An illegitimate government rules Iran and they do so at the expense of their people. The events of the last week have shown the power of the people's voice and the power of the government's fist. This time it appears the fist has struck a powerful blow but the voice of the people cannot be silenced.
This Genie is out of the bottle and it cannot be put back in.
The recent presidential election in Iran has eclipsed an initial protest of election fraud and grown to a citizen denouncement of the Iranian government bringing untold thousands into the streets to show their distrust in that government and to display the anger which that distrust has caused.
The election of June 12 saw an unprecedented turnout of voters. 85 percent of eligible voters came to the polls to place a voice in their country's future. 39.1 million votes were cast. And when the Iranian government released the results of these hand cast votes a few scant hours after the polls closed they claimed the unpopular incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had won in a staggering landslide giving rise to the street demonstrations that have streamed across television screens in a 24/7 cycle since.
The government of Iran admits there are discrepancies in the vote, in over fifty Iranian cities there were more votes cast than there were eligible voters. They also claim the 39.1 million votes were hand counted accurately within hours of the polls being closed, a statement that is difficult to accept on the surface and impossible to believe after deeper reflection. This was the spark that ignited the protests, a highly suspicious election.
The Iranian government took a definitive path at this historical fork in the road when faced with the electric response of its citizens. The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomenei, stood by the announced results and sneered at his people, thus elevating the demonstrations from a protest of election fraud to an open denouncement of the Islamic leadership which governs Iran. The demonstrations on Tehran streets now voiced opposition to the very power of a government so disrespectful of its citizens that it threatens violence and death to those who question its dictates.
And on this decree the history of modern Islam was written. The significance of the Iranian election is of the utmost importance to the world in which we live. The collision of radical Islam and western philosophy has plagued recent history with bloodshed, distrust and fear. Our generation may not witness a peaceful resolution to this strife but if a peace is to be achieved it must come from the Muslim world itself. And thus the voice of the Iranian people was received by the world with a very eager ear.
Saturday June 20, 2009 is a date that marks a very real step forward in world history. The street protests that were planned were explicitly and forcefully outlawed by the Iranian government in an attempt to reclaim the power it had begun to abuse. The word of the government, the word of Islam as they interpret it, was no longer a powerful enough threat to silence a population.
The People took the streets in the face of violent threats and in doing so they rose as one and showed the world that the voice of Iran is the voice of Islam and the voice of the Iranian government is the voice of an illegitimate, distorted and abused power. The Iranian government can no longer be accepted by the world as a voice of the Iranian people. The Iranian government has killed the voice of its people, most poignantly illustrated in the sad death of Neda, a young Iranian woman who was shot dead in her country's streets by her own government as cell phone cameras broadcast her last bloody breaths to a watching world.
Iran cannot go back. The government has been revealed for what it is, an outdated, illegitimate ruling power that has lost the support of its people. They will retain their power for now as the power of the gun still holds court over the power of peaceful assembly but they no longer are viewed as the true voice of the Iranian people. They are impostors, holding their own citizens hostage. The Revolution has begun and it will not end until the ruling party is removed. This will take time but there is a Free Iran in the world's future and that freedom will be earned by the Iranians themselves.
The question to the world is how do we respond? It is a fragile arena for political commentary as the inherent distrust of the west can play a negative role if it is thought the United States is meddling in a region where it does not belong but we cannot stand silent. The Iranian people stood up for themselves and out of political necessity they stood up alone. It is now time for the world to stand next to them and and display the allegiance that is needed to move forward. The world must ally itself with the righteous and denounce the oppression. The government of thugs now ruling Iran must be exposed for who they truly are.
The future is a murky place at best but the world made a historical leap in the last seven days. Iran has displayed the courage and the passion that is vital to cause real change and their freedom will come. They showed the world what true bravery is as they stood to the threats of death with unity and solidarity. They stood for a Free Iran and a true Islam. The first battle in this new war has been fought and while the streets of Tehran may be temporarily silenced by the steel toed boots of a dictatorial regime the people have spoken.
The Iranian people are a true voice of Islam and the the Iranian government has shown it does not abide by the voice of its people.
The pages of history are written in the streets and they are authored by the people. The people of Iran are to be saluted for the bravery it takes to write that history.
