Revolution or Dogmatic Theocracy?

Nadia Marques de Carvalho — Wikio

After 30 years of a harsh, totalitarian and dogmatic Islamic theocracy, the June 12 th elections in Iran have provided a platform for people, for the first time, to voice their opinion on not only the vacuum of democracy but also criticise how Islam is being used as a veneer for this abusive, austere and autocratic regime. Ever since Shah Pahlavi was ousted from power in 1979, only to be replaced by a Government led by the Guardian Council, Iran has experienced hard sanctions from the UN which have hindered economic progress, it has been ostracised from international politics and has been deemed a terrorist state by the Israelis. Thus, is it time for Ahmadinejad to be replaced by Mir-Hossein Mousavi or for a complete coup d'etat? The Western media have succeeded in creating this image of a fight between “moderates” and “extremists”, conveniently dividing Iran. People believe that a vote for Mousavi would mean change, but this is far from the truth.

Mousavi served as Prime Minster between 1981-1989, he was hardly seen as “moderate” then. Whether it be Ahmadinejad or Mousavi in power, both condone child execution, will adamantly persist with the production of atomic energy and will continue to support Hezbollah and Hamas. In addition to this, even if Mousavi did favour more liberal policies these would never be permitted by Ayatollah Khamenei – Iran’s supreme leader. I am not suggesting that these men are the same, but that they were opportunely caricatured to depict two very different personalities to the rest of the world, “ a raging nuclear-obsessed man, hell-bent on ‘wiping Israel off the map, and a soft-spoken, learned ‘moderate’ ready to ‘engage’ the West and redeem the sins of his predecessor.” These elections have divided Iran; they have been a catalyst for protests and peaceful demonstration, where the world has witnessed the brutal killings of at least 53 people.

In this article I am not going to argue whether the election results were rigged – that is down to personal opinion (although with a heavily back Zionist media you will most probably believe that they were), I am however going to argue that it is time for change – a revolution. A revolution that promotes democracy – one that brings about women’s rights, freedom of expression and that will restore Iran’s previous glory that it bore in the Persian Empire. Iran is now split – making it increasingly vulnerable to Israeli threats and American intervention (especially as it is surrounded by Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan), but hopefully this split will be an ingredient for a revolution, one that is able to overturn 30 years of the Iranian Islamic dictatorship. By standing up in solidarity for truth, Iranians are showing the world they are ready for a revolution.