Metro Blogs » An Iranian Voice in Puerto Rico
7/26/10 10:58 PM
Metro San Juan Magazine
Metro Blogs
Jun
25
2009
An Iranian Voice in Puerto Rico
photo by Milad Avazbeigi
As violence escalates in Tehran, the clergy and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei battle to
quell protesters. Amateur videos show Iranian security forces raiding the streets and
attacking civilians as they march through those streets, challenging the June 12 elections.
Supporters of the opposition leader Mir Hussein Musavi decry violations of their civil
rights on what is the 13th day of protests.
According to human rights activists, more than 2,000 people have been detained, including
Faezeh Hashemi, daughter of Former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani. Also,
according to Iranian state sources, at least 17 people have died and hundreds have been
wounded.
It’s an event far from the Puerto Rican imagination. However, there is a Muslim
community in Puerto Rico and they are following closely how the revolt unfolds.
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Metro Blogs » An Iranian Voice in Puerto Rico
7/26/10 10:58 PM
Jonathan Mohammed is one of them. Born to a Puerto Rican mother and Iranian father, the
20-year-old accounting student lived in Iran for 11 years before relocating to Puerto Rico
with his mother, sister and stepfather. He is a religious Muslim who upholds Islamic rule,
while still respecting other ideologies. As the war is waged on the streets of his country,
Mohammed shares with MSJ his account of the events. He argues that the media has
blown the demonstrations out of proportion and denies that the Islamic Republic corrupted
the election process. He doesn’t foresee a reformist government in the near future and
believes his country is far more progressive than what people are led to believe.
How long have you been in Puerto Rico?
My mother lived in Illinois. My dad was on a politics-related trip from Iran. They met and
were together for two years; then they separated. My mom had the option to relocate to
Iran but being a Puerto Rican native, she decided not to.
Do you see your father often?
Yes, I just visited my father this summer; I went to Iran, then Peru. However, if I do want
to see him it has to be in Iran or a country not associated with the U.S. I lived in Iran for
11 years, I moved there with my father when I was three because he had sole custody.
When I turned fourteen, I decided to move to Puerto Rico with my mother and stepfather.
So you speak Farsi fluently?
Yes, Farsi Phusto, a folkloric language of the ancient Persia, where Afghanistan is now.
Where do you practice Islam?
I go to the Río Piedras mosque. There’s one in Montehiedra but it’s too far from me.
How is your relationship with other Muslims here?
They’re a bit more conservative. We meet at Ramadan and participate in several events
together. I know other brothers, Boricua Muslims, with whom I like to hang out with the
most. I think it’s commendable that they are so interested in Islam that they would learn
Arabic, which is a difficult language. It makes me feel proud.
How does your mom feel about your religion?
My mom and my sister respect it. Christians, Muslims and Jews respect one another; we
come from the same idiosyncrasy, from the region of Judea and Palestine.
How does it feel to be a bicultural person in Puerto Rico?
The typical Muslim might tend to be a fanatic or see the world from a different
perspective. But having lived here, I now perceive different points of view. I can see how
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Metro Blogs » An Iranian Voice in Puerto Rico
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Puerto Ricans think as opposed to how Iranians think. In Iran, women are treated
differently. Women in Iran that don’t cover themselves are considered bad people. Here in
Puerto Rico, it is normal to see a woman that is not covered completely and I don’t
condemn it; it’s part of the tradition.
I understand things that people from my country probably couldn’t understand.
In addition to your dad, do you have more family in Iran?
Yes, my grandfather, grandmother, sister and step mother.
When you see those violent images on television, what do you feel?
My family lives in Tabriz, not in Tehran, but my dad has an apartment in Tehran for his
work. I asked my father and he explained that [the images] are just sensationalist
propaganda. There are some protests, but not with the magnitude that the media has
implied.
Anyone that turns on the television and sees that will think that there is corruption in the
election process and that the right to vote is not respected. It’s not like that. There are 70
million people in Tehran; the fact that 2,000 people are protesting doesn’t say anything.
It might not be a lot of people, but the images are brutal. The police are attacking
protesters; something is happening.
Yes, but these aren’t the president’s decisions. These are the supreme leader’s decisions.
He warned people that the winner [of the elections] had been announced. There was a
recount and the results were verified, and I believe [President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]
won by 11 million votes. [According to news sources, it was a partial recount.] There is no
way that was manipulated. The election fraud accusations arose after many people weren’t
able to vote because the time to vote had ended. This gave way to thinking there was
corruption. And my dad says that [the government] is trying to avoid a coup d’état. There
is an ongoing investigation after a car exploded. That has never been seen in Iran. It blew
up and killed five people, a few homes and what not. [The government] thinks it may be
people from foreign countries, maybe CIA [U.S. Central Intelligence Agency] or other
outsiders that are supplying money to terrorist organizations to help demonstrators.
This is the story of Iran. [Mohammad] Mosaddeq was the first elected president by the
Iranians and the United States removed him to put the Shah in power. Iran has the largest
supply of oil in the world; it has a life of 250 years and United States wants it.
