Dehumanization
is a process by which a person, or a group
of people, or a country as a whole is subjected
to constant (but subtle and overt) statements
of asserted demonization, for instance being
called 'evil' or being compared to a historic
figure (like Hitler) which most people despise.
Dehumanization may be directed
by an organization (such as a state) or
may be the composite of individual sentiments
and actions, as with some types of de facto
racism. State-organized dehumanization has
been directed against perceived racial or
ethnic groups, nationalities (or "foreigners"
in general), religious groups, genders (against
women and men), minorities of various sexual
orientations (e.g. homosexuals), disabled
people as a class, economic ( for instance,
the homeless), and social classes, and many
other groups.
Again
and again I see references made regarding
Iran that resembles that of Hitler's Germany
and Stalin's Soviet Union.
For instance when President
of Iran, Ahmadinejad, came to U.S. and was
invited by the Colombia University to speak,
he was introduced as a dictator. Many decent
people in U.S. were shocked that America
was portrayed in such an inhospitable way
- first you invite a President to speak,
and just before he speaks, he is bashed
by a University Official. The President
of Iran won the day be being gracious, pleasant,
and conciliatory.
If you lookup the textbook
definition of a 'dictator', you would find:
absolute ruler, especially one who is harsh
and oppressive. However, Mr. Ahmadinejad
is not an absolute ruler of Iran (he barely
has any power and has no power whatsoever
to declare war and oversea Iran's military).
Additionally, he was voted into office by
the people of Iran, and he has not declared
war on any other country, nor has he been
the supporter of oppression in Iran as this
area falls under the responsibilities of
the Supreme Revolutionary Council.
So why so many US politicians
and all U.S. media love to bash Ahmadinejad
and call him evil or a dictator?
Well, according to Cato
Institute, here's the reason:
"Once
you start demonizing a president or leader
of a country you are permanently embedding
ideologically-driven dehumanization into
the heart and minds of Americans and justifying
any future acts of violence against that
country and her people."
First, let's examine the
definition of the word, 'evil'. According
to Webster’s Dictionary, evil is:
something morally wrong and reprehensible
arising from actual or imputed bad character
or conduct.
Does Iran or her
leader fit this definition?
During 2005, in meetings
with Muslim clerics in Qom there were many
other organizations participating that you
would not associate to an 'evil Hitler-type
behavior'. The list included: Jewish Rabbis
representing Tehran’s 20 synagogues,
the Armenian Christian Archbishop in Esfahan,
Zoroastrian priests, parliamentarians, non-governmental
organizations, and news reporters.
The meeting's subject was:
"mutual tolerance and respect".
Iran is not an extremist
Islamic state trying to establish an order
reminiscent of a 7th century caliphate,
as American politicians and media often
imply - although Saudi Arabia is. And, there
are nearly 20,000 non-governmental organizations
active in Iran, clearly supporting the idea
that civil society is well established in
Iran.
And no informed and rational
individual would argue that Iran’s
domestic policies are worse in comparison
to the records of China, Pakistan, Egypt,
Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, all maintaining
trade relations with the US government while
intimidating dissidents with little or no
civil rights, conducting torture regularly,
and depriving their people of a democratic
process of elections.
Iran has not
invaded any neighboring country in 300 years
and remains compliant with the Non-Proliferation
Treaty, two things that cannot be said for
US allies India, Pakistan, or Israel.
Iran has elections (although
not perfect) which is more than what you
can find in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan,
or other arab counties in the Persian Gulf.
As Iran's president faces
castigation by his parliament, past presidents,
and the Supreme Leader for his anti-Israel
statements, can you find an example of this
kind of open criticism in Pakistan, Egypt,
Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar,
and Kuwait - all of whom are US's allies
in that region?
Iran is demonized and dehumanized
simply because the Iranian nation and its
government are attempting to build a healthy
domestic infrastructure, and benefit from
its own natural resources. Additionally,
Iran has shown at every level that it has
the desire to be independent and self-sufficient
to protect itself and avoid being a puppet
of US or Britain.
This is what commits Iran
to castigation by the superpowers. Evil
is reserved for countries that are unwilling
to be submissive to the masters of the Universe,
the U.S. and Britain.
If Iran denationalized its
oil supply and allow American companies
own and operate Iranians oil fields, then
you will be surprised how fast the US politicians
and US media would stop calling Iran an
'evil' country and soon Iran will be regarded
as a friend to the U.S. once again as it
was the case under the U.S. supported non-democratic
military government of the Shah.
But you may argue that ‘evil’
addresses Iran’s nuclear ambitions
which are very suspicious and therefore
a threat to the world.
According to the UN, the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons (of which Iran is a member) is intended
to promote cooperation in the field of peaceful
nuclear technology and equal access to this
technology for all State parties, while
safeguards prevent the diversion of fissile
material for weapons use.
Iran is a member of this
treaty, which nuke owners India, Pakistan,
and Israel refuse to ratify. Iran states
that all nuclear initiatives within Iran
are for peaceful purposes and gives objective
individuals no pretext for believing otherwise.
You can visit the nuclear facility in Iran
freely and inspectors visit on a regular
basis and have complete access to all of
Iran's nuclear sites. Again, this is not
the case with India, Pakistan, and Israel.
Analyzing
Iran’s energy infrastructure makes
it quite obvious that nuclear energy remains
one of Iran’s only available sources
for power generation with a growing population
and old oil fields that are too expensive
to operate.
If the name-calling stems
from America’s democratization agenda
in the Middle East, then Iran still does
not fit the bill since the U.S. overthrew
Iran’s democratically-elected leader,
Dr Mohammed Mossadegh, in the 1953. And
not surprising, that Mossadegh attempted
to nationalized Iran’s oil which angered
the British and American oil interests.
And Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan don't
even have real elections, and there is no
evidence of any democracy. In Saudi Arabia,
women don't have birth certificates yet
in Iran, 60% of university students are
women (more than men).
After overthrowing Mossadegh
through covert operations and funding a
violent coup that caused the death of 1042
civilians on the streets of Teheran, U.S.
influence in Iran’s political affairs
through the 1970s directly caused the revolution
of 1979 to free the country from a U.S.
installed and supported a military government
that executed and tortured 140,000 political
prisoners in 26 years.
The U.S. support for the
brutal puppet government of the Shah resulted
in the call for justice and fairness —
two tenets of Shia Islam that arguably spurred
the development (post-revolution) of health
clinics and schools in every town.
From Iranian perspective,
how can the U.S. speak of human rights abuses
in Iran when U.S. has breached every international
convention for human rights in Guantanamo
Bay, Abu Ghraib, outsourcing interrogation
to Intelligence forces in Egypt and Jordan,
and the CIA kidnappings of European citizens
even remotely suspected of being a family
member of a suspected terrorist?
Consequently, Iranians feel
that U.S. enforcement of international treaties
is far from just and fair.
How can the U.S. discourage
Iran’s treaty-protected rights to
legally develop nuclear technology, when
allies like India, Pakistan, and Israel
proceed to completely ignore and disregard
the Non-Proliferation Treaty’s governing
authority?
Despite glaring inconsistencies
in U.S. policy, Iranians distinguish between
U.S. government and American people and
are overwhelmingly generous and gracious
towards American people. Iranians were the
only people in the entire Middle East that
held a candlelight vigil for the Americans
that lost their lives on 9/11. Whether on
the street, synagogue or shrine, Iranian
hospitality is all consuming with a clear
evidence of a profound appreciation for
Persian norms vis-à-vis politeness,
generosity, respect and tolerance.
Dehumanization of Iran is an act of inhumanity. |
(last 30 days) 
