Ahmadinejad, Obama and Change
- KurdishMedia.com - By Kay Azadabeen
- 26/05/2009 00:00:00
A friend told me that cynical Americans who did not believe in change used to have a saying: “Once a swine could fly, America will be ready to elect a black president”. But change is inevitable and as my friend further explained, “America elected a black president even before a swine flu”.
Yes, change is inevitable and could happen even in Iran. Many people in the West might compare Iran to Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia and think Iran has already changed because of women’s role in work force. Although Iran might be slightly better than those two countries, Islamic Republic is not what progressive Iranians in general and progressive Kurds in particular consider as change for better.
The idea of change for better, although not new, started with President Obama’s motto in recent years. Dr. Tahiri has suggested in a recent article that change in Iran is possible under the presidency of Ahmadinejad. The author is aware that Ahamdinejad is not the candidate of change because of good will but because of bad policies. He argues that reform and Islam are not compatible and therefore frustration of the people under Ahamdinejad could motivate Iranians to demand real regime change. He might be right, not because Ahamdinejad is like Obama, but because he is everything that Obama is not.
Ahamdinejad is a fanatic religious president who thinks his faith is superior to any other faith and should dominate the world and determine the private life of everyone. Obama is a secular president who believes faith is a private matter and should not be imposed on anyone.
Ahmadinejad is a poorly educated person among the politically dominant Persian majority in Iran. Obama is an outstanding educated person among the disadvantaged black minority in America.
Ahmadinejad pretends to be poor and wishes that everyone develops his taste for poor attire. Obama wishes that every poor American develops his taste for elegant clothing.
Ahmadinejad makes the extremist in Israel happy by giving them the reason why they have to be more aggressive against Palestinians. Obama’s support for a two state solution for Israeli-Palestinian conflict makes Israel’s extremist very unhappy.
Ahamdinejad thinks his main opponents, the Kurds, should be buried very deep because “deep down they are good people”. Obama thinks his opponents are good when alive because they contribute to the diversity of his cabinet.
Based on what Dr. Tahiri suggests and how Ahmadinejad treats his people, the minorities, and the world, voting for him might cause regime change. However, voting for any candidate that does not believe in separation of religion and state is a waste of time. I believe boycotting the election in Iran by the voters and refusing any connection with the Islamic regime by the international community is the most progressive way that could force Iran to accept change for better.
- KurdishMedia.com - By Kay Azadabeen
- 26/05/2009 00:00:00