I get discouraged when debating with other posters who know very little about Iran’s internal politics. Therefore, I decided to put together an introduction to the conservative camp ( principlists ) so we could use this blog with your contribution for future references.
Soon we will be witnessing our parliamentary election. The current parliament is dominated by the conservatives who replaced a reformist dominant parliament in the previous election. But in our current parliament, the conservative camps have been competing with each other and despite the image that i have posted with this blog, they are not unified. Infact, new alliances between some conservatists and reformists have created a new majority in the parliament to counter bills introduced by the administration of Dr. Ahmadinejad. lets look at the main players;
1- Ahmadinejad’s Camp. This group of MPs support the policies of our current administration. I can’t pin them to a specific political group as a whole, since they are not under a specific platform. They are united in their support of Ahmadinejad and Esfandyar Rahim Mashaie. Read articles by Ali Akbar Javanfekr, Ehsan Jahandideh, Jafar Behdad and Mohammad hassan Salehi if you want to know more about their political outlook. Raja News usually reflects the opinions of this group of conservatives.
2- The traditional conservatives. This group are closer to the ” Islamic Revolution’s founding principles “. They possess revolutionary attributes and they are considered ” anti Ahmadinejad”. They displayed some of the strongest oppositions to block certain bills in the parliament but they have not been entirely successful to unite all conservatives against Ahmadinejad. Notable personalities ( possible future candidates ) from this camp are Larijani, Mohsen Rezaie and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibof. These conservatives also enjoy the support of other powerful groups such as :
http://motalefe-party.com/ ( Motalefe )
( Jebhe peyrovan khate emam )
http://www.rohaniatmobarez.com/Portal/Home/ ( Rohaniyoon e mobarez )
Many newspapers in Iran reflect the views of this camp but Resaalat newspaper stands out. To be more familiar with this group political outlook read articles from Roholamini ( whose son was in Kahrizak ), Amirali Amiri, Hossein Entezami, Reza Moghaddasi and Mohsen Ahmadi.
3- The mild conservatives. I just made this name up since i don’t know what to call them. This group is closer to Ahmadinejad but it also criticizes some of Ahmadinejad’s policies. They are supporters of “Gholam ali Hadade Adel” who is a very smart politician ( strong possibility for presidential candidacy to unite the conservative camp ). Some of the political groups which support this camp are;
http://isargaran.org/ ( Jamiyate Isargaran )
http://www.rahee.ir/ ( Jamiyate Rahpoyane Engelabe Islami )
Along with the Ahmadinejad’s camp, this camp is also introducing new personalities in our politics and if you want to learn more about their ideology follow articles by Bijan Moghaddam, Ali Darabi and Alireza Zakani.
4- The Last conservative group are personalities who define themselves to be beyond any political party and defend the “essence” and values of conservatism as a revolutionary duty. These are mostly elder clergies who initially supported Ahmadinejad in the past but now due to the ” Mashaie” factor, are becoming critics of the administration. The Fars news agency has become the organ which publishes their views and notable writers are people like hamid reza moghaddamfar.
There you have it to the best of my knowledge.
As you see, our complex politics is far from being black or white. A person who supports Ahmadinejad’s policy, can not be considered a Larijani supporter as well. I have also provided you with links to follow related events and news first hand from the related organ without reading second or third hand news articles from other agencies. Go to the source for your news. If you see their is a problem between two factions, go and read both versions from their sites to get a better understanding.
Sincerely.
