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I was a young man, in my last year of high school, when the Iranian Islamic revolution became a reality. That was 1979. I had just returned home for the summer from my studies in the United States. The crowds started to gather in the streets demanding freedom and democracy. They hated the monarchy and all it represented. As the state of social unrest increased and tensions heightened on the streets of Teheran, I was forced to cut my visit short and returned hastily to New York. That was the last time I saw Iran. A lot has changed since then. A whole new generation is born, and what I remember from the Iran of my childhood is no more. There is one thing that remains unchanged: This is the quest of the Iranian people for a free, stable, and democratic Iran.

The revolutionary fervor of 1979 may be once again upon us. But, will the Iranian people repeat the mistakes of the past? Will they once again fall prey to the hands of another dictatorial regime? Or will they succeed this time around? No one knows the answers to these perplexing questions. But one thing is for certain: A revolution cannot succeed unless there is a post-revolution blueprint for governance already agreed upon and ready for execution.

The problem with the 1979 Iranian revolution was that it lacked a cohesive post revolution vision for Iran. There were too many factions in the country spanning all social and political ideologies. Some were Islamists, some were Marxists, some were Monarchist, and some simply didn’t know what they were. These vast and different ideologies were brought together and unified by their common hatred of the Shah. Of course, the only group advocating for the status quo were the badly outnumbered Monarchists. This lack of common vision for the post-monarchy Iran and the absence of viable leadership led to the Mullahs hijacking the 1979 popular uprising and turned Iran into what it is today---A dictatorial theocracy.

We in the West are excited by the recent reports of protest against the Regime. The political pundits subscribe to the wishful notion that these public displays of outrage led by the leaders of the “Green Movement” would translate into meaningful change in the way in which Iran governs itself. This will not be the case because the fundamental flaws of the first Iranian revolution remain present should there be a second massive popular uprising.

For starters, the so-called moderates are still actively supporting the Islamic form of government. They are very much part of the ruling establishment. They may loosen some social restrictions and allow more freedom of press, but these concessions are far from the fundamental change we hope for in the West. The most insurmountable obstacle in getting past the Mullahs is the lack of a viable alternative leadership willing to stand for democratic and secular form of governance. Until a blueprint for a secular government is created and until there are leaders in Iran willing to pay the price for its execution, we in the West will continue with our wishful thinking while the cleric led government in Iran will continue to refine its apparatus of fear and torture.