so forth. After the fall of the Soviet Union, these Azeris came to find themselves as immigrants living in an independent (alien) country–in someone else´s country, that is. So, they too became Azeri immigrants living in abroad. In essence, they are, and will continue to be, important components of the Azerbaijani Diaspora. And so will be the hundreds of thousands, by some estimates over two millions, of Azeris living in the Republic of Turkey.
The experience of diasporic life shows that in diaspora, the Iranian Azeris have come into close contact with the Azeris from the Republic of Azerbaijan. For instance, one could make mention of various Azerbaijani community centers, organizations, groups, media outlets, particularly journals, magazines, and internet discussion groups in which there are indications of close collaborations between the northern and southern Azeris. The increasing rate of intermarriages, the noticeably high rate of travels and visits from Diaspora to Baku, from Baku to Tabriz and vice versa could be cited as other indicators of tightening relationships between the two sides. Needless to say, all these developments have implications in terms of collective, national, and personal identification processes. In what follows, I will outline some of these implications and discuss how they influence the production and maintenance of a sense of unified Azerbaijani identity.
Identity Pathways
The term identity acquires a complex character when applied to persons, groups, and communities. It can allude to someone´s individual identity in a personal sense, in the form of sexual/gendered identity for example; just as it may indicate a person´s ethnic, national, cultural, or religious identity in a collective sense. No matter how one may define it, the term ´identity´ is generally used to mark the way individuals or groups define themselves within their environment at different periods of time in the context of their lived realities. For the most part, identities are context-bound, spatio-temporally defined personal or collective categories characterized by non-fixed, non-essential, shifting and changing attributes. The processes of identity formation are often intertwined in a complex web of personal, collective, national, regional and local identities and the intersections of these with such social markers as class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, culture, religion, language, etc. Perhaps that is why it is not so easy to limit our choices to any exclusive designation when it comes to choosing an identity category. From a democratic viewpoint, it would make perfect sense if individuals were free to self-identify. However, while we all have strong tendencies towards self-definition and self-expression, we know very well that there are always powerful obstacles to the exercise of one´s freedom to self-identify. Sometimes these obstacles are socially, politically and culturally conditioned; and sometimes they are erected by powerful individuals and groups either from within or outside one´s community who assign themselves the right to designate the ´correct and authentic´ identity for us.
In spite of all this, the multiple and shifting nature of identities are increasingly becoming manifest in contemporary environments. More and more we are realizing that our identities can no longer be limited to any single designation: man, woman, Muslim, Jew, Christian, etc. This fluid and shifting nature of identities are much more pronounced in diasporic communities where individuals assume multiple identities on a daily basis. For instance, a second generation individual of Mexican origin living in America has a variety of choices to identify herself: Mexican, Mexican American, Latina, Chicana, and so forth. Similar to the case of Hispanic populations in America, Azerbaijanis too have begun to realize the shifting nature of their multiple identities. In terms of their ethnic identity, historically they have been referred to as Azeris (ancient Assyrian and Arabic sources); Azeri-Turks (Turkish sources), and Turks (Persian sources). In time, some have stuck to Azeri, some to Azeri-Turk, and some to ´Turk.´ In recent years, more designations have emerged due to the changing geopolitical situation in the region. As a result, more terms have been added to an already inflated pool of labels: Iranian-Turk, Azerbaijani-Turk, North-Azerbaijani-Turk, South-Azerbaijani-Turk, and Azerbaijani.
On the one hand, the existence of a variety of identity categories signals the signs and symptoms of living in a postcolonial and postmodern condition. On the other hand, it poses a major challenge to individuals of Azerbaijani heritage in articulating a common identity which could be concurrently applicable to the Azeri people on both sides of the Araz River as well as in Azeri Diaspora. Which term, which label, what designation is most capable of defining such an inclusive identity in a clearly unambiguous fashion, particularly within a constantly globalizing and changing world? Is it ´Azeri/Azerbaijani´ or is it ´Turk?´ Or is it other combinations? Can all of these be used as different manifestations of the same identity or is there a need to choose a single one?
