Mohammad Hassan Khani
Editor’s Note: InsideIRAN.org requested an analytical or research-based article from the author, rather than the letter-to-the-editor format that appears below. However, in order to provide readers further insight into the views of Iranians who support the current government, I have decided to publish its contents as received, with only customary editing for clarity and style.
TEHRAN — The West in general and the United States in particular have failed and continue to fail to understand the dynamics of politics and religion in Iran. There are so many reasons for this failure but the following is the most important and perhaps the most ignored one:
The problem lies in the fact that their sources of information are strictly selective. Their sources of information and analysis are limited mainly to two groups. First, are those individuals and groups who are so hostile to Iran and the Islamic revolution that they are not ready to see the reality or accept it. These groups and individuals are very close to and associated with the so-called Israeli lobby and neoconservative circles. Second are those Iranians in exile who are not ready to talk or to think about anything except seeing, or better to say, fantasizing, the overthrow of Islamic Republic. Over the past three decades, Western leaders and policymakers, including American think tank centers, have been surrounded by these two groups when it comes to Iran and issues related to Iran. It is a pity that they have been wasting their time, energy, and resources, and also that of their audience, which includes the American people and American policymakers.
Apart from wasting time, money and energy, the other important negative effect of this problem is the fact that the wrong and incomplete information constitute misinformation and this easily can mislead the people who are in charge and that brings miscalculation, which will lead to making and adopting wrong policies. I argue that US Foreign policy towards Iran has been suffering from this syndrome during the past three decades.
Just look at the list of those who have found a chance to appear before hearing committees in the US Congress or won a grant to do a research on Iran at US research centers. The only thing they have in common is a record of hostility towards Tehran or being a controversial opposition figure. It is not surprising at all then that their description of the situation in Iran will be far from reality and, hence, their prescription has fallen short of any help or use. As an academic researcher, I was astonished to see how naïve and shortsighted were the comments and analyses made by majority of Western and American analysts in regard with post-election events in Iran. Just look back on their pieces to see how they were competing against each other to predict the fall of Islamic revolution — and even the end of political Islam.
The other problem lies in their analytical approach which is very much anti-Iranian oriented based on the assumption that Iran is a permanent threat, and portraying Iran as an enemy regardless of the circumstantial realities on the ground.
Unless American think tanks, including The Century Foundation, reconsider their views, stance, and policy in dealing with Political Islam, Islamic World and the Middle East region including the Iranian case, there is little chance for any progress in their understanding these cases and hence little success and use in the recommendations they make. Therefore, in order to have a better and close-to-reality image of the region and Iran It is vital to reflect the views of independent academicians from across the political spectrum inside the country.
Mohammad Hassan Khani is a graduate of the Peace Studies Department, Bradford University, and currently an assistant professor of international relations at Imam Sadiq University in Tehran. He is also a founding member of Iranian Association of Political Science and International Relations.