Prejudice vs. Truth

Submitted by Radwan Abu-Issa (United States), Jul 23, 2002 at 13:00

The west, the western governments and their "intellectuals" were taken by surprise by the dramatic change in Iran in 1979 from a full ally (slave) of the west to a country that wanted to build its own independent identity. Attacks, embargoes, wars took place to stop Iran but all failed.

Now the West hopes for a miracle and sees in the Taheri's new criticism as such. The change may even strengthen Iran on its path of democratization and freedom, but in its own unique way and on its own terms.

The other point is that although Iran is attached to Islam and Islamic countries, it is very different from the rest of the Muslim world because it belongs to a different branch of Islam called Shi'ism. This fact makes the Iranian experience not transferable to the rest of the Islamic world.

I believe that the militant Islam in the rest of the Islamic world will continue growing independently from Iran.

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