Evidently, the exercise of ´free choice´ in using identity categories in the context of Azerbaijan has encountered various practical, cultural and linguistic difficulties which necessitate the significance of using a common identity category by all Azerbaijanis. In the following pages I will discuss various issues and problems associate with the use of a number of popular Azerbaijani identity categories and highlight the necessity of reaching a consensus around a common designation.
A Pan-Ethnic Identity: ´We All Are Turks´
In its current usage, the term ´Turk´ defines the ethnic/linguistic/national identity of the majority of people in the Republic of Turkey. It also defines the ethnic/cultural/linguistic identity of a variety of other groups and communities in such places as Central Asia, Caucasia, Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Balkans who loosely use the term to refer to their ethnic affiliations. One of the earliest sources that makes mention of the term ´Turk´ is an encyclopedia titled Diwan-i Lughãt at-Turk, written by Mehmud of Kashger in 1072-73. In this book, the author traces the genealogy of the word ´Turk´ back to the time of the Prophet Noah and claims ´Turk´ to be the name of one of Prophet Noah´s sons.31 There are also references to ´Turk´ and its variations such as ´tu-kiu,´ ´tur-kiut,´ ´tur-kiu,´ ´turku,´ ´turukh,´ ´durukh,´ and ´turuk´ in some ancient Assyrian, Chinese and Japanese sources.32 These references indicate that some segments of the inhabitants of Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Caucasia and the Middle East were referred to as ´Turks´ around 1500 BC.
More recently, there has been located in the People´s Republic of Mongolia archeological evidence known as the Orkhon Inscriptions that, according to Turkish sources, are the first written monuments in which the word ´Turk´ is used. Carved from rocks and marbles, these inscriptions contain the first signals of Turkic culture and language and are considered to constitute the beginning of the Turkic family tree.33 Furthermore, the existence of considerable similarities between the ancient Sumerian language and current Turkic languages has led some scholars to consider the ancient Sumerian tongue as the proto-Turkic language of the ancient world.34
As far as the recent written history is concerned, various sources indicate that the majority of Azerbaijan´s inhabitants have consistently referred to themselves as Turks. Others have also identified them as ´Turks.´ The term ´Turk´ is thus both a self-designation as well as a designation assigned by others. During the Pahlavi rule in Iran, the term Turk, the Turks themselves, in fact everything Turkic was extremely demonized. Turks were associated with savagery, barbarism, bloodshed, pillage, stupidity, and backwardness.35 The Iranian Turks were constantly humiliated, mocked and laughed at all over the country. There were derogatory remarks, racial slurs and epithets about them on TV programs, radio broadcasts, in magazines, newspapers, works of literature, history, etc. After the demise of the Pahlavi regime, some Azeri scholars started on building and rebuilding their Turkic identity. Since then, the Turkic identity has been valorized by various intellectuals and nationalist groups alike. And this marks the beginning of the usage of ´Turk´ as a local identity.
