On the threshold of a Renaissance
On the threshold of a Renaissance
From one perspective:
1- It is a Renaissance
- It is a revolution
- Belongs to all, it encompasses all
- It is National
2- Its demands are beyond the demands of any political party
- It is National Unity not an inter-party coalition
- It is a single unified front against the regime’s unified front
3- It is a Renaissance
- Requires democratic leadership
- Requires a thinking leadership to organize the public participation
4- The leadership is fully transparent and will share all the goals and objective openly
From another perspective:
1- National Unity
- Not dividing people into different groups or sects
- Not imposing any ideology (Leftist or Islamist)
- It is not without theory and strategy
- Requires theory as a foundation to strategy (where are we going to)
2- Common understanding of the theoretical foundations and the strategy
- Institutionalization of a new social order, conquest and dominion over all social, economical, and political structures by a modern world view and cherished Iranian tradition of justice and human dignity
3- Advancing the common understanding by political activists and the media
4- Organizing the struggles based on understood and accepted theory/strategy
5- Common understanding of the theoretical foundations and the strategy
6- Building the country according to the theory of transition to a democratic system
- Immediate nationwide governmental plans to bring relief and welfare to people
- Total termination and renouncing of fundamentalist policies at all levels
- Institutionalization of democracy and secularism (end the Islamization of economy and politics)
- In the democratic setting, political parties will gain political power in fair elections
- Economic growth, economic secularization, and fair distribution of national wealth
- Foreign policy based on democratic values respecting human dignity
Beyond the Islamic Regime (a theory of national unity)
Iran is on the threshold of the post Islamic renaissance. On the threshold of the kind of developments that happen only once every few centuries. This renaissance has been evolving at least for the last century. It has ebbed and flowed but has been gradually providing a platform upon which the national revolution of 1401 is building upon. This time it will finally materialize.
This renaissance is a response to the pervasive crises that regime’s fundamentalist and anti-modern policies have created in Iran which has led the entire nation to an absolute deadlock in every imaginable sphere of life, be it politics, culture, society, arts, sports, or economics. Moreover, this renaissance promises a free and democratic Iran.
This renaissance is a total and complete sea change in all aspects of life in four corners of Iran. This renaissance belongs to all Iranians from Sistan and Bluchestan, to Kurdistan, Azarbaijan, and from Khuzestan and Gilan to Khorasan.
Today, the Islamic regime in Iran is the main obstacle for Iranian people to realize their demands and therefore, the unconditional removal of the Islamic regime from power is the only way out of the current deadlock and the first step towards realization of this renaissance.
The Islamic regime has turned Iran into a non-society; an anachronic society in which everything is upside down. Therefore, this renaissance will be a democratic transition from an anachronic Non-Society to a modern, secular, free, and normal society consistent with both the values of the modern world as well as cherished Iranian tradition of upholding human dignity and adherence, above all, to justice.
A kind of society in which relationship with traffickers of religion and mere pretense to religiosity will not be a currency interchangeable with prosperity and protection.
A kind of society that power relations are based on the rule of written laws that have been set by the people.
A kind of society in which the Iranian girls and boys will have the opportunity to be the authors of their lives. Every single one of them. In the words of Shervin Hajipour, a society set for an ordinary life.
The conditions for making such a society have never been better in Iran.
A democratic National Union
The process of democratization of an anachronic and desultory society must be a democratic process and all members of the society from every layer must participate in it. This is a national revolution and its cohesiveness is due to national unity.
If building the basic blocks of a modern society and preparations for manifestation of the middle class (such measures as building the bureaucratic infrastructure, creation of national army, building roads and hospitals and in its later stages building the commercial and economical infrastructure in preparations for the participation of the future middle class) was essentially possible through autocratic measures, today, the process of democratization (the final stages of institutionalization of modernity) is only possible through democratic means and public participation.
Democratization and transition to a democratic society is a national project, not a party platform, class struggle, nor a regional demand. It requires total public support.
All social layers of the society, whether students, workers, farmers, entrepreneurs, industrialists, capitalists, writers, and artists must all support the same revolution and can’t separate themselves from others. Just as the tangible and intangible benefits of democracy will be utilized by all people, creation of a democratic society is the direct responsibility of all people.
