Iran Opinion: "Why The Green Movement Will Prevail"

From Iran News Now:

Sadness to me is the happiest time
When a shining city rises form the ruins of my drunken mind
Those times when I’m silent and still as the earth,
The thunder of my roar is heard across the universe. (Rumi)

It has now been almost six months since those fateful days in June when the people of Iran shattered the false image that the government of Iran had cast of them: that stark image of women clad head-to-toe in black chadors, and bearded zealous men punching their fists into the air chanting slogans of death to the world and holding Americans hostage.

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Six months ago, the blatant rigging of the presidential election in Iran in the favor of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, galvanized the people, after thirty years of forced, fear-induced slumber, to stand up for themselves and assert their will. The world saw a new image of Iran, that of vibrant, intelligent, modern and dignified people, young and old, hand-in-hand, peacefully asserting themselves.

Millions of people bravely entered the streets and in a peaceful, dignified manner they asked, “Where is my vote?” And they received an answer in the form of brutal, barbaric, hate-filled violence. The so-called “supreme leader”, Khamenei, basically said that if the people dared question the results of the election again via street protests, they would pay a heavy price. In his Friday prayer speech on June 19, Khamenei basically intoned that anyone who questioned the results of the election would be considered an enemy and dealt with accordingly. In the lingo of the Islamic Republic, this is akin to a mafia don threatening to kill anyone who questions him and it serves as a green light...that it’s okay to violently crack down on the people.

But the people ignored him and continued their protests. Again and again, they have demonstrated their resistance to tyranny in a way that every human being who values freedom and human dignity can be proud of. And we have repeatedly seen the regime respond with sickening disregard for the most basic human rights....

We all saw the brutal murder of Neda Agha Soltan, when she was shot in the chest by a Basij militiaman. The look in her eyes as she passed is seared into our collective memories. We will never forget it.

So many others have been beaten, tortured, raped, and even killed. And their families have been threatened with detention and violence if they voice any complaint, or if they mourn publicly.

Every single Iranian has felt the talons of this regime tearing into their being in one way or another. Of course, the regime has its supporters and proponents....But the vast majority of Iranians know that they are being held hostage by this regime. The majority of Iranians know that the regime does not represent Iranian interests. The majority of Iranians feel their country and culture are on the brink of destruction by a group of zealous islamists and their mercenaries who don’t even want to acknowledge that Iran has centuries of proud history before Islam.

Let’s be clear about something right here and right now: the movement that is called the Green Movement in Iran, is the Iranian people! The Green Movement belongs to all Iranians who stand for fundamental human rights and dignity. The Green Movement, at is core, wants the same thing that all free peoples have: freedom, dignity, respect and representative government. It is not ideological. It is at its heart, a civil rights movement.

It has been interesting for me to see how every time there is a break between street protests, people start to doubt the veracity and viability of the movement. This is understandable. There is so much pent up energy in the movement. People are literally itching for more action, and when it is not as visible as what we saw in the initial weeks after the election, with millions in the streets, then they start asking whether the movement has died down. Rest assured: the movement has not died down. It is alive and well and moving surely and steadily towards a free Iran that respects and enshrines the civil rights of its citizens.

In less than two days, on December the 7th (16th of Azar in Iran) we will see once again that the people are resisting the regime on National Student’s Day. Students inside Iran are planning major protests throughout the country. We will inevitably see the mainstream media outlets catch onto what is happening too late, with pundits and commentators acting surprised that the movement is still alive.

I will attempt to shed some light on the nature of the movement.

Read rest of article....

Comments

[ange paris]

Scott
Amazing ! at the begining of day I am in tears !

[Roe Lassie]

I really like this article!

I was thinking as I read this article of Montezari's response, especially the bit about not being impatient. I actually think that advice is possibly more relevant to us on the outside watching it all - we are probably the ones who need patience. I'm fairly confident that inside Iran they are going step by step toward their freedom - it's us who get anxious!

I think the timing can be summed up like this:

This is going much slower than I expected, but much faster than spouse expected!!!!

[Doug]

I'm wondering if Rumi is alluding to or saying that prayers are not effective without the spiritual intoxication of the enlightened good people of Iran joining their higher selves against the brainwashing evils of the lords of chaotic hypocrisy, and I'm wondering if it would require such an intense focus on a collective essence with a faith in a powerful collective-spiritual will that it would not seem to be a thing impossible even for a billion butterflies when dodging the birds of evil warriors who worship many flying devils... The communication required seems beyond the physical and how many are ready to be sincere in their prayers, and tolerant of non-believers who don't realize that going with their heart is also an equivalent form of prayer --- a knowing smile of disagreement would let each perceived fool join with the other and let both think they know the joke... Can such miracles happen?

[picard]

Took me a few minutes to realize this was not written by SL, but by someone anonymous writing, and yet purporting to speak for "the greens."

One line speaks to a fair hesitation:

"Let’s be clear about something right here and right now: the movement that is called the Green Movement in Iran, is the Iranian people!"

But of course.

If only it were that simple.