Kamangir (Archer)

I think the political system in Iran is a clear example for those who make good things ridiculous. Take for example, that dog entering Imam Reza’s shrine a few weeks ago. It has always been “accepted” by Iranians that there are divine things going on in Imam Reza shrine, especially, and in other holy places all over Iran, generally. If you have never visited Iran, you may be astonished to know that almost every village in Iran has its own shrine. These shrines are mainly places to get connected to God and there are stories for almost all of them. The stories mention how a very ill person was healed here or how praying for rain was accepted there. I was once visiting Iakhmorad, a cave some 100 Km from Tehran. Iakhmorad means the ice that gives what you want. There is always kind of transparent ice in Iakhmorad. What local people think help women get pregnant. And you have to be a traditional woman to know how much important it is to get pregnant. In another personal experience I was talking with a man in Aftar, a village close to Semnan. We were in a little room covered by pictures of Imam Hossein and other Islamic signs, when he told me how this room has helped him to get out of prison. Iranians are clearly religious people. And then how does the government treat this pure faith? They put people for managing these places, always clerics and people of that kind. For example, Imam Reza’s shrine is a source of money for a big institution called “holy place of Reza” (see). This “holy” institutions technically owns Khorasan, the large province in eastern Iran where the shrine is located. And I am not going to talk about the rumors about the relationships between this organization and drug trafficking. It is interesting, though, to know that the son of the holy place’s chief was charged with committing crimes concerned with illegal bushiness and just went away with it.

Another example of mistreatment of good things and changing them to ugly ones by IRI is how they governed Basij. Once, there was a war going on between Iran and Iraq. I am not going to talk about the ideas that this war could never start or could easily finish sooner. But, Basij was a militia of fanatic people who actual led the war and were responsible for many achievements in it. After all, they had nothing to loose so were always ready to die for the sake of Mahdi’s happiness. Then, after the war, they used Basij so idiotic that now Basij is synonym of “those brutal silly people which are against any progress”. When I read their quotes about the time of war, I really want to cry (see). How innocent illiterate people are collected and for ambitions of few big fishes become sources of hatred. They all had little nice lives of themselves and now they are funny puppets. They do what ever they are asked by the chiefs and what do they get? For many people that is a real power, when people are afraid of them.