Stop the Censorship of the Turkish Language
174
Signatures
500
Goal
13 September 2024
Unlike Persian, despite having tens of millions of speakers in Iran, the Turkish language has not been granted any official status for the past century. Furthermore, any content intended for Turkish speakers is subject to censorship. It is clear that the Islamic Republic of Iran censors any content, regardless of the language—Turkish or Persian—that opposes its ideological views. In essence, anything censored in Persian is also censored in Turkish. However, censorship applied to Turkish content is not applied to Persian. This shows that Turkish language content faces a unique form of suppression in Iran. The language itself is targeted for censorship.
Censorship Regulations by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance
The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has established specific rules for censoring Turkish content, enforcing these through regulations on Turkish books. One of the rules concerns how the Turkish language is written—the ministry demands that Turkish adhere to Persian grammatical structures. This results in texts where Turkish grammar is violated, creating confusion in written content subjected to the ministry’s censorship.
Restrictions on Turkish Vocabulary
In addition, the ministry bans the use of certain Turkish words. These include, firstly, terms originating from Turkey or the Republic of Azerbaijan. Secondly, words that, due to the lack of official status for Turkish in Iran, have fallen out of everyday use as Persian has increasingly penetrated daily life. However, these words have re-entered the language of Iranian Turks through various media from Turkey and Azerbaijan. As a result of the ministry’s actions, the use of Turkish has been confined primarily to everyday conversation, while Persian has continued to creep into Turkish texts.
Limited Distribution and Accessibility of Turkish Books
The examples above refer only to pre-publication censorship of Turkish books. After Turkish books receive approval for printing, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance further limits their distribution, enforcing post-publication censorship by restricting their sale. With few exceptions, public libraries and other relevant institutions do not purchase Turkish books, thereby preventing readers from accessing them. In an act of goodwill, some publishers have bought Turkish books with their own money and donated them to public libraries in Azerbaijani cities. However, these books were neither recorded in library catalogs nor made available on the shelves.
Inconsistent Censorship Practices
Despite these restrictions, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance does not follow a consistent or transparent methodology in censoring Turkish books. Instead, it applies an erratic and disorganized approach, confusing publishers and applying different standards each time. This has resulted in a systematic but deliberately unstructured policy of anti-Turkish sentiment, which continues to persist in Iran.
Our Demands
We, the undersigned, demand the following:
- An immediate end to the censorship of Turkish language content in all forms, including books, media, and digital publications.
- The recognition of Turkish as an official language in Iran, granting it the same rights and status as Persian.
- The cessation of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance’s requirement that Turkish adhere to Persian grammatical rules, allowing Turkish to be written in its proper form.
- The removal of restrictions on Turkish vocabulary, including terms borrowed from Turkey and Azerbaijan, so that the language may evolve and adapt without interference.
- The free and unrestricted sale and distribution of Turkish books, ensuring they are available in public libraries and bookstores nationwide.
//
Recent events
-
See where all the votes are coming from
Province Number of signatures Alborz 2 Ardabil 7 Bushehr 0 Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari 0 East Azerbaijan 29 Fars 0 Gilan 0 Golestan 0 Hamadan 1 Hormozgan 0 Ilam 0 Isfahan 1 Kerman 0 Kermanshah 0 Khuzestan 1 Kohgiluyehv And Boyer Ahmad 0 Kurdistan 0 Lorestan 0 Markazi 0 Mazandaran 0 North Khorasan 1 Qazvin 0 Qom 1 Razavi Khorasan 1 Semnan 0 Sistan and Baluchestan 0 South Khorasan 0 Tehran 6 West Azerbaijan 15 Yazd 0 Zanjan 2 This petition has received 174 signatures so far. Approximately 93% of signatures come from Iran. Approximately 7% of signatures come from outside of Iran. Learn how Daadkhast generates signature maps. -
Latest signatures
-
-
Signed via Telegram
-
فروش و توزیع آزاد و بدون محدودیت کتابهای ترکی
-
Signed via Telegram
-
Signed via Telegram
-
-
A Turkish activist started this petition
به رسمیت شناختن زبان ترکی به عنوان یک زبان رسمی در ایران