Undue discrimination Against Ethnic and Religious Minorities in Iran an anger brewing beneath the surface which emerges
Herald Middle East Mahdavi Nasim mahdavi85 The role and plight of ethnic minorities in Iranian society tend to receive little attention from Western analysts and policymakers. This may be largely due to the predominance of Tehran as the focal point of Iranian culture, politics, and foreign policy. Moreover, Iran’s ethnic minorities have been heavily marginalized by Iran’s Persian-dominated Shiite theocracy. The suppression of minority rights has resulted in ethnic insurgencies over the years, some of which continue to bedevil the Iranian regime. Nevertheless, many Iranian intellectuals, have come to view Iran’s ethnic minorities as an inseparable component of the national fabric. They have also come to realize that the Iranian regime’s repression and discrimination against minorities has not only slowed Iran’s advancement, but it could one day jeopardize the survival of the Islamic Republic, and even Iran’s territorial integrity And while the repression and...