Great Story from Iran

[Sheilbh]

'I screamed: How dare you grab my girls'
By SABINA AMIDI, SPECIAL TO THE JERUSALEM POST

It was a relatively minor incident on the quietened streets of Teheran, but it is one that points to the depth of anti-regime antagonism felt even by some Iranians who consider themselves loyal supporters of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's revolution.

In a telephone interview with this reporter from the Iranian capital, a conservative mother of six first denounced the regime for "trying to silence the people" in the wake of last month's disputed presidential elections," and then accused its leaders of trying to "hide behind their false interpretation of the Imam's [Khomeini's] teachings. This is not what he would have wanted for our country if he was still alive," she said, "and I know his prayers will helps us prevail."

She directly castigated Khomeini's successor as supreme leader, asserting, "Ali Khamenei has never understood the Imam's ways. Instead he uses violence to silence us. But the people of Iran have their eyes open, they are seeing past the lies."

And then she recounted her own encounter, earlier this week, with what she called the brutality of the security forces. "The militiamen out on the streets have all been brainwashed," she said, and told this story to underline her point:

"Just yesterday, I saw four plainclothes [members of the security forces] harassing two young men. The two young men had their hands tied behind their backs and were crying. I went to up the security forces and told then to let the boys ago, even though my two daughters were trying to hold me back. The security men grabbed us by the arms and started calling for reinforcements.

"I screamed at them: 'How dare you grab my two daughters, who have never been touched by any man, and how dare you touch me? I have never been touched by any man except my husband.' They let go of our arms and I told them again: Let the boys go."

She said the security men were preparing to drag the two young men away, nonetheless, so "I took out a picture of the Imam from my purse and the Koran. At that point five more of the riot police came... I said to them, 'Do you think this is what the Imam wanted?' I waved the Koran and told them to be afraid of God's wrath in the next life, because Khamenei's jurisdiction ends there."

The woman said that the officer apparently in charge said the pair were being arrested because they had been influenced by outside forces to destroy the regime.

"So I said to him: Then I am out to destroy the regime, the mullahs at the mosque I attend are out to destroy the regime, the ayatollahs in Qom are out to destroy the regime. And if this regime is a military dictatorship, then it should be destroyed."

She said she asked the security personnel if they had read Khomeini's texts. "They of course said no." She said she promised them that if they could find teachings of his which justified what they were doing, she would "personally help beat our fellow countrymen with batons."

At this point, the officer in charge told the others to let the two young men go, she said. "Then he pulled me aside and said, very emotionally, that he has three hungry children and a wife living in a small poor town outside Teheran. He said his salary had been tripled since the protests erupted and that he feels numb to everything around him.

"Before he left, he asked me to pray for him to make better choices in the future."

For some reason this article really appeals to me.  I think it's because there's something in the story of basically a mum telling off security forces that makes me smile. 

Edit:  Incidentally I read today that only two of the Grand Ayatollahs in Qom have congratulated Ahmedinejad on his victory.  From what I understand there's about 20 of them, most have remained relatively silent on the issue (though seem codedly unhappy with what's happened) they seem to address it in an indirect way, if at all.  But I think that means that more Grand Ayatollahs have outright condemned Ahmedinejad than have congratulated him.

[Darth Wagtaros]

I think this is not true.

[Admiral Yi]

[Tamas]

My bullshit alarm went off

[KRonn]

Yeah, good article, if true. The woman, a mother, had the answers that were tough to dispute since the "security men" were out there in the first place, ostensibly to do what the mother said. But instead they had become the thugs and going against what at least some of them believe in. Even if this story is hyperbole it seems that this thinking is what some of the struggles now are in Iran.

[Sheilbh]

My bullshit alarm went off

I don't know.  What's the reason you don't believe it?

[DisturbedPervert]

My bullshit alarm went off

But Twitter says it's true!

[Josquius]

What really stands out to me:

He said his salary had been tripled since the protests erupted and that he feels numb to everything around him.

There's been rumblings in the police that the regime has had to try and control?

[chipwich]

My bullshit alarm went off

I don't know.  What's the reason you don't believe it?

