The fate of Iran rested last night in a grubby north Tehran highway interchange called Vanak Square where – after days of violence – supporters of the official President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at last confronted the screaming, angry Iranians who have decided that Mirhossein Mousavi should be the president of their country. Unbelievably – and I am a witness because I stood beside them – just 400 Iranian special forces police were keeping these two armies apart. There were stones and tear gas but for the first time in this epic crisis the cops promised to protect both sides.
Independent UK
Unrest in Iran continues to boil over, but hardly from expected
sources. As the pro-democracy
movement continues to
organize, justifiable questions about how did this happen? Why? What makes either side willing to confront each other on what normally very mundane issues such as the freedom to elect a government representative of the people, freedom of the press, freedom to assemble, freedom from perceived tyranny. Why now?
Answers to these question are not easy for anyone living out outside of Iran and the Middle East, but sufficed to say this series of events has been
building since 1979 with the overthrow of the
Shah.
With a belief that a government ultimately lead by god, as understood through Islam could provide a rightly ordered, peaceful, and fulfilling life an experiment was begun. The results, an ordered life yes, a fulfilling life; that can be debated.
For many Muslims, despair and despondency at what they see as the utter failure of Islamic governments and societies to improve their lives and give them peace, security, and a sense of purpose and meaning in life are causing them to leave Islam in search of truth. Some have lost their way entirely and become agnostics and atheists. Others, as we have seen, have sadly turned to alcohol and drug abuse. But millions are finding that only Jesus Christ heals the ache in their hearts and the deep wounds in their souls. Joel Rosenberg
The full political ramifications are interesting either way this conflict goes. With Ahmajinidad at the helm, his stated goal has been annihilation of the US and Israel, and he has followed this up with financial moves to back up his words in terms of arms shipments and strategic alliances. If Ahmajinidad falls from power, then Iran will likely be unable to declare hegemony, nor Iraq, nor Saudi Arabia with leadership issues. The last two contenders are Syria or Eqypt. With Egypt having signed a peace treaty with Israel, it would be in a unique place to negotiate a regional wide peace agreement
Where to from here? Quite literally God only knows, but He has quietly been leading people to Himself.
...in Iran, more than 1 million Shia Muslims have turned to Christ since 1979. In Pakistan, there are now more than 2.5 million followers of Jesus Christ. In Sudan, there are now more than 5 million followers of Christ. Not every country has seen millions leave Islam to become adherants of the New Testament teachings of Jesus. In Syria, there are between 4,000 and 5,000 believers, but this is up from almost none in 1967. In Saudi Arabia, there are about 100,000 followers of Jesus now, up from almost none in 1967. Joel Rosenberg
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