Iranian Internal politics

The case of Sattar Beheshti is a very intriguing one. It achieved a widespread following due to the newspaper Iran bringing the story to prominence. Iran is run by  pro-Ahmadinejad supporters and it is speculated that they revealed this case after Sadeq Larijani refused Ahmadinejad to visit his jailed press adviser, Ali Akbar Javanfekr. 

The lesson to be taken here is that the politics within Iran and the dynamics which play out within the borders are much more significant than having outside "human rights" group push the Iranian government to reform. In this case, a totally domestic series of events led to one of the most open investigations and debates over rights abuse in the country. This was also the case with the notorious "chain murders" during Mohammad Khatami's presidency when domestic journalists uncovered the case which led to reforms of the Intelligence Ministry and greater transparency (although as we now see there is a long way to go!).

As Middle East Online reports:

Beheshti, 35, was found dead in his cell in a Tehran prison on November 3 after being arrested on October 30, according to chief prosecutor Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie.

His death also provoked outrage inside the regime, in a rare case of Iran accepting international criticism over a human rights complaint.

Judiciary officials have promised a full investigation into the case, leading to seven arrests so far, according to Iranian media.

 Alaeddine Boroujerdi, who heads parliament's national security and foreign affairs committee, took issue on Saturday with claims by pathologists that Beheshti had died from shock and fear, saying he had "very clearly" been beaten while in detention.

MEO does a fair job of reporting, however with the vast majority of other outside press, when politics plays out in Iran, it's always framed as "de-legitimizing" and a sign that the regime is cracking. This is probably the case because Western media treats Iran as if it was Saddam's Iraq where one class of people, dominated by minority Sunni Baathists, autocratically ruled the country as their personal kingdom with zero regard for any politics outside of single-party Baathist dominance through pure fear. These commentators who make such ill-intentioned remarks about Iran do not understand the nature of Iranian politics and society. 

The Islamic Republic was established as a result of a popular revolution and referendum which followed. The Iranian political scene was full of factions with differing beliefs from the very start and despite institutional make up at the top, the momentum has always been with the Iranian people to change the status-quo. Yet, for some reason for Western press, when politics plays out in Iran, it is always a sign that the regime is breaking up. This is far from the truth, in fact it shows that differences are actually being negotiated in a society. In this instance, it led to very promising results, with open parliamentary questioning.

There is a long way to go in reforming the parts of Iranian government and society which are against Islamic morality and practices, such as prisoner abuse and overbearing censorship. However, these reforms will only be genuine if they are a result of a dialogue and practice happening within the country, not dictated by haughty groups from the outside who believe they know what is best for every situation and every nation.

The Character of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib

If I strike the nose of a believer with this sword of mine so that he will become my enemy, it will not create hostility and if I pour the (riches of the) whole world on the head of a hypocrite so that he may like me, he will never like me; because this has been decreed and laid down by the tongue of the Prophet when he said: "O `Ali, the believer will never be your enemy and the hypocrite will never love you!" [3]

-- Morteza Motahhari
http://www.al-islam.org/polarization/

شب آخر - The final night

The below poem is an amateur attempt at writing Persian poetry which I wrote as I was walking back home from campus... as you can see Autumnal nights in Chicago have a very special feel to them. I originally wrote the poem in Persian but have translated in English below as well. I hope you enjoy.

متن زیرین یک سعی بسیار ساده ای بر نوشتن شعر فارسی است که چند هفته پیش وقتی از کامپوس  داشتم راه میرفتم به سمت خانه ام  نوشتم... همانطوری که میتوانید ملاحظه  کنید، شبهای شیکاگو در فصل پاییزی  یک حس خاصی دارند:  

در این شب آخر پردهای  کابوسی بر چشمانم بسته شدن
 نفس تلخ در شش های بسته فرو نمیرود
ای چشم های رنگین پریده، ای ششهای نفس پریده
ای ذهن نفهم، بیدار شو که دم پیشین نشود دم آخر

In this final night, the curtain of nightmares have closed on my eyes

Bitter breath does not enter my closed lungs

Oh eyes whose color has leapt out, oh lungs whose breath has escaped

Oh ignorant mind, wake up so that the next breath will not become the last 

Talking in Taxis in Cairo

I recently finished reading a very engaging book written by Egyptian author Khaled Alkhamissi, titled "Taxi." It's a quick read and written in narrative form as the author recounts his technically fictional yet surely inspired by true encounters with Cairo's taxi drivers.

