By
Pirouz Azadi , Los Angeles, U.S.A.
Part I. The
Paradigms of Religious Traditionalism vs. Secular Modernism (Mashroueh vs.
Mashrouteh)
Preamble.
This article,
written in two Parts I and II, is based on my most recent extended visit to Iran
(summer 2009). I am neither a political nor a social scientist;
nonetheless, like most Iranians I aspire to remain a careful and active observer
of my surroundings especially the motherland, and so, feel compelled to share my
perspectives with avid readers on Iran in the hope that it could help toward the
peaceful future direction of this nation. My goal is to serve as a mirror to my
compatriot Iranians in order to assist the reform processes and practices,
actions and behaviors, etc. that are currently counterproductive to the progress
of Iranian society at-large. Although a globalist, I am proud of Iran and its
long history in the context of the international forum of all nations. I,
therefore, present herein a socio-political assessment The ultimate goal for
Iran as a strong nation should be to achieve self-respect and self-reliance,
respect for human rights (minorities, gender, children, religion), freedom of
expression (assembly, press), conservation of natural and human resources,
independent sovereignty, homegrown democracy, a democratic process anchored in
education, communication and full empowerment for all Iranians to participate in
shaping the future direction of their nation and without any external
interventions.
Current Iran.
This past
June during Iran's tenth presidential election, the government was caught off
guard having wrongly assumed they could continue exploiting the rigged
voting turnouts to bolster their own legitimacy, while appointing the pre-chosen
president by the supreme leader in the end. It has now back-fired indefinitely,
and the fire will not subside until the nation can soon achieve fundamental
peaceful reforms hopefully from within; otherwise, the likelihood of external
intervention, as undesirable as it is, may become inevitable. The issue is no
longer the recent rigged presidential election, but rather the very legitimacy
of the regime is under question by the people. The torture and imprisonment of
thousands, the killing
of nearly 100 and rapes
of many, and the mass trials of "key figures"
many of whom were paradoxically the past pillars of the Islamic Republic's
theocracy has intensified the resolved determination of the people for freedom
and democracy, justice and transparency, accountability and reforms in an
indigenous "Green Movement" that conjures up the mass elimination of dissidents
and political prisoners of conscience of the Shah's and Khomeini's era of the
80's. No one can deny the adverse role of western hegemonies as evidenced by the
annual spending of over $100 million dollars by the U.S. government alone for
subversive and media based insurgencies, which has ironically impeded the people
of Iran to achieve their goals, since the Iranian regime exploits this as a
rationale for repressing their rights.
The ideals articulated by
the progressive forces of the 1970's have but all been denied and/or violated by
the current establishment which self-righteously exploits a twisted fatalistic
and fanatic Shiite ideology, as orchestrated by the entrenched "Revolutionary
and Basiji guards" of the governments, toward their own masochistic ulterior
motives of hanging on to power and capital. Irrespective of divergence of
opinions as to the specific process and the type of preferred government and as
debated within the nation and among the three plus millions in Diaspora, there,
nonetheless, has emerged a consensus to respect all religions especially the
Shiite Islam, as private rituals to which most Iranians believe in or were born
into believing families. Where they mostly draw the distinction is how to reform
such religion and ensure it does not any longer become the political tool of
legitimizing any improprieties with it, thereby jeopardizing the puritan beliefs
of the masses.
