Iranian reformists
Encyclopedia
The Iranian reform movement , or the Reforms Front also known as 2nd of Khordad Front (which refers to the date of President Mohammad Khatami
's 1997 landslide election victory in the Iranian Calendar
) is a political movement by a group of political parties and organizations in Iran
who supported Mohammad Khatami
's plans to change the system to include more freedom and democracy. Iran's "reform era" is sometimes said to have lasted from 1997 to 2005 - the length of President Khatami's two terms in office.
The reforms front consists of several political parties, some of the most famous of which include:
The front is coordinated by the Council for Coordinating the Reforms Front.
were involved in establishing a foundation for the movement. Perhaps the most influential figure was Abdolkarim Soroush
. For many years his was the only voice that publicly criticized the regime's policies. His regular lectures at Tehran University used to enjoy the attendance of many Iranian students who later generated the 2nd of Khordad movement. Many famous figures of the movement belong to the Soroush circle. However, at the rise of 2nd of Khordad movement, Saeed Hajjarian
acted as the main theorist behind the movement and the main strategist in Khatami
's camp.
The movement has been described as changing the key terms in public discourse from emperialism
, mostazafen
, jehad
, mojahed
, shahed (martyrdom), khish (roots), enqelab
(revolution) and Gharbzadegi
(Western intoxication); to demokrasi
, pluralism, moderniyat, azadi (liberty), barabari (equality), jam'eh-e madani (civil society
), hoquq-e beshar (human rights
), mosharekat-e siyasi (political participation), Shahrvandi (citizenship
), etc.
, Saeed Hajjarian
, Akbar Ganji
, Ali Akbar Mohtashami-Pur
, Ebrahim Asgharzadeh
, Mohsen Mirdamadi
, Mir-Hossein Mousavi
, and the Anjoman-e-Eslami
(Islamic Association) and Office for Strengthening Unity
student groups.
Khatami's support is said to have cut across regions and class lines with even some Revolutionary Guards, Qom seminarians and Basij
members voting for him. The core of his electrol support, however, came from the modern middle class, college students, women, and urban workers. For example, by 1995, about half of Iran's 60.5 million people were too young to be alive at the time of the Islamic Revolution.
, "a little known cleric", to the presidency on with almost 70% of the vote. Khatami's win was credited largely to the votes of women and youth, who voted for him because he promised to improve the status of women and respond to the demands of the younger generation in Iran
. Another reflection of the enthusiasm for reform was that voter turnout was 80%, compared to 50% in the last presidential election where there had been no reformist candidate.
Khatami is regarded as Iran's first reformist president, since the focus of his campaign was on the rule of law
, democracy
and the inclusion of all Iranians in the political decision-making process.
of Saeed Hajjarian
the main strategist of the reformist camp. In March, 2000 he was shot in the face on the doorstep of Tehran
's city council by a gunman who fled on a motor-cycle with an accomplice. The bullet entered through his left cheek and lodged in his neck. He was not killed but was "badly paralyzed" for some time. During his coma, groups of young Iranians kept a vigil outside Sina hospital, where he was being treated. Due to this injury, Hajjarian now uses a walking frame and his voice is distorted.
His convicted assailant Saeed Asgar, a young man who was reported to be a member of the Basij
militia, served only a brief part of his 15 year jail sentence.
in newspaper under the responsibility of Saeed Hajjarian, in which he criticized the former president Rafsanjani as the "Red Eminence", and the intelligence officers in his government, such as Ali Fallahian
as the "Grey Eminences". The article cost Akbar Ganji 6 years of imprisonment.
by the regime. Demonstrations continued for a few days in most cities in Iran and in more than ninety-five countries worldwide. The demonstration ended in violence and the death of a young Iranian citizen along with many casualties. At the time, it was Iran's biggest anti-government demonstrations since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
called for a national day of protest on the 18th of Tir to commemorate the original 1999 protest. At least one observer believes it was the failure of this protest that "delivered a fatal blow to the reform movement."
According to journalist Afshin Molavi
, many Iranians hoped the day would lead to an uprising that would "break the back" of the hardliners, but instead the Islamic Republic "employed violence, intimidation, and sophisticated carrot-and-stick approach to suck the wind out of the demonstrations." In addition to a show of force and numerous checkpoints, the state used sophisticated jamming technology to completely blackout satellite television feed, and allowed the holding of (rare) outdoor pop concerts that drew young people away from the demonstrations. Dartar-e Tahkim-e-Vahdat also hurt its cause by calling for foreigners - the UN - to assist it against the government.
or 6th parliament, reformist enjoyed a majority. , 69.25 percent, or 26.8 million, of Iran's 38.7 million voters cast ballots in the February 18, 2000 first round. Ultimately reformists won 195 of the 290 Majlis seats in that election.
