Characteristics of the Alternative to the Islamic regime of Iran

Iranian.ws:

The experience of Islamic revolution in Iran proved once again that mixture of politics and Islam, in the world, which is divided into nation-states and the governments, which are designed to follow the national interests, does not work. For a long time in Iran (hundreds of years), religious people had claimed that all problems in the society came from non-observance of Islamic rules and if religious Islamic leaders become political masters in the society, everything would be in order and justice would prevail all over the state.

More than two decades of Islamic government in Iran has showed clearly that the idea was not working. There is no doubt that the people of Iran are less religious and more under-developed now, compared to twenty-six years ago. The Iranian experience had a great deal of impact on many Muslim countries. The tide of Islamic revolutions in all these countries has died. The Islamic revolution should have happened in countries like Egypt and Algeria much sooner than Iran, but the experience of Iranian revolution stopped them. No great Islamic revolution is in the making. On the other hand, many people in all Islamic societies are trying to separate their religion from politics. What is happening in Iran at the present juncture is a clear struggle by the people of Iran to get religion separated from politics. There is no other way. Anyone, including all Muslims and any government, especially the U.S., that wish a better life for the people of Islamic countries and similar states, and also seek international peace and development should help the cause of separating religion from politics.

At the same time, one of the most important points that have helped the present regime of Iran, with all its incompetence and unskillful management to remain in power is the discussion about the alternative? As soon as the discussion begins about the shortages and problems of the present regime, the question comes to the mind that what is the alternative to the present regime of Iran? Who are the forces that are or claim to be the opposition? Which of them are proper for a popular support? READ MORE

I do not have a clear response to that question. But here are the characteristics of the future government of Iran. The future regime of Iran (whatever it is called) must have the following characteristics:

(1) Secularism. This means that the people are sick and tried of religious extremism. The religion is a personal thing and it should be confined to the private life of the people. Whoever tries to impose religious things on the people should be stopped in proper ways. Imposing ideas is against the freedom of expression and violation of the people?s rights. The religion should be separated from the state administration. A special organ should be established to find and discards the religious notions from the state affairs.

(2) The revival of the Iranian identity- the present religious government of Iran has been trying to disconnect Iranians from their glorious past. Although Iranians have received Islam through Arabs, but they do not feel any respect to the Arabs for the same fact. Many Iranians still feel the humiliation of an imposed religion. Some Iranians believe that Islam was planted by the Iranians in the Arabia, which was a part of lands ruled by Sasanid and other Iranian dynasties. Also a number of Iranians believe that what we hear about great Islamic civilization is in fact the Iranian rich heritage captured and redistributed by Arabs who lived in nomadic tribes of Arabia at the advent of Islam. Therefore, Iran needs some kind of "De-Arabization". Iran is not an Arab country, contrary to what may Westerners think, and it is not a deeply Islamic country. The people of Iran are not serious Muslims and they do not intend to be so. Unfortunately, the present Government of Iran that does not represent the people of Iran, has taken policies that is against the Iranian ideas and interests. The Government of Iran, which has taken the power through a creeping coup and it is called "the Second invasion of Iran by the Arabs", has been killing itself during the last 26 years to make the people more Islamic but the product of all those efforts are in vain. The people of Iran at the moment are less Islamic than the time of the previous regime. The regime has taken so many steps visibly and invisibly to impose, attract, lure, deviate, make interested or push the people toward Islam and it has failed.

(3) Respecting human rights as mentioned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Some years ago I was really curious that many religious officials in Iran, when faced with the question of human rights abuses in Iran (reports of various human rights organizations and groups such as the UN Commission on Human Rights in this regards) claimed that the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights is not enough to cover the whole body of human rights and Islam has more "rights" for "human beings". Later, I came to know that they only refer to their own followers as human beings and of course they were ready to grant more rights (in the expense of others) to those who consider them as the sole representatives of God. They did not consider "the others" as human beings at all. They were supposed to be some kind of talking animals that bear no rights. The new government of Iran should observe the Universal Declaration of Human rights and should respect the obligations accepted by the state of Iran regarding the United Nations Covenant on the Civil and Political Rights and also the UN Covenant on the Economic Rights.

(4) Equality of women in all aspects with men as a principle. Islamic rules, as interpreted by many Islamic experts are against the equality of men and women. There are many points that differ in Islam and the UN Convention on Eradication of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. It goes without saying that the women as the equal people have all of the rights that men enjoy them. The nomadic norms of the ancient barbaric Arabs cannot be the basis of law in a modern nation-state. The Islamic rules about women should be discarded totally as the materials against the human rights and human dignity.

(5) The government must be elected. The people of Iran like almost all peoples in the world are seeking a democracy for their country. They have been struggling for this purpose during the last hundred years. Iranian people were far earlier than many other nations in these regards. Unfortunately, the efforts of Iranian people for getting to democracy have been undermined by various internal and external elements. The 1979 revolution in Iran was one the latest efforts of this nation to get democracy but again it has been deviated by a minority of religiously narrow-minded persons.

(6) Changing the Iranian calendar to an Iranian form. It is meaningless for Iranians to choose something in the Arab history as the basis of the history. The Iranians had a great civilization before the developments in the Arab regions and something like the date of the first universal declaration of human rights, issue by Cyrus the Great, must be the basis for the Iranian calendar. "This is a necessary goal for the new regime".

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(7) Free economy based on the market and the governmental supervision. Centralized economy is a bad idea. Iran has suffered a lot due to the economic policies of the religious zealots who have tried to impose the Marxist economy under the Islamic disguise. The new regime of Iran must stay away from the centralized economy.

(8) No interest in the issues of Arabs and the Palestine. Iranians do not care what is the issue of Palestine. The Arabs in their part have many negative approaches to Iran. Apart from the fact that Iranians were always called as alien (Ajam) and Zoroastrian (Majous), they were responsible for the biggest division in the Islam. Sometimes Iranians are called Rafezi, meaning those who are far from the religion of Islam or they have left the religion. Even today, some groups, like the followers of the various factions in Iraq constantly call the Shiites of Iran as Rafezi. Many of the Arabs do not consider Iranians as Muslims. Syria, headed by the Hafiz Assad was the only Arab country that supported Iran in international forums and some Arab gatherings after being paid in free Iranian oil, but even Syria preferred the Arabic sentiments towards Iran. She never supported Iran on the issue of three Iranian islands of Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Mousa in the Persian Gulf. The General position of Arabs is that Iran, just like Israel, is occupier of Arab lands. The Arab problems should be left to Arabs. The future Iranian government must think of the new points of interest. The relations with Israel should be one of these points.

(9) Good relations with the West especially the USA. Iran and the USA have many common interests. Iran can get its proper position in the region and the world through cooperation with the USA. Only suppose what will happen in the case of the Iranian rights in the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf if the USA is in the Iranian side.

(10) National reconciliation. Many of the people who work with the present regime of Iran are forced to do so for survival. The new regime or the alternative to the Islamic regime must have enough capacity for a national reconciliation in order to avoid bloodshed and use all forces for the development of the country. Also, a system of merits must be established. The Islamic Republic of Iran has introduced the system of blind obedience and has imposed it in all levels. Illiteracy and ignorance are top qualities for the managers of the Islamic government in Iran. This must give its place to a system of merits.