A message from Tehran

[pokerfan]

For about the last year, I've been following the discussions on the imdb board for Ben Stein's Expelled movie. It has drawn scientists and laypeople (and a handful of religious fundamentalists) from all over the world and I have learned much from reading it. (My background in biology is woefully lacking having mostly studied physics and engineering.)

Anyway, one of the regulars from Iran just posted the following...

Board: Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008)

OT: Religion, Enlightenment, Revolution, and Change
by Yithian 15 hours ago (Sat Jun 20 2009 21:32:19)

Guys,

As most of you are aware, I live in Tehran, Iran. With all the chaos that's been flying around this past week, I haven't been on much lately, indeed since the days following up to the "election". I must unfortunately announce to you all that due to some recent developments, I'm not going to be able to come here anymore. I'm going to be in some trouble more than likely for what I've posted here and on other message boards. Our web browsing is monitored, even moreso now.

With the protests, the government has started censoring the Internet more and more, mainly the news websites and blogs; thankfully, Twitter is still going and my sister Sina told me that MySpace and Facebook are working, and I did some Twittering to my friends in Europe and America with her along with my brother-in-law Badi. Our cellphone networks have been shut down entirely. I have not been able to call or text anyone for the last few days or even get service. We have been told by the police you are to be beaten if you take one out in front of them, and they will do the same to you if you have a camera.

We are in a full revolt as of this moment in time. There are hundreds of people dead and hundreds more injured from what I have heard and seen. There is talk of conflict and dissent in some areas of the military, but some is not enough and I do not know if such things are true or merely incorrect rumor to begin with. But I have been in the riots just yesterday, and things are most terrible for the protesters.

I am posting this because of my personal values. Because for so long, talking about things like science and thought outside of religion here has been a crime, punishable by death; because expressing who we are and what we desire to obtain (freedom) has been deemed an offensive to Islam by the mullahs; and so we are maimed and killed and bled dry in our arduous quest for it at this very moment. It is, to say the least, a sad and depressing sight.

For over 20 years, Iran has been locked away from the rest of the world because of religious fanaticism. We were once a great nation that gave much to the fields of science, mathematics, medicine, art, history, literature, and music, but that all changed after we became the Islamic Republic of Iran. We had since become dogmatic barbarians shouting and killing "in the name of God", as so many before have done (both in and out of the ranks of Islam). Let this serve as a lesson: fanaticism of ANY KIND is dangerous and for this very reason should be stamped out before it can consume even a small part of society; it will cause trouble, period.

Years ago, as I have told some before, I served as a member of the Basiji during the Iran-Iraq War. I have been ashamed of myself and feel guilty for my stupidity and naivety. "Baseej-e Mostaz'afin" (the full name of the organization) means "Mobilization of the Oppressed". Now, in the riots, they are helping oppression from above. They have come to put down the "mobs" and have been responsible for much of the damage done to our homes, property, and families. And I feel unhappy with myself because I used to be a proud part of them but look now. They have gone to hospitals and killed, arrested, and tortured the injured. They have defiled their own brethren. All because of religious fanaticism.

But out of this fanaticism has come hope. The protesters obviously are fighting for the good of the people and the nation because they have been educated. They have gone to such places as America and England and Germany and France. They have learned because of this what freedom is like, and they have spread their enlightenment to others. And from this has come what you see today: revolution in the name of freedom. Freedom from oppression, from brainwashing, from fanaticism, and cruelty; for democracy, justice, knowledge, the good of the people, and the good of the nation. And indeed for freedom itself. To say what you want, to love who you want, and to live happily for all your days.

Intelligence is an infectious thing, that much is for sure. Anybody can learn so long as they have an open mind and a yearning to attain knowledge, something the mullahs and government have been trying to destroy for so long now for their own greedy and self-centered motives. Well no more will this be the case, we hope. It was the great Scientific Revolution of the 1600s and 1700s that sparked intelligence and question and ultimately led up to the French and American Revolutions of 1789 and 1776 respectively. For us, it has come down to technology and our students being taught in foreign nations, then returning home with what they have come to understand.

I do not know whether this all will turn out to be a tremendous success or a disastrous failure. We can only try. What have we to lose that is not already in jeopardy? Or more importantly, that HAS NOT ALREADY been put in jeopardy? Nothing, that's what. Everything is at risk now, no one will be spared from the consequences in the end of it all (be they good or bad). If we would become free, we must fight; fight the mullahs and Khamenei or become slaves to them, which is what we've been these past three decades since the Shah was overthrown (justified, IMO) and an Islamic Republic was declared (not justified, IMO).

