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In this edition of Behind the Headlines, our guest Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh will be sharing with us his views on the following news topics:
The aftermath and reactions to the savage beating of a young Iranian girl by the thugs of the morality police;
The worsening of Iran’s environmental woes;
Ahmadinejad’s latest outburst of criticism of the regime;
The reaction of the Revolutionary Guard to Rouhani indirectly slaming the force’s corruption and hunger for power;
The arrival of the latest luxury cars into Iran for the novo rich;
The latest news of the Syrian crisis;
Jamshid Chalangi:
Why does the regime still continue with its failed policy of harassing our sisters and mothers and brothers on the streets by its thugs and yet it seems that people are not reacting to it?
Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:
Before the Islamic revolution, we had a certain interpretation of Islam which was based on the quotation from its prophet that said “there shall not be any force in my religion”, which meant that you cannot turn anyone into becoming a Muslim by force or oblige them to follow your own beliefs and values.
You cannot harass your own people, turn them into spies against each other, steal their wealth and destroy a country and then call yourself the “defenders of Islamic values”.
In the heydays of the revolutionary turmoil, one early morning, Mr Eshraghi, Khomeini’s son-in-law, suddenly announced on the Iranian national radio that from that day on wearing hijab is mandatory for all Iranian women.
In a matter of hours thousands of brave Iranian women gathered outside the Interior Ministry and protested against this decision, while hundreds of pro-regime thugs across the road were shouting “either headscarf or a slap on your face”.
The regime took advantage of the eight years long war with Iraq during which our Iranian women were forced to wear the hijab. However, soon after Khomeini’s death the opposition to this symbol of degradation of women began.
As for the lack of reaction by the public to the humiliating actions of the morality police, we must note that this culture of indifference has been brought into our country and culture by the regime’s terrorizing tactics.
The Iranian society has been corrupted by its corrupt and dictatorial ruling regime and is like a sick society. In a sick society people do not share the sufferings of their fellow citizens.
Jamshid Chalangi:
What do you think of Ahmadinejad’s latest criticism of the regime?
Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:
Among the many of the regime’s presidents, Hassan Rouhani has been the one with most empty slogans and promises.
Rafsanjani promised reconstruction of the country in the post-war period; Khatami was after creation of a civil society and Ahmadinejad promised to put the oil money into the people’s pockets.
However, Rouhani’s promises of curbing the involvement of the Guards in Iran’s economy and politics, and fighting corruption among the leaders of the regime, have all been empty and misleading.
Ahmadinejad has now said that presidents in Iran are just in names and have no real power, as the supreme leaders are the actual “presidents”.
Jamshid Chalangi:
Do you think Rouhani’s indirect criticism of the Revolutionary Guard on the National Army’s Day is genuine?
Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:
Before the revolution every national institute in Iran functioned independently and people respected them and their services. Today, under this despotic regime, our universities are the only national institutes that have any credit in the eyes of the Iranian people.
The regime has done its best to turn our universities into religious seminaries but has failed.
Our national army, which has seen massive bloody purges by the regime since the time of the late Shah, is still a popular and nationalist institute in Iran. However, Rouhani is trying to associate himself with the army only to counter the pressure from the Revolutionary Guard against his government.
Jamshid Chalangi:
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