A Local Identity: ´We Are Iranian Turks´
The designation ´Iranian-Turk´ is constructed locally, in the context of Iran and the Persian racist discourse that seeks to otherize different ethnic groups such as the Arabs and Turks by assigning the ownership of the country to "Aryan races" alone.36 To the extent that the Turkic identity is demonized and dehumanized in Iran, the Iranian Turks build up this identity in an attempt to counter the racist attacks leveled against it. While various assimilatory methods such as the denial of Turkic identity and conformity to the dominant racist discourse were adopted on the part of some Azeri intellectuals during the Pahlavi regime, the current movement to reclaim Turkic identity is increasingly becoming popular in Azerbaijan and other parts of Iran. In effect, this act of reclamation uses what maybe called an essentialist understanding of identity to offset the racist attacks by the dominant exclusionary order. It may be considered essentialist because it is often reconstructed vis-à-vis the essentialist and racist construction of Persian/Aryan racial group, by way of which this group is presented as being in the possession of an unchanging, fixed, pure and authentic identity with biologically and culturally superior qualities.37 The use of ´Turk´ as an anti-thesis to a racist Persian identity maybe regarded as what Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak has termed a ´strategic essentialism.´38
An essentialist use of ´Turk´ on a local Iranian level has inevitably linked this identity to the larger ideology of Turkism rooted in an existing notion of pan-ethnic/pan-Turkist identity. This linkage is demonstrated through reactions shown on the part of Iranian Turks to issues emerging from Armenian-Turkish and Kurdish-Turkish relations. Belonging to a pan-ethnic identity compels some Azerbaijanis to act as advocates of the former Ottoman Empire or the current Turkish Republic by showing reactions against the demands that certain ethnic groups such as the Armenians and the Kurds have from these political entities. As a result, some ethnic conflicts existing in the Turkish Republic are spelled over to Azerbaijan and are automatically made to be an Azerbaijani issue. Whereas in reality they are not Azerbaijani issues but issues related to the Turkish government.
Thus, this essentialist and undemocratic understanding of pan-ethnic identity serves to create hostilities among various ethnic groups particularly at a time when these groups need to be cooperating with one another towards the achievement of common social, cultural, political and collective rights. For instance, in an article titled "A Word with the People of South Azerbaijan," Dr Alireza Nazmi-Afshar, a well-known Azerbaijani activist, warns the Azerbaijanis that the independence of South Azerbaijan from Iran will eventually lead to the independence of Kurds from Turkey, which in his view, would be disastrous to the Turks all over the world.
As he puts it, the Azerbaijanis´ demand for independence from Iran, no matter how reasonable and rightful, will legitimize similar demands on the part of PKK Kurds in Turkey and Dashnak Armenians in Qarabagh… Is this really what we want? By saying this perhaps I will be accused of Pan-Turkism. But if this kind of responsibility towards other Turks and their national interests…is Pan-Turkism…then I am a Pan-Turkist. I am a Pan-Turkist. I am a Pan-Turkist.39
In addition to creating animosity and hatred among various ethnic groups in Iran , this kind of pan-ethnic identity serves to project an undemocratic image of Azerbaijani people and their struggle for justice, equality and human rights. As such, more and more, a pan-ethnic vision of identity loses its significance particularly for those Azeris who advance their struggle within a framework of human rights, justice, and anti-racist struggle. ´Turk´ is the proper name and national identity of the Turkic citizens of the Republic of Turkey. In order to distinguish themselves from the Turks of Turkey, some Azeris have sought to refer to themselves through designations such as Azerbaijani-Turk or Iranian Turk. These kinds of hyphenated-combinations are prone to criticism for being too long, too vague and confusing, awkward to pronounce and uneasy to write. The term may make sense in Azeri language and among Azeri audiences, but when translated into someone else´s language, others do not understand at all what the term stands for. This becomes completely problematic particularly in multicultural and multilingual diasporic environments. For instance, if we were to follow this line of reasoning in Diaspora, then an Azeri-Canadian such as myself would have to identify him or herself as ´Azerbaijani-Turkish-Iranian-Canadian.´ That how awkward and confusing and impractical this sounds is self-explanatory!40 Hence, the necessity for a more familiar global identity, one which would be easily applicable to Azerbaijanis living in Diaspora, in Iran, and in the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The Azeri Alternative: A Transcultural / Diasporic Identity
