Apples or Oranges?

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It is with a heavy heart that I refuse to even talk about the state of the film industry and a barricaded House of Cinema of which I was once a member.

An ever growing trend among Iranians from all walks of life is the comparison between problems in Iran and the rest of the world as a means to undermine the severity of the situation in Iran. This form of apologetics is not a recent phenomenon but certainly more prevalent in the past few years. Basically it manifests itself as taking some mundane aspect of life in a foreign country such as the United States, Germany or the United Kingdom and comparing it with similar circumstances in Iran. “There are problems crossing the street everywhere so Iran is no different…” !!

This argument has no intention of justifying shortcomings in other societies. As a matter of fact, I have been an adamant critic of many western societies including Canada. I made an adult choice to be a Canadian citizen and as such, engaged with the problematics of my chosen homeland as responsibly as I could. I don’t think that any of the countries referred to by the neo-apologists of the Islamic Republic of Iran are perfect. In fact, having spent most of my life in European and North American countries, I have a very intimate knowledge of the shortcomings of these societies. As a born Iranian, my frustrations with historical facts in this regard reinforce my apprehensions towards the West and Russia in their various reincarnations.

Despite the aforementioned, I will never be so vulgar as to assume that since there are problems elsewhere, the problems in Iran are the same! What compels me to voice my opinion and encourage recognition and discussion on this subject, is the increasing shamelessness with which those neo-apologists trample upon the rights and lives of countless victims of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Furthermore, their ignorance contributes to the misleading of the International community in assuming that Iran has problems much like any other country around the world. In fact Iran’s problems are grave and extraordinary on every level, domestically and internationally. I rely on the same logic to avoid any comparison between the President Ahmadinejad of the IRI and the apologists who certainly don’t fall into the same camp as him. The president who has taken advantage of the naiveté or ignorance of the mainstream international media by using the same logic in response to key questions about the grave state of affairs in Iran.

Would we ever consider the problems of Nazi Germany or Apartheid South Africa as just other problems that everyone else was facing? For reasons obvious to many by now, the Islamic Republic of Iran is the closest contemporary example to South Africa or Nazi Germany. Here are just a few obvious pieces of evidence;

IRI is the world’s second largest in executing its citizens. Taking the population difference with China into consideration, Iran is the first. To complete their affront to humanity and civility, the IRI shamelessly performs a number of these executions publicly on city squares!

IRI systematically persecutes, imprisons, tortures and executes dissenters. In fact I believe that Iran’s human rights record is worse than that of Apartheid South Africa. The point of the South African discrimination was aimed at Black people and their supporters. IRI viciously persecutes and attacks anyone who thinks differently. The IRI does not discriminate based on skin color, they discriminate based on thought, not even action. This includes, Bahai’s, various political parties, Sufi’s, other denominations within Islam and even women in general. Iranian women are subjected to similar treatment as blacks during the darkest periods of South African history. Right now in 2012, Iranian women are attacked, persecuted, tortured, imprisoned and sometimes raped merely because they don’t conform to some strange dress code imposed by the regime. A woman dressed differently would be treated much like a black person would be treated if they entered forbidden locales in South Africa at the time.

IRI uses vast public resources to develop and impose one of the most vulgar religious indoctrination programs imaginable in this day and age. Children and young adults are the immediate victims of these malicious brain washing efforts.  Many nuances that go unnoticed or at least undiscussed are sickening examples of a fascist stranglehold on a country. For example the non-academic qualifications of University students that are instrumental in a student’s chances for entering or completing their studies. The so-called House of Cinema that was shut down recently was legally and constitutionally obligated to loyalty and expressed allegiance to the Supreme Leader. An obligation that can only be conceived during the Hitler regime or in North Korea. Every Iranian entity whether it be social, academic, sports or arts and entertainment is subjected to the same fascistic impositions by the government establishment. We as Iranians however, would simply overlook them and turn a blind eye until it returns to haunt us at some point, much like an ignored case of syphilis.

There are countless examples of an authoritarian Apartheid-style rule imposed upon every aspect of Iranian society. Even for those who may argue that Iran is far from South Africa or Nazi Germany, there is no denying the fact that the level of injustice in Iran is intolerable and surpasses any threshold of civilized decency. Even if half of the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other similar watch dog’s reports are accurate, the Islamic Republic of Iran is corrupt, inhumane and uncivilized.

The fact that stoning or public execution is a subject of discussion is indicative of the depths of inhumanity that the IRI has reached. The fact that cutting off limbs is not only in the Iranian Criminal Code but practiced, is indicative of the level of abhorrence haunting the Iranian people. The fact that known and convicted murderers, terrorists and thugs are helped by the IRI government and returned to the country with a shameless public hero’s welcome is indicative of the depths of vulgarity with which the country is being governed. The examples are countless and I don’t intend to patronize the reader by itemizing all of them. The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the most corrupt, inhumane and violent governments domestically and internationally. That is a fact.

