Sunday 5 July 2009

Will Iranian protests bring about substantive change?

The current protest and bloodshed that the world is watching taking place in Iran is much to be admired. Admired for the simple reason that on the surface it looks as though freedom of expression is taking place in a Society that would not normally allow it. It looks as though radical change might come about as a result. As we all know, it would have to take more than the protest we're seeing for substantive change to come about.


Lets go back in time and explore the how the Iranian Revolution or the Islamic Revolution came to birth and in doing so we might be able to answer the question "Will Iranian protest bring about substantive change?" Before the Islamic Revolution, Iran was rules by a Monarchy under Reza Shah. He established an authoritarian government that valued nationalism, militarism, secularism and anti-communism combined with strict censorship and state propaganda. He was a reformist who valued the way of living of the west. He was pushing through agendas that would have clashed with the fundamental rule of Islam. This caused him to clash with the Iranian clergy and mass protest took place but the police eventually quashed it. Thousand were killed and scores were injured. His reign as the Head of Iran ended because of his weakness and closeness with the regime in Germany; at that time and the Americans, The British and Soviet invaded Iran. His son Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi took over as the leader of Iran because he was more Anglo thinking and leaning. With his reign brought fresh problems that were too much for the Iranian to tolerate. Under his rule, the Shah regime allowed foreigners to operate the Oil Industry and share the profits fifty, fifty. Iran saw a total onslaught on their values, and a type of economic colonialisation by the British and USA experience by so many other Countries. Iranians were excluded from all the extravagance and the wealth that was being enjoyed by the foreigners in the height of the oil boom. The Iranians continue to slip further and further into poverty while to their eyes, foreigners were enjoying their wealth. During this time people took to the streets but again this was met with force from the police and eventually quashed without bring about any change at all.

During the reign of Pahlavi his Anglo leaning policies brought about an economic and spiritually disaster in Iran. Pahlavi Anglo leaning policies and friendship with the west brought about a deep-seated hatred in the Iranians peoples mind for the West and Pahlavi because the foreigners were taking their wealth and they were getting poorer. Their culture was also dramatically under attack. The majority of the Iranian population at that time were culturally and religiously conservative and as such see themselves as Martyrs defending Islam. They were also very much unskilled and a much older population.

The massive demonstrations that brought about substantive change in Iran in 1978 was brought because of the following reasons:

· The Islamic Culture was under threat
· There was a major economic crisis
· The West was seen as the enemy
· The population was largely unskilled and more matured
· The death of One of the Ideologue that was blamed on the Intelligence Service SAVAK
The philosophy of the Islamic revolution in 1979 is built on the following: The ideology of the revolutionary government was populist, nationalist and most of all Shi'a Islamic. Its unique constitution is based on the concept of velayat-e faqih the idea advanced by Khomeini that Muslims —- in fact everyone —- requires "guardianship," in the form of rule or supervision by the leading Islamic jurist or jurists. Iran's rapidly modernizing, capitalist economy was replaced by populist and Islamic economic and cultural policies. Much industry was nationalized, laws and schools Islamicized, and Western influences banned.

The current demonstrations in Iran would bring about change but not substantive change, at least not yet. The change that we will see coming out of this demonstration would only be aesthetic not substantive change. The current regime would have to thrust the Country into economic turmoil like that before the Islamic revolution before any substantive change can come about.

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