´Azeri´ is another important designation that is used as an identity category to represent the Azerbaijani people. We come across this term in early Assyrian and Arabic sources, spanning the history some three thousand years back. In ancient Assyrian sources, for instance, there is mention of a city and region known as ´Azari´ situated in the vicinity of "the Lake of Urmu" in western Azerbaijan.41 The inhabitants of this city were referred to as the "Azers/Azerler" who were a member of the Turkic racial/ethnic group.42 The Assyrian sources document a directive issued by the Assyrian King, Sargon II, in the last quarter of the 8th century BC, regarding the reparation and renovation of a major highway that connected a number of important cities in Caucasia and the Middle East. The official in charge of implementing the King´s order writes:
I remove […] from Sare to Dur-Atanate, the
Arraphaeans remove […] from Dur-Atanate to
Dur-Taliti, [I] remove [the…] again from
Dur-Taliti to Azari… [emphasis added]43
A number of Arab travelers and historians have
also made frequent references to ´Azerbaijan´
and ´al-Azeriyya.´44 Yaqut al-Hamavi, the 13th
century Arab traveler and historian, regarding
the language of the inhabitants of Azerbaijan
writes:
They have a peculiar language called al-Azerriya
and no one can understand it except for
themselves.45
Azerbaijan being the name of the land, the Arabs
called the vast majority of its inhabitants and
their language ´al-Azerriya.´ This ´al-Azeriyya´
was transliterated/translated into Persian and
Turkish sources as ´Azeri,´ which has been used
alongside ´Turk´ to refer to the identity of
Azerbaijan´s inhabitants. In fact, the two terms
have been used interchangeably not only by the
Azerbaijanis themselves, but by the Arabs,
Persians, and Europeans as well. For instance,
regarding the definition of the term, we read in
Borhan-e Qate´, the great Persian Encyclopedia:
When the Oghuz came to that region [i.e.,
Azerbaijan], the Lord of Oghuz took liking to
one of its towns called Ujan. He asked each of
his people to bring a skirt-full of earth and
pour it there. He himself brought a skirt-full
and poured. All his army personnel and his
people each brought a skirt-full and piled
there. Soon a gigantic mountain was formed. He
named it Azerbaijan, for Azer in Turkic stands
for height and ´Baijan´ means the elders and
lords.46
Azeri and Turk have been used interchangeably
throughout most of Azerbaijan´s modern history.
At least such was the case until an Iranian
intellectual named Ahmad Kasravi published an
article in the 1920s and refuted thereby the
synonymity between the two terms. Himself of an
Azerbaijani origin, Kasravi ventured on to claim
that, among other things, Azerbaijan was
originally populated by ´Pahlavi/Farsi-Speaking´
Aryans who had later on become Turkified due to
the Seljuq and Mongol invasions of Iran in the
eleventh and thirteenth centuries, respectively.
Hence: the ´invention´ of an Indo-European Azari/Azeri
language.
Immediately after the popularization of
Kasravi´s theory, the terms ´Azerbaijan´ and
´Azeri´ became highly politicized. The dominant
Persian group in Iran used the opportunity to
advance its chauvinistic agenda of
delegitimizing Iran´s ´non-Indo-European´ ethnic
groups. Many linguists, historians, and social
scientists joined in and tried to prove that the
language spoken in Ancient Azerbaijan was
exclusively and entirely Persian.47 A number of
European social scientists and ´Orientalists´
too supported these chauvinistic views,
insisting that Farsi was ´the only´ language
spoken in all parts of the ´Iranshehr´ prior to
the emergence and triumph of Islam in Iran.48
Elsewhere49 I have dealt with Kasravi´s theory
in some detail. It is crystal clear by now that
his assumptions about the Azeri language lacked
serious historical, linguistic or scientific
credibility. He publicized such views because he
believed they were going to be "good for
Iran."50 It was the era of European positivism
and Aryanist racism, when monolingualism was
promoted and diversity was discarded. Kasravi
and his followers were proceeding based on the
assumption that there was a ´pure Aryan/Iranian´
race that could be identified and maintained in
its ´pure´ form. Language was the main signifier
of this race´s identity and authenticity. In the
context of Iran, this language could not be any
other than Farsi/Persian. Therefore, the first
step in purification of the supposedly Aryan
race of Iran was to annihilate the variety of
non-Aryan languages spoken in the country. Thus,
by inventing an Aryan language for the Azeris
and through forcing them to abandon their
language for Farsi, Kasravi and his followers
thought that they were purifying Iran´s Aryan
race and culture.