Council of Guardians put a stop to the problem of Iranian voters' continued support for reformists by taking the unprecedented step of banning about 2500 candidates—nearly half of the total—including 80 sitting Parliament deputies. More than 100 MPs resigned in protest and critics complained the move "shattered any pretense of Iranian democracy".
were the main candidates of the 2nd of Khordad movement. However neither made it to the second round of the election (the final runoff) - Moin came in fifth and Karroubi third in the first round. As a result many supporters of the reform movement lost hope and did not participate in the election.
The two leading reformist candidates in the 2009 presidential election
were Mir-Hossein Mousavi
and Mehdi Karroubi
. The Mousavi supporters doubted the election results and they initiated a series of protests that lasted several days. After many days of protesting against the election result the protests eventually turned very violent as time progressed, as the Basij
(loyal police to the Islamic Republic) started attacking and killing the protesters. And this resulted in the protesters turning their anger to the Government itself in hopes to overthrow the Islamist regime, the protests in general lasted up to several months.
magazine:
Saeed Hajjarian
, who was the main theorist behind the movement declared in 2003 that: "the reform movement is dead. Long live the reform movement".
The victory of conservatives in the 2005 presidential election and Majlis 2004 election can be explained "not so much" by an expansion of "their limited core base as by [their] dividing of the reformers and [their] discouraging them from voting," according to political historian Ervand Abrahamian
.
, and too inflexible to circumvent the ban on political parties in Iran by creating and sustaining alternative forms of mobilisation." In addition, leaders of the reform movement lacked a clear and coherent strategy of establishing durable and extensive linkages with the public. Ironically, they became a victim of their electoral successes. The reform movement's "control of both the presidency and parliament from 2000 to 2004 made it look inept and a part of the corrupt system in the eyes of many Iranians."
(also one of its founders), as saying "Don't interfere. Leave these affairs to the Iranian people". Sazegara believes the US should call for democracy and freedom, and let Iranian opposition groups inside Iran, which are Reformists, take the lead, instead of attempting to create an opposition in exile.
on walls in Tehran saying "NO". It has been criticized as calling for complete system change without "building the political and organisational network to back it up", and inviting a brutal crackdown, with "no means on the ground to resist it".
Mohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
's 1997 landslide election victory in the Iranian Calendar
Iranian calendar
The Iranian calendars or sometimes called Persian calendars are a succession of calendars invented or used for over two millennia in Greater Iran...
) is a political movement by a group of political parties and organizations in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
who supported Mohammad Khatami
Mohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
's plans to change the system to include more freedom and democracy. Iran's "reform era" is sometimes said to have lasted from 1997 to 2005 - the length of President Khatami's two terms in office.
Organizations
2nd of Khordad Movement is a term that usually refers not only to the coalition of 18 groups and political parties of the reforms front, but to anyone who was a supporter of the 1997 reform programs of Khatami. The ideology of Khatami and the movement is based on Islamic Democracy.The reforms front consists of several political parties, some of the most famous of which include:
- Islamic Iran Participation FrontIslamic Iran Participation FrontThe Islamic Iran Participation Front is a reformist political party in Iran...
: Key figures are Mohammad Reza KhatamiMohammad Reza KhatamiSeyyed Mohammad Reza Khatami is an Iranian politician and nephrologist.He was the first Secretary-General of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, the largest Iranian reformist party. He is now a member of the central council of the party...
, Saeed HajjarianSaeed HajjarianSaeed Hajjarian is an Iranian intellectual, prominent journalist, pro-democracy activist and university lecturer. He has been an intelligence official, a member of Tehran's city council, and advisor to president Mohammad Khatami...
, Alireza AlavitabarAlireza AlavitabarAlireza Alavitabar is an Iranian political scientist and a leading reformist intellectual and writer.Alireza Alavitabar is a member of Islamic Iran Participation Front and was the editor of the now closed Sobh-e-Emrooz newspaper....
, Abbas AbdiAbbas AbdiAbbas Abdi is one of Iran's most influential reformists, journalist, self-taught sociologist and social activist.Abdi studied Polymer engineering at Poly Technique University in Tehran. He was a member of editorial board of Salam newspaper...
, Mohsen Safaie-Farahani, Mohsen AminzadehMohsen AminzadehMohsen Aminzadeh , born 1957 in Mashhad, Iran, is an Iranian reformist diplomat and politician. Aminzadeh was a founding member of the largest reformist party, the Islamic Iran Participation Front...
, and Mostafa TajzadehMostafa TajzadehSeyyed Mostafa Tajzadeh is an Iranian progressive, reformist politician, and a member of Islamic Iran Participation Front .-Political career:...
. It has been described as the dominant member within the 2nd of Khordad Front, the "main reformist party", and the party most closely associated with President Khatami. - Association of Combatant Clerics (Majma'e Rowhaniyoon-e Mobarez): Key figures are Mohammad KhatamiMohammad KhatamiSayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
, Hadi KhameneiHadi KhameneiHojatoleslam Hadi Khamenei is an influential Iranian reformist politician, mojtahed and linguist. He is a key member of the reformist Association of Combatant Clerics, and a former deputy of the Majlis of Iran representing a district in Tehran....
