At 41, Mohammad has led a varied life. He moved to Canada from Iran in 1988, 3 months before the Iran-Iraq war ended, having completed his military service. Now an artist-cum-curator of contemporary art, he reads Philosophy and Iranian studies. He told me he's post-Muslim. I asked him what that means. I am italicizing some bits below:
Post Muslim is a complex case. Not easy.
My mother's
maternal grandfather was a founding member of the social democratic
party (later on the communist Toodeh party) and was elected to the
first constitutional assembly in Iran (1906) from Tabriz.
My mother's paternal grandfather was a Syrian Jew who moved to Iran and
converted to Islam and became a very wealthy land owner and lived 108
years… Even though aristocratic, he had a love for poetry (and
property!) and donated a lot of his money to modern/moderate Shie
establishment in Kermanshah.
For
me to be post Muslim, I had to first be anti Muslim. From 1992 to 2001,
I was a strong and vocal anti-Islamic activist. Back then nobody,
including Zionists, dared to point to what was wrong in the strict
interpretation of Quran. I
was a neocon before The "clean break" was ever commissioned [1996]. I dreamt
about American intervention to liberate Iran (what a nightmare; now I
know after Iraq) . I used to wear a star of David around my neck to
piss off my community. I used to say a lot of things before they became
state policy in USA and the west.
However, I never stopped
identifying with the problems of Palestinians even in the thick of my
anti Islamic period. My main theory was that the larger and more
determinate conflict in the middle east is between religious
nationalistic Jews and secular progressive ones, not between Arabs and Israelis, and my theory was that once the internal Jewish conflict is
settled, Palestinians will automatically receive their fair share of
the land/political process. The election of Sharon and the breakdown of
peace process and the growth of Jewish nationalism in Israel following the second intifada shattered my hopes.
Then
9/11 changed what was left of my anti Islamic sentiments. It was only
after my 10 year rhetoric was adopted by Bush that I realized I must
have been wrong all along.
I'm going to fast forward to now
because I don't want to bore you. But right now for me post Muslim
means an atheist liberal support for the foreign policy of Iran, since
it has really transformed into a force for good in the region. From Afghanistan
to Palestine, the Iranian strategic interest is accidentally aligned
with the good of the people of the region including even Israelis! (if
you want, in a later email, I can get into explaining this.)
I am a
non-ideological atheist who thinks religion is an empty signifier, an
empty form that can carry good or bad, can be utilized for a good cause
or evil or operate as just a sign, a vase on the shelf, and there should
be nothing wrong with that. I also consider the human rights/democratic
regimes as a religion/ideology that can be used for good or bad or just
an empty cute ornament on the display… nothing wrong with that
either. Even though I don't personally believe in Allah, I think others
could, or better said, others should be allowed to believe in Allah
without harassment or embarrassment. I don't see any difference between
Quran and Vogue International. (And I like Vogue International…)
I
think people of the west are more ideological than fundamentalist Muslims, since fundamentalist Muslims choose to think the way they do
in spite of growing global evidence they are aware of that is contrary to their belief. They have to challenge themselves and remain
"faithful" since they know that the basis of their beliefs are
metaphysics and mythology. No sane person, even a religious
fundamentalist, can assume that god is there. Believing in Allah in
the early 21st century is like being a person who is determined to lose
weight in spite of a slow metabolism and abundance of greasy high
calorie fast food; the only way you can do this is by working hard
everyday on the treadmill or else the fat is going to come back–the
fat being doubt about Allah, god, and divine justice.
And yet westerners really believe, even though they think they are beyond faith. Mostly because they dont have to make an effort to believe; everything
around them already is naturally constructing the belief system, since
their beliefs are based on the three pillars of science, history and
philosophy [Didn't you leave out the Pillar of Tom Friedman, Mo?]. Much more "concrete" and therefore more scary. Especially
history :)
I used to hate Ahmadinejad in opposition to the
reformers, but given what he has achieved internally and globally, I
hope he gets elected for another term. This is absurd because even my
best friends and family back in Iran have a hard time understanding my
logic. Don't forget Ahmadinejad's deputy president spoke about Israeli
people not being enemies and even though a lot of people asked for his
resignation, Ahmadinejad did not fire him.
I believe that
Israel's a semi-legal entity since it has failed to ratify its
existence through a Palestinian consensus. I wish Israel would use its
power and influence to organize a referendum of all Palestinians to
accept a Jewish state behind 1967 borders in exchange for a sovereign Palestinian state. Right now Zionism damages every one almost
everywhere. Once Palestine is created, the hazards of Zionism will only
damage Jews. I let brave people like you and those inside Israel bring
down Zionism then.
I prefer a vague statement in the
referendum preamble in the hope of one day joining these two states
into one– once the people of both sides are ready to join together.
[Chomsky says something like this too] Iranian "hardliners" have already signaled that they would encourage
and accept a situation like this. The goal of Israeli boycott should be
to force Israel to help organize and accept the results of a
referendum. I would personally vote for the ratification of the Jewish
Zionist state behind 1967 borders, if there is a willingness at least
in language for a future one state for all. Let Zionism be a Jewish
problem, rather than a Muslim or a world problem.
But right now we just have to stop the killing and lift the siege.
Have
you read BOBBY SAIED: FEAR OF FUNDAMENTAL? Its an essential reading in
the fall and rise of Islamism (or the rise and fall of secularism) in
the region. Bottom line: secularism is not the solution for the Muslim world,
we need to modernize and democratize Islamism, and for this there is
only one model: Islamic republic of Iran. Have you ever wondered why
after the invasion and regime change in both Afghanistan and Iraq with the help of USA and the support of Israel, both of those countries are called Islamic Republics and their constitutions are copied out of Ayatollah Khomeini's
vision for Iran? So was Khomeini a great visionary or a backward
ayatollah? And if Islamic republicanism is the future of the Muslim
world, why not let this happen naturally and without billions of dollars
of American money wasted on the project?
[As we say in Vogue International, genius!]
