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Seyyed Hasan Taqizadeh a Political Biography in the Context of Iranian Modernization
Sepehr H. Joussefi Master thesis, Utrecht University August 1998
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Contents
Acknowledgments Glossary 3 Introduction 4
CHAPTER 1. Taqizadeh in Tabriz 9 1.1. Family background, and education 9 1.2. Foundation of the Tarbiyat School and Bookstore, and the publication of Ganjineh-ye Fonun 12 1.3. Taqizadeh's first journey abroad 14
CHAPTER 2. Taqizadeh under the influence of the great thinkers 16
CHAPTER 3. Taqizadeh during the Constitutional Revolution of Iran (1905-1909) 34 3.1. The Constitutional Revolution and the Azerbaijani contribution 34 3.2. The First Majles, Fundamental Laws, and development of the Societies 36 3.3. The cannonade of the Majles, and the 'Lesser Despotism' 50 3.4. Taqizadeh's first exile 55 3.5. The civil war, and the restoration of the constitution 59 3.6. The Second Majles, and emergence of political parties 61 3.7. Taqizadeh's second exile 67
CHAPTER 4. Taqizadeh's political and cultural activities outside of Iran 71 4.1. Residence in the United States 71 4.2. Allying with the Germans, and the publication of Kaveh 72 4.3. Memorandum on Persia's Wishes and her Aspirations 80
Taqizadeh from Turban to Tie 85 Chronology of Taqizadeh 89 Bibliography 93
Acknowledgements I express my sincere thanks to those who have given their support and encouragement throughout the writing of this thesis. I am undoubtedly most indebted to my supervisor, Dr. Turaj Atabaki of Utrecht University, who supplied me with books, information and suggestions. Atabaki's wide-ranging knowledge and interests have stimulated me during the writing of this thesis. He has given me the most generous and continuous support. I would also like to thank my second supervisor Dr Martin van Bruinessen of the same university for his valuable comments and critique on the manuscript. Mr Kamil Banak of the "Documentation Center of Modern Iran" at Leiden University was very helpful by giving me some useful material. I am very grateful for the vigilance and editorial assistance of Miss Mieke Stroo, who made last-minute changes. No words could express my sense of gratitude for the patient and constant mental support of Soheila, who read and commented the draft.
Although I benefitted greatly from their comments, I alone bear responsibility for the contents.
Glossary Anjoman Society, council Ayatollah High-ranking clergy Ejtehad Practice of religious jurisprudence E'tedaliyun Members of the Iranian Moderate Party Faqih Jurisprudent Fatva Religious statement of a Mojtahed Hezb Political party Imam Religious leader Jihad Holy war Komiteh Committee Majles Parliament, assembly Maktab Traditional elementary school Mashruteh Constitutionalism Mazlum Oppressed Melli National Mojahed Holy warrior, volunteer fighter Mojtahed Shi'ite jurist Mulla Low-ranking clergyman Ommat Religious community Qanun Law, secular law Seyyed One who claims descent from the Prophet Mohammad Shari'at Religious law Tanzimat Reform Tuyul Tax farm 'Ulama Clerics, religious leaders Vakil Deputy, representative Vatan Homeland Vaqf Endowment Zalem Oppressor
Introduction Iran, during the Qajar dynasty (1790-1925) was characterized by a corrupt and weak state which at the end of the nineteenth century permitted non-voluntarily the economic and political penetration of the Russian and British Empire in Iran. This policy caused a wide social discontentment, especially under the Bazaaris, the traditional middle class and the progressive 'ulama (religious leaders). At this period the modern Iranian inteligentsia became influenced by Western ideas like liberalism and nationalism, which penetrated Iran through the Caucasus and the Ottoman Empire, and also by students who had studied in the West. The modern intelligentsia strove for a parliamentarian system of government which would be able to end the royal despotism and set up the Fundamental Laws to guarantee the civil rights of the people. These intellectuals who were aware that they alone wouldn't be able to realize their targets, used the enourmous power of the 'ulama and the Bazaaris who also were discontented and wanted to break through the status quo. The combination of these three groups finally brought the Constitutional Revolution (1905-1909) into existence. Later, during the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty (1925-1978), the modern intelligentsia went on with their ideas about secularism and nationalism, so that in the course of the nineteenth century a modern secular nation-state developed in Iran. One of the most important intellectuals, who became acquianted with the Western ideas, and contributed a great deal to the modernization and secularization of the Iranian nation-state was Seyyed Hasan Taqizadeh.
