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Pluralism?

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Iran’s Next Leader Advocates a Less Intrusive State
Vahid Salemi/Associated Press
Published: July 3, 2013

Iran’s president-elect, Hassan Rowhani, repeated in a speech on Wednesday his promises of more freedoms for Iranians, saying the government should not interfere in people’s private lives.

“We need a strong society,” Mr. Rowhani told a group of Shiite Muslim clerics during the speech in Tehran, which was broadcast live, telling them to trust the people, whom he called the owners of the Islamic republic.

“We should talk to the people,” he said. “We should hear what they say. We should kindly hear what they say. We should lessen the chances of total rule by the government.”

Mr. Rowhani added, “A powerful and capable government does not mean a government which meddles in and is in control of all affairs, restricts people and their lives, and meddles in people’s private lives.”

After his surprise landslide victory in the June presidential elections, Mr. Rowhani, himself a cleric, has been repeating his electoral promises of more freedom and moderation in a series of speeches.

While many in Iran are wary of political promises and point to the existence of a deep state that makes polices behind the scenes, Mr. Rowhani’s continued retreat from the confrontational policies of the departing president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is being taken by many as a sign that some changes may be under way.

Mr. Rowhani, speaking at the Interior Ministry, blamed extremists and radicals for many of Iran’s troubles, saying that in “hundreds of cases” their actions had hurt the relationship between the Iranian people and those in power.

The remark was a clear attack on Mr. Ahmadinejad and his former supporters, a conservative alliance of hard-line clerics and Revolutionary Guards commanders.

Many in Iran accuse that faction of turning the country into a tightly controlled security state that has imposed a strict interpretation of Islam on the country. During Mr. Ahmadinejad’s presidency, Iranian hard-liners jailed hundreds of dissidents, journalists and activists and closed numerous newspapers and Web sites. They have also greatly increased the presence of security forces on the streets, and they tightly control the Internet.

Mr. Rowhani made it clear that he rejected such policies, saying that an Islamic society is not monolithic. “We must accept various trends and tastes,” he said. “It is not possible for one taste to rule in a free and large society.”

He warned hard-liners that Iran needed tolerance in order to achieve progress. “Danger is when — God forbid — one group considers itself equal to Islam, equal to the revolution, equal to the supreme leader,” he said of the hard-liners, often called the traditionalists. “They introduce the others as being against all this. All problems originate from this point.”

Mr. Rowhani’s attacks on the traditionalists have astonished Iranians. Many in the country assumed the traditionalists had quietly taken hold of power during the past decade, ousting reformists and other groups calling for change. But it remains to be seen whether Mr. Rowhani can bring about real changes in people’s lives.

It will be hard, for example, for Mr. Rowhani to turn around Iran’s sanctions-ridden economy without an agreement of some sort with the United States on Iran’s nuclear program, and the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has the last word on that matter. But talking of freedoms will at least raise hopes for Iran’s sprawling urban middle classes.

At the same time it is unclear how much space Mr. Rowhani will actually be given by Iran’s other centers of power: the judiciary, the armed forces and the alliance of hard-line clerics and commanders. For now, Ayatollah Khamenei has called upon all forces to fully support Mr. Rowhani.

It is not clear how much cooperation Mr. Rowhani can expect. On Sunday, the state newspaper Kayhan, a mouthpiece of the hard-liners, said Mr. Rowhani was a hard-liner himself and urged him not to pick any reformist politicians for his cabinet.

Mr. Rowhani said he was consulting with many candidates to form a cabinet based on skills rather than on ideology, and he criticized those trying to influence him through the news media, saying, “Such measures will not bring anything but the people’s tiredness.”

In a separate interview with the youth magazine Chelcheragh, Mr. Rowhani said that the filtering of Web sites — a common practice in Iran — was a “political act by some people,” and he called such measure senseless. “What news haven’t we heard because of this over the past years,” he said. “This only creates a big wall of mistrust between the government and the people.”

Social media Web sites like Facebook and Twitter are blocked by the Iranian Ministry of Telecommunications on the orders of the National Council for Cyberspace, which is headed by Mr. Ahmadinejad. After his inauguration next month, Mr. Rowhani will lead the council. The opening of the Internet will be one of his first tests, analysts say.
 
