Akram Najaf oglu Naibov (Azerbaijani: Əkrəm Nəcəf oğlu Naibov), born on December 6, 1937, is an Azerbaijani writer, playwright, novelist, and former member of parliament. He is better known by his pen name, Akram Aylisli. His books have been translated from Azerbaijani into many languages across the former Soviet Union and other countries. In 2002, the President of Azerbaijan honored him with the "Istiglal" award, and in another year, he received the "Shokhrat" award.
In 2013, after publishing a novella titled Stone Dreams, which described violent attacks by Azerbaijanis against Armenians in Sumgait and Baku and portrayed Armenians in a kind manner, President Aliyev issued a decree removing Aylisli’s title of "People's Writer" and his presidential pension. His books were burned by educated people and fellow citizens in his hometown. His son and wife lost their jobs, and a reward of $13,000 was offered for cutting the writer’s ear off.
In March 2014, public figures from around the world formally requested that Aylisli be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Biography
Aylisli was born in the village of Aylis in 1937 in the Ordubad region of Nakhchivan, which was part of Soviet Azerbaijan, near the borders of Armenia and Iran. His mother, Leya Ali Kyzy, was the village storyteller. His father died during World War II when Aylisli was five years old. His early life in the Soviet Union happened during a time of greater freedom, known as the years of de-Stalinization and the "Thaw," which occurred under the leadership of Nikita Khrushchev. Aylisli completed his graduate studies at the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow, a top school for writers in the Soviet Union.
His first published work was a poem titled "Qeşem ve onun Kürekeni," which appeared in the journal Azerbaycan. During the Soviet era, Aylisli worked as a poet, translator, and playwright. He wrote several novels, including "Trees without Shade," "Shining of the Six Suns," "The Season of Colorful Dresses," "The White Canyon," "The Dam," "Peoples and Trees," and others. Most of his works are connected to his hometown of Aylis. His stories and novels, which are filled with care for the lives of farmers, were very popular in Azerbaijan and throughout the Soviet Union. His novel "Peoples and Trees" was translated into more than thirty languages and published in countries in Eastern Europe. His writing style and ideas were similar to those of the Russian "Village Prose" movement.
Aylisli also wrote several plays, including "Quşu Uçan Budaqlar," "Menim Neğmekar Bibim," "Bağdada Putyovka Var," and "Vezife." These plays were performed in theaters in Baku, Nakhchivan, Ganja, and Yerevan. He also worked as a translator, bringing books by authors such as Gabriel García Márquez, Heinrich Böll, Ivan Turgenev, Konstantin Paustovsky, Vladimir Korolenko, Anton Chekhov, Vasily Shukshin, Chinghiz Aitmatov, and Salman Rushdie into the Azeri language.
From 1968 to 1970, he was the editor-in-chief of the journal "Gençlik." Later, he worked as a satirist for the journal "Mozalan." From 1974 to 1978, he was a member of the Azerbaijan SSR's State Committee for Cinematography.
Aylisli received the title of "People's Writer" and was awarded Azerbaijan's highest state honors, the medals of "Shokhrat" ("Honor") and "Istiglal" ("Independence"). In November 2005, he was elected to the National Assembly of Azerbaijan (Milli Majlis) as a member of parliament, representing his constituency in Julfa-Ordubad. He served one term, which ended on November 7, 2010.
Aylisli generally supported left-wing ideas. His works published in the Soviet Union did not follow the style of socialist realism, which was common among many writers in the Azerbaijan SSR at that time. He criticized the Soviet era for a period in the 1990s. In a recent television interview on ANS TV, he said he believed Karl Marx was a genius and that the world would eventually adopt Marx's ideas.
Stone Dreamscontroversy
In late 2012 and early 2013, Akram Aylisli became involved in controversy when his novella, Daş yuxular (Stone Dreams), was published in a Russian-language journal called Druzhba Narodov (Friendship of the Peoples). The book describes the violent attacks on Armenians in Baku in 1989 and the killing of Armenians in Aylisli’s hometown by Turkish soldiers in 1919. The story mixes events from recent history with stories told by older people about the Armenian massacre. The original book was written in Azerbaijani in 2006, but the author delayed its publication because he disliked the Russian translation, which he later completed himself. The Azerbaijani version of the book has never been published.
