When I agreed to write about Humanist movements in the Middle East, I thought I had the whole idea in my head. But when I sat down to write, I felt confused. “How do we define Humanism?” The question came to my mind. I started searching, browsing and reading. I realised that it was not only me; the concept is too broad, too undefined. I decided to go back to my original idea, write about what I consider Humanism to mean.

I always considered Humanism to mean the outlook which begins with a human being’s well-being, happiness and prosperity. A Humanist is one who cares about a human being’s sufferings, who is touched and moved by injustices, inequality and oppression; an outlook that has human beings at its core. This definition might sound very arbitrary, and perhaps it is. But on the basis of my research, I think this interpretation is actually valid and applicable.

The Middle East

The Middle East is socio-politically a volatile region. The long standing Israel-Palestine war has definitely left a deep mark on the region. Moreover, the whole Middle East is under official or de facto dictatorships. Struggles of people against the state of affairs are an inevitable part of life in the Middle East. Religion has always played an important role in the Middle East, but in the past 30 years, it has come to occupy a much more prominent position. Different factors contributed to this. The rise of political Islam as a powerful political movement, the loss of credibility of Arab nationalism due to its weaker military position vis-à-vis Israel, and the absence of any other ideological alternatives due to the dominant dictatorships, were the main contributing factors. More than ever the institution of religion has acquired a political and ideological prominence.

All over the Middle East secularism has been pushed back to the margins, struggling to find a voice in the society. However, there is one very different case in the Middle East, that is, Iran. Iran, because of its very different socio-political development in the past three decades, presents a totally different picture, and its future development would have a significant impact on the whole region. The subject of this article is to try and explain the socio-political situation in Iran and in so doing talk about social movements there which, in my opinion, have a very strong Humanist character.

Historical Background

In order to understand the current state of affairs and its regional significance, we need to look at the recent socio-political history of Iran. Iran, except for very brief periods, has always been under a dictatorship. Two revolutions and one rather long and important political upheaval mark its history in the twentieth century. Up to the 1979 revolution that resulted in the coming to power of an Islamic regime, there had been open and hidden conflicts between religious establishments and secularist forces, which included basically left and communist groups and some sections of intellectuals. The state and religion, despite some conflicts and clashes, on the whole worked hand in hand.

Capitalism became the dominant mode of production in Iran in the sixties. A land reform took place which resulted in migration of a large part of the rural population into cities, a source of cheap labour, and some measures towards integration of women into social and economic life were taken by the monarchist state. Both of these policies came under fierce attack by a section of the religious hierarchy led by Khomeini. The religious establishment was one of the biggest landowners in the country and extremely reactionary and misogynist. A small uprising was organised by the religious establishment and followed by traditional section of merchants, i.e. the Bazaar. This uprising was swiftly quashed. Khomeini was sent to exile to Iraq.

The sixties and seventies were an era of change. Capitalism grew rather rapidly, thanks to oil money which provided the capital for investment in infrastructure and heavy industry. Socially, changes took place as well. More female students joined the universities, and more women began to work. In big cities the traits of Western culture, in music, film, fashion and lifestyle were quite apparent. However, the economic exploitation and injustices, the widening gap between the rich and the poor, the oppressive political system, which led to many young people being arrested and tortured, and widespread corruption led to the formation of a revolution. The first signs of a political upheaval became apparent in 1977 and eventually led to military takeover of the streets by the army. In summer-autumn 1978 a full-blown revolution took over the whole country, calling for overthrow of the monarchy.

Up until this time there was no sign of the Islamic leadership. The slogans were anti-monarchist, anti-dictatorship and basically left-wing. However, a swift change became apparent. In autumn 1978 Khomeini was deported by Saddam Hussein, Iraqi president, to France, seemingly for his political activities against the Iranian government. Once Khomeini arrived in Paris and was placed in a glamorous chateau in Paris, owned by a rich Iranian business man, socio-political changes took place very rapidly. Foreign media interviewed Khomeini every day and read his commands and press releases from their short wave radios every night. Thanks to tight censorship of the national media, everyone listened to the foreign media, which included BBC Persian service, Radio Israel, American Voice of Liberty and Moscow radio, for information. This is how a leader was born. Mind engineering of the masses was achieved. Public opinion was formed.

Over a short period of time the revolution for justice and freedom and against poverty and corruption, and one which ironically gave rise to various women’s organisations, was called an Islamic revolution. Protests by the youth were violently crushed, but demonstrations organised by the religious establishment and with Islamic slogans were calmly tolerated. Gradually more veiled women turned up at the demonstrations. An overnight transformation took place. A small piece of news around this time gave hints as to how this masterpiece was created: the Guadalupe summit by the industrialised countries designed and executed this plan. The western powers, for fear of the left coming to power in Iran, a neighbour of the Soviet Union, an important geo-political country for the West and a very close ally of the USA, played an instrumental role in bringing an Islamic regime into Iran.

Islamic republic vs secularism

The left was taken by surprise. The women’s organisations, which were being formed in Tehran and other big cities, had mixed feelings; Islam and women’s rights are antonymous, but anti monarchist/anti-imperialist emotions were running high. The irony was that these organisations were being formed to promote women’s rights and equality in the new atmosphere. But suddenly they were faced by the Islamic offensive. Secularism was not formulated as a demand, but the nervousness of a great section of the left, women’s movement and non-religious people was apparent. In order to calm this socio-political anxiety, a campaign of misinformation was launched by the Islamists: “Women are equal under Islam” “Khomeini’s wife plays the piano and speaks French and English.” (This was to neutralise the fear of banning music by Islam and anti western characteristic of Islamists.) This proved to be a clever propaganda campaign.

