The New Iranian Revolution: Is It Possible?

Nineteen seventy-nine was a momentous year.  In my little world, college graduation was celebrated with enthusiasm and zeal.  In the world at large, the Iranian revolution occurred – and wreaked havoc and destruction in ways neither the Iranians nor the rest of the world could have ever imagined.

At the time, being an educated and low-information voter, as we know they are synonymous, I paid little attention to these circumstances except to understand that the Shah and his secret police, the Savak, were deposed; a medieval-looking, menacing ayatollah took over the country; and Americans were held hostage, eventually being released.

Fast-forward several years.  Glimpses of this backward country were revealed through various media.  The movie Not Without My Daughter revealed the riveting account of an American woman married to an Iranian and her attempts and eventual success in escaping the hellhole where she found herself.  Geraldine Brooks's fabulous book, Nine Parts of Desire, about women of the Middle East, also offered a picture of life for women in Iran.  The fatwa declared by Ayatollah Khomeini on Salman Rushdie, forcing him into hiding, became worldwide news.  The Iranian film festival was brought to the United States on an annual basis exposing many of us to the inner workings of Iranian society and their yearning for a freer way of life.  We came to discover that the Iranians, including women, next to the Israelis, were some of the most educated people in the Middle East.

Like many of the readers of these pages who have become more informed – call it a true education – I learned the truth about the repercussions of the Iranian revolution.

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