Taqizadeh (1878-1970) was an influential politician during the Qajar dynasty under the reign of Mohammad Ali Shah, as well as the Pahlavi dynasty under the reign of Reza Shah and Mohammad Reza Shah. Although Taqizadeh in the modern political history is known as a secular politician, who believed that "outwardly and inwardly, in body and in spirit, Iran must become Europeanized", he came from a traditional Islamic Seyyed-family, (descendant of the Prophet Mohammad). His father, Seyyed Taqi, was a clergy and when Taqizadeh became mulla (law ranking clergyman), it seemed that he would follow in his father's footsteps. From his childhood on, Taqizadeh showed interest in enlightened ideas, and the Western concept of constitutionalism. This interest could be explained by the socio-political sphere in which Taqizadeh became an adult. He grew up in Tabriz, the capital city of the province Azerbaijan, which was the gateway to the modern and progressive ideas coming from Russia and epecially Western Europe.
Secretly Taqizadeh studied French and English to get acquainted with the Western enlightenment and modern political thoughts. Nevertheless, he became mulla and remained one until the period in which the traditional Iranian political and socio-economic system disintegrated and the modern Iranian nation-state was formed. As early as the beginning of his political career he confronted the corrupt and despotic régime of the Qajar kings, who couldn't prevent the decay of their dynasty. Convinced of the destructive consequences of the despotism and corruption for the political and socio-economic development of the Iranian state, Taqizadeh actively participated in the Constitutional Revolution, which resulted in the foundation of the Majles (parliament). From this period on he developed into a secular enlightened politician, who even propagated the separation between state and religion.
In 1909, under the guidance of Taqizadeh the first modern political party, the Ferqeh-ye Demokrat-e Iran (Iranian Democrat Party), was founded in Iran. Short after the break-out of World War I, Taqizadeh allied with Germany against Russia and Britain. In Berlin he established the Komiteh-ye Iran (Iranian Committee), and together with other prominent Iranian intellectuals, he published the influential periodical Kaveh(1916-1922), which was distributed in Europe as well as in Iran. Kaveh was a political and literary journal, which contributed a lot to the creation of the Iranian consciousness and national identity. This journal emphasized the need for national independence, and internal reforms, especially secular and educational reforms.
Under the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi (1925-1941), Taqizadeh contributed to the formation of the modern Iranian nation-state. During his political career of seventy years, Taqizadeh functioned as parliamentarian, governor of the province Khorasan, minister of Roads and Transportation, minister of Finance, ambassador in England and France. Although at the time of the Constitutional Revolution, he opposed the formation of the Senate, in 1950, during the imperial government of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (1941-1978), he became its president. Taqizadeh described his life as: Zendegi-ye Tufani or "Stormy life", which he later used as the title of his autobiography.
The Iranian modern history and the intellectual development are frequently researched by historians and other experts in Iran and abroad. In the past decades, many books and articles are written about the influence of Western ideas like enlightenment, modernization and secularization on the Iranian society, in which a lot of attention is paid to the famous politicians and intellectuals. In spite of the major influence of Taqizadeh on the Iranian modern history, there is not sufficient knowledge about his ideas or his activities. The absence of a profound research of his political life, caused the historians to speculate about his political activities, which only increased the obscurity about him. Moreover, Taqizadeh's views are not characterized by ideological continuity, but in the course of his life many ruptures took place, which made it difficult to write a consistent account on his life. Taqizadeh was a diplomat by birth. If he became convinced that his alliance with a person or country was beneficial for the interests of Iran, he often was ready to ally himself with them. On the other hand, he had left his allies in the lurch, when he thought that they could harm the Iranian society.
