Iran: a backward, fanatical, tyrannical outpost?

Iran is frequently portrayed as a backward and fanatically fundamentalist tyrannical outpost. As a result of constant repetition, most of us believe that we have a fairly accurate image of Iran. But, do we really?

As the premier conservative British daily puts it:

There are countries in the world that we know only through the prejudice of others; countries that we are encouraged to avoid. ...  we think we know about Iran: hotbed of religious zealotry, hater of the West, sponsor of terrorism, and so on. This précis bears little relation to the reality.

See full article, Click on the logo >>

After six years of a comprehensive survey of the Muslim world, Gallup's results show "plainly that much of the conventional wisdom about Muslims -- views touted by U.S. policymakers and pundits and accepted by voters -- is simply false."

Many charge that Islam encourages violence more than other faiths, but studies show that Muslims around the world are at least as likely as Americans to condemn attacks on civilians. Polls show that 6% of the American public thinks attacks in which civilians are targets are "completely justified." In  Iran, it's 2%.

 

 

Buried under a deluge of negative reports, there are some news articles in the mainstream media  that contradict the common view of Iran. It is the aim of this weblog to highlight a collection of stories published in The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, BBC, the New York Times, Reuters, etc. which tell a different story about this much maligned country.

A backgrounder can be found in:  Iran: A Geo-Strategic Brief

Index:

A Newsweek opinion piece highlights the dichotomy: On the one hand we have Norman Podhoretz, the neoconservative ideologist (who was the foreign policy advisor to Rudy Giuliani and whom President Bush has consulted on the topic of Iran) who has written that Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is "like Hitler … a revolutionary whose objective is to overturn the going international system and to replace it in the fullness of time with a new order dominated by Iran and ruled by the religio-political culture of Islamofascism."

On the other hand we have Fareed Zakaria, the editor of Newsweek International,  protest that "for this staggering proposition Podhoretz provides not a scintilla of evidence." ...  “Here is the reality. Iran has an economy the size of Finland's and an annual defense budget of around $4.8 billion. It has not invaded a country since the late 18th century. The United States has a GDP that is 68 times larger and defense expenditures that are 110 times greater. Israel and every Arab country (except Syria and Iraq) are quietly or actively allied against Iran. And yet we are to believe that Tehran is about to overturn the international system and replace it with an Islamo-fascist order? What planet are we on?”

Times of London: Iran and Chile take on the Alps “Skiers are suffering from Three Valleys fatigue and now want new cultural experiences along with the snow. ..... The resorts of the Alborz mountains in Iran have a reputation for “powder snow and off-piste skiing”, said Magic Carpet Travel.”

New York Times, Trend Spotting | Liner Notes "And come spring, Silversea, the company that stocks its ships with goods from Loro Piana and Acqua di Parma, will make stops in Iran; the Silver Cloud is set to dock in Bandar Abbas on its Dubai to Dubai cruise (800-722-9955; www.silversea.com; from $2,937 per person)"

The Other Iran By JAMES VLAHOS Published: February 10, 2008

“If you’re going to get lost, Esfahan (also spelled Isfahan), a city of 1.3 million about 200 miles south of Tehran in central Iran, is an extraordinary place to do it. There’s a centuries-old saying that Esfahan is “half the world,” meaning it contains fully half of the earth’s wonders.”

Iranians held spontaneous candlelight vigils in sympathy with Americans after Sept. 11

The Best of Enemies? By Thomas L. Friedman, Jun 12, 2002 “Quick quiz: Which Muslim Middle East country held spontaneous candlelight vigils in sympathy with Americans after Sept. 11? Kuwait? No. Saudi Arabia? No. Iran? Yes. You got it! You win a free trip to Iran. And if you come you'll discover not only a Muslim country where many people were sincerely sympathetic to America after Sept. 11, but a country where so many people on the street are now talking about -- and hoping for -- a reopening of relations with America that the ruling hard-liners had to take the unprecedented step two weeks ago of making it illegal for anyone to speak about it in public. “

Many in Iran bear the U.S. no ill will    by Michael Slackman, Feb 11, 2008

“America’s image in the Middle East is arguably as low as it has ever been. From the occupation of Iraq to the Israeli bombing of Lebanon to the prisons of Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the United States has been cited in polls as the gravest threat to peace in the region. But Iran is different, even the Iran of bearded fundamentalists … 

Generally speaking, Iranians like Americans, not just American products, which remain very popular, but Americans. While that is not entirely new - Iranians on an individual level have long expressed desires to restore relations between the two countries - the sentiment seems much more out in the open now.”

