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Iranian Cleric Challenges Hardliners through Blog
EFLBlogging might not sound an appropriate hobby for a senior Iranian government official, particularly one who is a Muslim cleric. But presidential adviser Mohammad Ali Abthai has turned the practice of writing Internet journals, or blogging, into a powerful tool against the reformist government's hardline foes and a means to reach out to the country's disenchanted youth. Abtahi, 45, a mid-ranking cleric who last year quit his post as vice-president, says he learns more chatting with young people on the Internet than he does in any government report. "A lot of them criticize the (political) system and sometimes I tell them they are right. I talk to them very freely," he said in an interview at his spartan office in affluent north Tehran. "What do you think about moving to a secular political system? Yes or No???" asked one visitor, who called himself Gomnam. "Naturally the system of any country should be chosen by the majority of the people," was Abtahi's subtle reply. Internet use has proliferated in Iran in recent years. Official figures suggest there are more than 4 million users in the country of 68 million and the country ranks fourth in the world in terms of active Web logs. But Internet use, like other forms of entertainment and expression in Iran, is under threat. Late last year more than 20 young Internet journalists, web technicians and bloggers were arrested and held for several weeks on charges ranging from endangering national security to insulting senior officials of the clerical establishment. Soon after their release Abtahi revealed details of their treatment in prison where they were kept in solitary confinement, subjected to physical and psychological torture and forced to write confessions admitting to their crimes. It was a daring move but it worked. Abtahi's writings brought international attention to the case. Human rights groups and foreign governments called for an immediate inquiry. Local newspapers, normally too scared of closure to publish anything critical of the judiciary, began writing their own accounts of the bloggers' ordeals. Finally, judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi met the bloggers and after hearing their claims promised to bring those responsible to justice. "There's been a change in the atmosphere," Abtahi said. "Now instead of the webloggers being under pressure it's the judiciary which is feeling the heat. Fereshteh Ghazi, whose nose was reportedly broken during one interrogation session in jail, agreed. "Abtahi actually pressured high-ranking officials to follow-up our case. Because of our situation, we were scared to talk, but Abtahi had no such fear." The battle against censorship, however, is far from over. The judiciary recently ordered local Internet Service Providers to block access to several popular web sites including Orkut (www.orkut.com) a global online friendship portal where Iran contributes the third-most members. Abtahi recently had to move his own Web site to a server in the United States after a series of problems he believes were related to his writings about the bloggers case. Iran is fascintating. It is on the edge of obtaining nuclear weapons in pursuit of its old-style attempt at intimidation, and simultaneously on the edge of a political reformation that would reject its repressive, theocratic government. Which will happen first? Popcorn, please. Posted by: sludj 2005-02-18 |
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