Ahmad Kasravi
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Ahmad Kasravi Tabrizi (29 September 1890 - March 11, 1946), was a notable Iranian linguist, historian, reformer, and philosopher.
He was born in Hokmabad (Hohmavar) , Tabriz . Initially, Kasravi enrolled in clerical schooling and joined the Persian Constitutional Revolution. He experienced a sort of conversion to Western learning when he learned that the comet of 1910 had been identified as a reappearance of Halley's comet. Thenceforward he became, in Roy Mottahedeh's phrase, "a true anticleric." He soon however abandoned his clerical training and enrolled in the American Memorial School and soon began there.
It was in Tbilisi where he first became acquainted with a wide spectrum of political ideas and movements, and he soon was employed by the government of Iran in various cultural posts.
A prolific writer, Kasravi was very critical of both the Shi'a clergy and of the policies of the central government. He had liberal views on religion, was a strong supporter of democracy, and expressed them in satirical pamphets like What Is the Religion of the Hajis with Warehouses? that infuriated many readers. His views earned him many powerful enemies such as Ayatollah Khomeini.
Kasravi is known for his solid research work on the ancient Azari language and origin of the Azerbaijani people. He showed that the ancient Azeri language was a branch of Old Persian language. Due to this discovery, he was granted the membership of London Royal College of Asian Studies and American Academy.[1]
On March 11, 1946, while being tried on charges of "slander against Islam," Kasravi was shot to death in open court in Tehran by followers of Navvab Safavi, a Shi'a cleric who had founded an organization called the Devotees of Islam, after a first attempt by the group to assassinate him failed in April 1945 in Tehran.
Some of his more famous books are:
- The 18 Year History of Azarbaijan
- The Constitutional History of Iran
- The Forgotten Kings (Persian شهرياران گمنام)
- The 500 Year History of Khuzestan
- A Brief History of The Lion and Sun
- Sheikh Safi and His Progeny
- Shiism (Persian شيعيگرى)
- Bahaism (Persian بهاييگرى)
- Sufism (Persian صوفيگرى)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Roy Mottahedeh, The Mantle and the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1985), ch. 3.
[edit] External links
- Ahmad Kasravi (BBC Persian)
- Ahmad Kasravi biography
- Website about Ahmad Kasravi
- Criticism at Kasravi
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