, Majead AnsariMajead AnsariMajead Ansari , also spelled Majid Ansari is an Iranian politician and cleric....
, Mohammad Tavassoli, and Mohammad Mousavi KhoeinihaMohammad Mousavi KhoeinihaAyatollah Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha is an Iranian cleric and secretary general of the reformist Association of Combatant Clerics. He was a founder of the now banned Salam newspaper and is a member of the Expediency Discernment Council.-Overview:Khoeiniha was prosecutor general of Iran after...
. It has been described as the "main 'reformist' clerical body." - Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution OrganizationMojahedin of the Islamic Revolution OrganizationMojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization , sometimes abbreviated to MIRO, is a reformist Iranian political organization. It is a small yet influential organization, and participates in political activities similar to a political party...
(Sazman-e Mojahedin-e Enghelab-e Eslami): Key figures are Behzad NabaviBehzad NabaviBehzad Nabavi is an Iranian politician. He served as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Iran and was one of the founders of the reformist party Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization...
, Mohsen ArminMohsen ArminMohsen Armin is an Iranian politician. He was a representative for Tehran and vice speaker of the Majlis during the sixth term of the Majlis. He is also a central committee member and speaker of MIRO.-References:...
, Mohammad Salevati, and Feyzollah Arabsorkhi. The mojahedin have been called a "key political group."
The front is coordinated by the Council for Coordinating the Reforms Front.
Ideas
Many Iranian intellectualsIntellectual movements in Iran
Intellectual movements in Iran involve the Iranian experience of modernity and its associated art, science, literature, poetry, and political structures that have been changing since the 19th century.- History of Iranian modernity :...
were involved in establishing a foundation for the movement. Perhaps the most influential figure was Abdolkarim Soroush
Abdolkarim Soroush
Abdolkarim Soroush , born Hosein Haj Faraj Dabbagh , is an Iranian thinker, reformer, Rumi scholar and a former professor at the University of Tehran. He is arguably the most influential figure in religious intellectual movement in Iran. Professor Soroush is currently a visiting scholar at the...
. For many years his was the only voice that publicly criticized the regime's policies. His regular lectures at Tehran University used to enjoy the attendance of many Iranian students who later generated the 2nd of Khordad movement. Many famous figures of the movement belong to the Soroush circle. However, at the rise of 2nd of Khordad movement, Saeed Hajjarian
Saeed Hajjarian
Saeed Hajjarian is an Iranian intellectual, prominent journalist, pro-democracy activist and university lecturer. He has been an intelligence official, a member of Tehran's city council, and advisor to president Mohammad Khatami...
acted as the main theorist behind the movement and the main strategist in Khatami
Khatami
-Politicians:* Mohammad Khatami , Iranian reformist President, former President of Iran * Mohammad Reza Khatami , Iranian reformist politician, Vice Speaker of Iranian Parliament and brother of Mohammad Khatami...
's camp.
The movement has been described as changing the key terms in public discourse from emperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
, mostazafen
Poor
Poor is an adjective related to a state of poverty, low quality or pity.People with the surname Poor:* Charles Henry Poor, a US Navy officer* Charles Lane Poor, an astronomer* Edward Erie Poor, a vice president of the National Park Bank...
, jehad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
, mojahed
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
, shahed (martyrdom), khish (roots), enqelab
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
(revolution) and Gharbzadegi
Gharbzadegi
Gharbzadegi is a pejorative Persian term variously translated as "Westoxification," "West-struck-ness" "Westitis", "Euromania", or "Occidentosis"...
(Western intoxication); to demokrasi
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
, pluralism, moderniyat, azadi (liberty), barabari (equality), jam'eh-e madani (civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
), hoquq-e beshar (human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
), mosharekat-e siyasi (political participation), Shahrvandi (citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
), etc.
Supporters
The "core" of the reform movement is said to be made up of Islamic leftists who were disqualified for running for office, purged and generally "disempowered" by Islamic conservatives following the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989. Islamic leftists turned reformists include Abdolkarim SoroushAbdolkarim Soroush
Abdolkarim Soroush , born Hosein Haj Faraj Dabbagh , is an Iranian thinker, reformer, Rumi scholar and a former professor at the University of Tehran. He is arguably the most influential figure in religious intellectual movement in Iran. Professor Soroush is currently a visiting scholar at the...
, Saeed Hajjarian
Saeed Hajjarian
Saeed Hajjarian is an Iranian intellectual, prominent journalist, pro-democracy activist and university lecturer. He has been an intelligence official, a member of Tehran's city council, and advisor to president Mohammad Khatami...
, Akbar Ganji
Akbar Ganji
Akbar Ganji is an Iranian journalist and writer. He has been described as "Iran’s preeminent political dissident", and a "wildly popular pro-democracy journalist" who has crossed press censorship "red lines" regularly...