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Mouthpiece freak :lol:

Stop trolling for the sake of God.Iran may not be a democracy, but at least someone is trying to take one step towards it, no matter how much success he will have, we still appreciate it.
Isn't it funny that someone from 'Saudi' Arabia (got the point?),SAUDI Arabia,a country which is named after one single family who was lucky enough to get to power, a country which has seen no elections in its whole history, is trying to make fun of us?No really isn't that hilarious?
If you were from a democratic country,from Europe,U.S or anywhere else,I would stay silent, but this one?It's not possible. I'm not only talking about you, but many of your mates also do the same and they go as far as trying to teach us lessons from democracy.Spare us please.
 
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I hope Iranians will be conscious of the reality that a society must first internalize a value system that is a foundation, that enables a political democracy - humane, pluralistic, values education humanities and science and open - such a society cannot be administered by a tyranny, it's not possible.

Don't worry about the Wahabi and the Miskeen Wahabi trainees -
 
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Smart leader.

I hope the hardliners do not accuse him of being pro west.
 
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Smart leader.

I hope the hardliners do not accuse him of being pro west.

If and it's a big if, he can actually be successful in society, that is to say, if he is seen by majorities, even his opponents as a man who is sincere in the ideas he expresses and if he can really effect society with these ideas, which of course are the ideas of Soroush, and Kadivar among others (which means society is aware of these ideas and they are discussed and critiqued), in that case he will be able to withstand the attack of the hardliners

It remains to be seen if the concept of the Vilayat e Fagih is one that will bite the dust or not
 
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Hold your horses man. I'm sure you misunderstood what I was trying to say. The comments that I left were in no way related to your country or your people, if you think so, then you're dead wrong.

I was extremely disappointed by Rohuani's post-election point of view namely on issues like, improving Iran's relations with its neighbors, Syria's crisis, and Iran's nuclear program. As such, I guess I'm right to say that the only people who are going to get hurt by him are none other than his nation.



Isn't it funny that someone from 'Saudi' Arabia (got the point?),SAUDI Arabia,a country which is named after one single family who was lucky enough to get to power

So was the Ottman Empire, Safavid Dynasty, Bolivia, Columbus, and Liechtenstein.

a country which has seen no elections in its whole history, is trying to make fun of us?No really isn't that hilarious?

Ignorance is a bliss.

Actually, we DID have elections long time ago,


If you were from a democratic country,from Europe,U.S or anywhere else,I would stay silent, but this one?It's not possible. I'm not only talking about you, but many of your mates also do the same and they go as far as trying to teach us lessons from democracy.

:no:

I didn't teach you a thing, you just had a little knee jerk reaction out of nowhere. Like I said, yours truly never had the intention to bash to your country or your people, and to be honest to goodness, I'm indifferent to you as long as you keep distance.

Just a tip off, People need to stop thinking of democracy as if it were social remedy for everything, back in the Shah's old good days the mullahs were kept in their most suitable rightful place :)

Chao :wave:



Wahabis cannot understand the notion of Pluralism, it is antitheitical to thier cult, but Muslims must - no tolerance without first an acceptance of pluralism in Islam and pluralism in society

Thank you Sir! The more I see you flaming at us, the more confident we're.
 
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Hold your horses man. I'm sure you misunderstood what I was trying to say. The comments that I left were in no way related to your country or your people, if you think so, then you're dead wrong.

I was extremely disappointed by Rohuani's post-election point of view namely on issues like, improving Iran's relations with its neighbors, Syria's crisis, and Iran's nuclear program. As such, I guess I'm right to say that the only people who are going to get hurt by him are none other than his nation.

I don't think he will take actions overnight. Iran's issue is quite complicated. You know it better than I do. I don't think it's easy to sort out the mess created by previous rulers easily. It will improve slowly (at least I hope it will).
 
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I'm not trying to make excuses or anything, but he should have taken his hands on Syria. I suppose that it won't take a nation of him to do so.
I don't think he will take actions overnight. Iran's issue is quite complicated. You know it better than I do. I don't think it's easy to sort out the mess created by previous rulers easily. It will improve slowly (at least I hope it will).
 
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Stop trolling for the sake of God.Iran may not be a democracy, but at least someone is trying to take one step towards it, no matter how much success he will have, we still appreciate it.
Isn't it funny that someone from 'Saudi' Arabia (got the point?),SAUDI Arabia,a country which is named after one single family who was lucky enough to get to power, a country which has seen no elections in its whole history, is trying to make fun of us?No really isn't that hilarious?
If you were from a democratic country,from Europe,U.S or anywhere else,I would stay silent, but this one?It's not possible. I'm not only talking about you, but many of your mates also do the same and they go as far as trying to teach us lessons from democracy.Spare us please.
Does he have the power to change anything?
 