As per a BBC report “Well over half of university students in Iran are now women.”

“In the applied physics department of Azad University 70% of the graduates are women - a statistic which would make many universities in the West proud. It is a huge social shift since the 1979 Revolution: Iran's Islamic government has managed to convince even traditional rural families that it is safe to send their daughters away from home to study.”

The New York Times reports that Iran’s passion for motorcar racing is well served by its WOMAN ace driver,  Laleh Seddigh

“Ms. Seddigh loves speed. She also loves a challenge. Last fall, she petitioned the national auto racing federation in this male-dominated society for permission to compete against men. When it was granted, she became not only the first woman in Iran to race cars against the opposite sex, but also the first woman since the Islamic Revolution here to compete against men in any sport. What's more, she beat them.” “Ms. Seddigh is a lively, energetic symbol of a whole generation of young Iranians who are increasingly testing social boundaries. Seventy percent of Iranians are under 35, and they have gently pushed for, and received, freedoms unimaginable even a few years ago. For women in Tehran, at least, head scarves are often brightly colored and worn loosely over the hair. The obligatory women's overcoats are now often tight and short.”

Infertile in Iran, by Elizabeth O’Donnell, April 2008

Iran has unexpectedly liberal ideas about contraception and assisted reproduction techniques, the result of pragmatic decisions, and consequent laws, arrived at by Shia interpretations of religious tenets.

The commitment to family planning is a religious and political edict in Iran and part of a progressive initiative that has extended urbanization, influenced healthcare and mortality rates, and educated the public on the cost of overpopulation to families and the planet.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Iran lavishly spends money to reinforce Iranians’ millennia-old spirit of tolerance and empathy for others.

“Every Monday night at 10 o'clock, Iranians by the millions tune into Channel One to watch the most expensive show ever aired on the Islamic republic's state-owned television. Its elaborate 1940s costumes and European locations are a far cry from the typical Iranian TV fare of scarf-clad women and gray-suited men. But the most surprising thing about the wildly popular show is that it is a heart-wrenching tale of European Jews during World War II.”

According to the BBC:

“Although Iran and Israel are bitter enemies, few know that Iran is home to the largest number of Jews anywhere in the Middle East outside Israel."

"There are synagogues dotted all over Iran.” “Today many Iranian Jews travel to and from Israel."

About 25,000 Jews live in Iran and most are determined to remain no matter what the pressures - as proud of their Iranian culture as of their Jewish roots. It is dawn in the Yusufabad synagogue in Tehran and Iranian Jews bring out the Torah and read the ancient text before making their way to work. In one of Tehran’s six remaining kosher butcher’s shops, everyone has relatives in Israel. In between chopping up meat, butcher Hersel Gabriel tells me how he expected problems when he came back from Israel, but in fact the immigration officer didn’t say anything to him. “Whatever they say abroad is lies - we are comfortable in Iran - if you’re not political and don’t bother them then they won’t bother you,” he explains. His customer, middle-aged housewife Giti agrees, saying she can easily talk to her two sons in Tel Aviv on the telephone and visit them. “It’s not a problem coming and going; I went to Israel once through Turkey and once through Cyprus and it was not problem at all,” she says.

Reuters's Fredrick Dahl interviewed the Armenian archbishop of Tehran

“We have the feeling that the government is taking care of our religious heritage, historical churches and sacred sites … This of course makes us happy.” Dahl asks: “Does your community experience discrimination in Iran?” The Archbishop answers: “Not as such … I think it is an innovation from the West, that people are coming and always asking: is there discrimination in this country? I can tell you that I’ve felt discrimination even in the United states, even in Europe.” Dahl asks:  "Do you see a future for the Armenian community in Iran?" The Archbishop answers: “Yes, definitely, our existence is rooted in this soil, in this country … I don’t think we are in danger. If we are in danger it means the whole society is in danger."

