Iran's Uprising: Food for Thought

Ever since the Iranian revolution stunned the world in 1979, the Arab world, or at least the Arab regimes and their allies in the West, have been obsessing over Iran's "exporting of the revolution" and the implications it would have on the Arab world. Eventually, this obsession manifested itself into a Sunni-Shi'a divide. Rumors and speculations quickly spread across the Arab world about the Islamic Republic's plans to spread Shi'ism across the Middle East, hence terminologies such as, "Shi'a Revival" and "Shi'a Crescent" have emerged, fueling fear and suspicion amongst Arabs across the region.

Arab rulers feared Iran's governance system, known as wilayat al-faqih (guardianship by a jurist) would appeal to their populations. Wilayat al-faqih holds that in an Islamic state, a divinely anointed scholar of Islamic law must exercise unquestioned authority over elected officials and the rest of the government. This has not materialized; however, something more powerful may have: the powerful images of popular demonstrations against the Iranian government serving as a reminder to Arab rulers of their vulnerability.

During a recent visit to France, the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani has praised "Iranian democracy" and said that Iran has "witnessed four presidents since the Iranian revolution thirty years ago" while in contrast "during this [same period] the presidents in some Arab countries have not changed, and so this shows that Iran practices democracy."

The Libyan President Mu'amar el-Qaddafi has been in power since 1969, the current Yemeni's president Ali Abdallah Saleh since 1978, and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak ranks third, ruling The Land of the Nile River since 1981, earning him the title "pharaoh" amongst those who dare to speak out on the streets of Cairo. As we say in Arabic: Allah Yutawal Omerhom, may God grant them longevity.

Those leaders and others may have a lot to worry about as Iran's demonstrations have caused many in the Arab world ask to themselves why they cannot do the same. This might not be evident in the media, but all you have to do is talk privately to some of the youth and read the blogs. Although Iran failed to penetrate the Arab world with its 1979 revolution, it may have succeeded with the recent popular uprising.

While watching news clips from a variety of television networks, the images of smoke, tear gas, small fires, protesters being beaten up by the police and military remind me of another situation that has been going on for decades. Can you guess where?

Now here is a question to all those "brave, fair and balanced" journalists, pundits, bloggers and analysts in the U.S. who have been using strong terms to condemn the Basij and the Iranian government's crackdown on demonstrations, such terms as brutality, murder and horror: why can't you use the same language when you watch and film Israeli soldiers beating Palestinian children in the town of Bil'in, or when they evict a helpless widow from her ancestral home and throw her out to the cold? Why?

Jamal Dajani produces the Mosaic Intelligence Report on Link TV.

Follow Jamal Dajani on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jamaldajani

Comments

[Yaqub]

My comment: part one

Every now and then God sends a prophet to His children then waits to see what will happen. We humans want and expect too much of ourselves and of others. It begins as a small family dispute sometimes. The first branch. Two new paths. Centuries later it is as an ingrown, cultural necessity, this schism between brothers and sisters. We humans define our parameters then work to defend them sometimes to the exclusion of all else but so often in the name of God. Shia and Sunni the children are, with others yes. With such seeming facility they fail to understand that God allows us to squabble amongst ourselves in the hope that we will someday achieve wisdom. They neither know nor care that God has no preference as to the matter of temporal succession. The fires of desire burn brighter than the voice of any angel no matter how close to the ear he may be.

[wereeverywhere]

Juan Cole, who called fraud from day 1 on this election, sites some specifics:
http://www.juancole.com/

Chatham House Study Definitively Shows Massive Ballot Fraud in Iran's Reported Results

An authoritative study from Chatham House (pdf) , the renowned UK think tank, finds that with regard to the official statistics on the recent presidential election in Iran released by the Interior Ministry, something is rotten in Tehran.]

As I had noted earlier, the official results ask us to believe that rural ethnic minorities (some of them Sunni!) who had long voted reformist or for candidates of their ethnicity or region, had switched over to Ahmadinejad. We have to believe that Mehdi Karroubi's support fell from over 6 million to 330,000 over all, and that he, an ethnic Lur, was defeated in Luristan by a hard line Persian Shiite. Or that Ahmadinejad went from having 22,000 votes in largely Sunni Kurdistan to about half a million! What, is there a new organization, "Naqshbandi Sunni Sufis for Hard Line Shiism?" It never made any sense.