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I'm not trying to make excuses or anything, but he should have taken his hands on Syria. I suppose that it won't take a nation of him to do so.

As far as I know, he doesn't have the power to control foreign policy. Decisions regarding foreign policy are taken by Khomeni so I don't think the Syrian problem will ever be solved.
 
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Strong words must also be backed by strong actions. Achieving Pluralism is easier said than done.

Yes sure, but before it's does it must be said - Pakistanis do not have in their society a critical engagement with such ideas, in fact the very notion of critical is alien == Saying it, is like setting a direction, preparing the populace and intellectuals to discuss and critique

Compare this what we are used to , the purpose of the expositiommn below is simply to compare ideas about what kind of society. Iran have their share of lunes, but compare Vision with vision - another liberal secular fascist asking questions :


Ideological conflicts and critical discourse
By Zahoor Khan
Published: July 4, 2013
The writer is Assistant Professor of International Relations at Edwardes College, Peshawar

Successful counterterrorism requires containment, alienation, and delegitimisation of disruptive forces. Limited by porous and disputed borders, an unfriendly neighbourhood and the muddled strategy employed by political and security institutions, eliminating physical sanctuaries of terrorists in Pakistan has proved an arduous task. Equally important and challenging is the dismantling of political sanctuaries: the radicals’ supportive sociopolitical sections. It requires delegitimisation, and a negation of the moral and rational justification of their goals and means. This demanding task entails progressive social engineering and reformulation of our collective consciousness through a dispassionate ideological discourse.

Understanding the nature of a conflict is the primary requisite for its resolution. Tangible conflicts that demand sharing political, economic and territorial rights and benefits become unaccommodating when subjective differences of ideas are manipulated and projected as root causes. The political goals of Pakistan’s extremist radical forces are not limited to the division of assets and control, but also include a desired ideological orientation of the state and individual. A rigid framework shapes our history and religion, credible counter voices are silenced and the state’s machinery seems to lack a unanimous and objective stand. All this prevents a critical ideological discourse from developing, which, in turn, hinders the evolution of a collective identity.

Motivated by the goal of achieving an Islamic state or Khilafat and turning Pakistan into one has become the leading slogan of those religious parties that resisted the country’s creation. Whether Pakistan was created to actualise the ideal of an Islamic state or whether it was the result of efforts to politically and economically empower the Muslim minority in India, are two divergent frameworks that set different ideals. Disastrously, the former is overemphasised for fear of disintegration of a multi-ethnic Pakistan. Jihad and fatwas are used as strategic tools to eliminate any obstacle that there may be to forming a Khilafat.

Mainstream religious-political parties and militants are only different in their approach towards this common ideal. Muslim Khan, the Taliban commander in Swat, termed their armed struggle against Pakistan for fulfilling the promise Muslims made to Allah on August 14, 1947. Maulana Fazlur Rehman in his address to the National Assembly on June 5 did not sound any different when he attributed the Taliban’s armed struggle to their desire for actualising true Shariah in Pakistan.

The concept of a religious state, once devoid of its glorifying verbiage, was put to legal discernment in a court inquiry, headed by Justice Munir, in the wake of the 1953 riots in Punjab. Dissensions were acute among religious scholars of all sects about practical examples of a religious state, its process of legislation and administration, and its necessity. There was no consensus on the definition of a Muslim. The question of who is a Muslim still haunts every Pakistani. Constitutionally, Pakistan is bound to protect, respect and encourage living a collective life in accordance with Islamic principles. The symbols of Islam are duly venerated.

Extremist radicals need to present a viable political system to replace the existing one, as militancy alone would never result in the ideological restructuring they desire. Till now, intellectual sterility in this regard is a serious crack in their armour. Critical discourse could help resolve such a conflict, provided history is seen objectively and questioning with a dispassionate zeal of prevalent orthodoxies is allowed.
 
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As far as I know, he doesn't have the power to control foreign policy. Decisions regarding foreign policy are taken by Khomeni so I don't think the Syrian problem will ever be solved.

That's what I was implying, if you know what I was trying to get at.

Does he have the power to change anything?

People can't understand that we are happy with our way of living.
 
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