Once again, an extremely shrewd, insightful and sobering analysis by Amir Taheri of the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as President of Iran. Taheri's main point is that Ahmadinejad is altogether a different kind of animal from his predecessors and very much more impressive. It's not just that he's a serious scholar and former soldier. Crucially, he also comes from a humble background and has no connection with the mullahs (making him, although Taheri doesn't quite say this, a symbol of uncorruptibility which was possibly the crucial factor behind his election). And he is also a sincere religious believer, unlike his predecessors who wanted to have their religious cake and eat it in westernised ways, and were thus not so much moderate as unprincipled and confused.

As a result, Ahmadinejad presents a threat to the west which is unambiguous:

'He has no inferiority complex toward the West and is sincerely convinced that Islam alone offers a blueprint for the perfect society. He says that men and women can never be equal although this does not mean that women should not have rights or be respected. He does not hide behind labels such as “Islamic democracy”. Instead, he states that Islam, which represents perfection, is incompatible with democracy that is, by definition, imperfect.

'Rafsanjani and Khatami claim that Ahmadinejad wants to create a Taleban-style system in Iran. Nothing is further from the truth. Ahmadinejad is no mulla Muhammad Omar and Iran is not Afghanistan. What Ahmadinejad shares with Mulla Omar is the belief that a non-Western, largely Islamic, method of organizing society is possible. Omar built his version and Ahmadinejad, if given a chance, would try to build his.

'Ahmadinejad's election is good news for all concerned, if only it clarifies the situation. Having tried to dodge the inevitable duel between Islamism and democracy, the Khomeinist regime, by propelling Ahmadinejad into the presidency, declares its intention to take the modern, Western-dominated, and “utterly corrupt” world head on. We shall see which side wins.'

Posted by melanie at July 6, 2005