A lot of videos are circulating on social media platforms related to the recent happenings in Iran. One such video showed a woman protester who, after getting hit by a shell fired by the security forces, could be seen screaming, “I am not afraid. I am dead for 47 years”. It needs to be seen, why Iranians have suddenly turned against their government. In fact, history shows us that people living under a theocracy tend to react violently after a period of time. Why? The answer to this lies in understanding the context of the phenomenon.
Iran is definitely not alone in this. When religion — any religion — is used as a tool to extend one’s hold on power for a long time, people react. The medieval Europe went through the heat of it. When it started to choke under the dictates, indulgences and decrees of the priests, it finally broke the very walls which created the illusion of its protection. Progress in the field of science led to several inventions that facilitated change; the most important in this context being the printing press. The internet, today, is what the printing press was to medieval Europe; a tool to spread knowledge and information at an unprecedented pace.
The newer generations could see the free world and personal choice in terms of religious and social freedoms. Saudi Arabia opened the valve to release some of the steam, resulting in a populist sort of country, though still a kingdom. In contrast, the Iranian theocracy, run by hardline clerics, underestimated the power of fast-paced information exchange. People want social freedoms; they want to live a life of their own choice, not one dictated by some central authority.
Adding to the pressure was the last year’s war between Iran and Israel that shattered the veneer of invincibility that was for long promoted by the ruling clerics. The mention of war is a controversial subject on its own, but it is mentioned just to point to the latest catalyst behind the unrest.
It is getting firmly established now that running societies and wielding power by hiding behind the facade of religion is going to get harder in Muslim societies. Things are changing, and they are, indeed, changing faster than anyone anticipated. Iran is witnessing it today even if the basic trigger happens to be a struggling economy.
BAHADAR ALI KHAN
TORONTO, CANADA
