OPINION:
The Iranian people are bravely fighting the Islamic regime. It’s not merely an attempt to change the political system; it’s an “Iranian renaissance,” an attempt to revive pre-1979 Persian civilization and culture and build efficient institutions for living in the modern world.
The 1979 Islamic Revolution aimed to change the culture of the Iranians and create a pure theocracy. It spared no repression to achieve this. The current movement, led by the exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, is fundamentally different. It is founded on individualism, secularism and the rejection of religious dogmatism. The restoration of the Lion and Sun flag, the pre-1979 national emblem, is a reclamation of this identity.
The deepest ideological transformation underway concerns the fundamental reordering of political identity from a religious community (ommat) to a modern nation-state (mellat). The Islamic republic was founded on the concept of ommat, a notion that is alien to the Iranian people and rejected by Iranian patriots. This doctrine explicitly framed Iran not as a nation-state but as the vanguard of universal political Islam, with the “supreme leader” functioning as guardian of the movement’s interests.
This explains the regime’s strategic commitment to proxy wars in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. For 47 years, Iranian resources and military capacity have been subordinated to this ideological project.
The current patriotic movement wants to build a great new Iran based on pre-1979 Persian culture and the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms. This movement is pluralist, not ethnic supremacist. It explicitly recognizes that what is most necessary is the formation of a secular, democratic and accountable modern Iranian state that protects individual rights.
Everything is ready for the victory of the Iranian renaissance. A secular Iran is the natural ally of the free world and the only path to stability in the region. The world should seize this opportunity to make Iran and the world safer.
EHSAN MOUSAVI
Bergamo, Italy
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