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Mirza Mohammad Ali ( Persian: میرزا محمد علی), better known as Hajj Sayyah ( Persian: حاج سياح "the traveler", 1836–1925), was an Iranian American world traveler and political activist.
He was the first Iranian to obtain American citizenship. According to a decree issued by the District Court of the 12th Judicial District of the State of California, he was naturalized on May 26, 1875.
Mirza Mohammad Ali ( Persian: میرزا محمد علی), better known as Hajj Sayyah ( Persian: حاج سياح "the traveler", 1836–1925), was an Iranian American world traveler and political activist.
He was the first Iranian to obtain American citizenship. According to a decree issued by the District Court of the 12th Judicial District of the State of California, he was naturalized on May 26, 1875.
Early life
Hajj Sayyah was born in 1836 in the town of Mahallat, Sublime State of Iran. His studies exposed him at a young age to modern and democratic ideas that were then spreading throughout parts of the world. The stark differences that he observed between the autocratic rule in Iran and those ideas he studied inspired him to see the rest of the world.Travels
At the age of 23, Hajj Sayyah embarked on a remarkable journey around the globe, and which would last for nearly 18 years. He began his travels by wandering throughoutCentral Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
and Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
for more than six years. Often, he traveled alone and in poverty.
The motivation for his travels was his thirst for knowledge and spiritual strength. He wanted to learn as much as he could about the world and how other people lived to bring those ideas back to Iran. As a result of his observations throughout his travels, he concluded that human beings are supposed to live in reasonably-humane societies and, to enjoy basic human rights.
Hajj Sayyah came to the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
through New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. During his ten-year stay in the country, he met with many prominent personalities such as US President Ulysses Grant on more than one occasion. His travels across the United States eventually took him to San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, where he spent several months.
In the course of studying Hajj Sayyahʼs life, Dr. Ali Ferdowsi discovered through State Department documents that Hajj Sayyah had become a US citizen on May 26, 1875, the first Iranian to do so.
Political activism
Upon returning to Iran in July 1877, Hajj Sayyah became politically active and was imprisoned for having instigated a clandestine letter writing campaign to Naser al-Din Shah Qajar and the clergy regarding the unbearable living conditions in Iran. After his release, fearing further persecution he sought the protection of the US legation inTehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
. That move puzzled many Iranians, who wondered why he felt that the US government would protect him.
Hajj Sayyah went on to play a major role in the 1906 Persian Constitutional Revolution
The Persian Constitutional Revolution (, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911 during the Qajar Iran, Qajar era. The revolution led to the establishment of a Majl ...
, and he remained active until his death in 1925, at the age of 89.Mehrbanoo Nasser Deyhim in: An Iranian in Nineteenth Century Europe, p.17.
References
Further reading
* {{Persian Constitutional Revolution Persions Iranian travel writers 1836 births 1925 deaths Iranian emigrants to the United States People of the Persian Constitutional Revolution 19th-century Iranian politicians People from Mahallat Iranian explorers 20th-century Iranian politicians