About the question in how much Taqizadeh served the interests of the Iranian state and nation, there are different opinions. Some experts believe that he made the Iranian interests subordinated to that of England during the period of the Constitutional Revolution, and that of Germany during the World War I. Others suppose that he allied with England with the intention to protect the Iranian state and nation against the Russian expansion policy. They are of the opinion that Taqizadeh was a supporter of the Iranian constitution and that during the World War I, he allied with Germany to fight against the Anglo-Russian influence, which attempted to undermine the Iranian independence. Besides that, they are convinced that in 1942, Taqizadeh tried to get closer to the United States to guarantee the balance of power, and defend the Iranian independence.
The present study is an attempt to clarify Taqizadeh's political life during the Constitutional Movement and the World War I in a chronological context. For this research, sources in Persian and English were used, which analyze early twentieth century Iran as well as the position of Taqizadeh in this period. This paper doesn't deal with the political involvement of Taqizadeh during the reign of Reza Shah, because this period opens a new chapter in Taqizadeh's extensive political life. During the Pahlavi dynasty Taqizadeh belonged to the state apparatus. Research into this part of his contribution to the modern history of Iran, needs another opportunity, and more material than that used here.
Chapter 1 discusses the background, youth and activities of Taqizadeh in Tabriz, from the time he was born until his first journey abroad in 1904. In this period, Taqizadeh who already knew Persian, Ottoman Turkish and Arabic, learned English and French, which made him able to read some books about enlightened ideas, like equality, constitution and parliamentarism from the West. In Tabriz Taqizadeh experienced the despotic regime of the Qajar dynasty, especially of its autocratic Crown Prince, Mohammad Ali Mirza.
Chapter 2 tries to discover which persons had influenced Taqizadeh, or shaped his socio-political ideas. Some Iranian politicians, Young Turks, Young Ottomans and one influential Russian writer, are subject of this part of the research. These figures are chosen only because Taqizadeh or some of his close friends had mentioned their influence upon him.
Chapter 3 which can be considered to be the nucleus of this paper, analyzes the role of Taqizadeh in the context of the Iranian Constitutional Movement. This part describes Taqizadeh's efforts to limit the power of the Qajar monarchy, his writing of the Supplementary Fundamental Laws, and the foundation of the first political party.
Chapter 4 attempts to shed light on Taqizadeh's life abroad, especially his political activities in Germany in the time of World War I. It explains the motives of Taqizadeh's alliance with the Germans, and analyzes the role of the influential journal Kaveh, which was published by Taqizadeh in Berlin. The nationalistic ideology of Taqizadeh in 1919 which appeared in his Memorandum on Persia's Wishes and Her Aspirationsalso is discussed in this chapter.
This thesis will use the term "modernization" to describe three main modern ideas, namely constitutionalism, secularism, and nationalism. Constitutionalism implies the need of a parliament, fundamental laws, separation of executive, juridical and legeslative powers, the formation of political parties, and a campaign against the royal despotism. Secularization would eliminate or marginalize religious conservatism and further the separation of religion and politics. Nationalism would secure the territorial integrity, independence and fight the imperialist powers.
The method handled in this work, is based on critical comparison and analysis of the Iranian social and political history in the beginning of the twentienth century and Taqizadeh's position in this period. The political life of Taqizadeh shall be analyzed in a chronological framework from his youth to his activities in the World War I onward. It is the same method, as used by biographer Nikki Keddie in her book, Sayyid Jamal ad-Din "al-Afghani". Besides sources about the background of the Iranian and international political history of the first two decades of the twentienth century, to analyze Taqizadeh's ideas, I used Taqizadeh's autobiography, his Persian and English books, letters, documents and articles which are, thanks to Iraj Afshar, for the greater part collected and published in ten volumes entitled, Maqalat-e Taqizadeh (Taqizadeh's Articles). Beside articles, which praise or even glorify Taqizadeh, I used writings which criticize, or even condemn Taqizadeh's ideology and deeds in an attempt to give a differentiated picture of him. All translations from Persian throughtout this work are mine unless otherwise indicated.
