Comments on: Dear internet, please shut up http://blog.theprodigalboyfriend.com/2009/06/22/dear-internet-please-shut-up/ Why are you even reading this? Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:38:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Dan http://blog.theprodigalboyfriend.com/2009/06/22/dear-internet-please-shut-up/comment-page-1/#comment-2361 Dan Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:37:25 +0000 http://blog.theprodigalboyfriend.com/?p=343#comment-2361 I happen to disagree with you completely. As I know you're aware, Iran is a Shi'a country. And, as I'm sure you're aware, one of the core tenets of Shi'a is that religion should be separate from politics. This goes all the way back to Ali and the first Ummayid Caliphs. The idea that the Iranian people could rise up in such large numbers and <strong>not</strong> change their form of government is, frankly, unbelieveable. Mousavi was not much of a reformist. He has now closed ranks with Karroubi, and the reforms that I consider likely to come out of this uprising are more sweeping than you believe them to be. Khamenei has made the mistake of endorsing the election results while admitting fraud. A Shi'ite leader who deliberately thwarts the feelings of the people is not going to be well thought of in the Shi'ite community. Khamenei has to go, and he's going to go. The nature of revolutions (as I am sure, yet again, you are aware) is that they often end up diverging quite a bit from their original goals and veer towards something more... idealistic. I suspect that the Iranian people are going to determine that the Velayat-e Faqih is an abomination. The position of Supreme Leader will be abolished, and Iran will trend more towards a traditional Shi'ite separation of church and state. Of course, this is all speculation from my end. That said, I consider it much more likely than a return to the status quo in the country. I happen to disagree with you completely. As I know you’re aware, Iran is a Shi’a country. And, as I’m sure you’re aware, one of the core tenets of Shi’a is that religion should be separate from politics. This goes all the way back to Ali and the first Ummayid Caliphs. The idea that the Iranian people could rise up in such large numbers and not change their form of government is, frankly, unbelieveable.

Mousavi was not much of a reformist. He has now closed ranks with Karroubi, and the reforms that I consider likely to come out of this uprising are more sweeping than you believe them to be. Khamenei has made the mistake of endorsing the election results while admitting fraud. A Shi’ite leader who deliberately thwarts the feelings of the people is not going to be well thought of in the Shi’ite community. Khamenei has to go, and he’s going to go.

The nature of revolutions (as I am sure, yet again, you are aware) is that they often end up diverging quite a bit from their original goals and veer towards something more… idealistic. I suspect that the Iranian people are going to determine that the Velayat-e Faqih is an abomination. The position of Supreme Leader will be abolished, and Iran will trend more towards a traditional Shi’ite separation of church and state.

Of course, this is all speculation from my end. That said, I consider it much more likely than a return to the status quo in the country.

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