The Oppressed of the Middle East Arise
Last week’s massive riots in Iran may have been put down by massacres and brutal repression, but the long-term prognosis for the theocratic regime remains dim. It has no answers to the economic problems afflicting the country, which are now exacerbated by the fact that Iran literally is running out of water.
The situation appears so fraught that any spark could set it off again. With reports coming in of defections in the government and the army, the next round likely will be ever more dangerous for the Mullahs.
Across the Middle East the region’s oppressed people are rising. The Jews, the Druze, the Persians, the Kurds, the Yazidis and others, nearly all of whom had their historic cultures destroyed for decades or centuries by Islamic invaders, are resisting further Islamic domination.
Israel led the way of course with its devastation of Hamas and Hezbollah following the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacres in Southern Israel, but now others are joining in. Christians (and some Sunni Muslims) in Lebanon are taking a stand against Hezbollah, which for decades dominated the country and forced it into economic oblivion and an eternal state of war with Israel.
Yazidis, Druze, Kurds and other ethnic minorities have arisen against the Al-Jalani government in Syria, demanding that their unique cultures, religions and ways of life be respected. They are now fighting pitched battles with Syrian government forces (possibly assisted by Turkish troops), and reports are that hundreds of their ethnic brethren are traveling to the region to join in the fight.
Most Iranians now seem to be united by two things, their hatred of the Islamic Republic and their distaste for Islam. While Islam has been a major factor in that country for centuries, the overbearing aspect of the theocratic regime has led many Iranians- who are of many ethnicities but predominately Persian- to embrace their Zoroastrian roots that predate Muhammad.
The Middle East is a huge mosaic of peoples and cultures who for centuries have been overpowered by Islam, including the Coptic Christians of Egypt and the Berbers of Libya. Will they stay silent if so many others in the Middle East fight against their Islamic overlords?
Ever since they came to power in 1979 the Mullahs in Iran have been seeking to expand their Islamic revolution across the region. They succeeded in making their Shia brethren in Lebanon a major power, gained a stronghold in Iraq and a sycophant in Syria and have been fixated on Israel. Thanks to hundreds of millions of dollars from Iran, Hamas built its terror and tunnel network and launched its October 7, 2023 attack.
The devastating and determined Israeli counter attack and the near destruction of Hamas and Hezbollah by Israel have laid the foundation for the end of Hezbollah dominance in Lebanon, the collapse of the Assad government in Syria, the bombing of strategic and nuclear sites in Iran and now the possible fall of the Islamic Republic.
How ironic it will be that the absolute obsession of the Mullahs to expunge the Middle East of any non-Islamic influences may boomerang so completely that is will cause Islamic hegemony to fracture, and a new, polyglot Middle East to arise.