Edward Granville Browne
Fereydun Adamiyat
Chapter 1. Taqizadeh in Tabriz
1.1. Family background, and education
Seyyed Hasan Taqizadeh (1878-1970), one of the prominent figures during the reign of the Qajar dynasty (1790-1925), and the reign of Pahlavis (1925-1979), was born in Tabriz, the famous provincial center of present day Azerbaijan, where a considerable number of Iranian intellectuals and constitutionalists comes from. Taqizadeh grew up in a very religious family in Tabriz. In this city he experienced the tyrannic reign of Qajar's despotic kings which psychologically influenced the young boy very deeply.
Taqizadeh wrote that his father, Seyyed Taqi, considered himself completely Persian. While ethnically he belonged to the Azerbaijani minority, who speak Azeri, a Turkic language. He was a fanatic Shi'ite mulla, (low-ranking clergyman), in Wandad, his birth-place. This village is situated in Aran or the present-day Republic of Azerbaijan. Seyyed Taqi studied in Tabriz and then went to the holy city of Najaf, where he stayed for 17 years and followed the theological lessons of Shaikh Morteza Ansari, the leading mojtahed (Shi'ite jurist), and most important resident in this city who probably also was the teacher of the famous pan-Islamist Seyyed Jamal ed-Din Afghani. Later he became a respected mojtahed and worked as Imam for 24 years in two mosques in Tabriz. Mirza Mozaffar ed-Din (1896-1906), the Crown Prince of Iran in this time, visited Taqizadeh's father several times in his mosque and at his home. It is not clear whether or not Taqizadeh's father supported the Qajar monarchy. But anyhow he didn't want to be involved in politics. Taqizadeh, like his father bore the hereditary religious title Seyyed, which means descendant of the prophet. The Seyyeds claim to be related to Mohammad, and therefore they are respected by believers. In his autobiography Taqizadeh wrote:
Taqizadeh's education was very divers, and he showed interest in different subjects. First of all, he was sent off to the Maktab (traditional elementary school). At that school he finished his study of Quran when he was just five years old. After that, he began to study complicated Persian books like, Golestan of the Persian poet Sa'di, Jame'eh-ye Abbasi of Shaikh Bahai and Tarikh-e Naderi of Mirza Mahdi. These books were the standard packet for almost every student. At the age of 14 he became interested in various rational sciences and began to read the Kholasat ol-Hesab (a summary of account) and the Tashrih ol-Aflak(explanation of heavens) of Shaikh Bahai. Besides that, he also studied some other books on astronomy and mathematics of famous writers like Euclides, Ptolemaios Klodios, Archimedes, Olugh Beg and Nasir ed-Din Tusi. This interest remained in the back of his mind, and maybe it was the main reason and stimulant why he insistently went on with the writing of his monumental work about the old Iranian calendars and in particularly about the chronological data relating to the Sassanian period.
The young Taqizadeh decided to study medicine when he was seventeen years old and together with his intimate friend Mohammad Ali Khan, later known as 'Tarbiyat' he followed a course in French. It is noteworthy to mention that he secretly studied French without letting his father know, because the latter didn't want to send him off for learning the language of 'godless' Europeans. At that time French was the most important language of the oriental intellectuals. Although at first Taqizadeh used only French to read some books about astronomy and not politics, this language also was a gate to the Western ideas, like constitutionalism and parliamentarianism.
Due to the social and political discontendness, caused by the despotism and incompetence of the Qajar king and Crown Prince, and because of the presence of a modern intellectual community, which, influenced by Western intellectual concepts, resisted the Qajar dynasty, Taqizadeh discovered his special interest in politics. Isa Sadiq who personally knew Taqizadeh, noted that Taqizadeh became acquainted with the works of Mirza Malkom Khan and Talebov. He himself emphasized that Malkom Khan was one of the people who had the most influence on him. The influence of Persian progressive newspapers, that were widely published in Istanbul, like Akhtar (the Star), in Egypt Sorayya (the Pleiades), Parvaresh the Educating, and Hekmat (the Wisdom), and in India Habl ol-Matin (the Strong Cord), was particularly strong in Taqizadeh's later thought.