Irrespective of these racist endeavors, the fact
remains that ancient Azerbaijan was a fertile
land on which multiplicity of races, languages
and cultures flourished side by side. According
to the tenth century Arab traveller, al-Muqaddasi,
"over 70 languages were spoken in Azerbaijan."51
Ibn Hawqal, another 10th century Arab historian
determined the number of languages spoken in
Azerbaijan and Caucasia to be "360 spoken
languages."52 It is not surprising then to see a
certain Caucasian mountain is referred to in
Arabic sources as "Jebal-ul-Alsana" or "the
Mountain of Languages."53
This rich variety clearly illustrates the
existence of high degree of linguistic, ethnic
and cultural diversity in ancient Azerbaijan. As
such, it should not be difficult to dig out
fragments of a variety of dead or living
languages from that region. The problem arises,
though, when certain groups and individuals try
to present one single language as ´the only
authentic and original and pure language spoken
in ancient Azerbaijan.´ This was the mission
upon which Ahmad Kasravi and his followers had
embarked. Obviously, this kind of
misrepresentation entails an essentialist notion
of identity, a notion which has already been
rejected as being racist, assimilatory, and
exclusionary.
A definition of ´Azeri´ that is currently used
in international literature does not correspond
to Kasravi´s race-based and race-driven
definition. The meaning of Azeri, much like
other linguistic products, has been influenced
by natural shifts, ruptures and transformations
in language. In its current form, it stands for
the inhabitants of Azerbaijan and their
language, which is a Turkic one.
Azeri is widely used in intercultural
communications mainly because of its simplicity,
brevity and familiarity. It alludes to a
distinct people living in or originating from a
distinct land; and it does this in the most
transparent fashion, a quality that its rival
terms lack. It does not require hyphenation,
prefix or suffix. Perhaps that is why, more and
more Azerbaijanis are realizing that ´Azeri´ is
here to stay.
A Democratic Alternative: the Emerging
Azerbaijani Identity
Alongside the recognition of ´Azeri´ as a viable
ethnic and linguistic designation by the
international community, the term ´Azerbaijani´
is also making a comeback. In his recent visit
to the US, the President Ilham Aliev of
Azerbaijan announced on April 26, 2006:
Azerbaijanis live in many countries. Recently we
had the Second Congress of World Azerbaijanis.
And according to our estimations, there are more
than 50 million Azerbaijanis who live around the
world, and about 30 million of them live in
Iran.54
Those following the development of identity
formations among the Azeris can appreciate the
significance of the term ´Azerbaijani´ in
President Aliev´s articulation. The choice of
this term corresponds to the democratic, diverse
and multicultural vision of Azerbaijan that the
president skillfully projects of his country:
Azerbaijan is a multinational country… We have
various nationalities, various religions
represented, the highest degree of religious and
ethnic tolerance. Azerbaijan is a secular
country, and not only by its constitution, but
by way of life.55
It is the ´Azerbaijani-ness´ that binds the
diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious
communities together. And that is why the
designation ´Azerbaijani´ represents a
democratic identity. It is not based on some
essentialist, racist, or ethnocentric vision of
solidarity in the context of ´blood,´ race or
ethnicity. It is based on common citizenship,
land and territory, which makes it a democratic
identity. This ´Azerbaijani´ identity received a
major boost recently, when various
Azeri-Canadian individuals, groups and
communities issued public statements demanding
all Azeris residing in Canada to identify
themselves on the 2006 Census Questionnaire as
´Azerbaijanis´ or ´Azeris´ rather than Turks,
Iranians, Persians and other combinations.56 The
question number 7 on the census questionnaire
states: "What is the language that this person
[you] first learned at home in childhood and
still understands?57 "If we answer Turk or
Turkish to this question," one of the public
statements observed, we will be considered as
nationals of the Republic of Turkey. And if we
reply Persian or Farsi, we will be considered
Iranian nationals. Obviously, both responses
undermine our Azerbaijani identity and are,
therefore, incorrect… Let us all come together
and announce once for all through this census
that: We are Azerbaijanis and our mother tongue
is Azerbaijani. (emphasis in original)58
While these kinds of open acknowledgements of
Azeri/Azerbaijani identity in the past would
invoke harsh responses on the part of those
adhering to an essentialist pan-ethnic identity,
this time there was no harsh reaction or
symbolic violence committed against those
promoting the ´Azerbaijani´ identity. This new
awareness may in itself indicate the evolution
of Azeri Diaspora from infancy towards maturity.
