Iran’s cultural attaché in Malaysia Habib Reza Arzani as saying that, in conjunction with the Malaysian International Book Fair, the unveiling ceremony of the 12-volume translation of the “Story of Colonialism” series written by Mr. Mehdi Mirkiai was held at the Iranian Cultural Counselor’s premises in Kuala Lumpur on May 29, 2025, with the participation of a group of cultural officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran and publishing directors.
The ceremony was attended by Valiollah Mohammadi, the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Malaysia, Habib Reza Arzani, Iran’s cultural attaché in Malaysia, Dr. Hossein Bahrami, the Director of Nakhl Sabz Publishing House from the holy city of Qom, and Dr. Alizadeh Mousavi, one of the officials of this publication.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Dr. Habib Reza Arzani, while highlighting the importance of the issue of colonialism and its historical recognition, pointed to the evolution of colonialism in the contemporary era and its impact in new areas such as cyberspace.
He further noted,” Colonialism influences human life with a new face every day; one day in the form of the golden calf of Samaria, one day in the form of Qarun and Pharaoh, and another day with the appearance of modernity, innovation or virtual technology, but what is important is the recognition of colonialism and its history, and this book is a valuable step in this direction.”
He added,” The unveiling of the multilingual translation of the collection “The History of Colonialism” can be considered an effective step in introducing the independent narrative of the Islamic Republic of Iran of the history of colonialism and cultural resistance in the international arena; a clear narrative that arises from the historical experience of the dominated nations.”
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s cultural attaché in Malaysia continued,” We need to tell history not through the words of the colonialists, but through the voices of the nations that were victims of colonialism; this collection is an attempt to return the narrative to its true owners and to a generation that should be aware of the definition of history.”
In another part of this program, Dr. Hossein Bahrami, Director of Nakhl Sabz Publications, also provided explanations about the translation process of this collection.
Pointing out the breadth of the original content, he said,” The original collection consists of 15 volumes, but due to some cultural and content considerations, only 12 volumes were selected for translation. These translations are currently available in three languages: English, Arabic, and Bahasa Malaysia.”