Taxis are an interesting concept and expose riders to certain social realities especially in diverse and large cities such as Cairo.

I found one passage, in particular, to be worthy of transcribing and presenting to the readers of this blog.

Chapter 13, page 42:

"As we were driving along the Cairo University wall I let slip to the taxi driver how nostalgic I felt for my college days and confessed to him that the dreams for Egypt I dreamt within these walls even now shook me to the core, despite the passage of two decades since my graduation. I said that most of those who sold out had been handed the keys to the gates, while those who continued to dream had seen their towering hopes dashed to the ground by battering rams.

'And what did you study?' the driver asked.

'Economics and political science,' I said.

'So you studied politics, sir?'

'Yes.'

'That's great, an excellent opportunity, because for ages I've had a question I wanted to ask,' said the driver.

'What's the question? Maybe I can answer it.'

'What would happen if we said to America: "you have nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction and if you don't get rid of all these weapons, we will sever relations with you and declare war on you, and we will have to use military force to protect Cuba, because it's a small country and we have to look after it?"

'Of course, we wouldn't be serious, but we would stake out a position in the world. And the world would have to stand with us as they stood with them when they said the same thing against Iraq, and as they are saying now against Iran. I'm not saying we would fight them. Of course you know what I mean. But we would say exactly the same thing as they are saying to the countries of the world. I mean, for example, we'd ask to monitor the American elections because we're not confident their election procedures are sound, we'd ask for there to be international monitoring of the ballot boxes, and anyway we'd be right to say that. Everyone in America and the whole world said the Bush elections were rigged and that his brother fixed the elections and made him win his state. And we'd say we have to defend democracy and we have to send Egyptian judges from here to make sure the democratic process is sound.

'You know if we did that, we'd make them understand what they are doing to people, and we'd vent some of the anger that's inside us, just like when some calamity strikes and there's nothing to be done so you let off steam to whoever and you find yourself calmer, but the disaster's still the same as it was.

'We could also sue America for supporting international terrorism and taking sides with countries that aren't democratic, and get evidence of that an, as you know, it's very easy to get evidence, especially in this matter. By making a move like that, you're on the side of democracy and against terrorism and you'll find a few countries taking your side against America.

'We could also call for economic sanctions against America if they don't comply, I mean take what Rice says every day to all the poor countries in the world and say the same thing to their faces.

'The most important thing is that we all do away with the word "Americans". We should say a White Irish Protestant from America, or a Black Muslim from America, or a Spaniard from America, or a White Catholic from America, or a Black Protestant from America, just like they say these days: "six Shia and two Sunnis from Iraq died". The sons of bitc&^s at our newspapers repeat the same thing, and of course you find them saying: "a Christian from Egypt" and "a Muslim from Egypt". Surely we have to demand as loud as we can the right to defend the rights of the blacks in America, and sue if some White Scot from America kills some Black African from America, of course we have to make a big scene not least because he's African like us, I mean, he's much more closely related to us than a White Italian with a mole on his cheek from America is to some Copt from Egypt. I mean, protecting the rights of the black minority there, that's our role, and we have to intervene in everything big and small.

'I know I'm talking too much and repeating myself. I'm waiting for you to respond but you just hold your tongue and don't reply.

'I'm thinking about what you're saying,' I answered.

'You see, I leave the radio on all day and every day what the Americans say gets up my nose. It's enough to drive a man out of his senses. It's very serious because soon people will explode. "We feed you, we put you on your potty, do this, don't do that." Soon we'll burst and that'll be the end of it. So I had this idea, that we should do to them just as they do to us. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. And those people live in houses of cracked glass.'

'OK so why don't you send that suggestion to--' I started.

'I'm just letting off steam, man, I mean shooting the breeze. They're ready to let the Americans do anything to us. The suggestion they might like is for the Americans to put a camera in every Egyptian house so they can monitor the population explosion!'

