Tweet
Another look on Iran
Iran has been quite in the spotlight of the media in recent times. Be it with its nuclear ambition or its call for the “death of Israel”. Here are some some things about that country quite a few might not know yet (while certainly some do).
Irans are not Arabs (and the reaction if you would call them arabs might be similar to the one you get if you go into a Scotish pub and call the people there English), and most of the Iranians are Shi'its (like the the majority of Iraq is too. Most of the muslin world, including Saddam or Osama, are Sunnit).
Everyone here knows (and loathes) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran. Part of the hardliners he is infamous for threatening doom onto the “big and small Satan”...but he is not really the guy who is in charge there. The true power of Iran lies at the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the 'Council of Guardians'. They decide who is in command of the armed forces, who is allowed to run for election, they can veto any decision made by others branches of the government, and axe anyone who steps out of line. They are the reason why Iran is in the state it is, and why the groups who want reform (who are actually in the majority) are unable to change anything. Most of their candidates are not even allowed to run, and even if they get elected into office, all their attempts at even the modest reforms get vetoed.
And the need for reforms is huge. Iran has an unemployment rate of about 40%, most of the people are mad about the current state of affairs. They want more jobs, more freedom (media, speech, or simply what you are allowed to wear), more opportunities. While there are those who really wish 'death to America' their number is surprisingly low, and even shrinking. Most are more busy worrying about their own lives, instead of wishing death to someone elses, but the government tries desperately to fuel the hate. As long as they can blame the U.S. And Israel the people might not blame them for what's going wrong.
One of example of this I heart of a student (Iranian-German, now living in Germany) was an anti-US-rally at a university he saw from a nearby cafe. It was rather small maybe around 200 people with a few Signs, but there were at least three tv crews of the Iran TV there. Later he saw a report of the protest on TV and the way the camera showed the people and it was described the protester numbered in the thousands and not in a few hundreds. According to him it gets harder and harder for the government to get any significant number of people to those kind of rallies.
Esspecially the young urban population is very liberal (uhm in the German sense of the word..not the American one, I.e. not 'left' but uhm..'pro-freedom'. Sorry I don't a better English description that would not be in danger of being misunderstood), but their problem is that in the cities the grip of the police is at the strongest and even a dresses with sleeves a few cm to short can get a woman into trouble. As a result they tend to spend their evennings and weekends with driving away from the city and their watchful eyes to find at least a bit freedom outside the city for a while. Those hours are often spend with improvised dancing and music events (western music is very popular, but also Iranian music. Iran has a surprisingly big underground metal scene. Of course if caught this carries huge danger)
Another thing is, almost ALL Iranians watch more or less the same shows we do in the west. While satellite receiver are illegal, you can still find them at every house, even within the cities. According to the Iranian I mentioned earlier sitcoms and casting shows are currently the most popular ones, and even shows like 24 or lost are watched by many. Another thing they are crazy after is football. If you plan to strike against Iran..wait until the enxt world cup. They would not even notice it, as long as the broadcast don't get disturbed.
While many of the things I mentioned sound rather positive or at least hopeful, the problem is still there that the grip on the power of the Supreme Leader and the Council of Guardians is still very strong, and if a western military strike in the next years would become necessary most people would rally behind their government as it pretty much all people do when attacked (or feeling attacked) by an outside source, and this would destroy pretty much hope for a reformed Iran for quite a while...but on the other hand I doubt that any reforms would come soon enough even if Iran is left alone.
Iran has been quite in the spotlight of the media in recent times. Be it with its nuclear ambition or its call for the “death of Israel”. Here are some some things about that country quite a few might not know yet (while certainly some do).
Irans are not Arabs (and the reaction if you would call them arabs might be similar to the one you get if you go into a Scotish pub and call the people there English), and most of the Iranians are Shi'its (like the the majority of Iraq is too. Most of the muslin world, including Saddam or Osama, are Sunnit).
Everyone here knows (and loathes) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran. Part of the hardliners he is infamous for threatening doom onto the “big and small Satan”...but he is not really the guy who is in charge there. The true power of Iran lies at the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the 'Council of Guardians'. They decide who is in command of the armed forces, who is allowed to run for election, they can veto any decision made by others branches of the government, and axe anyone who steps out of line. They are the reason why Iran is in the state it is, and why the groups who want reform (who are actually in the majority) are unable to change anything. Most of their candidates are not even allowed to run, and even if they get elected into office, all their attempts at even the modest reforms get vetoed.
And the need for reforms is huge. Iran has an unemployment rate of about 40%, most of the people are mad about the current state of affairs. They want more jobs, more freedom (media, speech, or simply what you are allowed to wear), more opportunities. While there are those who really wish 'death to America' their number is surprisingly low, and even shrinking. Most are more busy worrying about their own lives, instead of wishing death to someone elses, but the government tries desperately to fuel the hate. As long as they can blame the U.S. And Israel the people might not blame them for what's going wrong.
One of example of this I heart of a student (Iranian-German, now living in Germany) was an anti-US-rally at a university he saw from a nearby cafe. It was rather small maybe around 200 people with a few Signs, but there were at least three tv crews of the Iran TV there. Later he saw a report of the protest on TV and the way the camera showed the people and it was described the protester numbered in the thousands and not in a few hundreds. According to him it gets harder and harder for the government to get any significant number of people to those kind of rallies.
Esspecially the young urban population is very liberal (uhm in the German sense of the word..not the American one, I.e. not 'left' but uhm..'pro-freedom'. Sorry I don't a better English description that would not be in danger of being misunderstood), but their problem is that in the cities the grip of the police is at the strongest and even a dresses with sleeves a few cm to short can get a woman into trouble. As a result they tend to spend their evennings and weekends with driving away from the city and their watchful eyes to find at least a bit freedom outside the city for a while. Those hours are often spend with improvised dancing and music events (western music is very popular, but also Iranian music. Iran has a surprisingly big underground metal scene. Of course if caught this carries huge danger)
Another thing is, almost ALL Iranians watch more or less the same shows we do in the west. While satellite receiver are illegal, you can still find them at every house, even within the cities. According to the Iranian I mentioned earlier sitcoms and casting shows are currently the most popular ones, and even shows like 24 or lost are watched by many. Another thing they are crazy after is football. If you plan to strike against Iran..wait until the enxt world cup. They would not even notice it, as long as the broadcast don't get disturbed.
While many of the things I mentioned sound rather positive or at least hopeful, the problem is still there that the grip on the power of the Supreme Leader and the Council of Guardians is still very strong, and if a western military strike in the next years would become necessary most people would rally behind their government as it pretty much all people do when attacked (or feeling attacked) by an outside source, and this would destroy pretty much hope for a reformed Iran for quite a while...but on the other hand I doubt that any reforms would come soon enough even if Iran is left alone.
Comment