Iranian blogger Hoder explains that the majority of Iranians, according to a new poll, support President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s policies:
A lot is being published and said these days about ahmadinejad’s diminishing appeal. But aside from this recent parliament elections, I have another reason to say that it is all wishful thinking.
Just take a look at this recent poll results (full PDF version) on Iran, done by the American ‘Terror Free Tomorrow’ research institution (we’re talking John McCain, Lee H. Hamilton, William H. Frist, and Thomas H. Kean on its board).
Satisfaction with Ahmadinejad’s economic policies, the poll results show, has nearly doubled since last June. 42% now think that “economy is headed toward the right direction,” from 27% last June.
Many progressives in the West have long believed that a majority of Iranians crave a more moderate government. I’m not so sure. Many certainly do, but a strong Islam is vital to many Iranians. Having said that, the conservative forces in the country consistently slander and isolate any possible reformist push.
How can you distance yourself from the American/Israeli point of view and still use the same laguage? What do you mean by reformist or moderate?
The way these words have been used in the Western media has suggested that ‘reform’ means to them as ‘free market economy’ and ‘moderate’ means pro-American.
Resisiting the U.S. and capitalism was at the heart of the Iranian revolution and the fact that Ahmadinejad won the election just confirms that reformists and moderates, defined by the Americans, don’t have a chance to come back, unless something fundamental changes in the Iranian social value system.
Or if Ahmadinejad shows no hunesty toward the goals he has set for himself. So far, this has not happened. People know it’s not easy to fix things, but they are happy with his attempts.
Please use a more critical language when it comes to Iran. These terms you use are not neutral and you can’t use them against their pre-defined and repeated meanings.