Here are a few more Iran-centric blogs and sites I’ve checked out: Iranmania is good place to start for news. Iranvajahan is more explicitly connected with the democratic opposition. (For a personal view, check out Oubai Shahbandar, whose blog has the wonderful name “rightwingarab”.) While I’m at it, here’s a recent Wired story on the role blogs have played in Iran’s nascent democratic uprising. And for an update, this BBC story is inspiring. The Beeb has, in fact, been exemplary in its coverage so far – better than most American media sources. Here’s how they relay the views of one young female protestor:
“When the time is right we will all join. I can smell it in the air. This time is different. I despise Islam and the mullahs even though I am officially a Muslim now. I don’t have the right to change my religion in Iran. I despise the regime and so do 90 percent of the Iranians. All the people who elected Khatami despise the regime and they thought he’d bring change. We fight for a referendum conducted by the United Nations. The masses support the students and are waiting for the right time to make the final impact.” She said she agreed with US President George W Bush’s comments that the demonstrations were “the beginnings of people expressing themselves toward a free Iran”. “Even though we wish for change without the need for war we need your support by not negotiating with a dangerous regime,” she said.
Amen to that. Another score for the “axis of evil” clarity of George W. Bush.
LEAVE IRAN ALONE: “It is a fact, like it or not, that the world of Islam regards the West and its intentions with the deepest suspicion. With that in mind consider the following conversation I had with an Iranian colleague. We were talking about the events in Teheran and I was ‘boosting for Britain’ criticising the government for not doing more, saying we should do this we should do that, we should do the other. He looked me straight in the eye and said “Does it never occur to the West just to shut the f–k up? Afghanistan is still a mess, Iraq has is fallen apart and now you want to screw us over too.” – more feedback on the Letters Page.
The Dish 