1.2. Foundation of the Tarbiyat School and Bookstore, and the publication of Ganjineh-ye Fonun
Taqizadeh who in the meantime took distance from his religious background, and became acquainted with ideas of the national sovereignty and constitutionalism, tried to contribute to the modernization process of the Iranian society and state system. At the age of 21 Taqizadeh founded the Tarbiyat school with his enlightened friends Seyyed Hoseyn Khan, Seyyed Mohammad Shabestari and Mohammad Ali Khan. At this school different modern sciences and foreign languages were taught. They were convinced that through teaching languages, they could accelerate the importation of Western concepts like parliamentarianism, freedom, and equality to Iran. The fanatical clerics of Tabriz opposed this school which taught the languages of "the infidels" like English, French, and Russian. Due to these protests and harshly actions, they were forced to close the school before its definitive opening, and even Shabestari, who was officially director of the school, fled from Tabriz. Taqizadeh, for the first time personally experienced the immense opposition of traditional clerics. He became aware of the fact that the Qajar monarchy was not the only enemy of the Iranian modernization. The high position of Taqizadeh's family secured his life for the first time, but in his own words he became very isolated. In 1898, this life in isolation profided him with the opportunity to translate 'Ajaeb-e Asemani (Heavenly Miracles), written by the French astronomer, Camille Flammarion (1842-1925). Astronomy was Taqizadeh's hobby. It is possible that he wanted to fill the gap in the knowledge of astronomy in the East, because Ernest Renan's claimed that astronomy was much better developed in the West than in the traditional Islamic countries.
In spite of his isolated position, Taqizadeh didn't stop contributing to the intellectual development in Tabriz. In 1896 Taqizadeh, together with his friends Mohammad Ali Khan, Seyyed Hoseyn Khan (later 'Edalat), Youssef Khan Ashtiyani E'tesam Daftar (later E'tesam ol-Molk) and Seyyed Mohammad Shabestari (later Abol-Ziya), founded the 'Tarbiyat bookstore', which sold European, Arabic, and Turkish books, to promote liberalism, and social mobilization against the Qajar tyranny and religious conservatism. It is interesting that books in this store which were written in Islamic languages like Turkish and Arabic, didn't deal with traditional religious subjects. This store later became the largest progressive bookstore in Tabriz. Working in this bookstore gave Taqizadeh a brilliant opportunity to read its books, which partly shaped his social political thoughts. During a later period, the Bookstore was burned down by Rahim Khan Chelbiyanlu and by the rebels after the cannonade of the First Majles in 1908. Chelbiyanlu was the notorious bandit leader of Azerbaijan, who plundered Tabriz. Mohammad Ali Shah was involved with the plundering of Azerbaijan.
Taqizadeh's political activities were frequently nipped in the bud, therefore, he decided to be active in another domain for a short period when he was about 22 years old. In this period Loqman od-Dowleh founded a new school in Tabriz with the permission of the Crown Prince, Mohammad Ali Mirza. He invited Taqizadeh to teach physics at his school. Taqizadeh, who learned physics in his youth, accepted his new voluntary job while he studied medicine. At the same time he entered in the American School in Tabriz to learn English. At this school he got a good impression of the Americans, because some of them felt sympathy for the Iranian intellectuals and their cause. It is also known that Baskerville, one of the American mission teacher of this school, who knew Taqizadeh personally, actively supported the Constitutional movement in Iran. Taqizadeh again returned in the Iranian politics, and in cooperation with his friend Mohammad Ali Khan wrote, the book Zad-o-bum (birth-place), which deals with the natural, political, and historical geography of Iran and is published without mentioning Taqizadeh's name, at his request. He also wrote a book about the Arabic Grammar which, according to Taqizadeh, was used at some schools but was never published.
