Six Strategies to Topple Religious Totalitarianism

In comparison with other democracy-seeking movements of the past half century, the Green Movement by the Iranian people is off to a brilliant start. This movement against religious totalitarianism grew out of a legal election campaign. The people of Iran faced off against a police state and threw themselves behind one designated member of that state who seemed to be more intelligent, more ethical and more experienced and wrapped the green shawl of the movement around his shoulders. During the run-up to the elections, the country was swept up in a kind of campaign fever which for this movement was filled with fun and merriment, exuberance and all-night reveling.

The Green Movement of Hope, with its non-violent constitution was unable to traverse the rocky slope of religious despotism to carry off a victory on the field of elections. The police-security caste, who dubs any democratic move as a "soft coup d'etat," won the election through extensive and pre-organized rigging only in order to perpetuate their own authoritarian system, and not the Islamic Republic. However, the Green Movement, as it was, was unable to calm itself and men who had become empowered by this movement, despite hundreds of considerations and connections with the totalitarianist regime, could not bring themselves to accept going along with the sleight-of-hand. The Green Movement did not allow their own leaders, that is, Mohammad Khatami and Mir Hossein Mousavi, who were on their side prior to this, to settle the dispute by compromise and despite ambiguous statements by Khatami and Mousavi, the great march against despotism was created on June 15, 2009. (1)

As a next step, the totalitarianist religious regime saw no other alternative than firing and attacking so smeared its hand with blood in Tehran, Shiraz, Tabirz and Kermanshah as well as other Iranian cities. In the government’s imagination, the serious protesters of the regime and critics of the election or anyone willing to pay a price would amount to no more than two or three thousand individuals who would be made to retreat after a few killings. However, the Green Movement did not balk at this spilling of blood and returned to the ring even more powerful and poised.

From this point forward, the Green Movement, like other non-violent movements such as those of Gandhi or Nelson Mandela, has been able to continue efforts to put an end to the ideological Apartheid and totalitarian way of thinking of the Islamic regime. This movement, having learned lessons from recent social movements can, by adopting the strategies below, first force the Leadership to declare the elections void and in this way push the religious totalitarianists back by one stage.

The continuation of protest marches and public rallies in order to cause clearer backing-up and rifts in the body of the regime is being considered by the members of this movement. From the perspective of the protesters, the order by Supreme Leader Khamenei to the Guardian Council to investigate claims of rigging in elections after waves of protests was too little, too late and Mousavi, during the June 15 protest march had in fact, said that it would not be clear whether it would have any results. The possibility of a Leadership and Guardian Council retreat coming about without some sort of pressure applied from below is practically zero. “Colorful” or “Velvet” Movements have only been able to bring self-serving, dictatorships to their knees through sustained protests. As was expected from the arrangements made among people in protest marches in the past week or so following elections, protests continued.

The set of laws sanctioned by a despotic regime, for example, the necessity to obtain permission for the smallest actions and undertakings such as a demonstration or expressing opinions or protest gatherings may be broken in all situations, especially at the time of a widespread movement. These laws were passed by parliaments which were formed by non-democratic means and whose ratifications in fact were the ratifications of an absolutist government based upon the discretions of the individual at the head of the absolutist government. The parliaments were formed under expedient supervision, the chief concern of which was guarding against anything that might be disadvantageous to the regime and elections to them were held under the supervision of the Council of Guardians and thereby have absolutely no legitimacy.

Being bound to the letter of the law in Iran means silence towards all acts of the ruling power and towards violation of all social and individual rights. As a result, protesters against the election have continued with their protest marches without obtaining a permit from the Interior Ministry. To topple a totalitarian regime, any act not involving violence or violating the rights of other citizens and human and fundamental rights is permitted. Therefore, citizens can bring the totalitarian government down by refusing to pay taxes or public utility bills.

Strategy Three: Prevention of violence and bloodshed.

