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Supporting democracy through knowledge

3 comments on Supporting democracy through knowledge

Supporting democracy through knowledge
: Hoder is trying to find better ways to support democracy in Iran:

I’ve been thinking recently about how could outside world give support to democracy in Iran, the best way. Blogger folks such as Jeff Jarvis, Pejman Yousefizadeh, Joe Katzman, Andrew Sullivan, etc. have increased efforts to make at least English speaking blogosphere care more about Iranian students who’ve been struggling for change for a long time, and I really appreciate their attemtion and support. But I believe we all can do much more than putting up an icon, saying that we support democracy in Iran. In fact, we first should know about what kind of place Iran is and how it differs from Iraq and other mid-east countries.

So I’d like to suggest a new approach to supporting democracy in Iran: “If you really want to support us, try to know more about us.”

He’s right. The single most important effect of making links with Iranian blogs has been that I’ve learned a lot more about Iranian politics, history, and culture; that makes the struggle there about people rather than just headlines; that gives the stories context and sense. The more Iranian bloggers explain in English, the more we will understand.

3 responses to “Supporting democracy through knowledge”

  1. button Avatar
    button

    Many Americans already know something about Iran. Some people know a couple of things.
    Just about everyone knows they took Americans hostage and they know Ayatollah Khomeini.
    People in the New York City area know another thing about Iran: followers of Khomeini conducted a riot in the streets to enforce Khomeini’s fatwa against writer Salman Rushdie. They burned Rushdie in effigy and carried on like crazy people creating chaos and taking over the streets while the police just seemed to let them “vent.” And this was several years BEFORE 9/11!
    We already knew what we were dealing with because we had a preview of the fanatics.
    Hoder will first have to convince Americans that these people he is defending are not the fanatics that Americans are already familiar with.

  2. Jeremy Avatar
    Jeremy

    OTOH, don’t forget that the US has a whole lot of Iranians, because most of the Shah’s supporters (and their families) had to flee. So a lot of people in the US know Iranians (or Ex-Iranians).
    Granted, these people were often fairly westernized, and non-Muslim (generally either B’hai or Zoroastrian), but still, they give a very good impression. (My 2nd cousin is married to an Iranian, and one of my teachers in college was Iranian)

  3. KMK Avatar
    KMK

    It’s true. Most Iranians I know are extreme. Extremely friendly, that is. Well educated not only about Iran but also of the world around them. The Persian culture is 2500 years old and Iran is a Persian country, not an Arab country, and they don’t appreciate it if you make that mistake. I don’t blame them. As for fanatics we have our fair share here in the USA. Like the guy who shot a doctor because he performed abortions and the people who defended his actions. Iran is at the beginning stage of something we here in America know all to well, a separation of church and state.
    What I’m trying to say is if you want to see only the bad things in Iran stop here. Keep your tunnel vision. If you want to help go learn and see these links.(posted below) Or go to google and type in “beautiful things of Iran.” Go read the links Jeff has posted. Go to this link http://www.bamjam.net/Iran/index.html There you will find some beautiful pictures and descriptions of Iran and it’s history . For instance: Hamadan is the birthpalce of philosopher and physician Abu Ali Sina. In the West, we know the man as Avicenna. Among many things, he wrote a medical encyclopedia that has been mandatory reading for every medical student in Europe until the 19th century. His works as a poet and philosopher are still studied today. Hamadan is also one of the oldest centers of civilization. The city has been inhabited since the 2nd millennium BC. A Stone Lion is one of the remains of the ancient days. In Farsi it is called Sang-