The 12th Imam: Who is Rahim Mahai?
I still have my doubts as to what happened with the Iranian elections - perhaps you can call me a Persian Birther - but I share some of Djavad Salehi-Isfanjari's skepticism both pre- and post-election - that Ahmadinejad had spent much more time and governent money wooing rural voters, that he's fluent in Azeri and was governor of an Azeri region so has stronger support among Azeris than credited, and that blame and disgruntlement over Iran's repression would be laid at the Supreme Leader Khamenei's feet, not Ahmadinejad's. There was some polling evidence that the public was relatively satisfied economically.
Since then, the protests have largely subsided as Ahmadinejad is finally sworn in, but Abbas Mahdani discusses the political intrigue that continues, and it has some curious twists indeed. See, Ahmadinejad chose his old friend Rahim Mahai as his VP. Khamenei objected based on some scandalous statements Mahai had made. But Ahmadinejad refused to retract the nomination. For 7 days. Managed to fire half his cabinet over their disapproval. And then instead of pulling the plug on Mahai, he let Mahai withdraw and promptly named him his Chief of Staff.
It wasn't that long ago that Moussavi was ignoring Khamenei's orders to stop protesting. It seems like the head Mullah's edict is no longer as respected and instantaneously obeyed as it once was, even if eventually it is carried out. So if there is a chip in the fundamentalist wall, what does that mean for Iran and for us?
Well, let's look at Rahim Mahai again. He and Ahmadinejad are something of the Odd Couple, even though they look fairly similar. Ahmadinejad favors religious simplicity, Mahai is known for a bit more excess, attending a Turkish party with alcohol and dancing girls in one scandal. When Mahai and Ahmadinejad's kids married each other, Mahai wanted a blowout celebration but was overruled. In his job with Iranian radio he introduced live pop music. Though in his job as cultural minister he turned a number of Tehran's cultural centers into religious teaching centers, so he's not completely secular. In fact, Mahai and Ahmadinejad share a passion regarding the return of the 12th Imam, the Mahdi. This isn't so unusual - Oriana Fallaci noted that both the Shah and the Ayatollah were obsessed with their religious visions, and Persian culture is inundated with mysticism - the virgin birth and water flowing from the pierced side likely came from Zoroastrian or Mithraic mysteries borrowed from ancient Persia.
But in any case, the two are close enough for Ahmadinejad to refuse the Supreme Leader's direct order and stomp around in a hissy fit, or perhaps a good occasion to test some of that election/protest capital he'd picked up at Khamenei's expense.
So what was that scandalous statement from Rahim Mahai that made him unsuitable for VP? Paraphrased, he said that "Islam does not have the ability to cope with twenty-first-century problems, and that Iranians have no natural enmity against the citizens of Israel". Ouch. He said Iran's friends with America and Israel. That didn't go over well. He backtracked a little, but not much. And if you read into Mahdani's article a bit, you see some sense of Iranian Intelligence providing some sympathies for being more open, and that perhaps there is an end in sight for the fundamentalist leadership. There are other theories, such as this was a way of sending dove-like signals to Bush, and some think Ahmadinejad's obstinance reflects the good relations he has with Khamenei, or even that Khamenei's got something even bigger up his sleeve. And that there's some distancing from Iraqi Shiites as well. We'll see.
The main thing to take away is that this is a complex culture terminally in flux, with much going on in the background. They don't "share our values" as Reagan once averred to the Saudis, certainly not in attitudes towards their neighbors and nuclear issues, but then there's an urban youth segment that's definitely looking towards Europe and a less stuffy not-too-strict religious element even within government. So what will Rahim Mahai do in his newly increased role? Will he bring on the 12th Imam or some other transformation for Iran? Or will it be 4 more years of quirky uncertain behavior out of Ahmadinejad?
Since then, the protests have largely subsided as Ahmadinejad is finally sworn in, but Abbas Mahdani discusses the political intrigue that continues, and it has some curious twists indeed. See, Ahmadinejad chose his old friend Rahim Mahai as his VP. Khamenei objected based on some scandalous statements Mahai had made. But Ahmadinejad refused to retract the nomination. For 7 days. Managed to fire half his cabinet over their disapproval. And then instead of pulling the plug on Mahai, he let Mahai withdraw and promptly named him his Chief of Staff.
It wasn't that long ago that Moussavi was ignoring Khamenei's orders to stop protesting. It seems like the head Mullah's edict is no longer as respected and instantaneously obeyed as it once was, even if eventually it is carried out. So if there is a chip in the fundamentalist wall, what does that mean for Iran and for us?
Well, let's look at Rahim Mahai again. He and Ahmadinejad are something of the Odd Couple, even though they look fairly similar. Ahmadinejad favors religious simplicity, Mahai is known for a bit more excess, attending a Turkish party with alcohol and dancing girls in one scandal. When Mahai and Ahmadinejad's kids married each other, Mahai wanted a blowout celebration but was overruled. In his job with Iranian radio he introduced live pop music. Though in his job as cultural minister he turned a number of Tehran's cultural centers into religious teaching centers, so he's not completely secular. In fact, Mahai and Ahmadinejad share a passion regarding the return of the 12th Imam, the Mahdi. This isn't so unusual - Oriana Fallaci noted that both the Shah and the Ayatollah were obsessed with their religious visions, and Persian culture is inundated with mysticism - the virgin birth and water flowing from the pierced side likely came from Zoroastrian or Mithraic mysteries borrowed from ancient Persia.
But in any case, the two are close enough for Ahmadinejad to refuse the Supreme Leader's direct order and stomp around in a hissy fit, or perhaps a good occasion to test some of that election/protest capital he'd picked up at Khamenei's expense.
So what was that scandalous statement from Rahim Mahai that made him unsuitable for VP? Paraphrased, he said that "Islam does not have the ability to cope with twenty-first-century problems, and that Iranians have no natural enmity against the citizens of Israel". Ouch. He said Iran's friends with America and Israel. That didn't go over well. He backtracked a little, but not much. And if you read into Mahdani's article a bit, you see some sense of Iranian Intelligence providing some sympathies for being more open, and that perhaps there is an end in sight for the fundamentalist leadership. There are other theories, such as this was a way of sending dove-like signals to Bush, and some think Ahmadinejad's obstinance reflects the good relations he has with Khamenei, or even that Khamenei's got something even bigger up his sleeve. And that there's some distancing from Iraqi Shiites as well. We'll see.
The main thing to take away is that this is a complex culture terminally in flux, with much going on in the background. They don't "share our values" as Reagan once averred to the Saudis, certainly not in attitudes towards their neighbors and nuclear issues, but then there's an urban youth segment that's definitely looking towards Europe and a less stuffy not-too-strict religious element even within government. So what will Rahim Mahai do in his newly increased role? Will he bring on the 12th Imam or some other transformation for Iran? Or will it be 4 more years of quirky uncertain behavior out of Ahmadinejad?