At this historical juncture, all seemingly different “political persuasions” that are fighting for removal of the Islamic regime and a democratic transition to a democratic Iran, are in reality fighting on behalf of all the people of Iran. They are all in a single national fight on the side of the people and are in fact consonant with all other seemingly different “political persuasions.”
Fighting for democratization is not a fight among different political parties or persuasions.
There are only two fronts in this war, and by extension, only two different political persuasions: One front is the Islamic regime and all its armed thugs under many different covers, and the other front is the people, empty-handed, without any cover, and crystal clear. At this juncture, no other political persuasion is relevant.
It must be noted that in this war, although the regime is armed, organized, and able to utilize all the internal and international benefits of a government in power, it is still declining. The people’s front, is progressing and is expanding its territory every day. The final lines for these two fronts have not been drawn yet. They are still forming. With the progress of the revolution, we will witness further decline of the regime’s forces which in turn will contribute to strengthening the people’s front.
Separating people into different strata or Stratification of the society
At this juncture, separating the people into different political or ideological strata is counterproductive and goes against the process of institutionalization of democracy in Iran.
Of course, this is not to deny the necessity of political parties in a democratic society. This is to analyze the problematic of creation of political parties in Iran in the last one hundred years and to offer solutions for creation of conditions to cultivate effective political parties as guarantors of a democratic political system. A free and democratic country needs effective and dynamic political parties.
But the first condition for the effective parties to emerge and to flourish, is a free society that is on its normal path to progress. Under such circumstances, political parties express different opinions and have different plans about ongoing issues and how to increase the public welfare. This requires the political parties to have a deep understanding of all issues facing a society. Political parties need to earn public trust and have social influence to lead the society. In a democratic society, political parties have studied the social fabric, have a deep understanding of the historical development of the social and economical issues, and based on that analysis, offer solutions that align with the political philosophy of the party. They participate in election campaigns, win votes, and govern the country. When a party is out of power, they work on their agenda and work hard to keep the ruling party responsive to public demands.
Which brings us to the definition of politics; politics deals with distribution all things desired on a national level. For the most part, on tangible level, politics deals with the distribution of wealth of a society. A political party represents a specific economic class. They work hard to ensure that their members get a fair share of the national wealth. Each party has a slightly different definition of the concept of fairness. So, political parties develop political theories on best methods of increasing the wealth of the society and the methods –according to their political philosophy—to serve the interests of its members.
At this juncture in Iranian history, such political divisions are meritless and don’t figure into the people’s struggle for freedom and democracy. If Iranian political parties go through an analysis of political conditions of today’s Iran, they will realize that they are not involved in an inter-party competition but in a war with the enemy of the people. Then they would recognize the historical necessity of national unity to work towards creating the day that political parties are free to compete on political issues inside Iran.
Again, this is not to deny the vast and severe class inequalities and horribly unjust distribution of wealth in Iran. According to government’s records, more than a third of the Iranian population live under the absolute poverty line and about 80% live under the poverty line. And Iran is a rich country. But the fight for a fair distribution of wealth in Iran is a fight between the regime and the people, not within the people’s front. Within the people’s front, all of us must work together to remove the Islamic regime, democratize Iran and achieve a more just system of distribution of wealth.
At this juncture in Iranian history, national unity is an independent political discourse and is not related to the existence and philosophy’s of the political parties. Any attempt to divide people into any subgroups will harm the people’s struggles for freedom and democracy.
Imposition of ideologies
Likewise, imposition of any particular ideology to national unity will fail. Many political activists, mostly with roots in Islamic or Leftist ideology, try to refer to old texts and get the answers before the questions are posed. Iran’s political and economic issues are not at all similar to the eighteenth-century Europe or the beginning of the Islamic civilization. If the Iranian Left utilized Marx’s methodology, they would have reached a conclusion quite different from the dictatorship of proletariat. Likewise, the religious faction is trying to find the answers to all issues, whether, arts, economy, politics, or world cup soccer in an Islamic ideology that has been monopolized by the regime.
A major tenet of the Iranian revolution (and of course basic human rights) is the freedom to think freely and independently. In fact, one of the better definitions of Modernity is human self-assertion into affairs of nature and recognition of human dignity. In short, the theoretical foundation of Iranian revolution cannot be based on ideologies that not only deny the people the freedom (and right) to question, but it provides all the answers before the questions are even posed.
