IRAN

1. IRAN Part 3: Student Presentations Citizens, Society, & the State *Information in RED added by Mrs. Silverman

2. Devin Tusa Mason Childress Religion in Iran

3. 90% of Iranians are of the Shi’a branch of Islam • 10% is divided between numerous religions including Sunni Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Bahai faiths. • Some minority religions have protected seats within Iranian Parliament • The Constitution recognizes religious minorities and guarantees their basic rights (at least in theory) • Does not mention Sunnis, so their rights are often unclear

4. Controversy • There is much persecution of the non-Shi’a faiths, especially that of the Bahai. • Leaders have been executed, imprisoned, and tortured, their schools closed, and their community property taken by the state • Many have immigrated to Canada, as have a large number of Jews and Armenian Christians • As Shi’a Islam is the state religion, with a theocratic government, people of other faiths often do not have an active voice in government despite the guaranteed seats.

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6. Ethnic Cleavages Joe Berrios Kaylyn Bidwell Griffin Hardy

7. Iran has a wide variety of religious sects and ethnic groups that typically have cross-cutting ideas. • Because Iran is a theocracy, minorities often struggle to avoid persecution. • Also, given Iran’s location as a crossroads between Asia, Europe, and Africa; many ethnic groups have settled in the country Explanation

8. Different ethnic groups speak different languages: • Iran's official language is Persian (Farsi) • All school instruction is in Farsi. • Turkic is the language of Azeris and Turkmen. Other major languages include Kurdish, Luri, and Arabic • Many Azeris live in the NW close to Azerbaijan, creating a worry that they will want to form a larger state by taking territory from Iran • BUT, they are strongly Shiite and Supreme Leader is Azeri • Ethnic minorities are regularly sentenced to death by hanging Examples

9. Most Iranians are ethnic Persians - 51% • Others are Azeris (24%), Gilakis and Mazandaranis (8%), Kurds (7%), Arabs (3%), Lurs (2%), Baluchis (2%), and Turkmen (2%), among others. • Kurds and Arabs tend to be Sunni Muslim, so the religious cleavage is reinforced by ethnicity Data

10. Social Classes Cleavages By: Daniela Ramon and Catalina Maldonado

11. Social Class • Peasantry/Lower Middle Class: • Support the regime • They have benefited from the government’s social programs that have provided them with electricity and paved roads • Middle and –Upper Middle Class: • are largely secularized. • Tend to be highly critical of the clerics and their control of the society • Many middle class people have not been doing well economically during the years since the Republic was founded • Their cultural and political views of secularism are reinforced by their economic problem. • That creates discontent and opposition to the regime. • They are most likely to rebel.

12. Examples • Upper class- Large landowners, industrialists, financiers, and large-scale merchants. • Middle class-entrepreneurs, bazaar merchants, professionals, managers of private and nationalized concerns, the higher grades of the civil service, military officers, and the junior ranks of the Shia clergy • Lower class- various groups of workers: those in the oil industry, manufacturing, construction, and transportation; and mechanics and artisans in bazaar workshops.

13. Ideological Cleavages By Nic, Armon Sergio

14. Explanation • In Iran there are basically two large overall factions, those who are seeking reform, and those who want the system to stay the same, these two groups are the Reformers, and the conservatives. The reformers overall which to change the regime of the state to a more liberal and democratic one*, while the Conservatives want to keep the regime the way it is as of now (under control of clerics and sharia law). • *Most reformers do not want to do away with the basic principles of an Islamic state, but they display a wide array of opinions about how much and where secularization and democracy should be infused into the system.

15. Examples of Ideological Cleavages • Example 1: Eighth presidential election • Tensions were quite high in the eighth election since the conservatives and reformists held different views on virtually anything. • After Khatami won presidency in 1997, the reformists had gained much ground • The Conservatives had arrested the media, and the reformist magazine groups who were celebrating the victory of the reformists, and justifying their views.

16. Examples of Ideological Cleavages • Example 2: • The Conservatives (religious rights for all Iranians) had won the 7th Majles(or parliamentary elections). • The reformists reacted by improving their image among the eyes of the people, and made new magazines/ newspapers which justify their cause. Hence they won the 8th Majlesand the conservatives took serious action against them.

