Quick Notes on Iran
Things which I keep hearing repeated in the media, which sort of bothers me.
1.) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not a dictator. He’s just not. No way you slice it. That’s not how Iran works. He may well be an asshole, but that’s not the same thing. Plenty of world leaders are assholes, without actually being dictators.
Jeeeez. And, I heard this one out of Jon Stewart, even, which is just more irritating.
Iran has elections for president every 4 years. With more than one guy running. And, term limits. It’s a big deal, over there. When you hear about Iranian students doing this, that, and the other, it’s usually during an election year.
Ahmadinejad was elected in 2005. He’ll have to run again in 2009. That ain’t dictatorship. Sorry. Doesn’t anyone remember how we were all supposed to be terrified of Khatami a few years ago?
Probably not.
What Iran does have, is a station above President. They have a Grand Ayatollah, the “Supreme Leader,” and that dude’s name is Khamenei (pronounced like “k-Hominy”.) Ali Khamenei has been in charge since Ruhollah Khomeini died in ‘89.
If anyone in Iran is “Dictator,” it’s Ali Khamenei. But, I suppose knowing that would require that the people in question have a fucking clue what they’re talking about. This is how we end up in wars in places we can barely pronounce, y’all. And, it’s Ih-Rahhn not Eye-Ran.
2.) Iran isn’t China, people. They do not round people up by the hundreds, and shoot them for population control.
Good grief.
Iran has a lot of rules. And, a lot of those rules really suck. Absolutely. They still flog people there. For real.
However, executions? According to Amnesty International, Iran executed 177 people in 2006 (Compared to 53 people in the US, by the way, and 82 in Pakistan.)
So, no, the state doesn’t spend a lot of time executing homosexuals. They’ll nab you, sure. But, uh… they’ll nab you here, too.
And, they’ll torture you over there for it. Flogging.
But, um, who exactly is up on their high horse about torture ‘round these parts, again?
Just sayin’. We’re also one of like, 5 countries, along with Iran, that will give the death sentence for crimes committed while you’re a juvenile.
3.) Now, the whole “no homosexuals” comment…
It’s a (really stupid) legal loophole. Sort of like how we didn’t recognize China for a few decades.
The Iranian courts do not recognize the concept of sexual orientation, and so legally there are no homosexuals in Iran. Everyone is heterosexual, under Iranian law, and legally, they engage in homosexual acts, which are, of course, illegal under Sharia Law.
So… now you know.
I’m not saying that it doesn’t totally suck to live in Iran, for huge chunks of the Iranian population. Of course it sucks. But, for crying out loud, it’s not Sudan. Or, Columbia. Or, Iraq or Afghanistan.
But, with rumors of war-making, it seems terribly dangerous to run around with weird fantasies based on Regan Era sound bites. We need to have a clear-eyed view of what Iran really is, if we’re gonna talk about bombing the damned place.
tags: news, politics
I think we just have it ingrained in our minds that the leaders of Arab countries are either kings, mullahs, or dictators because it’s easier than taking a more nuanced view.
To speak of my own personal ignorance, which perhaps you can help me out on, but I think one of those countries has an elected leader but the candidates have to be vetted by religious leaders. Is that Iran?
(That’s not to say that even if it is I think he can be called a dictator. After all, our candidates are vetted by our capitalist masters. I am just curious.)
— trumwill Oct 1, 07:08 PM #
Yeah, looks like they’ve got a “Guardian Council” made up of clerics and lawyers that has to approve candidates.
— Veronica Oct 2, 06:50 PM #