Qazi Muhammad, icon of Kurdistan struggle; Republic of Mahabad founder

As soon as World War II ended in 1945, the geopolitical features of the Middle East became clear, as the victorious countries in that brutal war (the Allies) began to share areas of influence in the countries that were allied with Nazi Germany, led by Iran, as the south of the country came under control. British control and hegemony and the northwest, especially Northern Kurdistan (Rojhilat Kurdistan), became subject to Soviet domination, after it fell out of the control of the Iranian forces, which were moving mainly with the approval of Britain.

The Kurdish Republic of Mahabad, which was founded in 1946 under the leadership of Qazi Muhammad, occupies a prominent place in Kurdish national history, and contributed to the rise of nationalist sentiment among the Kurdish people as well as to the continuity of the struggle in the subsequent stages.

Qazi Muhammad was born in Mahabad in 1900 to a well-off family. He enjoyed a high culture and a sound reading of the social and political reality of the region, in addition to his depth in matters of Islamic law, jurisprudence, and religion, and his mastery of many Persian, Turkish, Arabic, French, and English languages, in addition to his mother tongue (Kurdish). Throughout his life, he worked to fight poverty and illiteracy in his hometown, spread culture, eliminate ignorance, which he considered to be a major reason for the massacres and injustice committed against the Kurds, and highlight national affiliation among social circles.

Qazi Muhammad began his political struggle in the early 1930s, when he joined the Khiboun Association, which was founded in 1927.

This was followed by Qazi Muhammad establishing the Kurdistan Democratic Party in early 1945 alongside a number of his comrades. The party’s most prominent goals were to live alongside other minorities in brotherhood and democracy and to strive to transform Iran into a decentralized, democratic state.

On January 22, 1946, the Kurdish flag was raised for the first time in the largest square in the Kurdish city of Mahabad (Gargra), and the establishment of the Republic of Mahabad was announced with the election of Qazi Muhammad as President of the Republic in the presence of Kurdish delegations from various regions and Muhammad delivered his famous speech in front of a crowd of people at the time. In addition to forming a government, naming a prime minister, and forming a parliament.

As soon as the Republic of Mahabad saw the light in early 1946, it found itself surrounded by neighbors that looked at it with suspicion and hostility, starting from Tehran, passing through Ankara, British hegemony, and even the Republic of Azerbaijan, which lurked in its wake, trying to annex Mahabad to its authority, which constituted an additional burden on the nascent Republic (Mahabad). Its permanence was strongly threatened.

Despite repeated calls from Qazi Muhammad for dialogue with Tehran in his capacity as president of an autonomous region and an understanding on the future of the Kurdistan region, as Tehran categorically refused to negotiate or dialogue.

Before the attack on the Republic of Mahabad, Iran, under the leadership of Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, who was supported by the West, imposed a stifling economic blockade that led to the deterioration of the economic, military and living conditions of the population. This coincided with a decrease in the level of moral and political support provided by the Soviets to minorities in Iran as a result of mutual deals with the Allied countries, where it decided Soviets withdraw from northern Iran in late 1946.

On December 15, 1946, Iranian forces invaded the Republic of Mahabad amid resistance. Qazi Muhammad and many of the leaders of the Republic were arrested and sentenced to death in fake court. The death sentence was carried out on March 31, 1947 in Gargra Square in the city of Mahabad and it was announced. Eliminate the Republic.

When the sentence was carried out, the executioners wanted to blindfold him, but he refused, saying, “I do not feel ashamed to be blindfolded in front of my nation and my beloved country. I want to look at my beautiful and beloved country in the last moment of my life.”

11 months after its founding, the Republic of Mahabad fell victim to the political, economic, and military interests of international powers, which agreed to put an end to it. British and American pressure resulted in the Soviets’ withdrawal from northern Iran, leaving the modern republic facing its fate before the legions of the Western-backed Iranian army at the time, which exploited all its might. Its power is aimed at undermining the Kurdish Republic.

After 77 years, the memory of that republic was immortalized with great achievements, with the adoption of the Kurdish language in education and media, and allowing women to participate politically and culturally, in addition to raising a flag representing the Kurdish people, and naming the army defending the republic the Peshmerga, which was a subject of pride and pride for the residents of the republic.

The Republic of Mahabad is a prominent chapter in the Kurdish independence movement. Although this republic did not live long, its legacy still exists in Kurdish society, and continues to inspire the Kurdish people around the world.

T/ Satt.

ANHA