Sociologist Chahla Chafiq was a 25-year-old Marxist activist during the 1979 Iranian revolution. Now in exile in France, she looks back on the tensions between socialism, feminism, and anti-imperialism that have roiled Iran’s opposition politics for decades.
Yeah, this is an untold story. I was somewhat surprised at the extent to which leftists in Iran had decided that Khomeini was going be a benign influence whom they therefore should support. (That is, they would support him initially, but they thought they would easily cast him aside later on.) But while the leftists and Marxists looked for wonderful things to come, others (who were either working for the Shah or who had greater sense) pointed out that they were inviting disaster. But Khomeini's secular fellow travelers wouldn't pay heed.
And what happened? By the end of the first decade, the Islamic Republic had dismantled labor unions, banned opposition, shuttered newspapers and summarily executed thousands, including many of its erstwhile leftist allies. This was so complete that many people today do not even know that leftists were allies in the overthrow of the Shah. Perhaps it is best left forgotten as it is not a shining moment that will inspire others.
If you want a long read on the topic, you can learn how the Carter administration was central in overthrowing the US ally the Shah and installing that nice man the Ayatollah Khomeni in power. He played Carter like a fiddle, and Carter fell for every lie he told.
On 27 January, 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini - founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, the man who called the United States "the Great Satan" - sent a secret message to Washington.
From his home in exile outside Paris, the defiant leader of the Iranian revolution effectively offered the Carter administration a deal: Iranian military leaders listen to you, he said, but the Iranian people follow my orders.
If President Jimmy Carter could use his influence on the military to clear the way for his takeover, Khomeini suggested, he would calm the nation. Stability could be restored, America's interests and citizens in Iran would be protected.
In a first-person message, Khomeini told the White House not to panic at the prospect of losing a strategic ally of 37 years and assured them that he, too, would be a friend.
"You will see we are not in any particular animosity with the Americans," said Khomeini, pledging his Islamic Republic will be "a humanitarian one, which will benefit the cause of peace and tranquillity for all mankind".
This starts playing in my head every time some chapo has a not very ironic boner for the islamist republic
Just because some group is opposed to US imperialism doesn't mean they're one of the good guys. Unfortunately the strong feelings are so intense that they override reason, as the Iranian Marxists found out to their sorrow. The automatic gainsaying of The Other leads to some dark places.
It’s not best left forgotten, it’s shining example of what not to do not (granted leftist history has a lot of them, but that’s exactly why it should be remembered).