Irrespective, many
scholars believe the process of reformation leading to a protestant renascence
has already begun full course in Iran. The opposition to government has been
growing on two fronts: one is comprised of the youth, the educated, the
technocrats and those more affluent with affinity toward the west; and the
other, that is far more devastating to the long-term sustainability of the
current political system is the strong Shiite believers, mostly from the poor
slums and rural areas, who have concluded the current system has betrayed them
both in terms of their regions and equal opportunities. For instance despite
repeated government warnings, tens of thousands partook on Quds Day
(it was instituted in the early 80's to commemorate the Palestinian plights) in
the streets of Tehran to once again raise voices for demanding their rights. In
summary, and as self evident by the growing oppositions to the ill-conceived
actions and failures of those in government, the struggle would not only
continue but that it grows over time for good to triumph over evil,
a Zoroastrian belief as narrated in Shahnameh, that is encoded in every Iranian
psyche. The Iranian expatriates abroad will serve as the voice of all Iranians
to ensure their wishes are clearly heard by other nations and international
agencies. Growing number of demonstrations, petitions, websites and blogs,
typified by the yesterday activities by the United Nations, and in and out of
the Iran, will only grow as well. As to the three days of spontaneously
percolated activities of Iranian-Americans in New York City (September 22-24,
2009) when several thousand
demonstrators spend their own money and time
from all over north American to register their disgust with the failing domestic
and international policies of the Islamic republic regime in Iran, it was so
gratifying to observe that despite the diversity of organizations present each
with their own prescribed solution for IRAN, that they all united for what the
people in Iran have persistently yearned for: an organically developing
process, homemade, that leads to freedom and democracy, the prerequisites for
justice and peace.
Historical
Background.
Although a
diverse nation ten thousand years in the making, with 2,500 continuous years of
government, the struggle of the people of Iran for democracy and freedom,
justice and modernization has lingered on with little sustainable progress since
the mid 19th century, when a group of elites educated in European
cities returned home. A well-balanced integration of western modernity with the
Persian philosophy and way of life was their aim. This led to the much
anticipated replacement of absolute monarchy with constitutional monarchy (Mashrooteh)
under the 1906 Constitution. The struggle, however, has continued. Although the
then new Pahlavi dynasty placed on the Peacock Throne under the British colonial
hegemony, brought about a degree of modernization and uniformity to the nation,
the two self-proclaimed "King of the kings" violated the new
constitution by primarily serving the interests of the foreign conglomerates and
their own egos. This in turn led to a growing level of frustration and dissent
among the emerging educated middle class. At the same time, a vocal number of
disgruntled ayatollahs, representing the traditional segment of society, left
out of the power equation they had enjoyed the preceding hundreds of years,
continued their dissent under the term, Mashrooeh. This latter Shiite
religious cohort of the past 100 years, led by Ayatollah Khomeini hijacked the
fruits of the 1979 revolution, and established a theoretically driven and
traditionally rationalized and repressive Islamic Republic that most Shiite
grand ayatollahs and other Islamic scholars view the Islamic rationalization of
the current regime as a mere philosophizing fallacy, and thus gravely flawed.
Their fear is the imminent loss of their long power grips over the spiritual
destiny of their 150 million Shiite followers, which will undoubtedly ripple
throughout the Moslem world.
Future of Iran.
Iran is a richly
diverse nation of nearly seventy-five million people, 70% of whom born after the
1979 revolution. The Nation is comprised of a dozen ethnicities, major religions
and faiths and thus there are diverse opinions and priorities. The nation is
also blessed (or cursed) with massive amount of natural resources and minerals,
including oil, coal and gas, as well as diverse biomes spanning from desert
along the Persian Gulf and snow capped mountain ranges to luscious tropical like
forests along the Caspian Sea. A consensus has grown among all Iranians in the
past one hundred years and that is, the need for the independent sovereignty of
the country, a paradigm shift toward a secular democratic and representative
government that respects all religions including the Shiite Islam observed by
the majority, transparency and accountability in government conduct with checks
and balances, and separation of the three major branches of government, and
homegrown democracy. The ultimate goal is to achieve freedom of expression,
assembly and press, equal opportunity for everyone, duly deserving recognition
and respect in the family of nations, and justice and peace.
Pirouz Azadi is a Pen Name for an American integrative science
professor with multi-ethnic and inter-religious Iranian heritage. He has lived
in the U.S. since a few months after the 1979 revolution when he arrived to
complete his doctoral studies and has traveled and worked in a dozen other
countries as well. Having developed and practiced a universal vision of
appreciation, acceptance and tolerance, as evidenced through his prolific
writings on Iran and the Near East, environment and sustainable development,
humanism and naturalism, aspirations and challenges faced by first generation
Americans, etc. Pirouz, nonetheless, keeps his beautiful place of birth Iran and
his compatriots the Iranians, close to his heart.
... Payvand News - 09/29/09 ... --
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