In fact, there is a rich history behind this
democratic ´Azerbaijani´ identity in both
southern and northern Azerbaijan(s). In the
North, it was Mohammed Emin Resulzadeh who for
the first time came up with the common
Azerbaijani identity in the early 20th century.
At the time, the Azerbaijanis together with
other Turkic-speaking peoples of the Russian
Empire were commonly identified as ´Rusiyye
Musulmanlari´ (the Muslims of Russia),
´Tatarlar´ (the Tatars) or ´Rusiyye Turkleri´
(the Turks of Russia), much the same way as some
Azeris in the South currently refer to
themselves as ´the Iranian Turks´ or ´the Turks
of Iran.´ While observing the existence of
certain similarities among various Turkic
peoples in the region, Resulzadeh maintained
that Azerbaijan constituted a distinct society
due to unique historical, cultural, and social
characteristics shared by its inhabitants.59
From this observation a modern notion of
Azerbaijani identity was born.
Similarly, it was during the Democratic
Government (1945-46) of Mir Jafar Pishevari that
a sophisticated Azerbaijani identity was
developed in southern Azerbaijan. In this
period, notions such as Azerbaijani language,
Azerbaijani nation, Azerbaijani national
homeland became prevalent. It is noteworthy
that, although previous movements such as the
Constitutional Movement and the Movement of
Sheyx Mohammed Xiyabani were strongly rooted in
Azerbaijan and had some ethnic tendencies, these
movements and their leadership were not
politically sophisticated enough to see
Azerbaijan as a distinct society and to view it
as the national Azeri homeland. This changing
and shifting nature of identity formations among
the Azeris confirm the post-modern and
post-colonial definition of identity in the
sense that identities are not some sort of fixed
and unchanging phenomena. On the contrary, they
are quite fluid, hybrid, and flexible. Our world
is full of "melange and hotchpotch,"60
"ambivalent"61 and "subaltern"62 identities, and
we should not, in fact cannot, be essentialists
or fundamentalists when it comes to our
identification. As Edward Said puts it, No one
today is purely one thing. Labels like Indian,
or woman, or Muslim, or American are not more
than starting-points, which if followed into
actual experience for only a moment are quickly
left behind. Imperialism consolidated the
mixture of cultures and identities on a global
scale. But its worst and most paradoxical gift
was to allow people to believe that they were
only, exclusively, white, or black, or Western,
or Oriental.63
As the Republic of Azerbaijan becomes more
integrated into the world community, the
prospect of accepting the Azerbaijani/Azeri
designation becomes more practical in both
southern and northern Azerbaijan. For all
intents and purposes, the international
community has already accepted ´Azeri´ and/or
´Azerbaijani´ as legitimate
ethnic/linguistic/cultural/national identity of
Azerbaijani people. Compared to their rival
terms such as Turk, Azerbaijani-Turk,
Iranian-Turk, the ´Azeri´ and ´Azerbaijani´
designations are more inclusive, more familiar
and much more transparent. And this makes them
suitable identity categories for the 21st
century.
