The Need to Satisfy the Iranian National Pride in the Search for a Solution to the Nuclear Issue
NISHIKAWA Megumi / Journalist
October 3, 2019
As the United States tries to rally the Coalition of the Willing to protect shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, Iran tries to put a brake on it by saying “participation in the Coalition is a hostile act against Iran.” Their hard-line stance of not giving in an inch to the American pressure seems to go beyond political bravado. It probably has more to do with their mettle, the deep-rooted Persian ethnicity.
A common misunderstanding among the Japanese is to see Iran as a part of the Arab world, as Iran also belongs to the same Islamic world. However, the Arabs and Iranians (Persians) fall into completely different cultural zones both ethnically and linguistically.
Persian is of the Indo-European language family, and is related to Italian and French. In the 7th century when the Arabs invaded Persia with the aim of expanding the Islamic religion, the Arabic characters were superimposed on the ancient Persian language, partly because the central religious text Quran was written in Arabic characters. As a consequence, the present-day Persian language was formed.
For those who are not familiar with the Arabic characters, it is a challenge to read or write them. However, as for speaking and listening, the language is not so difficult if you have knowledge of French or Italian. When I was working as a correspondent in Teheran, I had a Persian tutor. The language was similar to French in terms of grammar, and it did not take me too long to master everyday conversation.
Just as symbolized by their language, the Iranian society is structured in two-tiers; traditional culture of Persian civilization constituting the foundation of its society, with Islam on top. Looking back at its past, at times the Persian civilization was bolstered whereas at other times Islamic values were upheld, depending on the social environments that surrounded them. For example, while the Pahlavi dynasty sought its orthodoxy in Persian civilization up until the Iranian Revolution, the current regime which toppled the dynasty adopted Islam as its political and social norm.
For a certain period of time in the post-revolutionary Iran, the current regime, which prioritized Islamic solidarity, maintained a harsh posture, including the ban on literary work that may lead to reappraisal of Persian civilization. Reasons behind such attitudes were concerns towards Persian ethnic consciousness eroding Islamic values, and fear of giving excuses for monarchist backlash.
Over the course of time, such harsh attitudes gradually softened. Instead, what became conspicuous in recent days is the attitude of the current regime seemingly inspiring the resurrection of ethnic consciousness. Obviously, there lies an intention of the current regime to enhance unity within the nation amidst growing pressures from the Arab nations led by United States and Saudi Arabia. However, putting aside such political intentions in the background, it would be important to note the fact that Persian national pride is being spurred by the notion that they are “a nation with ancient civilization unlike the Arabs”. We have seen in the past the proof that Iranians came together as one when they were at risk, as seen in the Iran-Iraq War when Iran was isolated from the rest of the international community. In order to solve the Iranian nuclear issue, what is required is to seek a solution that satisfies the national pride of the Iranian people, not a solution by force.
Megumi Nishikawa is Contributing Editor for the Mainichi Shimbun Newspaper.
A common misunderstanding among the Japanese is to see Iran as a part of the Arab world, as Iran also belongs to the same Islamic world. However, the Arabs and Iranians (Persians) fall into completely different cultural zones both ethnically and linguistically.
Persian is of the Indo-European language family, and is related to Italian and French. In the 7th century when the Arabs invaded Persia with the aim of expanding the Islamic religion, the Arabic characters were superimposed on the ancient Persian language, partly because the central religious text Quran was written in Arabic characters. As a consequence, the present-day Persian language was formed.
For those who are not familiar with the Arabic characters, it is a challenge to read or write them. However, as for speaking and listening, the language is not so difficult if you have knowledge of French or Italian. When I was working as a correspondent in Teheran, I had a Persian tutor. The language was similar to French in terms of grammar, and it did not take me too long to master everyday conversation.
Just as symbolized by their language, the Iranian society is structured in two-tiers; traditional culture of Persian civilization constituting the foundation of its society, with Islam on top. Looking back at its past, at times the Persian civilization was bolstered whereas at other times Islamic values were upheld, depending on the social environments that surrounded them. For example, while the Pahlavi dynasty sought its orthodoxy in Persian civilization up until the Iranian Revolution, the current regime which toppled the dynasty adopted Islam as its political and social norm.
For a certain period of time in the post-revolutionary Iran, the current regime, which prioritized Islamic solidarity, maintained a harsh posture, including the ban on literary work that may lead to reappraisal of Persian civilization. Reasons behind such attitudes were concerns towards Persian ethnic consciousness eroding Islamic values, and fear of giving excuses for monarchist backlash.
Over the course of time, such harsh attitudes gradually softened. Instead, what became conspicuous in recent days is the attitude of the current regime seemingly inspiring the resurrection of ethnic consciousness. Obviously, there lies an intention of the current regime to enhance unity within the nation amidst growing pressures from the Arab nations led by United States and Saudi Arabia. However, putting aside such political intentions in the background, it would be important to note the fact that Persian national pride is being spurred by the notion that they are “a nation with ancient civilization unlike the Arabs”. We have seen in the past the proof that Iranians came together as one when they were at risk, as seen in the Iran-Iraq War when Iran was isolated from the rest of the international community. In order to solve the Iranian nuclear issue, what is required is to seek a solution that satisfies the national pride of the Iranian people, not a solution by force.