, Ali Akbar Mohtashami-Pur
Ali Akbar Mohtashami-Pur
Hojatoleslam Ali-Akbar Mohtashamipur or Mohtashemi is a Twelver Shia Hojatoleslam cleric who was active in the 1979 Iranian Revolution and later became interior minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran He is "seen as a founder of the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon" and one of the "radical .....
, Ebrahim Asgharzadeh
Ebrahim Asgharzadeh
Ebrahim Asgharzadeh is an Iranian political activist and politician. He served as a member of the 3rd Majlis from 1989–1993 and as a member of the first City Council of Tehran from 1999–2003...
, Mohsen Mirdamadi
Mohsen Mirdamadi
Mohsen Mirdamadi, was an organizer of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, a member of the parliament of Iran from 2000-2004, and the "head of the largest pro-reform party" in Iran, Islamic Iran Participation Front since 2006....
, Mir-Hossein Mousavi
Mir-Hossein Mousavi
Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh is an Iranian reformist politician, artist and architect who served as the seventy-ninth and last Prime Minister of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He was a Reformist candidate for the 2009 presidential election and eventually the leader of the opposition in the post-election...
, and the Anjoman-e-Eslami
Anjoman-e-Eslami
Anjoman-e Eslami is an Islamic student association in Iran that has backed Iranian reformers such as former President Mohammad Khatami and sponsored lectures by Abdol Karim Soroush and other prominent reformists.The association was founded in 1941 in the medical college of Tehran university...
(Islamic Association) and Office for Strengthening Unity
Office for Strengthening Unity
The Office for Strengthening Unity , is an Iranian student organization created in 1979, and has been described as "the country's most well-known student organization," and "Iran's leading prodemocracy student group"...
student groups.
Khatami's support is said to have cut across regions and class lines with even some Revolutionary Guards, Qom seminarians and Basij
Basij
The Basij is a paramilitary volunteer militia established in 1979 by order of the Islamic Revolution's leader Ayatollah Khomeini. The force consists of young Iranians who have volunteered, often in exchange for official benefits...
members voting for him. The core of his electrol support, however, came from the modern middle class, college students, women, and urban workers. For example, by 1995, about half of Iran's 60.5 million people were too young to be alive at the time of the Islamic Revolution.
The 1997 presidential election
The movement began with the May 23, 1997 surprise victory of Mohammad KhatamiMohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
, "a little known cleric", to the presidency on with almost 70% of the vote. Khatami's win was credited largely to the votes of women and youth, who voted for him because he promised to improve the status of women and respond to the demands of the younger generation in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Another reflection of the enthusiasm for reform was that voter turnout was 80%, compared to 50% in the last presidential election where there had been no reformist candidate.
Khatami is regarded as Iran's first reformist president, since the focus of his campaign was on the rule of law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
, democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and the inclusion of all Iranians in the political decision-making process.
Assassination attempt on Saeed Hajjarian
Very soon after the rise of the 2nd of Khordad movement, there was an attempted assassinationAssassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of Saeed Hajjarian
Saeed Hajjarian
Saeed Hajjarian is an Iranian intellectual, prominent journalist, pro-democracy activist and university lecturer. He has been an intelligence official, a member of Tehran's city council, and advisor to president Mohammad Khatami...
the main strategist of the reformist camp. In March, 2000 he was shot in the face on the doorstep of Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
's city council by a gunman who fled on a motor-cycle with an accomplice. The bullet entered through his left cheek and lodged in his neck. He was not killed but was "badly paralyzed" for some time. During his coma, groups of young Iranians kept a vigil outside Sina hospital, where he was being treated. Due to this injury, Hajjarian now uses a walking frame and his voice is distorted.
His convicted assailant Saeed Asgar, a young man who was reported to be a member of the Basij
Basij
The Basij is a paramilitary volunteer militia established in 1979 by order of the Islamic Revolution's leader Ayatollah Khomeini. The force consists of young Iranians who have volunteered, often in exchange for official benefits...
militia, served only a brief part of his 15 year jail sentence.
Ganji and Red Eminence and Grey Eminences
Red Eminence and Grey Eminences ( "Alijenabe Sorkhpoosh, Alijenabane Khakestari") is name of series of articles and a book written by Akbar GanjiAkbar Ganji
Akbar Ganji is an Iranian journalist and writer. He has been described as "Iran’s preeminent political dissident", and a "wildly popular pro-democracy journalist" who has crossed press censorship "red lines" regularly...
in newspaper under the responsibility of Saeed Hajjarian, in which he criticized the former president Rafsanjani as the "Red Eminence", and the intelligence officers in his government, such as Ali Fallahian
Ali Fallahian
Hojatoleslam Ali Fallahian, is an Iranian politician and cleric. He has served as a member of the 3rd Assembly of Experts of the IRI and as the Minister of Intelligence of Islamic Republic of Iran in cabinet of President Hashemi Rafsanjani...
as the "Grey Eminences". The article cost Akbar Ganji 6 years of imprisonment.
