Zahra Eshraghi, granddaughter of Ayatollah Khomeini: 'The government suffers from delusions.'

Zahra Eshraghi, granddaughter of Ayatollah Khomeini, has once more spoken out against the small clerical cabal who presently governs and continues to perpetuate the status quo of a half-baked democracy and the continued suppression of the most rudimentary of civil rights and personal freedoms. Ayatollah Khomeini's two grandsons, Hossein Khomeini, who is now under house arrest, and Ali Eshraghi, who was only recently disqualified and then reinstated as a candidate in this month's parliamentary elections, have also voiced many protestations and criticisms of the clerical elite surrounding Ayatollah Khamenei.

This is all well-known, but must be seen as an important development, as even the Islamic Republic's traditional mainstay and grassroots support, who provided the original impetus that swept the clergy to power, the ulema-bazaari 'coalition' if you will, continues to disintegrate under the dual affliction of a stagnant economy and the systematic curtailment of the most basic of personal freedoms.

I myself was taken aback after having several meetings with a lady working for a government institution, which I won't name, finally confessed to me as we casually chatted that she couldn't wait for the present government to be thrown aboard. This lady was clearly pious and not merely putting up a false front of religiosity in order to guarantee her continued employment, as so many in Iran are unfortunately compelled to do each and everyday. She only said this after she was comfortable with me and felt that I posed no threat, but a similar feeling can be found bubbling underneath the surface of a deeply religious class, who have mistakenly been branded a monolithic and unswerving ally of the theocracy and the principle of velayat-e-faqih. Amongst the disillusioned and alienated are not only those in the diaspora, or residing in the affluent neighbourhoods of northern Tehran, but its most traditional of allies. The Islamic Republic's crisis of legitimacy had deepened precipitously with the ascendancy of Ahmadi-Nejad, and will only continue to be exacerbated unless serious efforts in the direction of reform and change are soon made.

If you want to read the story which motivated this blog entry see:

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41624