As far as the administration of President Obama is concerned, I believe the president has been very cautious and judicious in his measured and empirical support for the movement. Because of the history of American government’s involvement and interference in Iranian affairs, the president has been very cautious — not whole-heartedly embracing the Green Movement, because it would have been counterproductive.
CT: So you think America had its hands tied in its interactions with the Iranian government.
Dabashi: Exactly. The other reason is that President Obama has inherited a very messy regional politics from his predecessor. As a result, in order to fulfill his campaign promises of withdrawing American troops from Iraq, and reconfiguring policies in Afghanistan, and proceed with the peace process between Palestinians and Israelis, the president needs the collaboration of the Islamic Republic, one way or another.
As a result, all these restrictions can hinder the president’s response to be partial and judicial.
CT: There were some protests at Virginia Tech about the results of the election from last summer. Is it exciting for you to see young people getting involved in the Green Movement?
Dabashi: Very much so. In fact, the overwhelming majority of people involved in the Green Movement are young people. Iranian population is 72 million, and 80 percent of it is under the age of 40. Seventy percent is under the age of 35, and 50 percent of it is under the age of 25.
It’s a very young population, and that means it’s a young movement. The involvement of young people, whether they are inside Iran or around the world, is definitive in movements.
CT: What’s the next step in the Green Movement? Where do we go from here?
Dabashi: I believe, for example on the second of April is a national picnic day, that people are going out of town to rural areas to celebrate with friends and family. What is important is the momentum that was created on June 13th, a spontaneous demonstration, has consistently continued on every religious or national holiday that Iranians had.
This will continue. The momentum will be unrelenting, the public displays have been effectively appropriate by the people. The government can only come and disallow peaceful assembly by show of force … by violence and kidnapping people off the streets … harassing, torturing, incarcerating, and in few cases even killing them.
The more these sort of demonstrations continue, the more we see the nature of the movement as quintessentially non-violent … and the more violent and immature nature of the Islamic Republic will be, for the whole world to see.
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A version of this article appeared in the Mar 30 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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Hamid Dabashi is one of the most odious figures in the Iranian diaspora community. He is filled with hate and insecurity and all he does is attack other people whom he's jealous of, like Azar Nafisi, Vali Nasr, and others. Perhaps it's because his books are boring and inaccessible and don't sell any copies. He's a wannabe Edward Said, but as opposed to Palestinians who revered Said, Dabashi is widely considered to be a charlatan in the Iranian-American community.
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Dear Mohsen, hate is a strong word that you think Dr. Dabashi has for Azar Nafisi & Vali Nasr & the others!!!Far from it, why can't we all for ONCE, unite on one thing, and that is to try to help in anyway (the green movement, considering we believe in it)? Disrespecting our thinkers and scolars will not get us anywhere, to disagree with them, is another matter. P.S. Do you have any books you can suggest, except for RLIT? So we can be enlightened?
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