1999 local elections
Reformist candidates did remarkably well in the 1999 local elections when they received 75% of the vote.18th of Tir crisis (1999)
July 9, (18th of Tir) crisis, refers to a demonstration in Tehran University dormitory in reaction to closing Salam newspaperNewspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
by the regime. Demonstrations continued for a few days in most cities in Iran and in more than ninety-five countries worldwide. The demonstration ended in violence and the death of a young Iranian citizen along with many casualties. At the time, it was Iran's biggest anti-government demonstrations since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
18th of Tir national day of protest (2003)
In 2003 Iran's leading prodemocracy student group, the Daftar-e Tahkim-e-VahdatOffice for Strengthening Unity
The Office for Strengthening Unity , is an Iranian student organization created in 1979, and has been described as "the country's most well-known student organization," and "Iran's leading prodemocracy student group"...
called for a national day of protest on the 18th of Tir to commemorate the original 1999 protest. At least one observer believes it was the failure of this protest that "delivered a fatal blow to the reform movement."
According to journalist Afshin Molavi
Afshin Molavi
Afshin Molavi is an Iranian-American author and expert on global geo-political risk and geo-economics, particularly the Middle East and Asia. He is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, where he is co-director of the World Economy Roundtable, an ambitious exercise to re-map the global...
, many Iranians hoped the day would lead to an uprising that would "break the back" of the hardliners, but instead the Islamic Republic "employed violence, intimidation, and sophisticated carrot-and-stick approach to suck the wind out of the demonstrations." In addition to a show of force and numerous checkpoints, the state used sophisticated jamming technology to completely blackout satellite television feed, and allowed the holding of (rare) outdoor pop concerts that drew young people away from the demonstrations. Dartar-e Tahkim-e-Vahdat also hurt its cause by calling for foreigners - the UN - to assist it against the government.
6th Parliament (2000)
In the Iranian parliamentary elections, 2000Iranian parliamentary elections, 2000
Iranian parliamentary elections, 2000, was the election held for the sixth parliament of Iran after the Iranian revolution. The election was swept by reformist parties, such as the Islamic Iran Participation Front. They won 189 out of 290 seats in the Majlis, with conservatives winning 54,...
or 6th parliament, reformist enjoyed a majority. , 69.25 percent, or 26.8 million, of Iran's 38.7 million voters cast ballots in the February 18, 2000 first round. Ultimately reformists won 195 of the 290 Majlis seats in that election.
7th Parliament (2004)
In January 2004 shortly before the 2004 Iranian legislative elections (the 7th Parliament), the conservativeConservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
Council of Guardians put a stop to the problem of Iranian voters' continued support for reformists by taking the unprecedented step of banning about 2500 candidates—nearly half of the total—including 80 sitting Parliament deputies. More than 100 MPs resigned in protest and critics complained the move "shattered any pretense of Iranian democracy".
27 Khordad presidential election (2005)
In the 27 Khordad presidential election (June 17, 2005), Mostafa Moin and Mehdi KarroubiMehdi Karroubi
Mehdi Karroubi is an influential Iranian reformist politician, democracy activist, mojtahed, and chairman of the National Trust Party. He was Chairman of the parliament from 1989 to 1992 and 2000 to 2004, and a presidential candidate in the 2005 and 2009 presidential elections.He is a founding...
were the main candidates of the 2nd of Khordad movement. However neither made it to the second round of the election (the final runoff) - Moin came in fifth and Karroubi third in the first round. As a result many supporters of the reform movement lost hope and did not participate in the election.
2009 Iranian presidential election
Iranian presidential election, 2009
Iran's tenth presidential election was held on 12 June 2009, with incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running against three challengers. The next morning the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's official news agency, announced that with two-thirds of the votes counted, Ahmadinejad had won the election...
were Mir-Hossein Mousavi
Mir-Hossein Mousavi
Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh is an Iranian reformist politician, artist and architect who served as the seventy-ninth and last Prime Minister of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He was a Reformist candidate for the 2009 presidential election and eventually the leader of the opposition in the post-election...
and Mehdi Karroubi
Mehdi Karroubi
Mehdi Karroubi is an influential Iranian reformist politician, democracy activist, mojtahed, and chairman of the National Trust Party. He was Chairman of the parliament from 1989 to 1992 and 2000 to 2004, and a presidential candidate in the 2005 and 2009 presidential elections.He is a founding...
. The Mousavi supporters doubted the election results and they initiated a series of protests that lasted several days. After many days of protesting against the election result the protests eventually turned very violent as time progressed, as the Basij
Basij
The Basij is a paramilitary volunteer militia established in 1979 by order of the Islamic Revolution's leader Ayatollah Khomeini. The force consists of young Iranians who have volunteered, often in exchange for official benefits...
(loyal police to the Islamic Republic) started attacking and killing the protesters. And this resulted in the protesters turning their anger to the Government itself in hopes to overthrow the Islamist regime, the protests in general lasted up to several months.
