Afzali:

Strengthening the publishing link between Iran & Afghanistan by publishing joint texts

2023-05-06 00:47

“we can strengthen the publishing relationship between Iran and Afghanistan by jointly publishing some valuable works, Khalilullah Afzali, a specialist of Persian literature and manuscript culture said noting that If a measure is taken to display the Persian books of Afghan publishers in the public publishers' hall of the Tehran Book Fair in the coming years, it will definitely make the people of Iran more familiar with the researches and works of their compatriots in Afghanistan.
 Visiting assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the founder of the Baisanghar Research Institute in Herat, in an interview with the press office of the 34th Tehran International Book Fair, pointed the role of the Tehran Book Fair in introducing Persian sources to the world and said that undoubtedly, the Tehran Book Fair is the biggest and most important Persian book fair in the world, in which foreign publishers have a valuable contribution.
“It is an event that attracts many lovers from all over the world. Every year in Herat, a large number of enthusiasts travel to this city in groups to visit the Tehran Book Fair. At least from our point of view, who are looking at this exhibition from the eastern side of Iran, it is an event that many are waiting for, and this in itself is a great success,” he added.
He further expressed the point that due to the linguistic and cultural closeness of Iran and Afghanistan, it is impossible to consider Afghan publishers as foreign publishers in the Tehran International Book Fair and try to make them also present in the hall of public publishers.  
He added: this is one of the serious problems and of course it will not be easy to adjust this issue. From a legal point of view, it is clear that Afghanistan is a separate country and different languages are spoken there. So, it should be placed in the place of foreign publishers at this respect.
 Maybe about 80% or even most of the works of prominent private publishers of Afghanistan are in Persian language, and in this respect, we are the only country where Persian is spoken like Iran and with the same Arabic alphabet common in Iran in It is written there too. For this particular situation, it might be better to consider an exception, Afzali continued.
Visiting assistant professor at the University of California, said that if a measure is taken to display Persian books by Afghan publishers in the public publishers' hall of the Tehran International Book Fair alongside Iranian publishers in the coming years, it will definitely make the people of Iran more familiar with the researches and works of their fellow speakers in Afghanistan.
Tehran book exhibition can represent the works and researches of Afghans to the people of Iran
In response to the question of what can be done to increase the publishing connection between Iran and Afghanistan, the specialist of Persian literature and manuscript culture answered that, we can strengthen the publishing relationship by jointly publishing some valuable works adding we have had one or two good works in this area in recent years, such as Virtues of Balkh, which was jointly published by the Islamic Encyclopedia Center from Iran and Amiri Publications from Afghanistan. But well, this is too little and we should publish more joint works. Of course, we should also keep in mind that there are unfortunately few scientific quality works in Afghanistan.

 

Regarding the role of this exhibition in promoting cultural relations between Iran and Afghanistan, the founder of Baisanghar Research Institute in Herat said: Tehran International Book Fair can introduce the works and researches of Afghans to the people of Iran. The more the obstacles on the way to the entry and legal supply of these works are removed, the more knowledge and understanding they will have between the two nations.

Describing his memory of his presence at the Tehran Book Fair, the visiting assistant professor at the University of California, noted that I was not in Iran continuously during my student days, especially during my doctoral studies. I remember that during my master's and doctoral studies, we participated in the exhibition twice with my friends.
He pointed: We met many publishers and authors. We prepared many books and resources, some of which are available to researchers and interested people in the library of Baisanghar Research Institute in Herat today.
At the end of his speech, Khalilullah Afzali said: I haven't had the honor of attending the Tehran Book Fair for many years, and I have no information about the quality of the exhibition, how many works, sidelines, and main and side programs of the exhibition, but I sincerely hope that this exhibition in recent years will It has approached the level and quality of prominent book exhibitions in the world. This is my wish as a Persian speaker for the Tehran Book Fair.
The 34th Tehran International Book Fair will be held from 20 to 30 May 1402 at Imam Khomeini Mosque and simultaneously on ketab.ir.