Democracy In Iran

Current Events Terrorism and Islamic Fundamentalism
1

In the Amercian Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote:

"… all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable,

than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."

As an Iraqi, I fear the future. The dictator is gone, but I’m not really sure.

The Americans have handed him back to the Iraqis. What if he is freed again?

He was on TV yesterday, looking dapper.

Even if he is killed, who will protect us from anarchy now?

In Sadaam’s time, the Kurds got by with American air-support.

The Americas will not protect them against the Sunnis and the Shia. This makes them nervous.

They could do well as a nation, but America made a deal with Turkey not to allow this.

The Sunnis know that Sadaam was a thug, but he was from their faction.

At least he would throw them a crumb or two from time to time.

The Americans will leave them at the mercy of the Shia.

The Kurds are not particularly disposed to help them either.

The people around me? the Shia? The police are weak. Mafia-like gangs are taking over.

They extort money from people and kidnap people for ransom. The gangs cloak themselves in religion, to confuse people.

I hear many Shia voices calling for elections and democracy. Why doesn’t Anerica speak out agaist the tyranny of democracy.

I know what it means: “democracy”. My ignorant Shia brothers want to vote to make me a slave of their religious state.

Oh! sometimes I yearn for a benevolent dictator. Anything that would give us the rule of law.

On the eve of July 4th, I wonder at the greatness of the American Founders.

I am in awe of their wisdom and their courage.

I fear we have no Iraqi like them.

I fear we no longer have American statesmen like them either.

I fear there is no world leader who will stand up for individual rights AGAINST democracy.

You think I should stand and fight? Perhaps I should. I will be honest – I am scared. I do not want to die.

Perhaps I should immigrate to America, but I cannot think of a way to do it legally.

Happy Independence Day.

2

If you admire the philosophers of Liberty and the American founding fathers, the best thing you can do is spread the awareness of their ideas. Write letters or articles for your local newspapers debating these ideas and encourage others to do so.

If your perference is to leave the country, surely now that Sadaam is gone, there is some way to do so.

3

You have my sympathies and best wishes. I hope that your fears about Hussein being freed are unfounded – even if he were freed, how would he get power again? The bigger fear, I think, would be exactly the horror of unbridled democracy turning the country into a Shiite theocracy. The provisional constitution makes it less likely, given the undemocratic super-majority provisions, for Sunni and Shiite Arabs to beat up on the Kurds. But this isn’t likely to survive in the long run.

I don’t know what the current US immigration policy is; unfortunately, it probably now makes immigration next to impossible, since political asylum is no longer a viable argument.

My opinion is that it is most important in the final constitution that Islam not be declared the state religion, and Iraq not be declared an Arab nation. Article 7 of the provisional constitution has to go.

4

Oh, I noticed that you misspelled Iraq as “Iran” in the topic, at least I think it was misspelling and not irony, which would also be appropriate.

5

My ignorant Shia brothers want to vote to make me a slave of their religious state.

[…]

Perhaps I should immigrate to America, but I cannot think of a way to do it legally.

Two suggestions:

  1. If the Shias take over, apply for asylum as a persecuted minority – an atheist.

  2. Try Canada or Australia. You might immigrate to Canada, get Canadian citizenship, and then come to live and work in the US under NAFTA.

6

I sympathize with your terrible struggle. If I were you I’d leave as long as I can. However, I don’t believe there is a real danger in the short term of Sadaam being released, or of a new Shiite theocracy. At least not as long as American armed forces are there.

In the longer term, I really don’t know.

On the bright side, I couldn’t imagine an Iraqi participating in a forum like this under Sadaam. Intellectual freedom is where it all starts. But it takes time!