Aftermath
The ultimate lack of success of the movement is described by The EconomistThe Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
magazine:
Dozens of newspapers opened during the Khatami period, only for many to be shut down on one pretext or another by the judiciary. Clerics who took advantage of the new atmosphere to question the doctrine of velayat-e faqih were imprisoned or otherwise cowed. Even as political debate blossomed, Iran's security services cracked down on religious and ethnic minorities. A number of the regime's critics fell victim to murdersChain murders of IranThe Chain Murders of Iran , or Serial Murders, were a series of murders and disappearances from 1988-1998 by Iranian government operatives of Iranian dissident intellectuals who had been critical of the Islamic Republic system in some way.The victims included more than 80 writers, translators,...
traced later to the interior ministry. In 1999 police reacted to a peaceful demonstration for freer speech by invading Tehran University, beating and arresting hundreds of students and killing at least one. In the majlis (parliament) much of the president's reforming legislation was vetoed by the Council of Guardians, a committee of clerics appointed by the supreme leaderSupreme Leader of IranThe Supreme Leader of Iran is the highest ranking political and religious authority in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The post was established by the constitution in accordance with the concept of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists...
to ensure that laws conform with Islamic precepts.
Saeed Hajjarian
Saeed Hajjarian
Saeed Hajjarian is an Iranian intellectual, prominent journalist, pro-democracy activist and university lecturer. He has been an intelligence official, a member of Tehran's city council, and advisor to president Mohammad Khatami...
, who was the main theorist behind the movement declared in 2003 that: "the reform movement is dead. Long live the reform movement".
The victory of conservatives in the 2005 presidential election and Majlis 2004 election can be explained "not so much" by an expansion of "their limited core base as by [their] dividing of the reformers and [their] discouraging them from voting," according to political historian Ervand Abrahamian
Ervand Abrahamian
Ervand Abrahamian is a historian of Middle Eastern and particularly Iranian history.An Armenian born in Iran and raised in England, he received his M.A. at Oxford University and his Ph.D. at Columbia University. He teaches at the City University of New York where he is Distinguished Professor of...
.
The conservatives won in part because they retained their 25% base; in part because they recruited war veterans to run as their candidates; in part because they wooed independents on the issue of national security; but in most part because large numbers of women, college students, and other members of the salaried middle class stayed home. Turnout in the Majles elections fell below 51% - one of the worst since the revolution. In Tehran, it fell to 28%.
Criticism
The reform movement has been criticized as "too divided to establish its own political authority, too naïve about the tenacity of the authoritarian elite around KhameneiAli Khamenei
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khāmene’i is the Supreme Leader of Iran and the figurative head of the Muslim conservative establishment in Iran and Twelver Shi'a marja...
, and too inflexible to circumvent the ban on political parties in Iran by creating and sustaining alternative forms of mobilisation." In addition, leaders of the reform movement lacked a clear and coherent strategy of establishing durable and extensive linkages with the public. Ironically, they became a victim of their electoral successes. The reform movement's "control of both the presidency and parliament from 2000 to 2004 made it look inept and a part of the corrupt system in the eyes of many Iranians."
Secularism
BBC journalist Jonathan Beale reports that since secularism is banned in Iran, it is an ideology that is mostly followed by political organizations among the Iranian diaspora or by many of the anti-sharia political parties in exile that are secular. These parties promote regime change, most often with foreign aid and military intervention (particularity from the United States). He quotes a former leader of the "Iranian Revolutionary Guards", Mohsen SazegaraMohsen Sazegara
Mohsen Sazegara is an Iranian journalist and pro-democracy political activist. Dr. Sazegara held several high ranking positions in the Government of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, such as deputy prime minister, minister of industry, deputy chairman of the budget and planning department, and many more before...
(also one of its founders), as saying "Don't interfere. Leave these affairs to the Iranian people". Sazegara believes the US should call for democracy and freedom, and let Iranian opposition groups inside Iran, which are Reformists, take the lead, instead of attempting to create an opposition in exile.
Referendum movement
The Referendum movement calls in effect for a rerun of the 1979 referendum that established the Islamic Republic in Iran - for "a 'yes or no' vote on whether today's Iranians still want the authoritarian Islamic Republic that another generation's revolution brought them." It is said to have been born out of "the ashes of the failures of Khatami's Islamic democracy movement" and reflected in one-word graffitiGraffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
on walls in Tehran saying "NO". It has been criticized as calling for complete system change without "building the political and organisational network to back it up", and inviting a brutal crackdown, with "no means on the ground to resist it".
Notable figures
- Mir-Hossein MousaviMir-Hossein MousaviMir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh is an Iranian reformist politician, artist and architect who served as the seventy-ninth and last Prime Minister of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He was a Reformist candidate for the 2009 presidential election and eventually the leader of the opposition in the post-election...