Taqizadeh, who read many periodicals which circulated in Tabriz, became aware of the importance of journalism. This was his first experience with the publication of a newspaper. In January 10, 1903 Taqizadeh together with his friends Mohammad Ali, Seyyed Hoseyn Khan, and Youssef Khan Ashtiyani E'tesam Daftar published twice a month the journal, Ganjineh-ye Fonun (A Treasure of Sciences), which consisted of four sections. The first section was called, Honaramuz, which was about arts and written by Mohammad Ali and the other part was called Tamadonat-e qadimeh (the ancient civilizations), which was actually the translation of The Primitive Civilizations written by the French Gustave Lebon. This book discusses the historical changes of the various civilizations. The translation was Taqizadeh's work, who later on frequently wrote articles on the causes of progress in the modern Western civilizations and the backwardness of the Islamic societies. Of the other two sections, one was about scientific news and the other one was a translation by Youssef Khan Ashtiyani called Taht ol-Bahr ya Safineh-ye Ghavvaseh (the submarine), of Jules Verne (1828-1905). Ganjineh-ye Fonun was the first scientific journal in Iran. It was the promotor of modern Western science, which had become famous in a short time among the intellectuals. While publishing this journal, Taqizadeh for the first time publicly showed his tendency to judge favourably about modern Western civilization.
1.3. Taqizadeh's first journey abroad
Due to the disappointed economic and social circumstances throughout Iran, which coincided with a cholera epidemic that reached Iran in this time, Taqizadeh together with Mohammad Ali Khan, decided to leave Iran during the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905), hoping for a better life and an unrestricted political area. According to Nikki Keddie:
It is important to know that Taqizadeh, like other thinkers, was influenced by the Russian Revolution of 1905, which was a result of the Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905). Japan was a smal Asian country, and had defeated the great Russian Empire, which supported the Qajar dynasty, and resisted every kind of social and economic reforms in Iran. This victory and the Revolution of 1905 had a great impact in the thought of the modern Iranian intelligentsia. The History of Russian Revolt, which was immediately translated into Persian, was very important in this respect.
Taqizadeh and his friend travelled through Yerevan, Tiblis and Batoum in Georgia, to Istanbul the heart of the Ottoman Empire, where Sultan Abdülhamid II (ruled 1876-1909), who had established an autocratic rule, was in the saddle. Abdülhamid was a supporter of the Pan-Islamic movement. In Istanbul, Taqizadeh could find all sort of books. He mentioned in his autobiography that he read many novels, plays and especially the forbidden writings of Namik Kemal (1840-1888), one of the founders of the Young Ottoman movement in 1865. Taqizadeh stayed for six months in Istanbul and visited many well-known persons like Reza Qoli Khorasani, one of the writer of Habl ol-Matin, Zeyn ol-'Abedin Maraghei, the famous writer of Safarnameh-ye Ebrahim Beg and the writers of the periodical Akhtar. Hereafter Taqizadeh decided to leave Istanbul because his actual aim was to publish a newspaper in Egypt. Taqizadeh was always attracted to journalistic activities, and in Egypt he attempted unsuccessfully to publish a new journal. Taqizadeh knew Arabic very well, and Cairo, which was one of the main publication centers of Persian newspapers offered him the opportunity. But after staying six months in Egypt, he couldn't endure the Egyptian hot weather. The historian Ahmad Kasravi (1890-1945), pointed out that Taqizadeh suddenly decided to go back to Iran because he was elected deputy to the national Assembly by Tabrizi merchants. This first Majles (parliament) was founded in Iran in August 1906 after the long struggle of modern intellectuals, the progressive 'ulama and the traditional middle class against the Qajar despotism, (see chapter two of this paper. It is not clear why Taqizadeh mentioned the hot weather as the reason why he left Egypt. It is possible that he attempted to hide his ambition for political power in Iran. Anyhow he left Egypt, where he had met Mirza Mahdi, who published Hekmat in Cairo and also Mirza Abdul Mohammad Isfahani, better known as Mo'addab ol-Mamalek, the writer of another Persian journal, Chehrehnama (Mirror), which was published in Alexandria. In Egyptwhere didn't exist any reason to be afraid of the Iranian authorities, Taqizadeh wrote one of his most politically coloured discourses, Tahqiq-e Ahval-e Konuni-ye Iran ba Mohakemat-e Tarikhi (The Research of the Contemporary Situation of Iran with Historical Trials), which was published in Hekmat. "In this long and classic-styled discourse, he discusses the reasons of Iranian weakness, retardation and the need of reforms, modernization and democracy to be saved of the influence of imperialist countries". This is the first time that Taqizadeh in an article assaulted the Great Powers which according to him, partly caused the Iranian backwardness. Taqizadeh was probably influenced by the anti-Imperialist sphere which al-Afghani had left in Egypt. Taqizadeh travelled by train to Damascus and from there through the Caucasus to Tabriz. In the Caucasus he was the eye-witness of the disastrous battle between Muslim Azerbaijanis and Christian Armenians. According to Taqizadeh, Russia probably caused the battle between them because Moscow was afraid of unification of the Caucasus, which could threaten the whole Empire.