The numbers do not add up. You can't have more voters than there are people. You can't have a complete liberal and pragmatic-­conservati­ve swing behind hard liners who make their lives miserable.

The election was stolen. It is there in black and white. Those of us who know Iran, could see it plain as the nose on our faces, even if we could not quantify our reasons as elegantly as Chatham House.

[JackRusselTerrier]

I was wondering when an article like this would be written. I also think it could effect things here in the USA.. Americans where so passive in 2000. That may change after so many Americans have seen the demonstrations in Iran.

[newsjunkie5]

I love how the West always cries out election fraud even when they were not involved with the process at all.

The US always has to blame election results on fraud when they are not happy with the victor!

Boo-hoo poor US!

[joz22]

Did everyone forget about our own election history? Bush-Gore does this ring a bell?

[jad114]

The Palestinians had elections which were monitored by the international community but when Hamas won to our disliking and Israel's we started to cast doubt on them. The US has a history in meddling with the will of the people.

[BiBiJan]

Dear moderator,

A poster on this thread, ModernTimes1, has mentioned "the opium of Muslims." , and in another post he says: "And this precisely what Mr. Dajani wants to do. To deflect attention from the paymaster of Hamas, Iran, And to the usual bete noir all Muslims feel comfortable bashing. And many Muslims posters here happily oblige."

I wonder how he classifies Oxford professor of international relations Avi Shlaim who served in the Israeli army and has never questionedIsrael's legitimacy.

He was pulished in the Guardian: How Israel brought Gaza to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/07/gaza-israel-palestine

[ModernTimes1]

Hey, Ahamadinejad and Ayatollah Khamenei demand manual recount of Holocaust victims.
Why can they agree to a recount of an election in their own country?!
LOL

[Hass]

ummm...because there's no actual evidence of election fraud in Iran to start with?
Every claim about vote rigging has a perfectly reasonable and rational counter-claim. See IranAffairs.com

[ModernTimes1]

"Every claim about vote rigging has a perfectly reasonable and rational counter-claim"
Only to a fundamentalist.

[BiBiJan]

"When he “denies” the “myth” of the Holocaust, he is not denying the Holocaust, he’s not even discussing the Holocaust as an historical event at all. He is denying the validity of the use to which the story of the Holocaust is being put."

http://lawrenceofcyberia.blogs.com/news/2006/07/everything_you_.html

But, hey, the cannard has worked so well, cannot blame you for keeping on trying.

[ModernTimes1]

Huh?
Ahamdienjad claims Holocaust is a myth, therefore he's not denying Holocaust?
What shameless nonsense.

[jad114]

Never heard them saying this!

[cohen238765]

I can't believe it!

Why can't they leave the issue of the Holocaust out of it?

[newsjunkie5]

I'm just curious about the media blogging happening in Iran...is the regime not able to stop the flow of information through the internet, such as the use of Twitter...not that I would want them too...I do believe and fight for freedom of speech, but I am just wondering WHY or IF the reigme has tried to shut down internet communications?

Does anyone out there know the answer to this?

[Hass]

Who cares? Do you really think that the Iranians who twitter or facebook really represent a large percentage of the population there?

[wereeverywhere]

Who cares about free speech? Let's just say I hope there's some revolutionary justice for those responsible for a clamp down on free expression from the inception of IRI. They've continued the legacy of SAVAK. Long live a free Iran.

[leonardox1]

Bravo Mr. Dajani! You are an equal opportunity critic! You've managed to rile up the pro-Saudi, and pro- Israeli groups in one article.

[justice2008]

I can't agree more.

[ModernTimes1]

Certainly. I assure you no criticism of Iran, Syria or their proxies Hezbollah or Hamas will ever emerge from the penmanship of this worthy gentleman.

[BiBiJan]

And I guess this was meant as praise!

"While watching news clips from a variety of television networks, the images of smoke, tear gas, small fires, protesters being beaten up by the police and military"

[jad114]

I suggest you read his previous blogs!

[BassMonk]

Your assurance is worthless.