The Dictator of Damascus - By David Lesch | Foreign Policy

Great article in Foreign Policy about Syria and President Assad from someone who has little political stake, is not polemical and who actually knows what he is talking about based off of extensive scholarship and research:

The "conceptual gap" between Syria and the West has only widened during the revolt. When Assad delivered his first speech to the nation on March 30, 2011, he said that Syria was facing a "huge conspiracy," directed by a highly organized network of the country's foreign enemies. Most of those outside Syria scoffed: He was blatantly diverting attention from the real socioeconomic and political problems that had brought the Arab Spring to Syria. But many Syrians -- maybe even Assad himself -- readily believe such claims. Their perception of the nature of threat is vastly different from ours. One might blame this on Syrian paranoia bred by imperialist conspiracies of the past, on the Arab-Israeli conflict, or on regime brainwashing to justify the security state. But it is, in large measure, a function of living in a dangerous neighborhood where real threats are indeed often just around the corner.

The Dictator of Damascus - By David Lesch | Foreign Policy

Caravan of Life

The caravan of life, how it passes!
Take in a breath, for it will pass with joy
Wine bearer, why worry about the foes of tomorrow

Bring for the cup, for the night passes
- Omar Khayyam

این قافله عمر عجب می گذرد
دریاب دمی که با طرب می گذرد
ساقی غم فردای حریفان چه خوری
پیش آر پیاله را که شب می گذرد

Knowledge and Description in Saadi's Golestan

Saadi's tomb in Shiraz. Taken in 2009.

The main question this extremely interesting discussion addresses is: "why do we need the instructive and ethical writings of Saadi [one of Persia's premier poets] in the age of science and technology?" Of course, this question also addresses the broader question of the role of ethics, religion, and spirituality in the modern world, not just as it relates to Saadi.

Gholamhossein Ebrahimi Dinani,  a wonderful professor has an engaging talk (below in Persian) regarding how the hard sciences and humanities should interact with each other in this regard.

Key quote in the discussion:

"are humans made to serve progress or progress to serve humanity?"

This line is something very key to keep in mind here in the West given our outlook on the role of knowledge in society and our view of history as a progression with the experience of the West being something that the rest of the world will eventually reach with time. The Western experience is thought to be universal, and that given time the rest of the world will conform to liberal Western political, economic, and social models (see Francis Fukuyama's End of History).

But the modern Western experience is one in which spirituality is seen as divorced from the "high sciences." This secular attitude carries certain strong biases which among other things tend to look at complex human phenomena as math equations or chemistry problems. This view of science and knowledge -- one where ethics, spirituality, and God-consciousness are ignored -- is deeply troubling.

Certainly, there has been fantastic scientific achievements made in the modern era, however this does not mean that the beautiful ethical writings and moral instruction of someone like Saadi can be ignored.
 


The point being made in the lecture is that literature and the humanities provide inspiration and narratives (revayat) of reality in which the hard sciences play a role of description (towsif). There is an interplay here in which the hard sciences, so to speak, are tools through which to serve the grander narrations of ethics and piety. Instead of looking at advancing our material positions and scientific understanding for their own sake and having the rest of the human experience subsumed under purely materialistic and non-cosmological thought, perhaps it is appropriate to pay attention to the vast possibilities of rich thought and spirituality before us: the union of scientific advancement and spiritual fulfillment. This is the mission of Islamic intellectualism and one that I hope will become my own life track in which a moral mission and spiritual ambition drive the curiosity and research into the earthly domains of science and the study of  phenomena I hope to undertake.

Indeed, the words of Saadi are apt here:
"
یک شب تأمل ایام گذشته می کردم و بر عمر تلف کرده تأسف می خوردم و سنگ سراچه دل به الماس آب دیده می سفتم و این بیت ها مناسب حال خود می گفتم

هر دم از عمر می رود نفسی
چون نگه می کنم نمانده بسی
ای که پنجاه رفت و در خوابی
مگر این پنج روزه دریابی
خجل آنکس که رفت و کار نساخت
کوس رحلت زدند و بار نساخت

I was one night meditating on the time which had elapsed, repenting of the life I had squandered and perforating the stony mansion of my heart with adamantine tears. 1 I uttered the following verses in conformity with the state of mind:
 
Every moment a breath of life is spent, 
If I consider, not much of it remains. 
O thou, whose fifty years have elapsed in sleep, 
Wilt thou perhaps overtake them in these five days? 
Shame on him who has gone and done no work. 
The drum of departure was beaten but he has not made his load. "




[an interesting historical aside Dr. Dinani stated that I was not aware of: Saadi and al-Ghazali both happened to study in the Nizamiyeh college of Baghdad which was under the supervision of Nizam al-Molk Tusi the great political philosopher]