(kidnapped, house arrest in an unknown location) - Mohammad KhatamiMohammad KhatamiSayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
- Mehdi KarroubiMehdi KarroubiMehdi Karroubi is an influential Iranian reformist politician, democracy activist, mojtahed, and chairman of the National Trust Party. He was Chairman of the parliament from 1989 to 1992 and 2000 to 2004, and a presidential candidate in the 2005 and 2009 presidential elections.He is a founding...
(kidnapped, house arrest in an unknown location) - Hadi KhameneiHadi KhameneiHojatoleslam Hadi Khamenei is an influential Iranian reformist politician, mojtahed and linguist. He is a key member of the reformist Association of Combatant Clerics, and a former deputy of the Majlis of Iran representing a district in Tehran....
- Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri (died)
- Zahra RahnavardZahra RahnavardZahra Rahnavard is an Iranian artist and politician.-Early life:Rahnavard was born in Borujerd, Iran. Her father Haj-Fathali was a Fundamentalist Sh'ia and anti-Communist. After hearing of a gathering of Sh'ia clerics in Iran, Haj-Fathali emigrated to Khomein, Markazi Province where Zahra was born...
- Ali ShakeriAli ShakeriAli Shakeri is an Iranian-American businessman and activist. He graduated from the University of Texas with a business administration degree. He serves on the Community Advisory Board of the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding at the University of California, Irvine...
(imprisoned, released) - Abdolkarim SoroushAbdolkarim SoroushAbdolkarim Soroush , born Hosein Haj Faraj Dabbagh , is an Iranian thinker, reformer, Rumi scholar and a former professor at the University of Tehran. He is arguably the most influential figure in religious intellectual movement in Iran. Professor Soroush is currently a visiting scholar at the...
(sent to exile, expelled from University) - Masoud Behnoud (imprisoned)
- Saeed HajjarianSaeed HajjarianSaeed Hajjarian is an Iranian intellectual, prominent journalist, pro-democracy activist and university lecturer. He has been an intelligence official, a member of Tehran's city council, and advisor to president Mohammad Khatami...
(attempted assassination, imprisoned) - Akbar GanjiAkbar GanjiAkbar Ganji is an Iranian journalist and writer. He has been described as "Iran’s preeminent political dissident", and a "wildly popular pro-democracy journalist" who has crossed press censorship "red lines" regularly...
(imprisoned, released) - Ahmad Azari QomiAhmad Azari QomiGrand Ayatollah Ahmad Azari-Qomi-Bigdeli was a Iranian cleric who suspiciously died after having criticized Supreme Leader Khamenei.-Background and career:Azari was born to a family of Sh'ia clerics in Qom in 1925...
(died suspiciously) - Ezzatollah SahabiEzzatollah SahabiEzzatollah Sahabi was an Iranian scholar, humanitarian, democracy activist, politician and former parliament member. He was famous for his political-economical social analysis, and also for the many years of imprisonment in both the pre-revolution and post-revolution eras...
(died) - Ataollah Mohajerani (Exiled in England, resigned his post)
- Reza Khatami
- Akbar MohammadiAkbar MohammadiAkbar Mohammadi was an Iranian student at Tehran University involved in the 18th of Tir crisis, also known as the July 1999 Iran student protests, Iran's biggest pro-democracy demonstrations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution...
(imprisoned, sentenced to death, murdered) - Abbas AbdiAbbas AbdiAbbas Abdi is one of Iran's most influential reformists, journalist, self-taught sociologist and social activist.Abdi studied Polymer engineering at Poly Technique University in Tehran. He was a member of editorial board of Salam newspaper...
(imprisoned) - Elaheh KoulaeiElaheh KoulaeiElaheh Koulaei is an Iranian political scientist, reformist intellectual.Dr Koulaei is professor of political science at Tehran University and a member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front...
(facing charges) - Mostafa Moin
- Alireza RajaeiAlireza RajaeiAlireza Rajaei is an Iranian journalist. He is considered as one of the member of the Nationalist-Religious alliance of Iran...
(imprisoned) - Ahmad ZeidabadiAhmad ZeidabadiAhmad Zeidabadi is an Iranian journalist, academic, writer and political analyst and the secretary general of Office for Strengthening Unity. He is one of the notable figures of the Iranian reform movement....
(imprisoned) - Mohsen SazegaraMohsen SazegaraMohsen Sazegara is an Iranian journalist and pro-democracy political activist. Dr. Sazegara held several high ranking positions in the Government of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, such as deputy prime minister, minister of industry, deputy chairman of the budget and planning department, and many more before...
(imprisoned, later released) - Abdolfattah SoltaniAbdolfattah SoltaniAbdolfattah Soltani is a well-known Iranian human rights lawyer, and spokesman for the Defenders of Human Rights Center, which was co-founded by the Nobel Peace Prize-winner Shirin Ebadi. He has twice been incarcerated in the Islamic Republic of Iran for political offences in 2005 and 2009...
(imprisoned) - Abdollah Nouri (imprisoned)
- Alireza NooriAlireza NooriAlireza Noori was a member of the 6th Iranian parliament and a supporter of President Mohammad Khatami's reform programs. He was the brother of Abdollah Noori. Dr. Alireza Noori was educated in medicine and was a practicing physician before entering politics.Noori was killed in a car accident in...