Conclusion
Identities are articulated within a variety of
shifting social, political, economic, cultural
and discursive contexts. The constantly changing
nature of identity contexts warrant renewed
articulation and examination of identity
categories. Essentialist understandings of
identity are rooted in equally essentialist
notions of race, ethnicity, language and
culture. Such understandings can and often do
have exclusionary consequences particularly in
pluralistic environments. This accentuates the
necessity of promoting more democratic and
inclusive notions of identity in contemporary
diverse societies. A non-essentialist and
flexible approach to identity allows for
democratic dialogue and negotiation which can
result in a formulation of a locally effective
and globally relevant identity category. This
way, as citizens of a small global village, we
may be moving towards the achieving of what Pico
Iyer has called ´a global soul.´64
This paper has looked into the multiple
identities of Azerbaijan as these identities
continue to oscillate among various
geo-political and historical zones, conditioned
by lived experiences of individuals, groups, and
communities. The paper shows that such identity
categories as ´Turk,´ ´Iranian-Turk,´ ´Azeri,´
and ´Azerbaijani´ are constructed based on
different social, cultural, political, and
economic conditions in Iran, in the Republic of
Azerbaijan, and in the Azeri Diaspora. The paper
discusses how an essentialist version of a
´Turkic´ identity has been forming in Iran since
the 1978-79 revolution, mainly in reaction to an
equally essentialist and aggressively racist
construction of Farsism and Aryanism.
Simultaneously, it looks into a more flexible
and inclusive ´Azerbaijani´ identity that has
been shaping in the Republic of Azerbaijan
directly in response to issues emerging from an
increasingly globalizing, diverse and
heterogeneous nation-state.
The paper shows that as the Republic of
Azerbaijan becomes socio-economically and
geopolitically significant, and to the extent
that it is acknowledged by the international
community as such, its influence on Azeri
Diaspora becomes much stronger than the
influence received from Iran and the southern
Azerbaijan. Given this constantly increasing
influence, it is reasonable to conclude that the
´Azerbaijani´ and ´Azeri´ identity categories
are on their way to becoming dominant
designations in the Azeri Diaspora.
Notes
29 Alireza Asgharzadeh, "Islamic fundamentalism,
Globalization, and Migration: New Challenges for
Canada," in Rose Folson, ed., Calculated
kindness: global restructuring, immigration and
settlement in Canada (Halifax: Fernwood
Publishing, 2004), 130-150.
30 Asghar Fathi, ed., Iranian Refugees and
Exiles Since Khomeini (California: Mazda
Publishers, 1991); Asgharzadeh, "Islamic
fundamentalism, Globalization, and Migration."
31 Mahmood Kashgari, Divan Lugat et-Turk, trans.
M. Siyaqi, (Tehran: Pajuheshgah-e Olum-e Ensani
ve Motaleat-e Farhangi, 1073/1996).
32 A.N. Kononov, Opit analiza termina "Turk,"
(SE, No 1, 1947); Zehtabi, Iran Turklerinin Eski
Tarixi.
33Turkish Daily News, 17 April, 2001.
34 Zehtabi, Iran Turklerinin Eski Tarixi;
Alireza Asgharzadeh, "Current Azerbaijani
Situation and the Problematic of Diaspora:
Methods and Strategies for Building Alliances,"
Tribun, 2002, [3] www.tribun.com…
35 Chafi Javadi, Tabriz ve Piramun, (Tehran:
Nahsr-e Diba, 1971); Enayetullah Reza, Iran va
Turkan dar Ruzgar-e Sasanian, (Tehran: Sherket-e
Entsharat-e Elmi va Farhangi, 1986).
36 Asgharzadeh, Iran and the Challenge of
Diversity.
37 Alireza Asgharzadeh, "The Anatomy of Iranian
Racism: Reflections on the Root Causes of South
Azerbaijan´s Resistance Movement," Baku Today
(May 28, 2006), [4] www.bakutoday….
38 Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, "Can the
Subaltern Speak?" in C Nelson and L. Grossberg
,eds., Marxism and the interpretation of
Culture, (Chicago: University of Illinois Press,
1988).
