درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Abbās Quli Aqā Bākikhānov (1794-1847) and Mirzā FatḥʾAli Akhundzādeh (1812-78) both came from the same socio-economic class, performed the same professional function in Russian government service, and shared literary interests as shown by their membership of the same literary club in Tiflis. They also aimed at reforming and modernizing the Azeri and Iranian societies. However, it was also on this very subject that their differences became apparent. Not only did they disagree on what the nature of that change had to be, but they also diverged about the pace of change. Whereas Akhundzādeh wanted to travel in the fast lane to bring about modern and secular indigenous societies that were modeled after a modernizing Russia, Bākikhānov argued for traveling the slower lane, preserving what he considered was good and worthwhile of his traditional native cultures, which also included a modernized form of Islam and the teaching of Persian. The two men also differed in their approach to how to help bring about the desired changes. Akhundzādeh used his literary talent to mainly address the educated class by showing them in his plays and prose how backward their society was and, by implication, how necessary it was to secularize and Europeanize. Bākikhānov, being more of a Sufi-bent Muslim, wanted to reach Azeri society in a much more targeted way. Neither man was successful in their objective during their lifetime, although their works had a lasting influence on Azeri and Iranian reformers.