TEHRAN – Tajik Persian language scholar Mohammad-Jan Shakuri Bokharaii (1925-2012) was commemorated during a ceremony in Tehran on Monday.
A large number of scholars and literati attended the ceremony, which was organized by the Iranian Society of Cultural Works and Luminaries, the Persian service of IRNA reported on Tuesday.
Speaking at the ceremony, Academy of Persian Language and Literature Director Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said that Shakuri believed the Persian language is the pillar of Tajikistan’s national identity and spent his whole life on promotion of the language in his country.
He said that Shakuri was a member of the academy and it was the duty of the academy to honor Shakuri, adding that the academy will also organize a ceremony on its part in the future.
“Shakuri had more relations with Iran and the academy as compared to other Tajik scholars, and we used to meet each other whenever he came to Iran or I went to Tajikistan,” he added.
“Shakuri was a respected man. If the Persian language is still alive and spoken in Tajikistan, it is because he helped revive Persian in Tajikistan,” Haddad-Adel stated.
Iranian Society of Cultural Works and Luminaries Director Mehdi Mohaqeq also made a brief speech at the ceremony and said that the society aims to remember those who serve and promote the Persian language outside of Iran.
Shakuri was author of over 40 books and 500 articles on Persian literature. He had passed the legal ownership of his books over to the Iranian Academy of Persian Language and Literature according to his last will and testament.
He was honored at Iran’s Eternal Figures Gathering in 2005 for his achievements in Persian literature.
RM/YAW
END