So that's it. This is more than likely my last post here. Think it dramatic, true, overthetop, intelligent, stupid, or otherwise. It doesn't matter to me. I have learned much from you enlightened minds here, such as Drew, Werecow, and Ruth; I have laughed with comics like Ernie and Ella. I wish I could learn and laugh more with you guys. But for the time being, I thank you all for sharing your knowledge and talents with me, and I hope you will continue to do so for the future. If we fail, then I will be executed by firing squad for having taken part in such discussions (it's not a question of "if" with this government), in which case I still give you all my thanks anyway for such valuable assets. The same will be done with anyone else who has spoken of such things.

Perhaps something good will come out of this mess for Iran and we the people, and I will be able to resume using my account here under more peaceful and happy circumstances. I may come back with updates from time to time. I may.

With deepest respect, sincerity, good wishes, and hope for the future.

Akbar

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1091617/board/thread/140868279?d=140868279

[Indenturedebtor]

1. Hats off to his courage and committment to truth. I hope that he escapes the jackboot

Good luck out there...

[HeresyLives]

2. The same chilling words have echoed down the centuries.

'Because for so long, talking about things like science and thought outside of religion here has been a crime, punishable by death'

[pokerfan]

3. Fear, The Foundation Of Religion

Religion is based, I think, primarily and mainly upon fear. It is partly the terror of the unknown and partly, as I have said, the wish to feel that you have a kind of elder brother who will stand by you in all your troubles and disputes. Fear is the basis of the whole thing -- fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand-in-hand. It is because fear is at the basis of those two things. In this world we can now begin a little to understand things, and a little to master them by the help of science, which has forced its way step by step against the Christian religion, against the churches, and against the opposition of all the old precepts. Science can help us to get over this craven fear in which mankind has lived for so many generations. Science can teach us, and I think our own hearts can teach us, no longer to look around for imaginary supports, no longer to invent allies in the sky, but rather to look to our own efforts here below to make this world a fit place to live in, instead of the sort of place that the churches in all these centuries have made it.

Bertrand Russell, "http://users.drew.edu/~jlenz/whynot.html">Why I Am Not a Christian"

[Greyskye]

4. Good luck, Akbar.

And everyone else in his position in Iran, as well.

[Hissyspit]

5. Thanks for finding that and taking the time to post it. nt

[struggle4progress]

6. Iran looks to science as source of pride (Boston Globe 2006)

By Anne Barnard, Globe Staff | August 22, 2006

TEHRAN -- The white-coated scientists at Tehran's Royan Institute labor beneath a framed portrait of the turbaned, bearded supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the head of a state that enforces strict religious rules governing everything from how women dress to what kinds of parties people throw.

But in the cutting-edge field of human embryonic stem-cell research, the scientists work with a freedom that US researchers can only dream of: broad government approval, including government funding, to work on the potent cells from early-stage embryos that researchers believe hold the promise to cure many diseases.

In 2002, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gave his blessing to research on surplus embryos created for fertility treatments -- work sharply restricted in the United States under pressure from religious conservatives -- calling it a ``lofty" effort that fit his goal of making Iran the scientific leader of the Muslim world.

The scientific ambitions that led Iran to embrace one of the world's most open policies on stem-cell research also help to explain why many Iranians support the nuclear research program that has thrust their country into a dangerous international confrontation ...

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/08/22/iran_looks_to_science_as_source_of_pride/

[struggle4progress]

7. Video: Iran Pushes Science (National Geographic | 2008)

February 5, 2008 — Embryonic stem cell research, animal cloning, and a controversial nuclear program are part of Iran's efforts to establish itself as a science and technology leader ... http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080205-science-video-ap.html

[supernova]

8. Godspeed Akbar

:cry:

That's heartbreaking. I really hope he survives this, hoping he's wrong that he'll be executed for participating in an ibdb chat board.

[supernova]

9. Pokerfan, can I x-post this in GD?

It would get more traffic there, and I'd hate for so many DUers to miss this.

[pokerfan]

10. Sure, imbd is an open forum

[pokerfan]

11. Update

The riots are gradually ceasing, the police have more of a stronghold over us than ever because of this, and the rumors of military dissent, while true, have ended in disappointment with the arrest of General Fazli. His troops have been taken over by new management as well. The people are split over how we should be run, too. There are supporters of the monarchs marching around, as well as advocates for democracy, a reformed republic, and even a few Communist groups preaching their views. More importantly, the Basiji are becoming more aggressive in their tactics.

I think we've lost.

EDIT:

I've considered whether or not I should destroy my hard drive and my cellphone to avoid personal information as well as net information (like passwords, pin numbers, social network IDs, contacts, etc.) from being obtained in the event that I am arrested. I'd like to get everyone's opinion on this before I do it, however; it might not be a smart thing to do in the long run, but then again, it may be. I don't know.