Iranologists and Persian language professors abroad should cooperate with Iran in enriching the resources available on Persian language and culture, language regulators and policymakers urged at the closing ceremony of the synergy program and training for Persian language professors of the Eastern European region.
Pointing out that Farsi was historically a widely understood and spoken language in an area ranging from the Middle East to India, the Head of Iran’s Academy of Persian Language and Literature Gholam-Ali Hadad-Adel, said “the dominance of Persian language and culture can be seen in the names of the cities and individuals in this region,” IRNA reported.
“Although the advent of Islam in Iran changed the religion and alphabet of Iranians, it did not affect their language,” he said at the function. The program was held at the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO).
Eleven Iranologists from Russia, Poland, and Bulgaria attended the program organized jointly by the Faculty of Literature and the Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research of Allameh Tabatabai University.
The ancient history and culture of Iran, dating back to 7,000 years ago, provides researchers with a variety of aspects that are worth being studied, he noted.
Approach
“Although before the Islamic Revolution, foreign Iranologists conducted majority of the Iranian studies, Iran has changed its approach towards training local human resources in the field,” he said.
Introducing Saadi Foundation to the audience, Hadad-Adel who heads it said the libraries of the foundation and the Academy of Persian Language and Literature are open to foreign Iranologist and Persian language professors. He asked them to request the libraries of Persian resources in their home countries to exchange information on a reciprocal basis.
The ICRO head described Iranologists as the “cultural ambassadors of Iran.” They have made great contributions “even when facing tough conditions.”
Referring to the “negative approach” of the former Soviet Union towards Iran, Abouzar Ebrahimi-Torkaman admired the efforts of the Soviet-origin Iranologists who did not let their work be influenced by the mainstream approach.
Translations
“In that period of time, several Persian books were translated into Russian,” he said. ‘Yeki bud yeki nabud’ (Once Upon a Time) by Jamalzadeh was translated in Russian and published three times totaling 400,000 copies, said the official.
Referring to the creation of valuable works by foreign Iranologists, Ebrahimi-Torkaman also asked them to help enrich Iranian culture by introducing the resources available about Iran in their countries.
Other events besides the course included a workshop on Hafez as well as visiting cultural centers like Malik National Museum of Iran as well as Iranology Foundation.
