Socialism Can Lead To Islamism
- Iran 1979
We have all heard of Iran, formerly known as Persia - it is the home of one-half of the Islamic nutters. The Islamists took control of the country in 1979 and founded the Islamic Republic of Iran. They are anti-Western, anti-democratic, anti-American, anti-British, anti-communist, anti-Capitalist, anti-Sunni Muslim, and probably anti lots of other things as well.
Islam is brutal when acquiring power, most ideologies are - but not clever enough to acquire power without help from others. Islam can only offer faith and force. Recently, nearly all Islamic successes have come from American mistakes. But in 1979, the help needed came from socialists in Iran. A lesson we need to understand today in the UK.
Like in all Muslim countries, the Shah of Iran was not a competent ruler. He did not put his people first, oversaw massive corruption, and was weak and cowardly for he inherited his crown by birth – he did not earn it. He only remained in power by buying powerful allies.
His people were unhappy. This was exploited by the Soviets for they were fighting a global Cold War with the Americans, and Iran was an American ally. Sowing decent to weaken your enemy is as old as time.
Many left-wing groups were involved in the destabilisation and overthrow of the Shah’s pro-Western regime. Most were Marxist in orientation and promoted themselves as liberators of the Third World from oppressive colonialism, neo-colonialism, and capitalism. They wanted to stop the plundering of Muslim land by foreign non-believers. This played into the hands of the Islamists and a slogan emerged: Neither East, nor West – Islamic Republic!
The People's Mujahedin of Iran was the largest socialist group and had the aim to overthrow Iran's clerical influence. For a flavour of the aims of other groups, allow me to give you their names: The Organisation of the Iranian People's Guerrilla Freedom, Marxist Mujahedin, Organisation for the Liberation of the Iranian Peoples, Organisation for the People's Ideal, and the Group of United Communists. It all has a feel of the People’s Front of Judea.
This socialist movement has been credited with delivering the Islamic regime its victory. They controlled the universities and were able to bring masses of young people out onto the streets. Many of these socialists turned to terrorism to overthrow the Shah. They were overwhelming from the educated middle class and of the 341 killed from 1971 to 1977, over 90% were university intellectuals.
Non-socialist groups were smaller in number and included constitutionalist liberals, the democratic, Islamic reformists, and the secular National Front. This urban middle-class elite wanted the Shah to adhere to the Iranian Constitution rather than replace him with a theocracy.
The socialists arranged for industrial action to weaken the Shah - he countered with appeasement. A general strike was declared and the Shah gave them generous wage increases – his weakness was now obvious.
The future Islamist leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini was forced to flee the Middle East and move to a village outside of Paris to continue his fight for freedom. He was surrounded by Western journalists, including the BBC, who shined a spotlight on him and his cause. He became a household name as a Gandhi-like spiritual leader who did not seek power, but instead sought to "free" his people from "oppression." A mantra borrowed from the Marxists.
Thousands of women were involved in the revolution and actively participated alongside their male counterparts, including as terrorists. Some protested at demonstrations while carrying their children to make it more complicated for the army to open fire.
Many of these women were educated upper-middle-class from secular, urban and professional families, as well as from working-class and rural backgrounds. Even feminist groups joined the revolutionary movement for they have a history of violence and murder in the West.
Once in power, Khomeini rejected the word 'democratic’ as a Western ideal. This was the first sign that pro-democracy liberals and leftists were going to be disappointed. He then started to ban political parties and purge the universities. Potential threats were arrested and army generals were executed.
The United States was heavily involved in Iran during this time and supported the Shah. Surprisingly, the CIA never saw the revolution coming, just like the fall of the Berlin Wall and Eastern Europe a decade later. We must remember that history is always easy to understand in hindsight.
Are there any similarities between 1979 Iran and 2024 UK? What do we need to watch out for?
We have a socialist movement. We have street demonstrations. We have demands for revolution. We have weak leaders. We have a monarchy. We have an ever-increasing call for Islam. We have appeasement. We have violence. We have foreign powers meddling. We have feminists. We have an educated liberal elite. And let us not forget, that we have unhappy citizens who want change and a better life.
This story may be different from European examples of socialistic revolution and the dream of utopia, but the outcome is the same. Authoritarian State.
Socialism does not work when it is in power and ironically delivers the same result when it fails to take power. It is a disaster for everyone.
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