In a day or so we're going to publish a splendid piece by Mohammad of Vancouver
disputing James Petras's argument that Obama is going to attack Iran. Part of Mohammad's critique is a long meditation on the character of the Iranian political structure. Mohammad lived in Iran most of his life, and served in its war,
before moving to Canada, so he has solid basis for this analysis. We asked if we could publish that meditation on its own. Here it is:
Thirty years ago this week, the Iranian people chose an Islamic form of government
precisely because they were worried about the consequences of rapid
modernization and westernization under the corrupt rule of the
Pahlavis. This was done with minimal human cost compared to other
revolutions. Consider: The brutality of the Iranian Islamic republic has not come close to that of other noted republics in the years following a revolution (France, Russia
and China being my references). The Islamic state phased itself in very
slowly and learned how to run the state apparatuses without major
disruptions. For instance, the Islamic dress code for women was brought
in so slowly that the seculars lost a chance of making an issue out of
it. Other Islamic provisions were also slow to kick in, and the basic
penal code was never canceled but modified with numerous amendments.
Iran still has many laws on the books that go back over 50 years.
Iran is not a passive and backward country. The Iranian people created a constitutional monarchy back in 1906 and if it weren’t for the interference of Britain, Iran could have provided a moderating center for the entire Muslim world
by creating a perfect blend of European parliamentary tradition
compatible with the tenets of Islamic law. Once the promises of this
democratic revolution were betrayed by a pro-western corrupt monarchy,
and once the nationalists were defeated by USA through the 1953 coup, Iranians
slowly came to the consensus that only Islam as a political force could
be able to liberate the country from the hands of local tyrants and
their international supporters. This was mostly a practical decision
rather than an ideological wish. Today, after 30 years of having an
Islamic system, Iran can claim to have not only pushed the country
forward, but forced a 500 year progress upon a frozen Shie mindset in a
short time.
The civilizing nature of the Iranian culture has
been able to transform the rough edges of Islam, particularly the Shie
Islam, and made it compatible with the challenges to a complex state in
the age of globalization and the internet. For those who don’t know,
Iran is much more open and democratic than the comparable societies of
not only Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, but also North Korea, Cuba or even Israel (on particular levels, for instance, respect and equality for non Shie or non Muslim Iranians.)
The majority of Iranians–unlike my family and network of friends and
acquaintances who are atheists and seculars–are Shie Muslims who feel
not only comfortable and safe under an Islamic government but also free
and democratic under the practiced Islamic law. Since they are not
interested in questioning the tenets of the religion, they get to be
free to at least discuss government policies and actions and have a say
at the ballot box.
True, Iran is a very limited democracy, but one can argue that the Iranian system is as limited as the famous lone democracy in the middle east
we love to adore in the west: Israel. Like Israel, which is a democracy
for the Jewish majority, Iran is a democracy for the Shie majority,
which gets to have a lot of say in the matters of state. Yes, it’s
true, seculars do not get represented in the parliament–in contrast to
Arab Israelis, who do get representation– but they also are not
treated as second-class citizens in the society. They can buy land, move
anywhere they want, and they tend to exercise a lot of financial and
cultural discrimination against religious people in their own circles.
In Iran, you can have whatever opinions or lifestyle that you like, as
long as you are careful about keeping them all within the confinement
of your private life. This could include your 100 acre home property or
your 1000 acre ranch, if you are rich enough to have your own kingdom.
Unlike the IDF forces, the Islamic soldiers would never occupy your
home in the name of national security and urinate in your water tanks. If we consider
non-Muslims as occupied people under Islamic Republic rule, even followers of the illegal faith of Ba’haism are treated much better
than the Palestinians are treated in the Occupied territories.
Iran’s Jewish and Christian communities
in particular have a few rights that are not offered to average
Iranians, i.e. traveling to Israel and making and consuming wine in
their community centers. The Jewish community also acts as a liaison of
the last resort between Iran and Israel. Many Iranian Jews have family
members up in the hierarchies of the army, MOSSAD; and the Israeli
government and the Iranian government and the intelligence network take
advantage of these contacts to send and receive private messages from
Israel.
Despite the nonstop Western propaganda, both from pro
Israeli neoLiberals and the anti-Israeli left wing Marxists, Shie
concepts have been proven not only durable, but essential in the
Islamists’ conflict with both globalization and the military of USA and
Israel.
The Islamic society of Iran has definitely
restricted the freedoms of the minority seculars and atheists, but it
has expanded the freedoms of the majority religious people. Those who
did not allow their daughters to go past high school or get a job now
feel safe to allow the women of their families to be socially outgoing.
Those who never had a radio, let alone a television, in their homes back
in the 1960's and 70's now can easily enjoy such technologies, knowing
that the state is guaranteeing that the content of the media does not
contravene their Islamic beliefs.
Islamic Republic has not made
life easier only for Shie believers. As argued by many religious Jews in
Iran, the general religious atmosphere that is guaranteed under the Islamic republic
(no bars or night clubs, no porn industry or legal prostitution and the
enforcement of modest dress code for both sexes) makes it easier to be
a practicing Jew in Iran than in Israel, where the religious community
is engaged in an ongoing battle with legal vices. That's why despite cash offerings and other incentives, thousands of Jews prefer to remain
in Iran than to emigrate to the Jewish state.
P.S. Responding to a comment on the secular backlash in Iran:
families whose parents had some sort of a distanced respect for Islam
are becoming belligerent and vocal in their opposition to Islam. But
the children of majority Muslims have either remained where they have
been, or because of the war on terror, they are more Islamist than a generation before.
top of these two options, there is also a third group who are
economically left and have Marxist tendencies (the result of left wing
humanities in the university). But since Ahmadinejad is willing to
refuse privatization and budget cuts to social programs, they are
slowly becoming pro system, even though deep inside they are secular. I
am very interested in this last educated group.