Reuters reports: Iran holds its Black Church as symbol of tolerance

“The Shi'ite Muslim country has applied for Qara Kelisa, or the Black Church, to be recognised as a United Nations World Heritage site, to join the Persepolis and other archaeological treasures. "This is a symbol of the co-existence of different religions and ethnicities," said senior conservationist Khosro Farri of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organisation.”

An Interview by Salon's Michelle Goldberg

Nobel laureate and human rights activist Shirin Ebadi discusses the plight of women in Iran, Bush's similarity to Ahmadinejad and why direct negotiations are the only solution

In the fall of 2000, Ebadi, one of Iran's leading reformist lawyers, represented Parastou Forouhar, whose parents, dissident intellectuals, were butchered by government assassins. Their killings, part of a string of murders of regime critics carried out by the Ministry of Intelligence in the late '90s, were perpetrated with particular sadism -- the aging couple were stabbed repeatedly and then hacked to pieces.

In 2000, some of those involved in the murders were finally brought to trial. "The stakes could not be higher," writes Ebadi. "It was the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic that the state had acknowledged that it had murdered its critics, and the first time a trial would be convened to hold the perpetrators accountable."

Senior dissident cleric lashes out at country's Islamic establishment

Iran's most senior dissident cleric has lashed out at the country's ruling Islamic establishment, accusing it of imposing dictatorship and violating the rights of its people in the name of Islam.

The 1979 Islamic revolution toppled Iran's former monarchy to bring freedom and end despotism, but that supposed liberation never happened, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri said in comments released by his office.

Montazeri is one of just a few Grand Ayatollahs — the most senior theologians of the Shiite Muslim faith.

The chairman of Iran's Jewish Council has strongly criticised the country's hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for saying the Holocaust was a myth. In his strongly-worded letter, Mr Yashayaei asked the president how he could justify what he termed the crimes of Hitler.

Mr Mohtamed, the Jewish member of Iranian Parliament who has strongly condemned the exhibition of cartoons about the Holocaust organised by an Iranian newspaper owned by the Tehran municipality.

Despite the offence Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has caused to Jews around the world, his office recently donated money for Tehran’s Jewish hospital.

The Jewish hospital’s director, Ciamak Morsathegh says: “Anti-Semitism is not an eastern phenomenon, it’s not an Islamic or Iranian phenomenon - anti-Semitism is a European phenomenon”

Iran: What Does ‘Exporting the Revolution’ Mean?

by Nazila Fathi, May 7th 2008

Iran's ex-president, "Mr. Khatami said in a speech on Friday that when the founder of the 1979 revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, talked about “exporting the revolution,” he meant making Iran a role model for other countries, not supporting sabotage operations in other countries."

“Iran's complex and unusual political system combines elements of a modern Islamic theocracy with democracy. A network of unelected institutions controlled by the highly powerful conservative Supreme Leader is countered by a president and parliament elected by the people.

For much of the last decade, Iranian politics has been characterised by continued wrangling between these elected and unelected institutions as a reformist president - and, at times, parliament - struggled against the conservative establishment.

But with hardliners' regaining control of the parliament in 2004 and the presidency in 2005, all the organs of government are now dominated by conservatives.” 

 

Determined to "Wipe Israel Off The Map"?
A search on Google reveals over 500,000 web pages that quote US officials quote the president of Iran calling for genocide.

Lost in translation by Jonathan Steele, June 14, 2006

Experts confirm that Iran's president did not call for Israel to be 'wiped off the map'. ... The fact that he compared his desired option - the elimination of "the regime occupying Jerusalem" - with the fall of the Shah's regime in Iran makes it crystal clear that he is talking about regime change, not the end of Israel.

 Ahmadinejad did not say he was going to 'wipe Israel off the map' because no such idiom exists in Persian". Instead, "He did say he hoped its regime, i.e., a Jewish-Zionist state occupying Jerusalem, would collapse". Ahmadinejad's statement should be translated as:

"The Imam said that this regime occupying Jerusalem  must vanish from the page of time"

Some argue Ahmadinejad meant genocide regardless what he said. An example can be found in the Times of London article: "You don't have to be paranoid to want to take these lunatics at their word".

