Molla Nasraddin (magazine)

For other uses, see Nasreddin.

Molla Nasraddin cover (1910, #22)

Molla Nasraddin (Azeri: Molla Nəsrəddin / ملا نصرالدین; Russian: Молла Насреддин) was an eight-page Azerbaijani satirical periodical published in Tiflis (from 1906 to 1917), Tabriz (in 1921) and Baku (from 1922 to 1931) in the Azeri and occasionally Russian languages. The magazine was “read across the Muslim world from Morocco to Iran.”^[1]

History

1910 cartoon from Molla Nasraddin

The periodical was founded by Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, a famous Azerbaijani writer, and published by Geyrat Publishing House owned by him. The name "Molla Nasraddin" was inspired by the 13th century Muslim cleric Nasreddin who was remembered for his funny stories and anecdotes. The main purpose of the magazine was to satirically depict various social phænomena, such as inequality, cultural assimilation, and corruption; and to ridicule backward lifestyles and values of the clergy and religious fanatics.^[2] In their articles, the columnists in an implicit way called upon the readers to modernize and accept more advanced Western social norms and practices.

Bold and denunciative articles were the reason for numerous searches performed by the police and frequent bans of Molla Nasraddin (in 1912, 1914 and 1917).^[3] After a three-year break, Mammadguluzadeh moved to Tabriz, Iran, where within the next year he published eight more issues of the magazine.^[4]

The significance of Molla Nasraddin is in its development of the critical realist genre in Azerbaijani literature. It influenced similar processes in other literary traditions, primarily in Iran. Iranian cartoon art emerged as a result of publishing Molla Nasraddin in Tabriz in 1921.^[5]

Structure

The Czarist government-approved features and columns of Molla Nasraddin were the following:^[6]

• Discussions
• Facetiae (short witty pieces of writing)
• Feuilletons
• Humorous poems
• Humorous telegrams
• Satirical stories
• Anecdotes
• Postbox
• Humorous advertisements
• Personal advertisements
• Cartoons, caricatures, and illustrations

See also

• Molla Nasreddin: the magazine that would've, could've, should've: a selection of Molla Nasraddin's best caricatures, translated into English by Slavs and Tatars
• Jalil Mammadguluzadeh
• The Onion, a US counterpart
• Frank, a Canadian counterpart
• The Phoenix, an Irish counterpart
• El Jueves, a Spanish counterpart
• Le Canard enchaîné, a French counterpart
• The Clinic, a Chilean counterpart
• Titanic, a German counterpart
• Academia Catavencu, a Romanian counterpart
• Moskovskaya Komsomolka, a Russian counterpart

References

1. ^ "The Magazine That Almost Changed The World". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2011/05/the-magazine-that-almost-changed-the-world.html. Retrieved May 26, 2011. 
2. ^ Molla Nasraddin - The Magazine: Laughter that Pricked the Conscience of a Nation by Jala Garibova. Azerbaijan International. #4.3. Autumn 1996
3. ^ (Russian) Molla Nasraddin, an entry from the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia by A.Sharif. Baku.ru
4. ^ Famous Personalities of Nakhichevan: Jalil Mammadguluzadeh. Shexsiyyeter.nakhchivan.az
5. ^ (Persian) Molla Nasraddin and Jalil Mammadguluzadeh by Ebrahim Nabavi. BBC Persian. 6 July 2006
6. ^ (Russian) Mammadguluzadeh, Jalil by Hasan Guliyev. Литературный Азербайджан

External links

• Commented cartoons from Molla Nasreddin
• (Azerbaijani) Molla Nasraddin on the Web
• (English) Slavs and Tatars, the collective, write about Molla Nasreddin for a NY art blog and discuss their new publication, the first English translation of the legendary periodical.