39 Alireza Nazmi-Afshar, "Sokhani ba mardom-e
Azerbaijan Janubi," Shams Tabriz (May 13,
2006)1, [5] www.shamstabri…
40 Asgharzadeh, "Notes on Azeri/Turk dichotomy;"
"Current Azerbaijani Situation."
41 G.B. Lanfranchi and S. Parpola, eds., State
Archives of Assyiría, vol v, the
Correspondence of Sargon II: Letters from the
Northern and Northeastern Provinces (Helsinki:
the Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, 1990)
42 Firidun Agasioglu, Azer Xalqi
(Baki:Chashioglu Neshriyyati, 2000), 16.
43 State Archives of Assyria, vol.5, N229,
r.1-9; Agasioglu, Azer Xalqi, 16-17.
44 see for example S. Ibn Howqal, Surat al-Arz,
ed., J. Shoar (Tehran: Bonyad-e Farhang-e Iran,
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Al-Muqaddasi, Ahsan ut-Taqasim fi Ma´rifat
ul-Aqalim, ed., M.J. de Geoje (M.J. Leiden:
Brill, 1906); Yaqut Hamavi, Kitab Mo´jam
al-Buldan, vol. 1, ed., F. Wustenfeld (Leipzig:
Brockhaus, 1866).
45 Hamavi, Kitab Mo´jam, 102.
46 M. Khalaf-Tabrizi, Borhan-e Qate´, ed., M.
Moin (Tehran: Ibn-e Sina, 1963/1983), vol 1, 24.
47 Mahmood Afshar, ´Aghaznameh´ Ayendeh, 1(1),
(1925), 5-6.
48 Joseph Marquaurt, Eransahr nach der
Geographie des Ps. Moses Xorenac´i (Berlin:
Weidmann, 1901); Gordon V. Childe, The Aryans: A
Study of Indo-European Origins (London: Kegan
Paul, 1926).
49 Asgharzadeh, Iran and the Challenge of
Diversity.
50 Ahmad Kasravi, Tarikh-e Hejdah Saleh-ye
Azerbaijan (Tehran: Taban, 1941); Ahmad Kasravi,
Azeri ya Zaban-e Bastan-e Azerbaigan, (Tehran:
Taban, 1938); Ahmad Kasravi, Shahryaran-e
Gomnam, (Tehran, 1929); Yahya Zaka, Maqalat-e
Kasravi, (Tehran: Nahsr-e Danesh, 1955).
51 Al-Muqaddasi, Ahsan ut-Taqasim, 260.
52 Ibn Howqal, Surat al-Arz, 82.
53 Asgharzadeh, "Current Azerbaijani Situation"
54 Ilham Aliev, "A Conversation with Ilham
Aliyev," (Federal News Service, April 26, 2006),
[6] www.cfr.org/pu…
55 Ibid.
56 Shams Tabriz News, "Hamvatanan-e Aziz-e
Azerbaijani," (May 9, 2006)1,
57 Statistics Canada, Census Questionnaire, 2006
[7] www50.statcan….
58 Shams Tabriz, "Hamvatanan-e Eziz"
59 Mahammed Amin Resulzade, Azerbaijan Problemi,
(Ankara: Azerbaycan Kultur DernekiYayinlari,
1920/1996).
60 Salman Rushdi, Imaginary Homelands (London,
Granta/Penguin, 1991).
61 Homi Bhabha, Nation and Narration, (London:
Routledge, 1990); Homi Bhabha, The Location of
Culture, (London: Routledge, 1994).
62 Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, A Critique of
Postcolonial Reason: Toward a History of the
Vanishing Present (Harvard University Press,
1999)
Note
Picture: Iran cannot exist; beyond the Azeris
and other Turkic nations that are preponderant
in the North, a number of diverse nations in the
West, the South, and the East demand the
abolition of the shameful Ayatollah butchery.
From:
http://www.ordoesitexplode.com/me/2006/08/mapping_irans_m.html