Hi everybody,
Two events are happening right now, and they center around on idea: protest. In both Iran and Tunisia, the people are rising against the regime, challenging them on economic and political grounds.
Let’s start with the one you may have heard of: Iran.
It is no secret that Iran has a brutal regime. They are an extremely strict Islamic state, following a specific interpretation of the Quran with no exceptions. It all started in 1978, when religious students and other Iranian youths took to the streets to protest the very pro-West shah, on the grounds of political corruption & aggression, the shah’s repeated violations of the Iranian constitution, and the royal family’s extremely excessive lifestyle. The protests evolved into a full scale rebellion, with government violence spurring more and more protests. The uprising centered around one man: Ruhollah Khomeini. Khomeini, a religious leader, was exiled for over a decade. He made his return not long after the shah and his family took a “vacation” on January 16th that would last for the rest of their lives. (Khomeini was part of the reason the revolution started - those religious protesters were also defending Khomeini from alleged criticism) the rebellion was over, and Khomeini became the first supreme ruler of Iran after the military pulled out. Unfortunately, no matter what values the rebellion was founded on, the regime created became as oppressive as the last; women’s rights (which had flourished under the shah) all but disappeared, and Islamic law was enforced. Islamic bands roamed the streets, enforcing religious code with their own sense of violent justice. This regime has lasted to this day, and has caused plenty of headaches for the citizens and the world. Anti-western sentiment spurred the Iran Hostage Crisis, followed by the threat of nuclear armament - in attempting to solve the former the US failed catastrophically, while treaties have mostly kept the Iranians from performing the latter.
And now, finally, the people are taking a stand against the brutal regime. Following the arrest and death of a woman accused of violating the government law on women’s head scarves, the public has again taken the streets, led by the women stripped of their rights and citizens angry over the sad state of the economy. Unfortunately, the government has appeared to have learned absolutely nothing from why the previous government was overthrown, and are responding to the protests with brutal violence. Crackdowns have begun, with the Iranians blaming the Kurds in northern Iraq and using it as justification for attacks on the region. In one exceptionally bloody incident, the police fired upon a group of thousands, many of which were seated in prayer. Absolutely horrifying.
Iran may call their cops the “morality police,” but in truth they are anything but.
On top of that, two and a half thousand miles away from the Iranian protests, another fight is brewing - in the nation of Tunisia. Since these protests are relatively new, there is less news to share, but it is known that the dire economic and political state of the country has finally resulted in civilian opposition. Said crisis started when Tunisian President Kais Saied consolidated his power by dissolving parliament in 2021.
These leaders will never learn, will they?
The protests began in earnest after a young man died on Friday from a neck injury after an extended police chase. The protests began a day later, when two opposition parties organized one of the largest protests against the “president.” And with anger over fuel & food shortages rising, I’d say these protests aren’t ending anytime soon.
These protests provide an interesting correlation with the famed Arab Spring of the 2000’s - characterized by widespread anti-government opposition in the Arab world, and with mixed results. In that case as well as this, the protests began in Tunisia.
Perhaps the protests in Tunisia may culminate with an Arab Spring 2.0, and hopefully bring about change in the Middle East for the better.