(died suspiciously) - Abdollah RamezanzadehAbdollah RamezanzadehDr. Abdollah Ramezanzadeh , also spelled Ramazanzadeh, is an Iranian academic, writer and politician.He is the former spokesman and secretary of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran during the presidency of Muhammad Khatami.Ramezanzadeh is an assistant professor in faculty of Law and...
- Ali Akbar Mousavi KhoeiniAli Akbar Mousavi KhoeiniAli Akbar Mousavi Khoeini is a notable Iranian human rights activist and politician. He was an active member of Tahkim vahdat before he was elected as a Member of Parliament in the 6th Parliament of Iran. In the parliament, he made a significant attempt to defend the rights of political...
(imprisoned) - Hashem AghajariHashem AghajariHashem Aghajari also Seyyed Hashem Aghajari is an Iranian historian, university professor and a critic of the Islamic Republic's government who was sentenced to death in 2002 for apostasy for a speech he gave on Islam urging Iranians to "not blindly follow" Islamic clerics...
(imprisoned, sentenced to death, commuted to imprisonment and probation) - Ayatollah Jalaluddin Taheri
- Ebrahim YazdiEbrahim YazdiEbrahim Yazdi is an Iranian politician and diplomat who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the interim government of Mehdi Bazargan, until his resignation in November 1979, in protest to the Iran hostage crisis...
(imprisoned) - Mohammad Ali AbtahiMohammad Ali AbtahiHojjat ol-Eslam Seyyed Mohammad Ali Abtahi is an Iranian theologian, scholar, pro-democracy activist and chairman of the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue. He is a former Vice President of Iran and a close associate of former President Mohammad Khatami...
(imprisoned) - Morteza AlviriMorteza AlviriMorteza Alviri born 1948, is an Iranian politician who served as Mayor of Tehran from 1999 until 2002.-Education:He is a graduate in Electrical Engineering from the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran and has a Master's in Management from the State Management Training Center.-Career:During...
- Alireza AlavitabarAlireza AlavitabarAlireza Alavitabar is an Iranian political scientist and a leading reformist intellectual and writer.Alireza Alavitabar is a member of Islamic Iran Participation Front and was the editor of the now closed Sobh-e-Emrooz newspaper....
(facing charges) - Nikahang KowsarNikahang KowsarNikahang Kowsar, also known as Nik Kowsar is an Iranian cartoonist, journalist, and blogger, currently living in Toronto, Canada. Kowsar was also a reformist candidate for the second term of city council of Tehran in 2003, an election won by the conservative candidates of Abadgaran.He studied...
(imprisoned) - Ebrahim NabaviEbrahim NabaviSeyyed Ebrahim Nabavi is a prolific Iranian satirist, writer, diarist, and researcher. , he is the most widely known and active Iranian satirist, currently living in Belgium...
(imprisoned) - Abdollah Nouri (imprisoned)
- Ahmad BatebiAhmad BatebiAhmad Batebi is a former prisoner of conscience. During his studies at the University of Tehran he gained international fame for his appearance on the July 17, 1999 cover of The Economist magazine, holding up a shirt splattered with the blood of a fellow protester.The photo, which has been called...
(imprisoned, sentenced to death, commuted to 10 years imprisonment) - Hassan Yousefi Eshkevari (imprisoned)
- Ahmad GhabelAhmad GhabelAhmad Ghabel is a Hojjatoleslam Shia Muslim cleric, an Iranian theologian seminary lecturer, researcher, author and "prominent" member of Iran's largest reformist political party, the now outlawed Islamic Iran Participation Front...
(imprisoned, sent to exile) - Ezzat Ebrahim-NejadEzzat Ebrahim-NejadEzzat Ebrahim-Nejad was an Iranian student, poet and demonstrator who was shot and killed in the attack by security forces on Tehran University dormitory that preceded and provoked the July 1999 student riots in Iran...
, (shot dead by security forces)
See also
- Human rights in Islamic Republic of IranHuman rights in Islamic Republic of IranThe state of human rights in Iran has been criticized both by Iranians and international human right activists, writers, and NGOs. The United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Commission have condemned prior and ongoing abuses in Iran in published critiques and several resolutions.The...
- History of principle-ism in Iran
- Chain murders of IranChain murders of IranThe Chain Murders of Iran , or Serial Murders, were a series of murders and disappearances from 1988-1998 by Iranian government operatives of Iranian dissident intellectuals who had been critical of the Islamic Republic system in some way.The victims included more than 80 writers, translators,...
- Iranian Economic Reform PlanIranian Economic Reform PlanThe Iranian targeted subsidy plan also known as the subsidy reform plan was passed by the Iranian Parliament on January 5, 2010. The government has described the subsidy plan as the "biggest surgery" to the nation's economy in half a century and "one of the most important undertakings in Iran's...