Others dismiss such mind-reading. See New York Times article, "Fathers and Sons".

The Washington Post reported on U.N. inspector’s protest at US Congress inflammatory exaggerations about Iran’s nuclear program.

U.N. inspectors investigating Iran's nuclear program angrily complained to the Bush administration and to a Republican congressman yesterday about a recent House committee report on Iran's capabilities, calling parts of the document "outrageous and dishonest" and offering evidence to refute its central claims.

Officials of the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency said in a letter that the report contained some "erroneous, misleading and unsubstantiated statements." The letter, signed by a senior director at the agency, was addressed to Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), chairman of the House intelligence committee, which issued the report. A copy was hand-delivered to Gregory L. Schulte, the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA in Vienna.

National Intelligence Estimate Key Judgments: Iran: Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities - November 2007

Tehran’s decisions are guided by a cost-benefit approach rather than a rush to a weapon irrespective of the political, economic, and military costs. This, in turn, suggests that some combination of threats of intensified international scrutiny and pressures, along with opportunities for Iran to achieve its security, prestige, and goals for regional influence in other ways, might-if perceived by Iran’s leaders as credible-prompt Tehran to extend the current halt to its nuclear weapons program.

Center for Strategic & International Studies:

 CSIS's Anthony Cordesman analyses the end result of an Iran-Israel nuclear war and concludes  in clear, concise and chillingly forensic style to be the end of Persian civilization, quite probably the end of Egyptian civilization, and the end of the Oil Age. This would also mean the end of globalization and the extraordinary accretions in world trade and growth and prosperity that are hauling hundreds of millions of Chinese and Indians and others out of poverty.  However, after the dust settles, it is Israel that would survive. The only way to win is not to play!

International Atomic Energy Agency

"It is always interesting to read the actual text of reports issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding Iran not only because of what they reveal about Iran's program, but also because of the interestingly partial way various news organizations and governments end up interpreting or representing the report to audiences they are sure will not read the reports themselves."    ( Politics of Reporting on IAEA Reports )

For actual IAEA reports on Iran click on the IAEA logo.

The New York Times reported that the number of foreign fighters joining the Iraq insurgency breaks down as:

Claims about Iranian arms carry familiar lack of proof     Feb. 13th, 2007

"So it's fair to wonder exactly what unnamed Pentagon officials were thinking on Sunday when they called a secretive briefing for reporters in Baghdad's Green Zone to show off an array of weapons supposedly made in Iran to assert that Iran's government is supplying weapons to Iraqi Shiite extremist groups.

The evidence they laid out, like Powell's presentation, was impressive at first glance: mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and armor-piercing explosive devices called explosively formed penetrators, bearing serial numbers that the officials claimed link them to the Iranian regime. Such weapons, the officials said, have killed more than 170 Americans in Iraq in the past three years.

But because the officials, who insisted on anonymity, could offer no direct evidence of Iranian regime involvement, their claims were met, properly, with widespread skepticism."

'NYT' vs McClatchy on Iran's Link to Iraqi Insurgents by Greg Mitchell May 05, 2008
 

Michael Gordon, the military writer for The New York Times who contributed several false stories about Iraqi WMD in the runup to the U.S. attack on Iraq in 2002, has written several articles in the past year about Iran’s alleged training of Iraqi insurgents -- or supplying them with weapons to kill Americans. He produced another major report on this subject for today’s Times – based solely on unnamed sources -- which is at odds with an account today from McClatchy’s Baghdad bureau.

According to the Associated Press:

"The accusations come almost every day from U.S. officials: Iran is seeking a nuclear weapon. Sponsoring terrorism. Killing Americans in Iraq. Intent on Israel's destruction. Yet, some officials add, its government will collapse if only given a push.

Does the U.S. have solid proof that Iran is guilty of such a long list of misdeeds? Or is the case against Iran — and the certainty of its ill intent — a bit fuzzy?

In the buildup to the Iraq war, the Bush administration made allegations against Saddam Hussein that polls show Americans believed, but which later proved wrong.

Now, with U.S. officials leading the pressure on Iran, many Americans are weighing the evidence. Is there a smoking gun or even a smoldering one?"

In closing, thank you for your time.