By Ted Belman
Steven Simpson, under the title The “Palestinian” Arabs and the Forgotten Iranian Arabs, notes
-
However, a dirty little secret unknown to most of the world, is Iran’s ethnic cleansing of its own minority Arab population. The ignorance and silence of the world—particularly that of the twenty two member League of Arab States—is absolutely blinding, appalling, and the epitome of hypocrisy. It is long overdue for the selective “poster child” of oppression (the “Palestinians”) to cease to exist, as the world’s cause célébre, and that if real peace is to come in the Middle East, then all Middle Eastern conflicts must be addressed. Whether it is the Arab-Israeli dispute, the Kurds, the Copts, the Maronites, Kashmir, or Iranian territorial designs and its nuclear program, all of these problems must be addressed equally. Regardless, this article would like to concentrate on the plight of the Arabs of Iran, a small quiet minority that has been oppressed for decades with no one to speak for them.
Just another example of the world’s hypocracy.
The Khuzistan Arabs of Iran are culturally identical to the Shi’ite Arab majority in Iraq. This is the first I’ve read, of their suffering exceptionally under the Shi’ite Persian ruling class in Iran. Iran is esssentially a multi-ethnic empire, composed of many groups (The Persians, Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Lurs, Arabs, Baluchis and Turcomans being foremost), ruled by the Persians. They are united geographically (occupying a plateau, like other countries such as Tibet, Afghanistan and Ethiopia) and historically: The Persians are also historically overlords of Azerbaijan, Iraq, Oman and other countries.
The Arabs, as a whole, have not done well in history. For most of their existence, they have been ruled by Romans, Greeks, Copts, Kurds, Turks, Berbers, Nilotes, Persians and even Circassians. Clan affiliation has usually trumped any sense of “pan-Arab” identity, and they have often used the “Shi’ite-Sunni” schism as an excuse to bloody one another in war. All in all, they are a quarrelsome bunch, best not meddled with. Whatever is happening with them in Iran, Israel and others are probably wisest not to get overtly involved.
Israel has been unjustly singled out for abuse, by ANY measure. Appeals for fairness and/or equal treatment have generally fallen on deaf ears. I don’t recommend giving up on that angle altogether, but I don’t put much faith in them. Israel seems to be more successful at standing on its haunches and making the world think it’s a superpower, about to devour them. I think that would be a more profitable tack to take.
:O ROAR!!!!!!!!