Can’t Put The Cart Before The Horse

Over the past 30 years the opposition groups, and I am referring to those exiled after the 1979 revolution, have gone to great lengths deliberating over the form and nature of a future political system in Iran. And for 30 years these less than cordial clash of ideas have done nothing but leave a negative social impact on the consciousness of the Iranian people, while at the same time, alienating many from political participation, both in Iran and across the diaspora.

From monarchists, to republicans, to the Mojahedin Khalg to born again Islamic democrats, all have spent endless time and energy pushing their own self-interest at the exclusion of the other, not realizing that such hollow posturing and self aggrandizing behavior has had no real impact on the lives of 72 million Iranians inside the country. The result of all this huffing and puffing, ZERO.

Why do I say this?

Well, in my opinion the opposition has made two fatal errors over the past three decades. First, they have dramatically underestimated and misjudged the level of political maturity on the part of their compatriots who have lived through 30 years of dictatorship inside the country, and two, they have mistaken priorities by focusing on partisan politics as opposed to leading a coalition national movement.

Allow me to elaborate.

On the first point, the opposition needs to realize that there is a new generation of social and political activists in Iran, the 20 and 30 something, born after 1979. This generation has a completely different outlook on politics that is uniquely their own having spent 30 years in agony under an absolute regime that has been accountable to no one.

This generation knows full well what tyranny looks and feels like when every aspect of their life has been under constant scrutiny. And so it is only natural for them to become less concerned with outdated debates of three decades ago and more preoccupied with finding a solution out of this dire state of misery caused by lack of political transparency and accountability.

In a nutshell, this generation is more concerned with uniting Iranians in support of establishing a political system that can protect their inalienable rights and freedoms, establish better relations with the free world, and laying the foundation of a political system where Iranians would no longer have to live in fear of political persecution. On this point, the opposition has failed dismally to recognize this immediate priority and to address the need for solidarity and unity, and unless they can recognize the pillars of this struggle and develop a common language and a collective set of actionable goals that can meet this immediate need as oppose to preaching division, they will undoubtedly become obsolete.

The second failure is in the opposition’s inability to recognize priorities. The way they are currently behaving is as if democracy has already been won in Iran. It hasn’t, and unless they can accept this fact that all ideological differences must be set aside for the greater good of a more noble cause, the opposition will become isolated from the movement that is taking place within the country and as a result they will become irrelevant. What we are seeing before our eyes is a real page turner in Middle East history. Iran is once again at an unprecedented juncture and the country is on the verge of a major political shift.

However this shift can go in one of two directions, the transformation of the country into a complete militarized dictatorship, or alternatively, the making of a secular democracy. In my opinion as a citizen of that great country, for the latter option to become a reality the opposition groups need to dramatically rethink their strategy and modify their behavior. And for that to happen, the various groups can no longer afford to put the cart before the horse by continuing to bicker over ideologies that are divisive to the battle at hand and one that is taking place within the country today. I hope they can get it right.