I’d like to retake that important subject later. I want to discuss the election fraud.
The media claimed that at some voting stations the number of votes were higher than
the registered voters.
That’s an exterior data; not facts from the Islamic Republic.
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Metro Blogs » An Iranian Voice in Puerto Rico
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But would the Iranian government admit to that?
That’s information that Iran should emit.
But would they?
I’ll be honest; Iran’s politics are a bit controlled to avoid just that: a change to the
theocratic government. I wouldn’t be able to tell you if they’d reveal that information
because there is [control over information].
Your dad works with the defense department. Do you think the government is
handling the protests well?
The defense department only works with foreign issues. The Iranian police, the Basij,
which is in charge of enforcing moral codes and maintaining civil conduct, deals with
internal struggles. I know it is happening but it’s not as big as what you see it on
television.
Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, prohibited the protests. Here in America, that’s
considered a human rights violation. What do you think? You are an American
citizen who has the right to express yourself freely.
I think it’s both right and wrong. It’s right because you have to control [the situation].
Here in Puerto Rico you can insult the governor but in Iran you’d be jailed. The same
thing happens in certain Latin American countries. In Iran, there is democracy and human
rights are respected more than in other Arab countries. I do not get Obama’s call to restore
human rights. Those rights are being violated to control the situation.
If you go to Saudi Arabia, women can’t drive or go anywhere alone. In other Arab
countries women wear the hejab, but not in Iran. They wear the veil.
Do you think these protests might lead to a reformist government?
Maybe in four years. The government is already decided.
Tehran is a theocracy and it has a supreme leader who rules according to the laws of
Islam, and this leader and its government are ordering the excessive use of force, and
there are reports that the daughter of [Former President] Hashemi Rafsanjani was
kidnapped along with other family members. Are you afraid that people will view
Islam in a negative light as happened after the 911 attacks?
Yes, but I believe religion is separate from the country.
But this is a religious country?
Yes, definitely.
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Metro Blogs » An Iranian Voice in Puerto Rico
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Have you experienced racism for being a Muslim here in Puerto Rico?
Yes. Once I returned to my home and three FBI agents and one from Customs were
waiting for me. I had received a package from Egypt. They threatened me and I opened it;
there were just some souvenirs. And when I travel and go through the security check,
curiously they are always doing random checks and they check me.
During the elections, Facebook and other social networks as well as the cell phone
messaging services were blocked. Now, these methods are the only way people can
get information out of Iran.
Yes, [the government] do it to control certain things, to avoid altering the truth. For a
reporter, it’s better to have a great lie than a boring truth.
But isn’t this hurting Iran’s credibility?
Yes, it really is. These are irregularities of the clergy. It was wrong to have blocked [the
social networks].
From what I’ve read, there is instability with the two governing bodies, the Assembly
or Experts and the Council of Guardians. What do you think will be the outcome of
all this?
In a month this will all be over. There are worse problems.
Inflation, for example.
Yes, but the worse problem is the embargo. We have oil and we can sell it very cheap to
countries in South America but we can’t because of the embargo.
Could reformists help achieve this?
Look, even if Musavi would have won the elections, I will tell you the truth: Iranians hate
the American government. Not the American people, but its government. There is a saying
in Iran, ‘Americans are good, but the government is the great Satan.’ They provided the
weapons to Iraq when Iraq invaded us.
Also, we are developing uranium enrichment technology for beneficial nuclear energy. It’s
for pacific uses, only and Russia and China are involved. But the United States is against
it. Why so much hate? The Iranian people see this. Even if Musavi would have won, that
wouldn’t reconcile [with what happened in the past]. Anyway, over Musavi will be clergy
and they don’t want to deal with the U.S.
And now that Obama is president?
Those are just words. My dad has made comments regarding [Obama’s willingness to talk
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Metro Blogs » An Iranian Voice in Puerto Rico
7/26/10 10:58 PM
to the Iran government]. Obama says things will change but they oppose our nuclear
energy program. There is an energy program in Iran. There are black outs and we need to
use more oil. This is oil we could sell, but we have to use it to generate electricity for the
whole country. It’s a big country! What Iran wants to do is develop nuclear energy, sell
the oil and save money.
Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Obama has been careful to avoid implying U.S. involvement in Iran. [Supreme
Leader] Khameni blamed the situation on the West; you even said that there were
speculations that the CIA was financing the revolt.
These are just speculations because there has never been a car bomb [in Iran], there aren’t
the materials for that. People think it may be Israel or United States to debilitate the
government.
But Obama has kept the U.S. on the sidelines and said that it was an internal
problem.
Yes, it is an internal problem.
by Huáscar Robles
http://www.metrosanjuan.com/blog/2009/06/25/an-iranian-voice-in-puerto-rico/
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Metro Blogs » An Iranian Voice in Puerto Rico
7/26/10 10:58 PM
Written by admin in: METRONEWS | Tags: Add new tag, Ali Khamenei, Hashemi
Rafsanjani, Iran, Puerto Rico, Tehran, violence
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