Aaron Eitan Meyer, a lawyer and former research director for the Lawfare Project, joined Conservative Casual Friday show host Andrew E. Harrod to discuss Iran’s Arab minority, the Ahwaz, who live in Iran’s Khuzestan province, the source of almost all of the country’s oil. As Meyer has analyzed at the Canadian-based Dur Untash Studies Centre (DUSC) and elsewhere, the Ahwaz are an Arabic, largely Shiite population related to the neighboring Shiite Arabs who live across the Iran-Iraq border in Iraq. Although the Ahwaz enjoyed limited autonomy under the 1847 Treaty of Erzerum between the Persian and the Ottoman Empires, the former Iranian monarchy of Reza Shah Pahlavi imposed full Iranian rule over the Ahwaz in 1925. Ever since, the Ahwaz have confronted Iranian assimilation efforts to erase Ahwaz Arabic culture in a strategically sensitive region, particularly since Iran’s brutal Islamic Republic took power in 1979. Among other matters, Meyer analyzed Ahwaz history, Iranian repression of the Ahwaz, their violent and nonviolent responses, and what possible future Khuzestan could have.
Peter Buckley says
In 150-200 years, when Islam has been “tamed”, and the majority of decent and/ or educated muslims have long since left the faith, as predicted by Muhammad himself, and Islam is starting to fade (but not without some violence),we will be able to treat muslims as children and “educate” them out out of Islam, as and when the non-muslim world feels the need to do so.
In the meantime, it might speed up the process by asking Shia muslims a simple question: Why do you follow a religion that is so obviously and seriously flawed that the biggest threat to its adherents are….”other” followers of the same religion?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HHAI7Fxa5A
That’s all. Just a simple question. No need for deep religious arguments. Just give them “cognitive dissonance”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance
Eventually, over a few generations, the most intelligent of the Shias will realize what a pile of crap their religion is. Few people seem aware of it, but, despite the violence, ongoing for over 1400 years, these are indeed wondrous times…..
gravenimage says
Alas, Peter, I see few indications that Islam is going to be tamed any time soon. I wish I did.
Infidel says
Why don’t Iran’s Khuzestani Arabs campaign to become a part of Iraq, namely Iraq’s Basra province? As it is, Iraq is now run by shi’a who are no longer interested in a jihad outside Iraq’s borders: they have their plates full at home. That would also pull their oil out of the sanctions regime (even if Biden may be moving to undermine it)
Maybe a complete civil war in Iran is in order – Farsis vs Arabs vs Kurds vs Azeris vs Balochis… Then the world might notice that the real war within islam is not shi’a vs sunni, but rather Turk vs Arab
gravenimage says
Iran’s Repressed, Restive Arabs
…………..
Muslims even oppress other Muslims.