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18. Iran Civil Society By: Jeremy Moss and Sabrina Neves

19. Non-governmental Institutions • The House of Mother and Child: This charity was set up in 1990 after the disastrous earthquake in Gilan province left over 40,000 dead and half a million homeless in Roudbar. The initial purpose was to look after some of the 5,000 children who had been orphaned by the disaster. The group which formed into a charity soon took care of some 500 children at that stage of the crisis. • BehnamDaheshpour Charitable Organization: a well known and respected NGO that helps people who suffer from cancer. The organization was formed as a direct wish of a young man, BehnamDaheshpour who suffered gravely from cancer and lost his life to it. The charity provides medical care and emotional support to patients and their families.

20. Freedom of Religion • Members of the Baha’i Faith are persecuted because they are a religious minority • Iran's law against blasphemy derives from Sharia. Blasphemers are usually charged with "spreading corruption on earth". The law against blasphemy complements laws against criticizing the Islamic regime, insulting Islam, and publishing materials that deviate from Islamic standards. The regime uses these laws to persecute religious minorities and to persecute dissidents and journalists. Persecuted individuals are subject to surveillance by the "religious police," harassment, prolonged detention, mistreatment, torture, and execution.

21. The Judiciary • Supreme leader appoints head of judiciary who appoints senior judges, making the judiciary non-independent • Judiciary is based on sharia law • Homosexuality is a crime punishable by imprisonment, corporal punishment, or in some cases of sodomy, even execution of the accused is legal under the laws of this country's government. • Stoning, death penalty for many “crimes” (adultery, homosexuality, habitual drinking)

22. Social Movements and Protest • Iran’s youth, especially college students, are over half the population, making them a strong force in Iran. Many students from 18 different campuses including Tehran University went in protest against chief judge who closed a reformist newspaper in 1999, the revolutionary guards then occupied the campuses, killing many student protesters which shows the lack of legitimacy and acts of human rights violation. • Educated women is another portion of the population that is affected by violation of individual liberties and the judiciary. The women in Iran now form 54% of college students, 45% of doctors, 25% of government employees, and 30% of the general labor force. Women have established many organizations and journals that start to reinterpret Islam in modern notions that promote gender equality. • Factory workers in Iran also hold significant grievances with Iran's past and present violation of human rights. They are mostly concerned with high unemployment, low wages, declining incomes, lack of decent housing, and unsatisfactory labor laws, which denies them the right to strike and organize unions. Even with these unfair labor laws many factory workers have demonstrated their concern through various protests against conservatives in attempt to water down labor laws.

23. Protests and Demonstrations By: Shelby and Tyler

24. Explanation Of Topic • A protest is a statement of action expressing disapproval or objection to something. • A demonstration is revealing truths through evidence. • With the instability of civil society and social cleavages in Iran, there are often protests and demonstartions.

25. Example • The 2009–10 Iranian election protests were a series of protests following the 2009 Iranian presidential election against the disputed victory of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and in support of opposition candidates Mir-HosseinMousavi and Mehdi Karroubi which occurred in major cities in Iran and around the world starting June 13th 2009.

26. Example • In October of 2012, a demonstration erupted over the failing currency. This was the first outbreak of public anger over Iran’s collapsing currency and other economic problems. The riot police violently clamped down on black-market money changers, hundreds of citizens marching to demand relief and merchants in the sprawling bazaar closing their shops in protest.

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28. Women and the Political System Trevor Dean, AbhijitJayakumar, Brandon Howell

29. Background • During the Shah • Hijab not required • Promotion of education • Right to vote granted in 1963 • Post 1979 Revolution • Adherence to Koran • Reduction of major legal rights • Divorce/custody laws now follow Islamic standards • Ban on public discussion of women’s issues in a way that contradicts Islamic law • Legal restrictions on women’s ability to leave the country without the consent of male relatives • ShirinEbadi awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 2003

30. Examples • Many women receive college degrees • More than half of all college students are women • Well represented in some areas: doctors and government employees • Very difficult to get hired – represent 33% of labor force • Major loss of resources • In 1996 14 women were elected to the Islamic Consultative Assembly (dropped each year) • No longer allowed to be ambassadors

31. Statistics • National Parliament 2.8% (2011) • 92 of 146 in inequality • 127 of 135 in gender gap • 31.9% of women are in labor force • 27.1% of ministers in government are women

