From Khomeini to Neda

آسمان ایران آشفته و گریان

ز سوز مرگ شیر دختری جوان

باران گریه سرزمین آزادگان

خونش را بشوید بسان مولیان

شود خونش روانه دشت و بیابان

زبهر آبیاری هامون و کوهستان

بهاران لالها بشکفند رقصان

بسرخی خون آن شاداب جوان

زگلش کوزه سازند کوزگران

وانگهی تزیینش کنند سرود سرایان

که بنگر ندا با ماست شاد و خندان

آسوده ز آزادی دیگر جوانان

I remember when I was saying “Marg bar Shah”, Death to King, when an officer kindly told me to go home. I think I was 5 or so. Later I heard quite a bit from my brother, whom I lost for his involvement with Mossaddegh’s movement for democracy and nationalizing oil.

As I was growing up, I was happy with the way the King was running the country. I almost forgot everything my brother had told me, until December of 1978, when I was doing my PhD in Colorado. Suddenly, I setup a short wave radio with amplifier and large speakers in auditorium. All Iranian students were there listening to the radio. We knew a big fight is going on and soon the radio will be taken over by the revolution. I think it was around 4 in the morning when we heard the announcement that the radio had fallen.

Deep in my heart I wanted a democracy, a system of government without any one self-appointed person having unlimited power for unlimited time. That is what I remembered my brother telling me about. So now, his wish had finally come true. I did not care anymore about how the Shah was running the country. We had earned what my brother sacrificed his life for.

I voted for Bani Sadr, and as soon as I earned my degree, I went back to Iran to serve. Well, is this what my brother was talking about? At the time Moussavi, as Prime Minister, was running the country and Khamenei was just the President.

The constitution was still under debate, in particular with regard to the notion of Supreme Leader. Somehow, bottles of votka and whisky were found in homes of relatives of grand ayatollahs, and some died due to heart attach, or something else. Mujahedin-e-Khalgh had put up a great fight against the regime, which is probably why the notion of Supreme Leader became acceptable.

I remember parents being taken for questioning when their children quoted them on something not quite along the lines of Imam (Khomeini). No one had the right to say anything beyond expressing his/her approval of the words of Imam. Actually, under the Shah you could not criticize the Shah, but the news outlets were always criticizing everyone else. Now, I could not even criticize the horrible actions of someone in the street because he was enforcing the words of Imam. Everyone associated with the regime seemed to be a representative of Imam, who was the Shadow of God on earth. So, what on earth was I?

After a few years I left Iran, and never looked back. I decided to read Khayyam, Ferdowsi, Haffez and forget about everything else. I was glad my brother did not live to see this, and I would take the pain for him. Over the years I sometimes thought about what actually happened, and why we got what we got.

Just before revolution, I recalled how American media were reeling the CIA’s role in destroying Mossaddegh, and putting the King back in power. At the time I felt that America was being nice for having done something bad in the past. How naïve of me! But note that the mullahs did not consider that interference with internal affairs in Iran. They were pleased with America’s help to transfer Khomeini to France, and help distribute his taped speeches in Iran.

Iranians genuinely gave their blood for a democracy, and for Khomeini as the leader who promised to let the people write their own constitution, and that he would not be part of the government. I must say, however, Khomeini was a holy person accepting help towards relieving Iran from monarchy. He would not have accepted any help in exchange for anything at all.

However, America was not trying to be nice. The Shah had announced his project for acquiring nuclear energy in order to reduce country’s dependence on oil. Already he had started steel factories, petrochemical plants and several other large projects. In particular, the number of universities in Iran was growing very fast. The only way to put a halt to all of this progress was to shake the country’s foundations and let them fight it for a few years. In the mean time, America could recruit its puppets for representatives, or even presidency.

Khomeini correctly sensed the conspiracy. But the solution he proposed would also violate the notion of democracy. Fighting the Great Satan with a Supreme Leader is only possible in fairy tales. Besides, in a fairy tale, the hero does not die until the happy ending of the story.

The notion of Supreme Leader is in total violation of human rights. For instance, when the Supreme Leader says women must cover their hair in public that becomes The Law. The interpretation of such laws is generally left vague. For instance, if the enforcer does not find a woman attractive to his taste, he may simply cut her hair in public and let her go. On the other hand, if he finds her attractive he may choose to detain her.

A Supreme Leader cannot possibly cover all corners of everything he says. He does not necessarily approve what enforcers do. The problem is in his power to speak the law without any debate with anyone at all, which entirely defies the whole meaning of democracy. When people have no say in the laws that govern them, it is no longer a democracy. Indeed, in this case the dictatorship has penetrated personal lives, beyond countrywide policies.

Neda was more than likely shot for wearing jeans. Obviously, she was not planning on being out of her car for too long. A moment of trying to get fresh air was all that was needed for an enforcer to spot her.

That is the problem with the notion of Supreme Leader. Your life is worthless. What matters are the words of the Supreme Leader, the Shadow of God on earth. The Leader enjoys his authority, and the enforcers take pleasure in carrying out their on-the-site judgments and getting paid for it. You simply exist so the Leader and the enforcer can have an amusing job. After all someone has to work so these people can get paid, very much like cattle that must graze so we can eat them.

I must say that the much greater majority of Iranians, including myself, want an Islamic Republic founded on a democracy derived from Islamic teachings. However, Iranians want a democracy guided by Islamic teachings. Enforceable laws are supposed to be made in a congress, not declared by a Supreme Leader. I certainly appreciate a cleric warning me about the other world. But I would like to make that choice for myself within the constraints of the laws derived from a democratic constitution.

You hear the regime speaking of a velvet revolution. Actually, no one was after changing anything. The reference to the velvet revolution is with regard to people’s right to vote, and have their votes counted. Basically, Khamenei is saying that, people can vote, but he reserves the right to appoint the president.

What Khamenei did not anticipate, however, was the reaction of masses to his divine words. Now, he has started a chain of reactions that will only end with the removal of the notion of Supreme Leader from the Islamic democracy. The sad part is that more Nedas will pay for it with their young blood.