Chapter 2. Taqizadeh under the influence of the great thinkers
To become familiar with Taqizadeh's social and political thoughts as an Iranian secular modernist, it is very important to know, which thinkers and authors had influenced him, who was seyyed (descendant of the prophet), the son of a mulla and wore the clerical garb and later on advocated the full acceptance of the Western civilization and culture. In his youth, Taqizadeh learned English and French and became familiar with new Western ideas through the writings of Mirza Malkom Khan (1833-1908), Mohammad Amin Rasulzadeh (1884-1954), Leo N. Tolstoy (1828-1910), 'Abd ol-Rahim Talebov, Seyyed Jamal ed-Din Afghani (1839-1897), Namik Kemal (1840-1888), and Ahmet Riza Bey (1859-1930). All these intellectuals were reformists who attempted to break with the social and political status quo at the second half of the ninethieth until the first half of the twentieth century. Among these figures, Malkom Khan had the most influence on Taqizadeh's ideas.
Mirza Malkom Khan Nazem od-Dowleh (1833-1908), was an Iranian Armenian intellectual, who got acquainted with the ideas of August Comte and John Stuart Mill. Malkom Khan was a reform-minded figure, who tried to convince Naser ed-Din Shah (1848-1896), of the need for secular laws, Western institutions, modern sciences and political and social reforms. For the Persian Court he even wrote a Daftar-e Tanzimat (the Book of the Reforms), which the conservative 'ulama resisted. His Tanzimat was modeled after the Ottoman reforms of 1856, which were also called Tanzimat. Algar wrote that Malkom Khan borrowed the term Daftar-e Tanzimat like Qanun from Ottoman Turkish. He added:
Taqizadeh always admired Malkom Khan, the Western-inspired intellectual in the Ottoman Empire, who advocated the Tanzimat. Taqizadeh didn't hesitate to show his attachment to Malkom Khan. He believed that Malkom Khan's efforts and reformist ideas were without any doubt unique throughout the whole history of Iran. Taqizadeh confessed that his "political awareness and understanding was due to the influence of Malkom Khan for eighty per cent". "He had crucial influence in the course of my political life". Taqizadeh considered Malkom Khan as the greatest proclaimer of justice, reform, civilization and progress:
Malkom Khan as a member of the Armenian minority in Iran, stressed the equality of all citizens regardless of their religion or ethnicity. Taqizadeh was probably inspired by him, when he bravely supported and respected the ethnic and religious minorities of Iran like Zoroastrians, Armenians, Babis, Jews, Azerbaijanis and Kurds. During the First Majles Taqizadeh was even forced to leave Iran by the conservative 'ulama partially because he defended the Ismailis, who were killed by an orthodox Shi'ite clergyman in Neyshapur. Moreover, since 1916 Taqizadeh was the chief editor of the journal Kaveh and backed the religious minorities in Iran. In March 11, 1921 for instance Kaveh emphasized the freedom and equality of these minorities as guaranteed by the Fundamental Laws. In Kaveh religious prejudice is considered to be the biggest plague of the Iranian independence.
