Those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.Today those pretty words, composed for the president, have proven baseless. Iran's protesters are being murdered and mauled in the middle of the night by the Basij, yet President Obama remains silent. The protesters call his name, but President Obama pretends not to hear.
If President Obama cannot personally summon the fortitude to condemn these outrages and express his moral indignation, he should convene an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Those persons who have taken to the streets of Tehran must be made to know that the world is witnessing both their courage and the turpitude of their tormentors.
Cohen stated that Shia Islam is malleable. He is correct. Unlike the Sunni branch where the words of the Koran are accepted as the literal word of Allah, the Ayatollahs have the right to interpret and reinterpret the Koran according to circumstances. According to the Brown University Muslim chaplin (a Sunni himself), there was an opportunity for Islam to modernize through the Shia religious hierarchy. To paraphrase a neocon interviewed in George Packer's "Assassin's Gate", Jews could relate to the Shia because of their tradition of scholarship, and, for this reason, they were willing to see Shia Muslims in control of Iraq.
ReplyDeleteXerocada, thanks for your comment.
ReplyDeleteAll is relative. Also, there is theory and practice.
Should you visit Lebanon, watch from up close the Day of Ashura. Perhaps this is too visceral a response on my part.
Witness in Iran, however, the barbarism perpetrated against the Baha'is, deemed heretics because their religion was born 1,100 years after Islam and does not recognize Mohammed as God's ultimate messenger.
Change coming from Iran's "reformist" mullahs? They are little more "reformist" than Moussavi, although Moussavi may be adapting real time to circumstances and expectations.
My prayers are with Iran's students; however, if they persist, I expect a bloodbath. Backed by the Revolutionary Guard, the Basij militia, and thugs from their Middle East proxies, Khamenei and Ahmadinejad will be less than malleable.
Marina, thank you for your comment.
ReplyDeleteI agree: there is nothing "reformist" about Mousavi. While he served as prime minister, he was unwilling to tolerate dissent and presided over the execution of many dissidents. But do you think there exists the possibility that Mousavi might now adapt to expectations of protesting students or respond to overtures from the West, were he to receive encouragement from that direction?
I did not see any information about particular demands of the students, other than victory of their candidate. I do not see people pressure authority for "freedom" in Iran. The people have personal economical concerns, not political demands. To the best of my knowledge, most of the people have nothing against the nature of power in Iran. About "respond to the West": everything will be as Supreme Leader will say, and they do not elect their Supreme Leader and do not demand to change him.
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