Munîra Qazî, daughter of Qazi Muhammad, President of the Kurdish Republic of Mahabad, shared a video message on social media, greeting Rojava from Mahabad.

Qazi Muhammad was a Kurdish revolutionary, co-founder of the Republic of Mahabad and its president. When the Republic of Mahabad was crushed by the Iranian army on 15 December 1946, Qazi Muhammad decided not to flee. He was arrested, sentenced to death on 23 January 1947, and executed on 31 March 1947.

The message by Munîra Qazî said: “I express my support for the Kurdish people and Rojava Kurdistan. I also congratulate both Mr. Masoud Barzani and General Mazlum Kobanê and all those who are fighting for the unity of the Kurdish people in Rojava Kurdistan. My father's dream has come true in Rojava Kurdistan. I wish success to all Kurdish people who are loyal to their cause.”

The Republic of Mahabad

Towards the end of the Second World War, Iran was occupied by British and Soviet forces. In the largely Kurdish city of Mahahad, the gradual retreat of Iranian forces left an opportunity for Kurds, led by the charismatic Qazi Muhammad, to attempt Kurdish independence. In February 1945, confrontations between the remaining Iranian police and the Kurdish people of Mahabad resulted in the deaths of five police officers and one Kurdish civilian, and the complete withdrawal of the Iranian presence in the city. Qazi Muhammad, who had previously led the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, seized this moment and, on 22 January 1946, proclaimed an independent Kurdish Republic of Mahabad.

A year later, however, the Iranian central government crushed the socialist Kurdish republic, which fell on 15 December 1946. The first ‘free Kurdish nation’ lasted for less than a year.

An Iranian military court, loyal to Iran’s Pahlavi dynasty, sentenced Qazi Muhammad to death by hanging. He was executed on 31 March 1947, in Chwarchira Square.