RASC News Agency: The Director-General of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Khorasan Razavi, Iran, Mohammad Hossein Zadeh, has raised alarms over growing efforts to marginalize the Persian language in Afghanistan. Warning of the dangers facing Persian, he noted the increasingly unfavorable conditions for the language in the region. In a meeting in Mashhad, reported by IRNA News Agency, he said: “In Afghanistan, where the people speak Persian and write in Persian script, there are concerted efforts to isolate the language.”
Hossein Zadeh underscored that Persian has historically flourished in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, emphasizing the importance of its preservation. Over the past three years, the Taliban government has systematically removed Persian words from official usage in several universities, hospitals, and government institutions. Critics describe this as an “organized elimination” of Persian from the country’s public sphere.
Additionally, the Taliban has destroyed numerous cultural monuments across Afghanistan, particularly in Balkh province. In September 2024, Taliban officials from the Ministry of Vice and Virtue instructed local media outlets in Kabul to refrain from using “Iranian” terms, effectively banning Persian. Given the Taliban’s approach over recent years, this prohibition seems part of a broader strategy to exclude Persian from administrative communication and suppress its speakers.
It is notable that the ethnic and cultural policies of former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s administration align with those of the Taliban. Both attempted to marginalize Persian by branding it as “Iranian.” However, they failed to recognize that Afghanistan has been a historical cradle of Persian, and this rich linguistic heritage cannot be eradicated by political pressure or through coercive tactics.
