After this horrific week in iran, to my surpise , i found very little of my iranian friends in my social circle really giving a damn. the typical reaction from both guys and girls pretty much on par with “yaaaah, it sux and i’m really sad ……. bu’uuuht did you know about this underground dance club that we’re going tonight ??? did you know so and so has exclusive access to the black room at this dance club ?? are u coming? “and so after initial attempts to get any kind of genuine intelligent thoughts or even realistic feedback regarding to what has been happening in iran…… i thought i turn to another spectrum of iranians that would give me some genuine opinion. ~Mainly the bedrock populace of the islamic republic which are the Iranian SHIAS
With this etched embedded curiosity i figured this be a good time as any to visit the local iranian-muslim masjids that are here southern california. And having been on a 2yr vacation from Islam/religion; I thought it be nice to visit the old masjids that i grew up with. My first stop was at I.M.A.N. (iranian muslim association of north america) . I first went to this masjid every week back when I was a Teen. And later in college I would worship here because it was just 2 blocks away from my apartment here in Culver City. But as of late I’ve taken a break from religion/islam in a whole for about 2 yrs. And so i haven’t made much effort to visit the Iranian-muslim center as of late. Going back was a little bit nostalgic.
A little background on the demographics of I.M.A.N. — the iranian muslims here are on liberal caliber. They aren’t orthodox muslims per say. they know very little of islamic jurisprudence and even less on islamic history. Shia Saints, Shia Prayer Books, Shia Holy Days, locations of Shia Mausoleums and doctrine is almost nill. Even Pilgrimage to the Kaaba is looked at very liberally. It’s viewed sorta viewed as a Tourist Destination. “M’eeeh, if I happen to be in the neighborhood in my next trip to Iran and it happens to be the pilgrimage season I’ll see if can stop by mecca too ….. maaaybe” Also the Iranian muslims here at most know the Prophet of Islam-Mohammad. And Shia’s 1st Saint which is Ali ibn Abu Talib. (imam ali) And that’s pretty much it. Taqleed (emulation) to Marjaa’s/Ayatullah is ignored if not hated with an intense anger. Age Groups largely are people 35yrs and over. Majority are very old men and women 55yrs and over. Very very few people in my age-group of 15-25yrs old at this masjid. And so after meeting with 7 family friends and the usual “omg, where have you been ?? you’ve grown so much !!! having you been getting enough to eat ?? you look so skinny !? are u married?? you can’t be married looking that skinny. you know my daughter is single and blah blah blah ” after these pleasantries i got down to the nit-gritty. Which is what do you think about what has happened in iran the past week and what does future hold for the nation???the answer i got was pretty much what i expected. Big colorful loooong Poetic Profanity towards Khamenei, Ahamdinejad, the Basij , and Revolutionary Guards. They were really reaaaally ticked off. obviously it goes without saying they thought the election was rigged and the government was behaving in a unislamic and oppressive manner towards their own people. They also said they hated mousavi, rafsanjani, karoubi, khatami, larijani and montazari almost as much as that ” madar-jende khamenei ”
BUT with one key difference. That if those “reformists” can change the regime from Dictatorship to Dictatorship Lite then that would be perfectly fine them. And they would support the Mousavi Camp. And so after 1 hour or so of hearing everyone vent out their anger. Then i asked them what they thought would be next for the nation. Right there at that moment a huge change of emotion from anger to sadness. That, in short, nothing would come from this protest. The regime would stay intact for another 30yrs and status quo would remain unchange. After spending few more moments of catching up with old family friends . I jumped into my Honda and drove to the other side of the aisle. Mainly the Orthodox Iranian Shias.
Visiting Masjid al Nabi/ya-seen/ resalat, Here the Iranians are very pro-islamic republic because they are very pro-islam. Simple enough. No rocket science explanation needed here. Everything here was the exact opposite to that of I.M.A.N. Where in I.M.A.N. it was just dozens of people in attendance for worship here the numbers swelled into hundreds. Where in I.M.A.N. it was primarily the old going to worship because they had one foot in the grave and wanted to make everything right with god before they crossed over to the next life. But here it was primarily youths with a genuine burning passion for God. I would say simply majority were youths guys and girls 16-28yrs old. Demographics I would say were equally split between Iranian-Americans who were born raised in America. and that of Iranians who had recently arrived. Everyone here is Orthodoxy. Only difference of course between Shias have been the same difference for the past 30 yrs. Whether the concept of Wilayat Faqhi was a Islamic Doctrine or not. And even then that difference USED to be (past tense) as big as line on a wall. But something was different this time and I picked it up as soon as I walked into the inner-sanctum of the masjid. There was tension in the air and it was thick as fog.
I mean I’ve been away for about 2 yrs and even I was able to pick it up. So I made my around or rather groups of people made there way to me as I’ve been away for quiet a long time. After a friendly reception of tackles/wrestling from the guys and answering flurry of questions from the girls as to where I’ve been— the inevitable topic came up. What happened in Iran, why did this happen, and it was it justified ??? Conversations ranged from public conversations within the halls of the masjid to private talks in the parking lots under the nights sky. Here I noticed that line on a wall difference between Shias pro Wilayat and Shias not pro Wilayat had become a big crack. Some I would say had been unable to get past the shock to what had happened in iran. The events had taken them by complete surprise and they had trouble coping with the realities that was staring right back at them.
“how could this have happened ??” or “we are shias they are shias. How could they have behaved like this to us ??” or “ how could they be so violent and heartless to us?? “how can they stand before the kaaba with this on their conscious“
Others however had come to accept the tragic events of iran and the effects were being clearly seen already. Iranian Orthodoxy Shias that did not accept wilayat faqhi doctrine as Islamic were actively engaging in robust debates with those who did at the masjid. Pointing to recent events that lead credibility that this doctrine is harmful to society. These debates into the early hours at the mosque I realized were not fruitless however.
Many began quietly confessing to ending their taqleed to khamenei and being muqa’leds of other ulamas. Some confessions were a bit more emotional or more heated in which I saw a few guys ,( who just the month before supported Wilayat Faqhi ), go to the parking lot outside, cast their own basij scarves to the ground and setting it on fire with a cigarette lighters seeking God’s forgiveness for their blindness. This in turn angered about a dozen or so men who were staunch supporters of Khamenei under the guise of “he knows what is best for the nation. So what if the election was rigged. He knows what’s right for the nation even if the people do not.”
Anyways goes without saying there were a lot of pushing and shoving in the parking lot after this public display of “disrespect to wilayat faqhi”. Severe detrimental conflict were surfacing at the mosque as patience was wearing thin. And discussions were increasingly being less than cordial. Finally, the alim of the masjid sensing things were not going to get any better, got on up on his Van and pleaded for everyone to go home and sleep it off as it was almost dawn. Good Advice to me. That night driving home I got a sense of iran as of june 2009. Divided, Leaderless, yet full of hope mingled with fear. What ultimate destiny lies for the nation is anyone’s guess. But I can only pray that ultimate destiny is achieved without any further Neda casualties. Some have told me it’s a fool’s prayer but still it is a prayer nevertheless. And God hears allll prayers even if it’s done by fools like me.
