What do you know about Iran? (Part I in a multipart series)
Happy belated Noruz! That’s the Iranian New Year, and its celebration predates Islam. The mullahs (ruling clerics in the Islamic Republic of Iran) hate that. But too many people celebrate for them to do much about it. Some claim that this is a sign of the impotence of the current regime. Others say it shows that the mullahs are easing up. From what I’ve learned of Iran in the last few years, that second group of folks is probably dead wrong.
Anyway, there’s a reason for the title of this post: I really don’t know what other people know about Iran. So I’m going to share a bunch of information, and you may know it already. But I hope maybe you can glean something new. And maybe we can figure out some helpful action to take together. For now I’ll stick with some historical/cultural information. We’ll do nukes and the current political situation later.
Let’s start with the basics: Iranians are not Arabs. Period. Okay, well maybe there’s technically a whopping 3% of Iranians that are Arab. Persians make up the majority of the people (just over half). That’s right, Persians. Cyrus the Great and Bible times and all that. That people group has survived the millennia to dominate modern day Iran in terms of number of people and in terms of culture. The largest minority group is the Azeris (same ethnic group as folks in Azerbaijan). They make up around a quarter of the population, although some estimates are much higher.
The official numbers say that 89% of Iranians are Shi’a Muslims. To put this in perspective, Iraq is the only other nation in the Middle East (maybe in the world) with a majority Shi’ite population. Most Muslims worldwide are Sunnis. The import of all this? Iran is culturally and religiously unique in the Middle East. (I should note at this time that when I was interviewing people in Washington, several of them, including at least one who still had family in Iran, indicated that the 89% figure might be high. One said he thought Zoroastrianism was on the rise. The general consensus was that many Iranians were only nominally Muslims. According to one study, as few as 12% of Iranians pray five times daily—one of the pillars of Islamic practice.)
The Islamic Revolution occurred in 1979, putting the current regime in place and ousting the Shah (monarch), who lived in exile until his death in 1980. This Shah was pro-western, friendly with the United States, and viewed as anti-Islamic by some Iranians. He instituted some reforms and the economy did well during his rule, but he was accused of favoring some classes of people over others and of violating the Iranian constitution. Ayatollah Khomeini led a populist movement from exile (in Iraq and later France) and became the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Many Iranians have become disillusioned with the government that was supposed to respect Islam and all people, but has instead been an oppressive regime that has driven many into poverty. Unemployment is currently at 11%. An astonishing 40% live below the poverty line. Clearly, the IRI has some problems. In addition, the median age is only 24, meaning that most Iranians weren’t born when the Islamic Revolution took place. They never lived under the Shah, and can’t relate to the ideology that said life would be better under the Islamic Republic. I mean, if you lived in these conditions, would YOU believe it? Something to mull over.
I think this should at least partially set the stage/give some context to what’s going on now. But it’s worth noting here (as I will reiterate multiple times) that use of the military in Iran is not a viable option. But I’ll try to talk more about that next time.
Anyway, there’s a reason for the title of this post: I really don’t know what other people know about Iran. So I’m going to share a bunch of information, and you may know it already. But I hope maybe you can glean something new. And maybe we can figure out some helpful action to take together. For now I’ll stick with some historical/cultural information. We’ll do nukes and the current political situation later.
Let’s start with the basics: Iranians are not Arabs. Period. Okay, well maybe there’s technically a whopping 3% of Iranians that are Arab. Persians make up the majority of the people (just over half). That’s right, Persians. Cyrus the Great and Bible times and all that. That people group has survived the millennia to dominate modern day Iran in terms of number of people and in terms of culture. The largest minority group is the Azeris (same ethnic group as folks in Azerbaijan). They make up around a quarter of the population, although some estimates are much higher.
The official numbers say that 89% of Iranians are Shi’a Muslims. To put this in perspective, Iraq is the only other nation in the Middle East (maybe in the world) with a majority Shi’ite population. Most Muslims worldwide are Sunnis. The import of all this? Iran is culturally and religiously unique in the Middle East. (I should note at this time that when I was interviewing people in Washington, several of them, including at least one who still had family in Iran, indicated that the 89% figure might be high. One said he thought Zoroastrianism was on the rise. The general consensus was that many Iranians were only nominally Muslims. According to one study, as few as 12% of Iranians pray five times daily—one of the pillars of Islamic practice.)