The whole chain letter feel.

and when she returned home theere were 4 chickens where once there were 2.
Forward this to 5 people and Isreal will be destroyed by holy fire.

[Tamas]

My bullshit alarm went off

I don't know.  What's the reason you don't believe it?

Could be true, but then again, you would not talk like that to police of 80s Hungary which was MUCH MUCH MUCH more lenient then Iran of today. If you had any sense of survival of course.

This story is a lie

[Sheilbh]

What really stands out to me:

He said his salary had been tripled since the protests erupted and that he feels numb to everything around him.

There's been rumblings in the police that the regime has had to try and control?

Yeah that and the fact that he's from outside Tehran struck me as the most interesting points.

[Sheilbh]

Could be true, but then again, you would not talk like that to police of 80s Hungary which was MUCH MUCH MUCH more lenient then Iran of today. If you had any sense of survival of course.

This story is a lie

I think you're wrong on that, from everything I've read Iran's nowhere near as bad in terms of what you can say and the oppressiveness of the police service as the Soviet Union or Soviet bloc, or even China, though that's changing. 

I've read similar stories from other dictatorships and revolutions, not least the Islamic Revolution.  I think largely because of their gender, it's more difficult for a regime, and certainly for individuals to beat up a middle aged woman who's telling them off, as their mum did.  I mean that was the force of the Madres in Argentina and, indeed, the women across Latin America who protested in the 80s.

And I remember speaking to a German girl, who was fluent in Arabic, who said that if Arabic speaking Western women ever had a problem in the Middle East they should confront the man, because it's such a taboo to touch an unknown woman (especially in this case).  It's the 'have you no shame, touching me' aspect (and the general behaviour of the woman) that rings relatively true to me. 

[Admiral Yi]

And I remember speaking to a German girl, who was fluent in Arabic, who said that if Arabic speaking Western women ever had a problem in the Middle East they should confront the man, because it's such a taboo to touch an unknown woman (especially in this case).  It's the 'have you no shame, touching me' aspect (and the general behaviour of the woman) that rings relatively true to me.

Then again all the various vice and virtue types seem to have overcome this taboo.

[Sheilbh]

Then again all the various vice and virtue types seem to have overcome this taboo.

This is generally true.  I think that's always the case.  The Vice and Virtue groups are able to do it though because they believe the woman's already dirty or sullied herself through the act they're punishing.  Though, of course, Iran does have a lot of female police and so on so possibly it is generally rare for male police officers to touch women in the street and in terms of 'vice and virtue' Iran's nowhere near as bad as the Taliban or the Saudis.  Though, again, they've been getting worse in recent years.

In this story you've a bunch of country boy militiamen beating some guys and being told off by a middle aged mum and then touching her and her daughter.  That seems to me the sort of situation in which there would be a lot of shame in being shouted down. 

[Tamas]

Could be true, but then again, you would not talk like that to police of 80s Hungary which was MUCH MUCH MUCH more lenient then Iran of today. If you had any sense of survival of course.

This story is a lie

I think you're wrong on that, from everything I've read Iran's nowhere near as bad in terms of what you can say and the oppressiveness of the police service as the Soviet Union or Soviet bloc, or even China, though that's changing. 

I've read similar stories from other dictatorships and revolutions, not least the Islamic Revolution.  I think largely because of their gender, it's more difficult for a regime, and certainly for individuals to beat up a middle aged woman who's telling them off, as their mum did.  I mean that was the force of the Madres in Argentina and, indeed, the women across Latin America who protested in the 80s.

And I remember speaking to a German girl, who was fluent in Arabic, who said that if Arabic speaking Western women ever had a problem in the Middle East they should confront the man, because it's such a taboo to touch an unknown woman (especially in this case).  It's the 'have you no shame, touching me' aspect (and the general behaviour of the woman) that rings relatively true to me.

Come on Iran has religious government militias beating people and shooting at them. For example, post-'56 Hungary also had its Workers Guard specifically formed to fight enemies of the system but the rulers never dared to actually use them on the street.
Iran is worse than most of the eastern bloc was, from what I see