My friend, Roya Hakakian, was the guest of Yascha Mounk’s podcast last week to talk about the Iranian revolution. The conversation is well worth your time, and you can find it here. In general, Yascha’s podcast, The Good Fight, is well worth your time, as well as his publication, Persuasion, which I occasionally contribute to.
While I agreed with most of what Roya said, I find one area of disagreement: That the revolution in Iran isn’t ideological. I beg to differ. First, watch the song “Baraye” (in Farsi, “For”), by Shervin Hajipour, which has become the anthem of the revolution. Pay attention to the lyrics.
Let’s go through the grievances and aspirations in the song:
Not being allowed to dance on the street
Not being allowed to kiss in public
The minds that are rotten (anti-enlightenment)
Command economy
Environmental conservation
Animal rights
Future
Mandatory heaven (theocracy)
Political prisoners
Discrimination against Afghan refugees
LGBT rights
Gentle masculinity (Man, Homeland, Prosperity)
Women’s rights
Liberty
The lyrics of the song aren’t original. They are a collection of tweets by Iranians. And the song is so popular because Iranians resonate with its grievances and aspirations. Now, you tell me, what is a revolution whose aspirations are the separation between religion and the state, the rejection of command economy, and the securing of the rights of people, especially minorities? It’s liberal.