33. Political Parties in Iran Mike Kennedy and Danny Zimmer

34. Overview • Constitution guarantees right for citizens to organize • Political parties were outlawed in 1987 by Ayatollah Khomeini due to factional infighting • Government did not allow them until Khatami’s election as president in 1997 • Only parties that do not challenge the Islamic regime can actively participate • Guardian Council decides who can run

35. Active Political Parties • Opposition parties banned 1983 • Party system reflects factionalism • Splintering of political elites on points of view and personalities • Parties are unstable and likely to change • Form coalitions before elections • Four main coalitions Conservatives • Reformists • Independents • Religious minorities Red - Conservatives (182) Green - Reformists (75) Yellow - Independents (19) Gray - Religious minorities (14)

36. Opposition Groups • The Liberation Movement • The National Front • The Mojahedin • The Fedayin • The Tudeh (Party of the Masses)

37. Interest Groups in Iran Austin Isaac Michael Messier

38. Limiting Factors • It is difficult to distinguish between parties and interest groups in Iran • Freedom House Rating – 6/7 (Not Free) • Hard for people to express dissenting opinion against government • Because the Guardian Council can exile political candidates, it is sometimes futile to support a cause that disagrees with Islam or the popular opinion

39. Islamic Association of Women • Goals are • Introduce “genuine Islamic Culture” • Support the rights of the oppressed • Prevent superpowers from imposing culture and racism • Enhance women’s scientific, intellectual, and cultural capabilities • Increase women’s rights and participation in civil society

40. Green Movement • The Green movement came from Mir HosseinMousavi’s campaign • Became a Symbol of unity and hope for those who recognized the election fraud • Protesters demanded removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office after 2009 election • They denounce the current government’s legitimacy. • They started with peaceful protests but have become increasingly violent • 56 demonstrators were killed in the 2009 revolts • Movement was renamed “Green Path of Hope” to bypass a law • “You can’t follow some parts of the constitution and throw the rest into a bin.”

42. Workers’ House • Sole national trade union center for workers in Iran • Ask for better working conditions and wages • They only have one trade union center to prevent ideological differences from causing problems • They participate in the World Federation of Trade Unions

43. Mass Media Christian Kirkup Sarah Saldana

44. Explanation • While Iranian Media is both publically and privately owned, it is subject to the control of the government • Foreign and Non-State controlled media is illegal and strictly controlled by the government • The largest media organization in Iran the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, is entirely controlled by the government with the president being appointed by the Supreme Leader every 5 years

45. Explanation • The Islamic Revolutionary Court has the right to monitor, suspend publication, and revoke the licenses of publications it finds guilty of “antireligious material, slander, or information detrimental to the national interest” • Level of freedom of press has varied with faction in power • Khatami – issued permits to dozens of new publications to create independent press • After 2000 Majles elections when many reformist were elected, outgoing Majles approved a press control law, which Council of Guardian said could not be overturned by new legislature

46. Examples • Iranian government arrested a journalist for “anti-state propaganda” for exposing how journalist were treated. The journalist was jailed, charged with espionage, released, abducted by the state, tortured, released and finally given the papers to go to Europe. • Despite the ban on Google applications, including Gmail and YouTube, Iranians often turn to illegal satellite receivers to as alternative sources of information

47. Social Movements Major social movements in Iran

48. Social Movement: a group of people with a common ideology who band together to cause some sort of change. Since the Constitutional Revolution Iran has experienced a variety of social movements that have been incited by general disregard of the citizens’ civil liberties. Three main groups that have been involved in these social movements have been educated women and students, the modern middle class, and organized labor. Explanation

49. Gained momentum after 1963 • White Revolution • Won the right to vote • Hold public office • Family Protection Law (1975) allowed for more rights concerning divorce, custody, and reduced polygamy • Modern Issues: • Job security • Pay scales • Promotions • Maternity leave • Higher-level professions • The One Million Signatures Movement Women’s Rights

50. Concerns: • High unemployment • Low wages • Lack of decent housing • Unsatisfactory labor law - denies the right to call strikes and organize unions • Workers’ House (1979) • Islamic Labor Party (1999) • May Day Rally is their main protest Organized Labor Movement