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Back in October 2008 when the U.S. Presidential race was in high gear, a local mullah in some remote town in Iran was giving his usual Friday sermon. Having heard or read about Barak Hussein Obama he lectured the audience about Imam Hussein. “You see, even after over 1300 years, the legacy of Imam Hussein is alive,” he declared. “So much so, that a man with the name of Hussein might soon occupy the White House. If this is not the miracle of Imam Hussein, I don’t what is.” He was of course referring to the revered Imam Hussein, the third Imam in Shia Islam.
As fate would have it, a month later, on November 2008, Barack Hussein Obama was indeed elected the 44th President of the United States of America. Even before the election, Mr. Obama wanted something new for the Middle East and the Muslim World. During the campaign and after the election, among other issues, there were two initiatives which were the hall-marks of President Obama’s foreign policy: diplomacy with Iran and his message to the Muslim world.
Obama’s diplomacy with the Iran initiative started with his message to the Iranian people and government on the occasion of Norooz (Persian New Year) which was delivered on March 20, 2009. In it he expressed his deep respect for the Iranian nation and civilization, as well as the contributions of Iranian Americans to the United States.
Recognizing the meaning of Norooz as the dawn of a new day, Mr. Obama expressed his wish for constructive ties between the United States and Iran, signaling his strategic intent to see an end to the 30-year era of destructive enmity. Citing one of Iran’s most revered poets, Saadi, Obama showed that he understands what is important to and valued by Iranians.
Obama’s message was focused on behavioral change. Recognizing that Iran has a rightful place among nations reaffirms America’s acknowledgement that a country and civilization of Iran’s size cannot be isolated and contained indefinitely. He did point out that Iran’s role comes with responsibilities, signaling to Iran that its rightful role is within reach if its policies changes. This was a significant break with the Bush Administration policies towards Iran. In fact, Mr. Obama put the ball back in Iran’s rulers’ court.
President Obama’s second initiative, however, had a much larger audience: the entire Muslim world. He was delivering on his campaign promise and his inauguration statement where he said, "To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect."
The speech was delivered in Egypt, carefully chosen because of its unique location and contribution to the Islamic literature. Although the speech was aimed at the world's Muslims, its messages also were carefully tailored to international audiences from Afghanistan to the Middle East, as well as domestic factions in the United States. He challenged Israel and the Palestinians along with Arab states to find common ground on which to forge peace. He reaffirmed his desire to engage Iran, but deny it nuclear weapons. He urged respect throughout the region for women's rights.
In his speech, Obama carefully mentioned the Quran and its teachings, as well as some twenty-eight references to "peace" in a 6,000-word text that urged humanity to confront hard truths about religious extremism, the threat of nuclear weapons, and respect for human rights. In reaching out to Muslims, Obama sprinkled his speech with four quotations from the Quran, used Arabic greetings and a number of Arabic words, paid homage to the cultural and intellectual achievements of Muslims, noted his Arabic middle name, Hussein, and cited his father's ties to Islam. He also asked the Muslim world to isolate the extremists of Taliban and al Qaeda. "The sooner the extremists are isolated and unwelcome in Muslim communities, the sooner we will all be safer." he said.
Since his speech in Cairo, we have seen two major events in the region that puts Mr. Obama’s will and his intention to test. The two events were two elections of note in the Middle East: Lebanon’s parliamentary election and Iran’s presidential election. In Lebanon, the parliamentary elections were held on June 7, 2009. Prior to the election, most polls indicated that the March 8 Alliance (Hezbollah) will win a majority. Final results indicated that the turnout had been as high as 55%. The March 14 Alliance (a mostly west favored alliance) garnered 71 seats in the 128-member parliament, while the March 8 Alliance won 57 seats. The March 14 alliance sees this is a moral victory over Hezbollah, who led the March 8 Alliance and the balance of power is expected to shift in its favor. Many observers expect to see the emergence of a National Unity Government.
In Iran, the tenth presidential election was held on June 12, 2009, with incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running against three challengers. Among the challengers, an obscure former prime minister by the name of Mir-Hossein Mousavi stood out - not so much because of his background, but mostly due to the fact that the Iranian people, especially young people, used him as a symbol of saying ‘No’ to the incumbent, Ahmadinejad. Perhaps wanting to show Mr. Obama and the international community how much people-support it garnishes, the ruling clergy allowed a greater degree of freedom and debate.
The turnout was huge. The next morning, Iran's official news agency, announced that with two-thirds of the votes counted, Ahmadinejad had won the election with 63% of the votes cast, and that Mir-Hossein Mousavi had received 33% of the votes cast. Mousavi issued a statement saying, "I'm warning that I won't surrender to this charade," and urged his supporters to fight the decision. Protests, in favor of Mousavi and against the alleged fraud broke out in Tehran. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad, labeling his victory as a "divine assessment".
What was to be a normal election became anything but normal in a land that has not seen any major challenge to its rulers for more than 3 decades. The chants, the clashes, the outrage, the blood -- for more than two month now, the world watched as the fallout from Iran's presidential elections unraveled from peaceful demonstrations to government-led crackdowns on city streets.
What we have seen so far is a movement that has swept across all dividing lines in Iranian society; rich and poor, the merchants and the intellectuals, the young and old. Many see it as a civil rights movement not too dissimilar to the civil rights movement of the United States - a movement which is about people asking for greater freedoms. While many things are not quite clear yet, what's clear is that those fed up with a heavy-handed Islamic regime did make history with their movement.
Whatever the end results, these two elections have cast a long and enduring shadow over the geopolitics of the Middle East. No country can go back to business as usual. The climate has changed -- for good. With the commencement of the civil rights movement in Iran in June 2009, the moral map of the Middle East is being changed right before our eyes, with the democratic will of one nation having thrown a monkey wrench into the geopolitics of the region. The moving pictures of Iranians flooding colorfully into the streets have forever altered the visual vocabulary of the global perception of Iran.
Maybe that local Mullah was right after all. Imam Hussein’s spirit for sacrifice in pursuit of justice is still alive; be it at the White House manifested by a guy named Barack Hussein, or in many places somewhere in Iran reflected by their current choice of Mir-Hossein and the color of "green" for hope and growth. Be happy that we are alive to see this great change before our eyes.
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