The novel follows the story of an Azerbaijani actor named Saday Sadykhly and his efforts to protect his Armenian neighbors during the violent attacks in Sumgait and Baku near the end of the Soviet Union. The story begins with Sadykhly, who was severely beaten while trying to protect an Armenian neighbor, being taken to the hospital. He was attacked by Azeri refugees from Armenia, who mistakenly thought he was Armenian.
There are four main characters in the novel: Sadykhly, his friend Nunavrish Karabahly (another actor), Sadykhly’s father-in-law, a psychiatrist named Dr. Abbasaliev, and a surgeon named Dr. Farid Farzaneh, who treated Sadykhly after the attack. At first, Sadykhly seemed to be recovering, but by the end of the story, his body could not handle the physical injuries or the mental stress, and he died.
Aylisli’s book caused anger in Azerbaijan because it showed Armenians in a kind light, even though Azerbaijan was at war with Armenia over control of Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s. The novel focused only on the violence against Armenians by Azerbaijanis during the conflict, but it did not mention claims of Armenian violence against Azerbaijanis, such as the Khojaly massacre.
Another controversial part of the story is when Sadykhly wants to travel to Echmiadzin, a holy city for Armenians, to convert to Christianity with the blessing of the Armenian Catholicos and live there as a monk, asking God to forgive Muslims for their actions against Armenians. This part of the story upset many Azerbaijani readers because the Armenian Catholicos, Vazgen I, did not protect Azerbaijani people in Armenia during the late 1980s and became unpopular in Azerbaijan.
The novel also touches on the topic of circumcision, a religious practice important to Muslims. Dr. Farzaneh, who is married to a Russian woman, wants to have their son circumcised. His wife questions whether the Prophet Muhammad is wiser than God. In the end, their son sees circumcision as a violent act, which causes their family to break apart. This part of the story upset many Azerbaijani readers.
After Stone Dreams was published, Aylisli became an enemy of the state. The media launched a campaign against him. People in Baku, Ganja, and Aylisli’s hometown held rallies where they shouted slogans like “Death to Akram Aylisli!” and “Traitor!” They burned his books and portraits. A group called the Youth Organization of Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, along with other organizations, said they would take legal action against Aylisli.
On February 7, 2013, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, signed a decree that removed Aylisli’s title of “People’s Writer” and his pension. Ali Hasanov, a government official, criticized Aylisli for lacking national pride and for showing Azerbaijanis as violent and weak. He said Azerbaijanis should hate people like Aylisli.
Parliamentarians in Azerbaijan’s National Assembly demanded that Aylisli lose all his state awards, his Azerbaijani citizenship, and be forced to move to Armenia. They said the book insulted Azerbaijanis and the Turkish people because of its references to the Ottoman Empire’s treatment of Armenians. They even suggested testing Aylisli’s DNA to see if he was ethnically Armenian. The leader of the National Assembly, Ogtay Asadov, said, “There is something suspicious in the blood of everyone who supports Aylisli.”
The Ministry of Education removed Aylisli’s works from school textbooks. His plays were banned from theaters. Many Azerbaijani writers, artists, and academics stopped supporting him. The Union of Azerbaijani Writers held a meeting and removed Aylisli from its membership.
Aylisli’s wife and son were fired from their jobs. The chairman of the Caucasian Muslim Board, Sheikh Allahshukur Pashazadeh, called Aylisli an apostate. Hafiz Haciyev, leader of a pro-government political party, said his party would pay $13,000 to anyone who cut off Aylisli’s ear. After pressure from foreign governments, the party canceled the reward.
Aylisli responded to critics by saying, “If I had any doubt that I had disgraced my people, that would break me. But they think that when I say two good things about an Armenian, I must say three about an Azerbaijani. But that is not my job. I write about characters and their views of the world. His mind is very fragile; he is on the edge of insanity.” He also said, “Armenians are not my enemies. I am a writer living in the 21st century. I want to help find a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.” He added, “A writer is not a patriot. He must write what his mind and reason tell him to.”
On February 3, 2013, a group of young independent thinkers held a small demonstration near a monument to support Aylisli. Some Azerbaijani writers and intellectuals, including Rustam Ibragimbekov, defended him. Leyla Yunus, an Azerbaijani human rights activist, said, “Only Aylisli defends the honor and dignity of our nation after the story of Ramil Saf