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| Iran Ayatollah: I Am Convinced that the Regime Will Collapse |
| 2009-12-29 |
| Iran Ayatollah: 'I Am Convinced that the Regime Will Collapse' Iranian Regime Critic Ayatollah Kadivar he is a visiting professor at Duke U. - a 'Islam is against Terrorism and for women's rights' kind of guy on the Future of the Opposition Movement SPIEGEL: Do you expect a further escalation of state repression? Will the government dare to arrest the opposition politicians Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi? Kadivar: You cannot rule out the possibility; at the same time, the rulers also fear any kind of escalation -- and rightly so. The next level could be open rebellion. But things have not gotten that far yet. There is still a chance for a peaceful reform of the state. SPIEGEL: Really? You don't think that Iran has already long been on the path to becoming a religiously tinged military dictatorship? Kadivar: You are right that the Shiite theocracy in its present form has failed -- a fact that few have expressed as clearly as my teacher in the last few months. Incidentally, when Grand Ayatollah Montazeri had his falling out with Khomeini, three months before the supreme religious leader's death in 1989, he said: This state is so different from the one we dreamed of and worked to create. Still, it is not Islam which has failed, but rather a particular interpretation of Islam. I also want to express that there hasn't been a revolution in Iran yet. The opposition is becoming increasingly clear in the formulation of its objectives and more daring. Still, we need to remain patient. I do not know when, exactly, but I am convinced that the regime will collapse. SPIEGEL: Can the West do anything to support a democratic reform process? Kadivar: The tightening of sanctions is not the right path ahead. They affect the people more than the government. A military attack is something I categorically reject. Perhaps Western countries should stop treating Ahmadinejad's government as the legitimate government of Iran. Otherwise, I think the reforms must be pushed forward from inside the country. |
| Posted by:lord garth |