By Reza Washahi
Iran accused Britain of spreading the Wahabism form of Sunni Islam among youth in the Arabic area of Ahwaz situated in south west of Iran.
Deputy education minister Gholam Hussein Haydari said that ” enemy after deleting options about military attack on Iran, now is focusing on a cultural theme and during the last few years through satellite channels and the Internet they are spreading Wahabism in the area”
He added, “Britain is behind such move”[1]
In fact every one who is following political developments in Ahwaz area knew that spreading Wahabism is nothing to do with Britain.
Wahabism was started by some members of the Al Wefgah Islamic Party in Ahwaz. They started to spread the ideology of Wahabism in the hope that Sunni Arabic countries in the area would have more sympathy with Ahwazi Arabs. Al Wefgah Islamic Party was later banned in Ahwaz and its members persecuted.
It’s true that in the long term such Wahabism movement would not be in the benefit of Ahwazi people and it would be a very great mistake, as Wahabism is far from tolerant and its opposition to modern life values is very well known.
The fact that people started to go away from Islam, even to the Wahabism form, showed that Ahwazi people are fed up with Iranian government’s official religion. Conversion from Islam to other religion accelerated after revolution in 1979, which mixed Islam and power and built theocracy threatening the region.
All these conversions are as a result of the Iranian government’s pressure on Ahwazi people. At the same time political awareness among Ahwazi Arabs is another reason for these conversions.
There is a very deep belief among many Islamic scholars that origin of Shia is mixture of Islam with Zoroastrianism, Gnosticism and Mithraism Mysteries. And Iranians invented it so that they can keep distance from Arabs. Even Many Iranian scholars pointed out that, Shia was reaction of Iranian against Arabs.[2]
If that is true, surely Ahwazi Arabs, could not accept their occupier religion which is against theirs race and identity and this could be one of main reason that Arabic countries not paying attention to the cause of Ahwazi people.
Changing Religion
The recent history of the struggle for independence similar to Ahwaz area showed that changing religion is very advantageous for those people. For example conversion of east Timor people to Christianity was very crucial in the progress of their independence.
What the modern world calls cultural pluralism, the Iranian government calls “the cultural war” it is in heart of autocracy to not have tolerance for other opinions and this is what Islamic government of Iran is all about.
Haydari suggestion that “singing national anthem and boosting Farsi language could solve the problem of Ahwaz”, clearly showing that Iranian government again wants to ignore the real root of the problem in Ahwaz area, and they want to blame foreign countries, which they do not have any thing to do with it.
The colonising type of Anti Arab policy run by Iranian Government during nearly last 100 years in Ahwaz is one of the examples of modern cultural genocides.
What the world should notice is that genocide is not only taking life of minorities and nations, it could have different aspects. When indigenous people cannot talk in their language it means they are no longer exist. Physical existence is not enough.
Arab Ahwazis cannot talk or educate in their mother tongue and all types of cultural practice including music, theatre, cinema, dance, literature and so on are forbidden in Arabic language.
[1] http://bultannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4132&Itemid=1
[2] For example look to the books by Abdolhossein Zarrinkoob, Yar Shtaer, Javad Tabatabaei, Dariush Shayegan, and Daryoush Ashouri.
Iran accused Britain of spreading the Wahabism form of Sunni Islam among youth in the Arabic area of Ahwaz situated in south west of Iran.
Deputy education minister Gholam Hussein Haydari said that ” enemy after deleting options about military attack on Iran, now is focusing on a cultural theme and during the last few years through satellite channels and the Internet they are spreading Wahabism in the area”
He added, “Britain is behind such move”[1]
In fact every one who is following political developments in Ahwaz area knew that spreading Wahabism is nothing to do with Britain.
Wahabism was started by some members of the Al Wefgah Islamic Party in Ahwaz. They started to spread the ideology of Wahabism in the hope that Sunni Arabic countries in the area would have more sympathy with Ahwazi Arabs. Al Wefgah Islamic Party was later banned in Ahwaz and its members persecuted.
It’s true that in the long term such Wahabism movement would not be in the benefit of Ahwazi people and it would be a very great mistake, as Wahabism is far from tolerant and its opposition to modern life values is very well known.
The fact that people started to go away from Islam, even to the Wahabism form, showed that Ahwazi people are fed up with Iranian government’s official religion. Conversion from Islam to other religion accelerated after revolution in 1979, which mixed Islam and power and built theocracy threatening the region.
All these conversions are as a result of the Iranian government’s pressure on Ahwazi people. At the same time political awareness among Ahwazi Arabs is another reason for these conversions.
There is a very deep belief among many Islamic scholars that origin of Shia is mixture of Islam with Zoroastrianism, Gnosticism and Mithraism Mysteries. And Iranians invented it so that they can keep distance from Arabs. Even Many Iranian scholars pointed out that, Shia was reaction of Iranian against Arabs.[2]
If that is true, surely Ahwazi Arabs, could not accept their occupier religion which is against theirs race and identity and this could be one of main reason that Arabic countries not paying attention to the cause of Ahwazi people.
Changing Religion
The recent history of the struggle for independence similar to Ahwaz area showed that changing religion is very advantageous for those people. For example conversion of east Timor people to Christianity was very crucial in the progress of their independence.
What the modern world calls cultural pluralism, the Iranian government calls “the cultural war” it is in heart of autocracy to not have tolerance for other opinions and this is what Islamic government of Iran is all about.
Haydari suggestion that “singing national anthem and boosting Farsi language could solve the problem of Ahwaz”, clearly showing that Iranian government again wants to ignore the real root of the problem in Ahwaz area, and they want to blame foreign countries, which they do not have any thing to do with it.
The colonising type of Anti Arab policy run by Iranian Government during nearly last 100 years in Ahwaz is one of the examples of modern cultural genocides.
What the world should notice is that genocide is not only taking life of minorities and nations, it could have different aspects. When indigenous people cannot talk in their language it means they are no longer exist. Physical existence is not enough.
Arab Ahwazis cannot talk or educate in their mother tongue and all types of cultural practice including music, theatre, cinema, dance, literature and so on are forbidden in Arabic language.
[1] http://bultannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4132&Itemid=1
[2] For example look to the books by Abdolhossein Zarrinkoob, Yar Shtaer, Javad Tabatabaei, Dariush Shayegan, and Daryoush Ashouri.
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