Abbas Mirza and the Renaissance of Iran

Abbas Mirza died 188 years ago in such days. He has been mentioned as one of the pioneers of change and renewal in Iran. During the devastating wars between Iran and Russia, he realized the technical and military superiority of the Russian forces and sought to transform the Iranian system and army. He tried to get help from the Europeans in this way. In a meeting with Napoleon’s envoy, he asked him curiously: You are skilled in fighting and conquering armies and using the forces of reason, while we are immersed in ignorance and greed and rarely consider the future. Is the population, fertility and wealth of the Orient less than that of Europe? Or the sun that shines on us before it reaches you has less beneficial effects on our heads than you? Or does God, whose mercy is the same on all the particles of the universe, want you to be superior to us? I do not think so. Talk to a stranger! “Tell me what I should do to warn Iranians.” Throughout its thousands of years of history, Iranian civilization and culture have withstood devastating blows, including the invasions of Alexander, the Arabs, and the Mongols. But in the present age, a new way of thinking in the form of modernity or modernity has brought comprehensive crises to the Iranian civilization; In particular, the phenomenon of globalization due to the spread of communication and technology has added to this importance; So that it has accompanied Iranian culture and civilization with serious challenges. Perhaps one of the first historical encounters of Iranian civilization with this phenomenon reaches the Chaldoran war; Where Shah Ismail refused to use cannons in battle with the Ottomans, calling it cowardly. The efforts of Abbas Mirza and Amirkabir in the Qajar era in reforming affairs and gaining new sciences and technologies have been a continuing challenge for the new civilization to deal with Iranian civilization. The culmination of this trend can be seen in the contemporary history of the constitutional movement, the nationalization of the oil industry or the revolution. Today, Iran needs more and more new thinking to face the violent waves of modernization and globalization; A new way of thinking with which we must refine the old traditions and build a new future for our children. We must create a new vision by using new human achievements and not denying them. Today, our youth are thirsty for this new thinking that must be nurtured with the help of everyone, especially the elite. Thought based on Iranian identity, rationality and Iran-friendliness. Today, about two centuries after the death of Abbas Mirza, his path continues. Immortal Iran.

Dr. Reza Saidi Firoozabadi – Transplant surgeon