Even though I sit amidst all of the chaos taking place in the Middle East, those of you reading this in the States probably know more about what is currently going on around me than I do. In Iran, the internet and news agencies are heavily censored.
The one year anniversary of Tahrir Square, the escalating violence in Syria, the continued conflict spreading through Bahrain, Yemen, Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan all have less air time on Iranian news stations than the latest round of soccer games and the inches of snow that have fallen on Tehran and northern Iran. I know more about the occupy protesters in America, those that have died due to the cold in Europe, and the lantern festival of Taiwan than I do about the neighboring countries.
The anniversary of the 1979 Iranian revolution is this weekend, Feb 11th. The streets and televisions are littered with Islamic and anti-west propaganda and footage of the 1979 revolution used to emphasize the brutality of the Shah’s regime and mourning for the martyrs that died in the protests. I wonder what the effect of these images really is. I wonder if it will backfire when Iranians compare these protest images to those from the 2009 elections. I wonder if it conjures up feelings of regret instead of victory. I wonder if Iranians feel ashamed of replacing their reputation of class, education, and progressive thinking with that of close-mindedness, disorder, and religious fanaticism. The sermon of this last week’s Friday prayers was given by the Supreme Leader of Iran, Khamenei where he constantly criticized America. He said that a war with Iran would be detrimental to the infrastructure of America and that Iranians are not scared because the protests across the Middle East have proved that the people choose Islam, that the Arab Spring is an Islamic revolution.
But people aren’t listening. They are more concerned with the rise of the dollar against the Iranian currency. They are more concerned about the doubling price of bread than the threat of global Zionism. They are more concerned about their wages and the future of their children than the spread of Islamic ideals and it’s proposed influence on all of humanity.
They don’t care about the religious rhetoric and most have no respect for the government leaders. They don’t buy into America and Israel as the enemies and they don’t chant “death to” anything. Yes, the American government has done plenty of deplorable things in Iran and the Middle East that does not go unnoticed. But the average Iranian would not be ready to go to war for the sake of defending Islam. Most Iranians are very nationalistic and not necessarily religious.
February 6, 2012
Categories: Uncategorized . . Author: Anahita Azizkhani . Comments: Leave a comment