The Arab people of Iran have lived for thousands of years in South Western Iran. They form 6-8% of Iran’s population and are deeply rooted in this ancient land. Under the Mosha’sha dynasty, Arabs acquired an independent entity, called Arabistan, in 1424, which was bound by Kermanshah and Sahne from the north, Ehsa’ and Qatif from the south, Kohgiluye mountains from the east, and Koot, and Emarah from the west. The king EsmailSafavi conquered Arabistan and ended 80 years of independent governance from the capital Howaiza, but he retained their full autonomy. Afterwards, the region was intermittently independent or fully autonomous. During both the Safavid and Qajar dynasties Arabistan was one the four or six “Protected Cantons of Iran,” respectively. However, king Reza Pahlavi toppled ShaikhKhaz’al, the last Arab ruler in Arabistan. Following this event, for the past eight decades, the names of natural landmarks, towns, villages, neighbourhoods, and streets have been changed to Persian. In the past decade, we have been prohibited to even give non-religious Arabic names to our children. Furthermore, both the Pahlavi and the Islamic regimes have actively changed the demographic make of the province against native Arabs. The year 1925, when Arabs lost their political rule, marked the beginning of national oppression. This oppression consists of a set of economic, political, cultural, and linguistic injustices based on racist prejudices against the Arab people who are now known as the Ahwazi Arabs and live in the province of Khuzestan and other neighbouring provinces in Iran. Ahwazi Arabs speak Arabic, are Shi’ite Muslims, and possess a distinct folklore and culture from other nations of Iran. Rebellious resistance against the Pahlavi regime and their anti-Arab agenda started from the first days after toppling the last Arab ruler of the region. This resistance transformed from its tribal form before the fifties to find its leadership in elements from cities across the province after this era. In 1958 Arabistan Liberation Front was formed seeking the independence of Arabistan region. The ALF was led by the High National Committee and was active in cities of Abadan, Mohammara (Khorramshahr), and Ahwaz. Three of their leaders were tried by martial courts in Tehran in 1963 and were executed the following year. Moreover, the shift from tribal to civil of the structure of the leadership and masses consisting Arab people’s movement was indicative of a transformation in the social fabric of the Arab society in Iran. It must be noted that due to discovery of petroleum in early twentieth century thus region was more industrial than many others in Iran. Consequently, the evermore involvement of Arabs in the Iranian society, the growth of middle class and the influence of left-wing movements of the region during 1970s led to abandonment of the idea of independence to be replaced by solutions to the ethnic problem within the framework of Iran, by some groups among the resistance. Unlike, the constitutional revolution at the beginning of twentieth century, the Arab people had a direct role in the revolution of February 1979 accounting for tens of martyrs. Ayatollah sheikh Mohammad Taher Al Shobair Khaghani had a significant role as the spiritual leader of Arabs in this revolution. He dispatched a delegation of thirty-three individuals to Tehran to represent the Arab people in negotiations with the leaders of the revolution and The Provisional Government. The envoy – with myself as the spokesperson – was chosen from all the major cities of Arabistan of Iran and represented all the social classes of the Arab people. The following historic document contains the demands of the Arab people thirty-three years ago. These demands indicate the reaction of our people to national oppression of the Pahlavi era.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Feb 2014 15:10:37 +0000