Next Year in a Free Tehran!

As an Iranian-Jew, freely transitioning from my Nowruz “haftseen” table to preparations for a Passover Seder, I see the revolution unfolding in Iran and cannot help but connect it to the story of Exodus. After four decades of suffering under the Islamic Republic, the Iranian people are showing an unprecedented determination to abolish the repressive ruling regime and rebuild a new and free Iran. Activists have referred to this struggle to overthrow the Islamic regime as Gozar, a Persian word that essentially translates to “transition” or “journey.” 

Gozar and Exodus have a series of clear similarities as they reflect two great people working to escape generations of bondage.

Determination

We all know that the transition out of Egypt was an arduous journey for the Jewish people. In fact, the distance between modern day Cairo and Jerusalem should not have taken forty years, even on foot. Nonetheless, according to the oral history, it took the Israelites four decades to make the passage. The sages opine that the length of time was necessary to allow the Israelites to make, not only the physical journey, but also to shake off the mentality of oppression that they carried with them as slaves. 

Similarly, we see that, after four decades, the Iranian people are shedding the mentality of oppression imposed on them by tyrants in Tehran. The mullahs can no longer suppress their natural desires for freedom and self-determination. They are no longer fooled by the promises of another fake election and the false choice of hardliners and reformers. They are no longer beguiled by the trickle-down benefits of JCPOA with the false assurance of improved human rights. Today Iranians are fully aware that the Islamic Republic cannot be reformed or salvaged. The only way to save their homeland is to abolish this corrupt, despotic regime.

Leadership

Moses’ role as the prophet of the Jewish people is one of the most important, yet complicated aspects of the Exodus story. Moses was very reluctant to accept the mantle of leadership and even tried to reject the divine order, making excuses – such as his speech impediment– as a reason not to accept the responsibility. According to oral history, God assigned Aaron to assist Moses in his mission and they, together, led the Jews out of bondage. Interestingly, the mission ended at the end of the destination for Moses after which the responsibility of leadership was given to the Israelites.

Today, ordinary Iranians lack basic rights – freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion – and certainly are unable to elect their own leaders within the borders of their country. As a result, they are trusting individuals and influencers abroad who represent aspects of their struggles to lead the process of Gozar. This informal group includes Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi, women’s rights activist Masih Alinejad as well as entertainers and athletes, authors and activists. All have expressed a commitment to assist the people of Iran by representing them abroad and raising their voices to the international community.

Although Reza Pahlavi arguably has been the name most invoked by the demonstrators over the past six months and during other protests held in Iran over the past four decades, neither the Crown Prince nor any other person has claimed to be heir apparent of a post-regime Iran. Instead, all the leaders have demurred and hesitated to claim the reins. Instead, they seem to share a common belief that the Iranian people deserve the right to choose their own leadership and governance system in a free, fair and safe election.

Another parallel with Exodus can be found in the internal dissension in some quarters of the protest movement; just as the Jews traveling toward the Promised Land fought among themselves, so too we see dissidents quarreling among themselves even as they seek a better future for their country. Perhaps this should not surprise us – decades of repression leave a legacy of trauma and fosters a high degree of dysfunction. This has shown up most prominently on social media where dissidents and regime supporters have been warring through sexist remarks, allegations of “fascism,” accusations of racism, and other ad hominem attacks. It’s unfortunate and hopefully leadership can remind the revolutionaries of the need to focus their fire on the real enemy, the tyrannical regime in Tehran.

Charter

Here again, we are reminded of Moses bringing the tablets down from Sinai. The Ten Commandments prohibited idol worshiping and guided people to follow a basic set of guidelines with the ultimate purpose of promoting coexistence and kindness. These rules were simple but fundamental to the continuation of a civilization that has now lasted over 5700 years. The Commandments are simple, yet foundational. Although they bear much resemblance to the Code of Hammurabi which emerged centuries before, they have been the basis of major religious and governance codes for millennia.

While the Israelites received their mandates from a higher being, the Iranian activists abroad and in the country collaborated to write their manifesto in a new document. The charter, entitled “Solidarity and Cooperation for Freedom (Mahsa)” provides the most fundamental and essential guidelines for activists who are determined to fight for a free Iran. Despite the massive effort it took to draft this charter, it was quickly dismissed by detractors as “too simple” and too basic.  The criticism of the charter is not wrong; dialogue and engagement are indeed essential practices in a democracy. After 40 years of silence and fear of authority, Iranians are expressing themselves and engage in oppositional conversations on Instagram, Telegram, Twitter Space and Clubhouse, and are experiencing democracy, in small doses.  Yet we have to be mindful of detractors whose motive behind criticism is protection of the Iranian regime and delegitimization of the opposition activists. At this moment, this simple charter is the best hope for a foundation of tomorrow’s free Iran and today’s unfolding Gozar.

Iranians now have a clear destination, inspiring leadership, and a compelling set of commandments – but perhaps more than anything, they have an unbreakable will and infinite determination. It will be impossible for them to return to their proverbial Egypt. 

Freedom

The process of liberation continues for the Iranian people but the hardest parts are over. Iranians now have a clear destination, inspiring leadership, and a compelling set of commandments – but perhaps more than anything, they have an unbreakable will and infinite determination. It will be impossible for them to return to their proverbial Egypt. 

The pharaohs of Iran know this reality very well. They are fighting back with all their ammunition including violent repression at home, insidious proxy wars and terrorism abroad as well as by pursuing economic deals with unlikely partners to regain a sense of legitimacy. But their fate is already sealed, their time is set to expire.

The world now has reached a point where it can envision a new Iran where the most important exports will be goods and goodwill, not terror and extremism; where science is more about creating progress not enabling violence; where art is about creating beauty not generating propaganda; where foreign policy is about building allies, not eliminating enemies. 

It took the Israelites 40 years to make the physical and psychological journey out of bondage. When they entered the “promised land of milk and honey,” they had little more than Ten Commandments and the shirts on their back. They had to build a new civilization, choose new leaders and overcome new obstacles throughout history.  

It was an arduous, difficult, exhausting journey and, even today, it remains far from easy or utopian. But as Jewish people around the world will celebrate this week, all would affirm that it has been well worth it. Because freedom is worth everything. 

Next year in a free Tehran!

Marjan Keypour is an Iranian-born human rights activist and the founder of ARAMIran.org and StopFemicideIran.org. She was a presenter at the recent Gozar conference at Stanford University.