The clash between the women’s rights movement and the Islamic regime, less than a month after its coming to power, was one of the first signs of a long and hard battle between freedom and equality seeking movements, the left and secularists, with the regime, which resulted in more than 100 000 political executions, from communists to different opposition groups, including other religious groups.

Opposition was crushed and suppressed brutally, particularly during 1981-1990. However, the nineties witnessed the rise of a wave of social movements for women’s rights, freedom of expression and association, cultural emancipation from strict religious rules by the youth. The young generation, which was the main actor of these movements, had not experienced the relative freedom of culture and lifestyle in the sixties and seventies. It had not experienced the coup d’état like the crushing of the opposition, notorious prisons and torture and summary executions. They were born in the Islamic regime, obligatory veiling and gender apartheid, the banning of western music, culture and lifestyle in the era of increasing globalization and Internet. The regime was faced with a mission impossible.

These social movements have developed over time. The regime has done its utmost to crush them; arrests, persecution, torture, abduction, and killing of activists have not been able to subdue these deep-rooted movements. Iran is in great socio-political and cultural turmoil with a deep economic crisis. Aspirations for a better, freer and more egalitarian life run high among the people, particularly the young generation that comprises the majority of the population. The constant battle between women and the vice police over the veil, clothing, make-up and supposedly “improper” and un-Islamic behaviour of the former, the fight between the youth on the streets and at the universities with the security forces over gender apartheid, dress code, freedom of speech and cutting the presence of security forces from the university, the every day battle of the workers over pay and dismissals with the police form distinct features of the socio-political portrait of Iran today.

Social movements

There are four distinct and important social movements, deeply rooted in society, which have mass backing and contradict all the fundamental characteristics of the Islamic Republic. By their nature these movements are secular, even if they do not openly articulate this demand, and Humanist, according to the definition this article subscribes to.

The women’s rights movement

One of the most powerful movements in Iran having mass backing is the women’s rights movement. Ever since the coming to power of the Islamic regime this movement has been in existence. It was active and organised protests for a couple of years, and then it was suppressed. However, women’s resistance continued in individual form. Around a decade later it started to voice its demands. Women’s journals, be it in a very moderate or conservative format, were published. Eventually the women succeeded in changing the balance of power at the national level. The veil became less restrictive, clothing became more fashionable, women’s attitudes more confident and outspoken. The number of women’s entries to university rose consistently. Last year around 65 per cent of university admissions were girls. Resistance both in individual form and en masse is strong, despite the regime’s harsh suppression. Despite the fact that part of the legal leadership of the women’s rights movement claims there is no contradiction between Islam and women’s rights, this movement is the most secularist movement in the country. It should be noted that this positive portrayal of Islam is by no means shared by the majority. Women’s equality by its nature is against Islamic laws and traditions. The women’s rights movement has great potential to challenge Islam, its rules, traditions and the Islamic regime. The effects of this movement are wide reaching. This movement, by virtue of its root, is secularist and a staunch enemy of political Islam. This movement is capable of affecting the whole Middle East.

Political freedom

The fight against political oppression is very large and is a mass movement in Iran. The Islamic Republic came to power as the result of the defeat of the 1979 revolution. Therefore, from the beginning it provoked political opposition. In the past decade, political demonstrations and protests have become an inseparable part of the country’s social landscape. Freedom of expression, association, demonstration and beliefs, scrapping of censorship of the media, films, books and cultural events, and creation of a free political system are high on its agenda. As this movement fights with a religious state, the demand for separation of religion from the state is recognised as a necessity to achieve these demands.

Economic justice

The country has plunged into a deep economic crisis. In this oil rich country the majority live below the poverty line, by conservative official estimates. Homelessness, the phenomenon of street children, widespread prostitution, child prostitution and child labour are some of the symptoms of this economic crisis. Workers’ strikes, sit-ins and protests are an ongoing event in the country. Workers are sometimes not paid for up to six months. The minimum wage is well below the poverty line. The lack of social benefits, universal health care and unemployment benefits have devastated the lives of millions. This condition has led the workers’ movement to try and mobilise and organise protests. It should be noted that workers are deprived of the right to organise, mobilise and strike. This movement seeks a fundamental change in the socio-economic and political system. Having lived under a theocratic regime, it is very much against the religious system and for a secularist one. This movement has the widespread backing of the population.

Cultural Emancipation

Last but not the least, this new phenomenon is in an ironic way the product of a religious regime. The three decades of total domination of an Islamic state, restricting and interfering in any and every aspect of people’s lives, even their bedrooms, has given rise to a cultural revolt. The youth has revolted against all Islamic codes of behaviour and lifestyles, and aspire to live like the youth in the west. Their taste for music, cinema, fashion and lifestyle in general goes against what the entire regime and old traditions stand for. This I call the cultural emancipation movement. This is much stronger than the cultural movement of the 70s in the west as far as its political impact is concerned. The youth in Iran do not want to live under an Islamic regime, or any religious system, for that matter. They aspire to a secularist and free society, in which they can live free from political and cultural restrictions and in prosperity. This is the root of these great social movements in Iran which threaten the Islamic regime and political Islam in general and create a window to freedom, equality and prosperity in the Middle East.

Azar Majedi is the chair of Organisation for Women’s Liberation-Iran and a veteran campaigner for women’s rights and against political Islam