Taqizadeh like Malkom Khan believed in the protection of property. For instance, when some of the pro-constitution Mojaheds (holy warriors), began to plunder, he was one of the few politicians, who held himself responsible to protest against their misdeeds. But concerning the collecting of money for the new-founded National Bank on the other hand he did do his best to force Zall al-Soltan, Mozaffar ed-Din Shah's brother to pay about one hunderd thousand Tumans. When the historian Abrahamian argued about Malkom Khan's ideas concerning protection of properties and life, he pointed out that:
As far as repugnance of royal despotism is concerned, Taqizadeh was influenced by freedom-lover Mirza Malkom Khan, the great writer and advocator of the constitution. Taqizadeh was attracted by the following statement of Malkom Khan:
To Taqizadeh, the symbol of oppression was the autocratic Qajar king Mohammad Ali Shah, who in 1908 cannonaded the Majles, which began to defend the Iranian oppressed people. In his article Hukumat-e Estebdad va Dowlat-e Mashruteh (Despotic Rulership and the Constitutional Government), Taqizadeh argued that Francois-Marie A. Voltaire (1694-1778), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), didn't accept the oppression and said to the oppressed: "don't tolerate the oppression and its result was the French Revolution". This is one of the revolutionary statements of Taqizadeh, who openly invited the oppressed people to overthrow the established government in Iran. Taqizadeh in one of his writings, when he discussed despotism and oppression throughout history, mentioned the time of the first four "righteous" Caliphs as an exception. He claimed that 'Omar, the second Caliph, once said
Taqizadeh who was aware of the roots of Islam in Iran, mentioned this story to prove that the Islamic people are even religiously legitimatized to use their right of sovereignty, and revolt against the ruler, who makes a mistake. According to Shi'ism, 'Omar was not a righteous Caliph, therefore it is very obscure why Taqizadeh, didn't use the famous event of oppressed Shi'ite Imam Hoseyn, who revolted against the tyranny of the Sunni Mo'aviyeh. Taqizadeh actually always tried to prove that the orginal Islam, which consisted of Mohammad and the four Caliphs, was a progressive and righteous religion. Therefore he probably had to defend 'Omar too.
During the Constitutional Revolution, Taqizadeh respected the constitutionalist 'ulama. Like Malkom Khan, he knew that they were able to mobilize people against the establishment. In his youth, Taqizadeh was a witness of the tabacco protest in 1892 after the fatva (religious statement) of Mirza Hasan Shirazi, the highest ranking cleric. The tabacco concession was granted by Naser ed-Din Shah to an Englishman. This monopoly caused the protest and discontendness of the Persian Bazaaris, who were active in the tabacco trade. The 'ulama financially depended on the bazaar, and stimulated by Seyyed Jamal ed-Din Afghani, they decided to declare that fatva, which successfully opposed the policy of the Qajar king, who was finally forced to cancel the concession. In London, Malkom Khan allowed Seyyed Jamal ed-Din Afghani to contribute to his journal, because he discovered Afghani's charismatic character and his influence on a large number of clerics.
Malkom Khan spoke of the need of 'an Islamic renaissance'. This Islam had to promote modernization in Iran. Taqizadeh partly under the influenced of Malkon Khan, accepted his idea of an Islamic renaissance too, but he didn't reproach the Muslims for their backwardness. He believed that the invasion of Monguls in the first place hindered the renaissance of Islam. In Germany during the World War I, he, together with his colleagues, mentioned the need of a Luther in the Middle East to develop an Islamic protestantism.
Taqizadeh, who later became convinced of the need for an 'unconditional acceptance' of the Western civilization, said that Malkom Khan was the first one, who advocated this standpoint. There is little doubt that Malkom Khan as the first advocator of the Europeanization of the Iranian society, had shaped the ideas of Taqizadeh about a total submission to the Western civilization. It is worthwhile to mention that Malkom Khan's articles, as Hamid Algar points out, were very popular in the Caucasus and Azerbaijan where Taqizadeh grew up.
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