The Islamic Revolution occurred in 1979, putting the current regime in place and ousting the Shah (monarch), who lived in exile until his death in 1980. This Shah was pro-western, friendly with the United States, and viewed as anti-Islamic by some Iranians. He instituted some reforms and the economy did well during his rule, but he was accused of favoring some classes of people over others and of violating the Iranian constitution. Ayatollah Khomeini led a populist movement from exile (in Iraq and later France) and became the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Many Iranians have become disillusioned with the government that was supposed to respect Islam and all people, but has instead been an oppressive regime that has driven many into poverty. Unemployment is currently at 11%. An astonishing 40% live below the poverty line. Clearly, the IRI has some problems. In addition, the median age is only 24, meaning that most Iranians weren’t born when the Islamic Revolution took place. They never lived under the Shah, and can’t relate to the ideology that said life would be better under the Islamic Republic. I mean, if you lived in these conditions, would YOU believe it? Something to mull over.
I think this should at least partially set the stage/give some context to what’s going on now. But it’s worth noting here (as I will reiterate multiple times) that use of the military in Iran is not a viable option. But I’ll try to talk more about that next time.
posted by Joni at 11:08 PM
3 Comments:
Since the revolution in Iran, literacy rates have gone from about 50% to over 80%
"Women are playing increasingly prominent roles in Iran, and businessand industry are no exceptions. A sizable female contingent populates
the trading desks at the Tehran exchange. Women are big players in
information-technology companies. Some are even penetrating the most
traditional male bastions, such as heavy industry. "Women are a gold
mine because of their honesty, their hard work, and the care they take
in their work," says Shahin Khalili, chairman of Butane Industrial
Group, a large family conglomerate.
source:
Iran: No Longer A No-Woman's Land
Business Week Mar 24 2004
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_21/b3884098.htm
OR
"Above all, prospects for girls have improved... They
are now more likely to go to school and stay there;
about 40% of the students in higher education are
women, and they are doing better at their studies
than men. Iranian women nowadays, despite Islamic
customs oppressively enforced by the state, have more
chance than they did of getting a job outside the
home, competing with men professionally and
asserting their rights as individuals in the face of
their fathers', brothers' or husbands' prejudices."
("The Mullah's Balance Sheet" - The Economist, January
18 1997)
In fact from 1975 through 1980 Iran's Human Development Index
remained stagnant at 0.569. By 1990 it was up to 0.693, and in 2002 it was 0.732. Life expectancy at birth in 1970-1975 was 55.3 years. For 2000-2005, it is now 70.3 years. Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) in 1970 was 191. Today its 42.
Today about 90% of the people have access to basic healthcare, and even remote villages have obtained clean water, electricity, schools and roads...
Anonymous-
You have helpfully pointed out that I didn't really talk about women in my post. This was partly because the treatment of women in Iran is so wrapped up in its current politics, which I also didn't talk much about.
Since you brought it up, I should draw some attention to a few things. First of all, as of 1999, Iran had acceded to about 10 international treaties and conventions on issues relating to women. The earliest was in 1904, and the most recent was in 1972. (1999 Iran Human Development Report) So at least as far as international agreements go, the IRI hasn't been that active. But words are cheap, right? So let's look at actions.
From 1976-96, women’s share in total employment did not change, even though the number of women of working age increased considerably, indicating an overall decline in women’s economic participation. (1999 Iran HDR) Especially recently, the IRI has been cracking down on the political participation of women. (http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/06/12/iran11114.htm) Here's an article about police beating women engaged in peaceful protest. (http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/03/09/iran12832.htm) And here's one about how the mullahs are implicated in the sex trade in Iran. (http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=6) And here's one about terrorizing women accused of failing to observe the strict dress code. They get acid thrown in their faces by vigilantes, who then get praised by the president. (http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=5152) These are just a few examples of how the regime treats women in Iran.
But as you point out, Anonymous, at least they can probably read.
Thanks for all of the information Joni. All the talk recently about bombing and such is completely incomprehensible to me. The situation (nuclear development, terrorism support, etc) is obviously going to take more than a couple of explosives to resolve. And there's always the issue of exhausting diplomatic options before resorting war/violence/whatever you care to call it.
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