Megumi Nishikawa is Contributing Editor for the Mainichi Shimbun Newspaper.
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
イランの自尊心を満たす「核」解決を
西川 恵 / ジャーナリスト
2019年 10月 3日
米国がペルシャ湾のホルムズ海峡で航行の安全を守るため有志連合を募れば、イランは「有志連合参加は我々に敵対する行為」とけん制する。米国の圧力に一歩も引かない姿勢には、政治的虚勢だけではない、ペルシャ文明をもった民の気概があるように思う。
日本ではイランを同じイスラム圏ということもあってアラブの一部と見る人がいるが、これは間違いだ。アラブとイラン（ペルシャ）は民族的、言語学的にまったく異なる文化圏に属する。
ペルシャ語はインド・ヨーロッパ語族で、イタリア語やフランス語の親類。７世紀、イスラム教の拡大を図ってアラブが侵略すると、聖典コーランがアラビア文字で書かれていたこともあって古代ペルシャ語にアラビア文字がかぶり、今日のペルシャ語となった。
アラビア文字を知らない者には読み書きは難しいが、話すと聞くに関してはフランス語やイタリア語をやった人間にはさほど難しくない。私もテヘラン特派員時代、個人教授でペルシャ語を習ったが、文法がフランス語に似通っていて、日常会話は結構早く習得した。
言語が象徴するように、イランは古代ペルシャから引き継いできたペルシャ文明の伝統文化を社会の基層とし、その上にイスラムが乗る二重構造になっている。その時々の状況によってペルシャ文明が鼓舞されたり、イスラムが価値として掲げられたりしてきた。イラン革命前までパーレビ王制が自己の正統性の根拠をペルシャ文明に求め、王制を革命で倒した現体制がイスラムを政治社会の規範としてきたのがそれだ。
革命からある時期まで、イスラムの連帯を重視する現体制は、ペルシャ文明の再評価につながる著作を発禁処分にするなど厳しい姿勢をとった。ペルシャ民族意識がイスラムの価値を掘り崩すことへの懸念や、王制派に巻き返しの口実を与えることを警戒してのことでもあった。
その後、この姿勢は徐々に緩くなっていたが、最近注目されるのは民族意識の発露を体制自身が鼓舞していると思われることだ。当然ながらここには米国とサウジアラビアを中心としたアラブ諸国からの圧力が増す中で、国民の結束を図る体制の狙いがある。ただそうした政治的思惑を超えて、「自分たちはアラブとは違って、古き文明をもった民」とのペルシャ民族の誇りが人々をかき立てていることは押さえておくべきだろう。危機に立つとイラン国内が一つにまとまるのは、国際社会で孤立していたイラン・イラク戦争でも証明済みだ。イランの核問題の解決は力ずくではなく、その自尊心を満たす形で進める必要がある。
筆者は毎日新聞社客員編集委員
日本ではイランを同じイスラム圏ということもあってアラブの一部と見る人がいるが、これは間違いだ。アラブとイラン（ペルシャ）は民族的、言語学的にまったく異なる文化圏に属する。
ペルシャ語はインド・ヨーロッパ語族で、イタリア語やフランス語の親類。７世紀、イスラム教の拡大を図ってアラブが侵略すると、聖典コーランがアラビア文字で書かれていたこともあって古代ペルシャ語にアラビア文字がかぶり、今日のペルシャ語となった。
アラビア文字を知らない者には読み書きは難しいが、話すと聞くに関してはフランス語やイタリア語をやった人間にはさほど難しくない。私もテヘラン特派員時代、個人教授でペルシャ語を習ったが、文法がフランス語に似通っていて、日常会話は結構早く習得した。
言語が象徴するように、イランは古代ペルシャから引き継いできたペルシャ文明の伝統文化を社会の基層とし、その上にイスラムが乗る二重構造になっている。その時々の状況によってペルシャ文明が鼓舞されたり、イスラムが価値として掲げられたりしてきた。イラン革命前までパーレビ王制が自己の正統性の根拠をペルシャ文明に求め、王制を革命で倒した現体制がイスラムを政治社会の規範としてきたのがそれだ。
革命からある時期まで、イスラムの連帯を重視する現体制は、ペルシャ文明の再評価につながる著作を発禁処分にするなど厳しい姿勢をとった。ペルシャ民族意識がイスラムの価値を掘り崩すことへの懸念や、王制派に巻き返しの口実を与えることを警戒してのことでもあった。
その後、この姿勢は徐々に緩くなっていたが、最近注目されるのは民族意識の発露を体制自身が鼓舞していると思われることだ。当然ながらここには米国とサウジアラビアを中心としたアラブ諸国からの圧力が増す中で、国民の結束を図る体制の狙いがある。ただそうした政治的思惑を超えて、「自分たちはアラブとは違って、古き文明をもった民」とのペルシャ民族の誇りが人々をかき立てていることは押さえておくべきだろう。危機に立つとイラン国内が一つにまとまるのは、国際社会で孤立していたイラン・イラク戦争でも証明済みだ。イランの核問題の解決は力ずくではなく、その自尊心を満たす形で進める必要がある。
筆者は毎日新聞社客員編集委員
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