[alexa07]

Jamal,
Thanks for posing the question about the double standard on news about Palestine at the end of your article. It could not be more true to anyone who was comparing CNN, MSNBC, ABC et al coverage of the war on Gaza to how the international & alternative, non-corporate media was covering the same series of events: Euro News, DW, Al Jazeera English, as well as your excellent Link TV newscast "Mosaic." The voices of citizen journalists in Gaza were being just as articulate & resourceful as the Iranians, but you had to be outside the corporate media of the USA to hear them.

"Now here is a question to all those "brave, fair and balanced" journalists, pundits, bloggers and analysts in the U.S. who have been using strong terms to condemn the Basij and the Iranian government's crackdown on demonstrations, such terms as brutality, murder and horror; why can't you use the same language when you watch and film Israeli soldiers beating Palestinian children in the town of Bil'in, or when they evict a helpless widow from her ancestral home and throw her out to the cold? Why?"

[newsjunkie5]

Why is every world crisis or event always tied to Israel?

Why is Israel always blamed for anything that goes wrong in someone elses country?

I'm tired of journalists and the media always using Israel as a scapegoat!

[BiBiJan]

Why is every world crisis or event always tied to Israel?

Momentary lapse.

Of course every world crisis or event should correctly always be tied to Iran.

[cohen238765]

Blame should be accurately placed on those who deserve it. I think that's what everyone can agree on. No matter who is to blame.

[justice2008]

Why do you complain about the refernce toIsrael? What about Mr. Dajani's criticism to the authoratarian regimes in the Arab world?

[ModernTimes1]

For Mr. Dajani, any event in the world begins and ends with a propaganda point about Israel.
Indeed the entire blog was most likely put together as an excuse for the last sentence.
Gotta love the adulation of Iranian democracy (?) thrown in. Such statements are unique to Hamas supporters, an Iranian proxy.

[newsjunkie5]

Maybe because we all need to take a closer look at Israel and its involvement!

[ModernTimes1]

And this precisely what Mr. Dajani wants to do. To deflect attention from the paymaster of Hamas, Iran, And to the usual bete noir all Muslims feel comfortable bashing. And many Muslims posters here happily oblige.

[leonardox1]

Who are you kidding? Mr. dajani does not have to point out the Israeli abusive policies against the Palestinians. You can read about them in the israeli media!

[cohen238765]

What Mr. Dajani points out in this article has been evidenced elsewhere too. I don't think he is trying to solely point a finger at Israel.

[justice2008]

ModernTimes1: Pleeese spare me! Sometimes the truth hurts!

[ModernTimes1]

What truth? That a discussion of any subject in the world is immediately turned to Israel? You call this truth?! A therapist would call it an unhealthy obsession.

[joz22]

Sounds like aipac talking!

[Hass]

There's no actual evidence of fraud in the Iran elections. Every claim about vote rigging has a perfectly reasonable and rational counter-claim. See IranAffairs.com for more FACTS about the alleged election fraud in Iran.

Don't believe what you're told. THINK: WHY WOULD THEY RESORT TO FRAUD when the opposition leader, Mousavi, is very much a regime insider and hardly a threat to the system?

[BiBiJan]

Hass,

Check this out:

http://www.bibijon.org/iranimage/articles/Iran-election.htm

[Hass]

Thank you that was very informative. I like that site a lot.

[newsjunkie5]

I agree with you Hass. I don't think there was any fraud or vote rigging in the Iranian elections. Everytime the US doesn't like who is elected in a country they cry FRAUD!

What about our own elections...why don't we start looking inward instead of outward?

[wereeverywhere]

If you cannot look inward and outward at the same time, you're in danger of shilling for IRI. There's plenty to despise in US legacy, but why be blinded to the human rights cesspool that is IRI ?

[joz22]

As usual US journalists jump on the bandwagon when they know the will not get attacked for writing about a controversial issue like the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Iran however is fair game!

Thank you Jamal for being honest as usual!

[jad114]

We can only criticize who we deem enemies and undemocratic. The US will not criticize Saudi Arabia or Israel.

[ModernTimes1]

I don't know who is this"we" you talking about. Both Israel and Saudis have received its fair share of criticism in American press.
And yes, we tend to criticize Iran, a SELF-DESCRIBED enemy of U.S. with a stronger language. So what.

[BiBiJan]

And, I don't know who is this "we" you're talking about. You and your neocon buds?