I wonder if those neo-apologists of the IRI would relate to the problems in Iran as nonchalantly if their sister was persecuted, arrested, tortured or murdered by the thugs in Iran for some mundane reason such as speaking out in university. I wonder if these neo-apologists would be so relaxed in comparing the circumstances governing the education system in Iran with those of Germany if their brother was banned from continuing his education because he spoke out in University. I wonder if the neo-apologists would be so laid back about the situation in Iran if their father had been among the over three thousand executed within the two weeks in 1989 after a 5 minute trial. I wonder if they would be able to raise their heads from shame if their classmate was brutally raped and executed by some thugs in Evin prison and someone brought her wedding paraphernalia to ensure her family that she did not die a virgin or a sinner!  I made a film about this in my time.
I wonder in amazement when I hear someone say, life is difficult everywhere and life in Iran has it’s problems much like anywhere else in the world, like say, Switzerland!

It is with this heavy heart that I refuse to even talk about the state of the film industry and a barricaded House of Cinema of which I was once a member.

bp
January 2012, Toronto

11 thoughts on “Apples or Oranges?”

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  2. Michael: an iranian female blogger (forgot her name) said it best and more poetical than me: “there is now one generation of iranian women who don’t know the feeling of the warm wind in their hair”.

  3. Of course, parts of the Iranian movement, are used by foreign forces to get concessions from the IRI, as we have witnessed the used of some of Iran’s opposition forces as legions of missionaries. In fact, those groups of Iranian political forces, that want military attack of Iran, even among the hard line U.S. forces have lost credibility, because the U.S. knows well that neither Iranian people want a U.S. attack, nor the U.S. attack has any benefit for the U.S. war on terrorism. Therefore, those whom in the opposite direction, still think the biggest issue of Iranian political movement is to prevent a U.S. attack, are either naive or are the IRI supporters and apologists.

  4. Upon establishment of Islamic Republic , the two factions (conservatives and radicals) differed on foreign policy and cultural issues. The radicals (neo-cons) adamantly opposed any rapprochement with the United States and, to a lesser extent, other Western countries, while seeking to expand Iran’s relations with the socialist bloc countries. They advocated active support for Islamic and liberation movements, so called ” export of the revolution “, throughout the world. The conservatives favored a more cautious approach to foreign policy, with the ultimate aim of normalizing Iran’s economic relations with the rest of the world, so long as the West’s political and cultural influence on the country could be curbed.

  5. The first responsibility of a political analyst—morally as well as intellectually—is to get the analysis right. What is “morally deformed” is to continue getting analyses of Iran’s foreign policy and internal politics wrong—episode after episode, year after year, manufactured crisis after manufactured crisis—because of one’s personal sense that Iran is supposed to be a secular liberal state (regardless of what the Iranian people want) and/or that the United States should be able to act as a hegemonic power in the Middle East. On that count, Takeyh and too many other Iran “experts” in the United States have much for which to answer.

  6. The first responsibility of a political analyst—morally as well as intellectually—is to get the analysis right. What is “morally deformed” is to continue getting analyses of Iran’s foreign policy and internal politics wrong—episode after episode, year after year, manufactured crisis after manufactured crisis—because of one’s personal sense that Iran is supposed to be a secular liberal state (regardless of what the Iranian people want) and/or that the United States should be able to act as a hegemonic power in the Middle East. On that count, Takeyh and too many other Iran “experts” in the United States have much for which to answer.

  7. Of course, parts of the Iranian movement, are used by foreign forces to get concessions from the IRI, as we have witnessed the used of some of Iran’s opposition forces as legions of missionaries. In fact, those groups of Iranian political forces, that want military attack of Iran, even among the hard line U.S. forces have lost credibility, because the U.S. knows well that neither Iranian people want a U.S. attack, nor the U.S. attack has any benefit for the U.S. war on terrorism. Therefore, those whom in the opposite direction, still think the biggest issue of Iranian political movement is to prevent a U.S. attack, are either naive or are the IRI supporters and apologists.

  8. M Jay, NIAC doesn’t defend Iran, It defends they tyrannical mullahs at the expense of Iran. They are Hezbollahi’s not Iranians based on the consensus view within Iran. M Jay, What the International community needs to show it is backing for its own credibility is this http://iranian.com/posts/view/post/14113 , this is the smartest act that can be done by the anti war crowd, and while the pro war crowd will hate this organization, the reality is that Iranians within Iran based on their multi ideology participation showed they did not. My own favorite blog on IC http://iranian.com/posts/view/post/10240.

  9. This is quite interesting. The same people who are advocating a change from within, and the same people who do not Think it is a wise idea to have an external stimulus and that they hope and pray to god that the IRI either already has the nukes or are in a process of getting them, and who make recommendations as to some iranian Jokers need to man up and go back and live in iran, Would prefer the comfort of their mansions in Southern and Northern california, while they are waiting for people in iran ,Whom they know very well are under an enormous pressure and mental torture day in and day out and every peep is going to confront them with maximum level of punishment, to rise up and do whatever is necessary to make these changes. How convenient for these people. Maliat ke nadare.

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