Despite the non-violent attitude of this movement, the government resorted to intensive suppression on the first two days following the election. June 15 was the day when the government entered a new phase of suppression by murder. According to reports from various sources, by Wednesday, June 17, at least fifteen people and by June 18, at least 32 people had been killed in nation-wide attacks on the people by plain-clothes forces and Basiji volunteers. However, demonstrators are careful as possible to avoid situations in which violence is likely to erupt. In the demonstration on Wednesday, protesters were told to disperse before it got dark out to avoid being attacked by pro-government forces. Demonstrations consist mainly of silent marches and no slogans are chanted lest the opposition be provoked.

Khamenei, on the days following the attack on the University of Tehran dormitory complex back in 1999, in a meeting with his commanders had said that for the sake of the survival of the “system”, they could slaughter up to as many as one million citizens. Apparently since critics and opponents of the regime know about this and the endless cruelty of the regime, they want to prevent further bloodshed while pressing on with their demands.

Strategy Four: Fall in the number of forces loyal to the regime

Continuing with the protests and the violent measures taken by the regime will result in a reduction in the ranks loyal to the regime. Resignation of the dean of Shiraz University, who was himself appointed by Ahmadinejad's Ministry of Culture and Sciences, or the letter in protest against the bloody attack on the dormitory of Tehran University on the night of June 14, 2009 written by the head of the University, who is himself a security operative of the ruling power, marked the onset of this fall.

As demonstrations intensified and Ahmadinejad insulted the opposition whom he called "trash" (khas-o khaashaak) some of the conservative authoritarians, such as Ahmad Tavakkoli, Habibollah Asgaroladi and Maryam Behruzi chastised the government by criticizing Ahmadinejad's tone of speech. It seems like the Green Movement will in its future career separate the loyal but anti-murderous forces from the main body of the regime. Even Ali Larijani, the speaker of Majles, who was himself a main figure in the suppression of the 2nd of Khordad Reformist Movement, wanted to break away from the Ahmadinejad Administration by sending an investigation team to the University Dorm Complex after five students were killed. This falling off started even before the election to such an extent that those who believe in religious fascism like Dr. Reza Davari broke away from Ahmadinejad.

Strategy Five: general strike by government employees and shopkeepers

If the general protest makes its way through students and intellectuals, teachers and workers to shopkeepers, who constitute the right-wing conservative social base and who have looked suspiciously upon the military and security administration of Ahmadinejad in this election, the ruling power will no longer be able to ignore it. A twitter message, which resounded extensively throughout the demonstration of June 15, said, "We will all together go on national strike on Tuesday. Government offices, universities, educational and urban transportation centers, and all members of society are ready for a strike. All markets will be closed." During the demonstrations of June 17 and 18, in addition to young people, senior citizens and people from all social classes were present.

Members of the Green Movement want to help these non-violent demonstrations continue so that they lead to a general strike of shopkeepers and government employees. The former Pahlavi regime did not give way until general strikes reached shopkeepers and government employees. Continuation of the crackdown on the Green Movement and continuation of the general protests will at some point make government employees and shopkeepers join the movement. Announcement of the resignation of Sharif University and University of Tehran professors marks the onset for the movement’s extenision to reach the body of government employees and then shopkeepers.

Strategy Six: Using virtual social networks

Closing down mainstream media such as journals as well as internet websites and causing disruption in  popular means of communication such as the text message service have not been able to disrupt the communication network of the Movement. Finding ways to skirt around government filters, Twitter, Facebook and Yahoo Messenger have served as the means of communication of this movement. These have served both as organizational tools and as tools to transmit news to international media.

In the open meeting of the Majles yesterday, One of the representatives belonging to the Fundamentalist faction unofficially announced that a report was submitted from the office of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, mayor of Tehran concerning the size and volume of the crowds supporting Mir Hossein Mousavi in Freedom (Azadi) Square, that at least three million protesters were present. (Etemad-e-Melli Party (National Trust or National Confidence Party), June 18, 2009)