Some people, I hope they are few, complain that Muslims don't speak out about terrorists claiming to act in the name of Islam. Did we have a lot of Christians in the South who spoke out against the Ku Klux Klan? How many southerners were as strong defending the rights of blacks as Atticus Finch of Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird" How many of us speak out against anybody who unfairly speaks ill of another person or group?
Like any very large group, Muslims have a diverse set of views. Too often, like in other groups, the rigid dominate any discourse. Iran under the Shah was a rigid dictatorship that allowed quite a range of freedom in non-political behavior. Iran under the Ayatollahs is a rigid sort-of democracy that constricts freedoms in many non-political behaviors. Unfortunately, it has become even more rigid and even less democratic since the election fraud of 2009.
As seen in the riots in Egypt, Muslims have a wide range of opinions of what government should be about, not all think that Shari'a law is a legitimate source of government. Remember also that more people showed up to mourn the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi than took part in the attack or justified it.
See also "Exploiting the Prophet", Nicholas Kristof, New York Times, 2012-09-22
One group of Muslims has set out to be a more open religious group that allows for more diversity and less gender or other sexual divisions. It is Muslims for Progressive Values. Among other practices prayer meetings are not segregated by gender and women do lead prayers. They were supposedly changing their website on January 25th, but as of this posting it hasn't happened. If the "Keep It Halal" video is not on the site when you visit, you might find it on YouTube at http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=44UsNBJE2ho&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D44UsNBJE2ho.
Showing posts with label Shah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shah. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Sunday, November 13, 2011
The Iranian Revolution Lives!!
AlJazeera has posted a 47-minute video of the ongoing struggle in Iran, "Letters from Iran".
It is not a pretty story given the brutality of the current regime, but there are cracks. A few in the regime are not happy with what is going on.
Given that hawks in the U.S. are once again raising an alarm about a nuclear-armed "enemy"., I've been mulling over who created the current regime in the first place. Well, not directly, but the CIA and others who wanted a compliant Iranian government overthrew the elected Mohammed Mossadegh to protect "our oil". The CIA was active in putting Shah Reza Pahlevi on the throne. The CIA also helped him by creating SAVAK, a hated secret police. When Khomenei took power, what happened to SAVAK?
While watching "Letters from Iran", I wondered if the Basiji would meet the same fate as those in SAVAK. Guess what, Khomeini converted them into SAVAMA, his own secret police. See "Why did Khomeini absorb the CIA's SAVAK?"
This leads me back to the topic I had been mulling over: You reap what you sow! The U.S. government decides that America's "interests" (not necessarily the long-term interests of the American people, but the short-term interests of certain corporations) must be protected. But the people in the target country don't necessarily agree with the intervention to "protect" those "interests". Eventually they rise up and overthrow the installed government. The result may be better, the result may be worse. In this case, for many Iranians, it was worse.
So, what happens if Israel or the U.S. attacks Iran? Who dies and why? Will only people who support the current regime die? Or will more innocent people die than have been killed by the "Islamic" "Republic"?
Oh, oh! Such attacks could have already started. I was going to end this entry with a reference to Tehran Bureau, a U.S.-based website now hosted by PBS. Its staff does its best to publish as much Iranian news as possible. One of the stories was "At Least 17 Dead After IRGC (Republican Guard) Blast". Iranian authorities claimed the arms depot blast was an accident and that an investigation is underway. But at least one commenter thought that it may have been a U.S. or Israeli air strike.
It could be, the blast story has a link to "Israeli Source Claims Depot Blast Mossad/MKO Operation".
It will probably take weeks or months to sort out what really happened. Even then, who and what shall we really believe? Almost all involved have their own agenda and the truth is not part of those agendas.
It is not a pretty story given the brutality of the current regime, but there are cracks. A few in the regime are not happy with what is going on.
Given that hawks in the U.S. are once again raising an alarm about a nuclear-armed "enemy"., I've been mulling over who created the current regime in the first place. Well, not directly, but the CIA and others who wanted a compliant Iranian government overthrew the elected Mohammed Mossadegh to protect "our oil". The CIA was active in putting Shah Reza Pahlevi on the throne. The CIA also helped him by creating SAVAK, a hated secret police. When Khomenei took power, what happened to SAVAK?
While watching "Letters from Iran", I wondered if the Basiji would meet the same fate as those in SAVAK. Guess what, Khomeini converted them into SAVAMA, his own secret police. See "Why did Khomeini absorb the CIA's SAVAK?"
This leads me back to the topic I had been mulling over: You reap what you sow! The U.S. government decides that America's "interests" (not necessarily the long-term interests of the American people, but the short-term interests of certain corporations) must be protected. But the people in the target country don't necessarily agree with the intervention to "protect" those "interests". Eventually they rise up and overthrow the installed government. The result may be better, the result may be worse. In this case, for many Iranians, it was worse.
So, what happens if Israel or the U.S. attacks Iran? Who dies and why? Will only people who support the current regime die? Or will more innocent people die than have been killed by the "Islamic" "Republic"?
Oh, oh! Such attacks could have already started. I was going to end this entry with a reference to Tehran Bureau, a U.S.-based website now hosted by PBS. Its staff does its best to publish as much Iranian news as possible. One of the stories was "At Least 17 Dead After IRGC (Republican Guard) Blast". Iranian authorities claimed the arms depot blast was an accident and that an investigation is underway. But at least one commenter thought that it may have been a U.S. or Israeli air strike.
It could be, the blast story has a link to "Israeli Source Claims Depot Blast Mossad/MKO Operation".
It will probably take weeks or months to sort out what really happened. Even then, who and what shall we really believe? Almost all involved have their own agenda and the truth is not part of those agendas.
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