Theoretical tenets and the strategy of the Iranian revolution
But, to accept the historical necessity of the National Unity just by itself and without any theoretical foundation will not be sufficient to lead us out of the current dilemma.
We can’t expect to gather all people from all different political persuasions to fight a single war with the regime without a theory for our unity.
If it was possible to gather a few famous and well-meaning personalities and take a few headlines from people’s demands such as freedom (and consequently the collapse of the Islamic Regime), respect for other’s beliefs (and consequently the collapse of the Islamic Regime), or secularism (and consequently the collapse of the Islamic Regime), this regime would have been overthrown on the first year of its reign. Those of us who demand the removal of Islamic Republic from power must understand that based on the superficial interpretation of people’s demands, we can create hundreds of formulas for unity and strategy. And, none of them would be effective to bring the people together. We have to present a solid definition of these concepts in our political discourse and reach a common understanding of these phenomenon, in order to reach a political consensus and sustainable cooperation. Therefore, a simplistic and emotional presentation of a coalition without a deeper understanding of the tenets of the political objectives, will never produce the desired outcomes.
As long as we have not developed an informed synthesis of the theoretical foundations and historical roots of political development of our country, we will not be able to draw an effective strategy and no form of political structure will defeat the regime.
This means a deep understanding of political and social roots of the process of social development in Iran (beyond the simplistic slogans) at least since the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, the ongoing battles between the reactionary Islamists and modern Constitutionalists since then, and all political developments in Iran all the way to the so called reform movement within the regime and the twilight of the revolution of 1401.
This means that yes, we don’t have a good understanding of these concepts. We must work on that together.
Yes, we don’t have a good understanding of secularism, We must work on that together.
In its simplest form, the theoretical foundation of the national revolution of 1401 is to provide an ordinary life for the Iranian women, youth, and people of Iran. This is not as simplistic as it sounds. It is a profound demand and requires deep analysis and answers to satisfy the people of Iran.
At its most profound level, the theoretical foundation of the national revolution of 1401 is total and complete dominion of a new modern social order and conquest of all social, economical, political, and cultural structures by new values based on culture of modernity and the cherished Iranian values of justice and human dignity.
The fight to remove the Islamic regime from power is a national project. It is independent of the existence or position of the political parties which represent only a segment of the society. Therefore, national unity is not a topic of coalition among a few political parties. Let’s discuss political coalitions to see why.
Political work, even at the level of small parties, requires political plans. The real parties have a social base, have studied the real issues confronted by the society, and have developed a political philosophy beyond just negating the party in power. A political party must therefore be ready, willing, and able to govern the whole country. In a real political coalition, a few real political parties will set aside some of their demands and form a coalition on some very specific political plans to push an agenda forward until the next election. A coalition is a weak unity because it is not based on broad national topic. A coalition has limited mandate. The agreed upon policies are overshadowed by party’s own agenda for the future.
Furthermore, a political coalition is based on short-term agreements and the bases of coalition are temporary political tactics, often ripe with overt or covert political infighting for numerous different plans outside of the coalition. Ultimately, each party is trying to push their own philosophy. The members support the coalition from outside. A coalition of everyone with different political persuasions would give us the current disarray.
As an example of this disarray, we have witnessed the sincere and tireless activities of our celebrities in the past several months. We have also witnessed enough contradictions in their statements. We had hoped that they would develop a common understanding of the demands of the people and the theoretical foundations of the revolution beyond selection of speakers for the protests. We had expected from them to understand and let the world know that the people of Iran are not on the streets because they are hungry and need financial relief. We would expect from them to demand that all the countries of the world to support the struggles of the people of Iran. Instead, we have witnessed op-eds asking the world to stay away from Iranian internal issues. In short, we had hoped that if some can’t stay one step ahead of the movement, at least do not misinterpret it for the world.
Make no mistake, all these personalities have been immensely beneficial and could be even more effective in the near future, but only under the conditions that these activities be within a well-defined platform, they all have a common understanding of it, and all the activities be synchronized towards an ultimate goal.
It is worth repeating that if there are no common understanding of the theoretical foundations, any gathering of any group of personalities will disintegrate in the first operational steps.
If the common understanding is based on an accurate assessment of the conditions on the ground, if the common understanding is based on accepting that what we need is a total sea change and fundamental remaking of our country, then that is too large for a coalition. It can only be achieved through a total national unity.
