The inner life of Iranians
The main news out of Iran these days is how the Islamic regime has found new ways to force women to cover their heads. Since mass protests last year, the 鈥渕orality police鈥� have been withdrawn from the streets. Yet now street cameras catch the faces of women who defy the wearing of hijab. Universities must reject women who don鈥檛 follow the practice, while neighbors are encouraged to snitch on them. Even recent cases of girls being poisoned at their schools are widely attributed to the regime as a tactic to enforce religious conformity.
But the more significant news is how Iranians in general have changed their core beliefs, especially after this latest and harshest crackdown. A recent poll showed very few still are practicing Muslims. In cities, only a quarter of adults pray five times a day. In rural areas, only a third do. The percentage is even lower for those 20-29 years old. The numbers are about the same for men and women.
This new mental liberation has resulted in other trends that indicate an alternative search for meaning in life. Some seek an identity in Iran鈥檚 pre-Islamic culture, shown in celebrations of Cyrus the Great Day. Others celebrate Valentine鈥檚 Day (which was banned in 2010). Many celebrate Nowruz, the pre-Islamic Iranian New Year, rather than the founding of the Islamic Republic, which was in 1979.
鈥淒espite the regime鈥檚 increased efforts to outlaw such practices [as hijab] and Islamize every aspect of Iranian culture, the number of Iranians celebrating these secular practices continues to grow each year,鈥� states a report by the Tony Blair Institute.
More than three-quarters of Iranians who want regime change also consider religion unimportant to their lives. This leaves room for them to explore ways other than Islam to direct their lives. That could have huge implications for both the regime and the region.
鈥淭he single most liberating event for the Middle East will come when the Iranian people finally have their freedom,鈥� says Tony Blair, a former British prime minister.
Among Iran鈥檚 ruling conservatives, the secularization trend has reportedly reopened old debates on how Iran should reconcile strict clerical rule with democracy. That internal debate erupted a decade ago during the presidency of a relative moderate, Hassan Rouhani. 鈥淟et us leave the people so they can find the way to聽heaven聽by themselves. We cannot take them to聽heaven聽with force and聽lashing!鈥� he said. Today Mr. Rouhani, now out of office, has been sidelined.
Soon after Mr. Rouhani criticized strict enforcement of Islamic dress code, a prominent cleric, Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, warned: 鈥淚f the hijab doesn鈥檛 exist, the Islamic regime will be destroyed.鈥� That helps explain why the regime has only increased its enforcement of an outward expression of Muslim life. Yet it is the new inner life of Iranians that bears watching. Their quest may end up being bigger news.
