Another interpretation of Iranian politics
Rebecca Small who teaches at Herndon High School in Virginia recommended this Washington Post article after I had clipped it out to recommend to you. Great minds (I hope) thinking alike, and all that. Thanks, Rebecca.Thomas Erdbrink, writing in the Washington Post offers a slightly different interpretation of Iranian politics than the reformist vs. conservative paradigm that is most often seen.
In the version described by Iranian analyst Mehrdad Serjooie, the important political cleavages are between generations and between clerical and non-clerical leaders.
Iran's Clerical Old Guard Being Pushed Aside
"After Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's followers toppled a U.S.-backed autocracy in Iran, he brought to power a coterie of politically engaged clerics who sought to create the world's first Islamic republic. Nearly 30 years later, a new generation of politicians is sweeping aside those clerics, many of whom had become proponents of better relations with the West and gradual steps toward greater democracy.
"The newcomers are former military commanders, filmmakers and mayors, many younger than 50 and only a few of them clerics. They are vowing to carry out the promises of the revolution and to place Iran among the world's leading nations...
"Analysts say the purging of those clerics strengthens President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the most prominent leader of the new generation, and will result in a smaller political class that is more beholden to the supreme leader and less tolerant of even internal dissent.
"'The newcomers don't have the same power base as the old guard,' said Mehrdad Serjooie, a political analyst and former journalist. 'They have no reputation dating from the time of the revolution, no direct access to oil money and no important supporters.'...
"The struggle began almost four years ago with the surprise election to parliament of a majority representing the newcomers, and it continued with Ahmadinejad's presidential victory and the subsequent replacement of tens of thousands of experienced government managers...
"Ahmadinejad's faction, which calls itself "principalist," consists of newcomers who say they want to act according to the principles of Islam and the revolution. Many members are former commanders in Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, a force created after 1979 to protect the revolution. Members of another, more technocratic group have similar ideals and backgrounds but are at odds with the government on how to implement those principles..."
Labels: Iran, leadership, politics
posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:40 AM
1 Comments:
Rebecca Small added this comment and question:
"The gist of the article is that the new caididates who have been allowed to stand for elections are essentially non cleric radicals loyal to the current Supreme Leader as opposed to the first one.
"I wonder though, on what basis the
local councils are disqualifying
clerics? I thought the review process had more to do with being an observant Muslim."
That's a good question that is not obviously answered in the article.
I think the implication is that the disqualifications are being done for political, not religious reasons.
I base my understanding, in part, on this quote that isn't in the excerpt above:
"'These newcomers are pushing the followers of the imam out of power,' said cleric and political veteran Rasoul Montajabnia, using an honorific to refer to Khomeini. 'We are being dealt with disloyally.'..."
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