A political agenda as vast as the total restructuring of the Iranian society can only be achieved by a solid unity of all people. In the national unity, all members support one team from within.
The plan of the national unity must be well defined. The organizational manifestation of the unity must be ready to take positions on the intricate issues of the day. Must be able to detect the direction of the developments of the society and be several steps ahead of it. The national unity must have enough internal cohesion to negotiate with other nations on behalf of the country. Must be fully and totally cognizant of whatever that is going on inside and outside of the country. These are all but a sample of the responsibilities of the national unity.
Contrary to the false claims of the regime’s cyber army, the Iranian diaspora has displayed an impressive and extraordinary level of political maturity in supporting the revolution of people inside Iran. The Iranian diaspora is now able to make the kinds of demands of the western countries that just a few short months ago would have been considered unrealistic daydreams. This level of coordination and collective intellect has stunned the western observers. But let’s take this to the next level. But first we must understand that all these activities have been initiated by personal initiatives or within small groups. With increased common understanding of the theory and strategy of the revolution, these activities should become more organized and more methodical. That day is not far. In a moment of awakening, every one of us, free from preconceived opinions, will notice that we are all saying the same thing and each one of us is the confirmation of national unity. The artificial political persuasions will vanish.
Leadership and Coordination of the struggle
The imperative of an organization and political leadership of the movement is well known. But as discussed, this leadership could not be a rudimental assembly of well-intentioned personalities. This leadership must be a capable cell that detects the pulse of the society and identifies the future of the movement beyond the daily public preoccupations and captivations. It must earn its credibility precisely for having displayed such qualities in order to be able to organize and lead the revolution.
This leadership must move in the opposite direction of the Islamic regime. If the Islamic leadership in 1357 was compelled to deceive the people and hide its reactionary objectives, the new democratic leadership will benefit enormously from being transparent and ask for the people’s participation. At this juncture, the political developments of Iran must be democratic and with full public participation.
This leadership must carefully devise the national goals of the revolution beyond the Islamic regime and propound its solutions to the public.
As such, the removal of the regime will not be an end in itself but as a means to reach the national objectives of creating a democratic society to provide an ordinary life for the people. This method of creation of the leadership is profoundly different from gathering of political activists or representatives of different political persuasions.
If the theory and strategy of a movement is not aligned with the principal direction of a society and its requirements, that movement will decline and diminish with the passage of time. On the contrary, if the movement’s strategy is aligned with the development of the society, all the intentional and unintentional developments of the society and all the intentional efforts of the ruling regime to suppress the movement, will add to the movement’s strength.
The strategy of the social development and the revolution is based on the democratic transition from anachronic society to a modern social order and recapturing our national identity. In order to institutionalize democracy in Iran, we need a precise strategy that is based on a well define theory.
The political plan of the national unity at this juncture is to create an organization to synchronize and to bring order to our international struggle with a transparent leadership, remove the Islamic regime from power, and after establishment of law and order, create a constitutional assembly. The tenets of the plan are as follows:
1- National Unity as the organization to coordinate and lead the revolution
- This organization is neither pro-monarchy nor pro-republican form of government. The organization is defined by its goals and objectives.
- This organization is not inviting the people to unite, it is the manifestation of unity.
- Presentation and dissemination of a political plan through the media for the purpose of enlightenment and mobilization of the widest possible sectors of the society.
2- The theory and strategy of a democratic transition from an anachronic society to a modern society
- Establishment of a new social order as the manifestation of historical evolution of modernist movements in Iran since the Constitutional revolution of 1906 to the present.
- Unconditional removal of Islamic regime from power and total conquest of the present structures by the political arm of the national unity.
3- The National Unity as an independent political discourse
- National unity can only be defined in the context of understanding the historical necessity of instituting a modern system of governance in Iran.
- National Unity is not gathering of individuals. It is a historical necessity for the conclusive establishment of modern sovereignty in Iran.
4- Recognizing the role that Prince Reza Pahlavi can play among the people as a fiduciary and catalyst in democratic transition to democratization of Iran
Pursuing the public discussions on the above topics to clarify the ambiguities that are present in today’s discourse and particularly to understand the role of youth in the democratic struggle is especially important.
