Nasser Asgary: Iran: An opening to a better world

In the last 10 to 15 years the world has been a very depressing place to live. One has only to look at rise of Trumpism, thugs running places like Russia, Turkey, and the Philippines; rise of racist and semi-fascist groups to almost gaining state powers in many European countries; defeats of revolutions in the Middle East and the North Africa, etc. to feel how depressing it has become.

We have been pushed so much back, and have endured so much of defeats that the possibility of Bernie Sanders or Jeremy Corbyn becoming presidents or prime ministers has excited us!

Enslavement of human being has made a triumphant return. Trading young girls for sexual purposes in the open markets is a part of daily life in many places that Islamists are ruling! Beheading of people has become a part of today’s news, to a degree that we don’t even see animals to be beheaded like humans are!

We have all looked up to events in Greece, Spain, Egypt, Tunisia, etc. hoping that they could show a way out of this savagery; but only came up empty handed.

There is however a new development in the Middle East. A development that looks promising. I am talking about the recent, powerful protests in Iran that has been going on for more than 5 days now. It has only gathered momentum and has occupied headlines of world news. These protests started from simple economic demands and have quickly turned to political demands that this regime and all of the hardship and miseries that it brought with it, must go. Its symbols, such as hijab and religious seminaries, and other so called sacred places called Imamzadehs, have been attacked and burnt down to ashes.

These events were not thunders in a cloudless sky. Poverty and unemployment, even for the Islamic regime of Iran’s standard, has risen to level that hadn’t been heard of before. The workers strikes and protestations in the last year have been daily. Just as we witnessed how “Arab Spring” revolts started with demands for bread, freedom and social equality, protesters in Iran are demanding very same demands. All signs point to further radicalization of the demands.

For those who have been following the events in Iran, these are very exciting times. It could very well open the gate to a better world!

Jan 2^nd, 2018