Mick Hartley

As Thamar E. Gindin explains, foreign penetration, interference, and political, economic or cultural influence, are referred to by the term nofuz in Persian. The harsh crackdown in the past few years on dual nationals and dancing-and-fashion Instagram accounts demonstrate increased nofuzophobia – fear of foreign influence – by the regime and individuals identified with the regime. But of course it works both ways. Western influence is the current target of the regime's nofuzophobia, but Islam itself is the most obvious example of foreign penetration into Persian culture.

Today, nofuzophobia exists among regime officials and clergy speaking on behalf of the regime, but its use for election propaganda and in Friday sermons in mosques has already lost its efficacy. Even the Aban 13 rallies, as shown in numerous videos on the web, were so small, they would have been invisible if not for the signs carried by demonstrators.

The younger generation has a short memory. Religious coercion has already driven most youngsters away from Islam: Two common trends are din-gorizi—running away from religion, that is, assuming a religion-less (bi-din), rather than a secular, identity; and eslām-gorizi—running away from Islam. People wish to keep their faith without identifying with the coercive regime. Some convert to other religions, usually Christianity, but also Buddhism, and some identify themselves as Zoroastrian. Moreover, many of them view Islam itself as nofuz; Islam is an Arab import from the seventh century CE onward, not originally Iranian, and hence it is nofuz.

Today’s Iranians are again deprived of their natural resources and tax money. This time it is because of the Islamic Republic’s aspiration for regional influence and dominance. Iran’s wealth is invested in wars that serve the Islamic Republic, but not Iran. The revolutionary slogan “Not Eastern, not Western, an Islamic Republic” referred to the interference of the Great Powers in Iranian politics and economy. The popular protest slogan—“Not Gaza, not Lebanon! My soul is devoted to Iran!” (and sometimes also “Not Yemen, not Golan”) rails against the Islamic Republic’s nofuz of other countries in the region.

Can it really be true that "Religious coercion has already driven most youngsters away from Islam"? I hope Gindin's right here, because we need some good news from Iran right now – as tensions in Syria build, and Iran threatens to ‘eliminate Israel from the Earth’.

Gindin's piece is part of a Tablet series on the Iranian Revolution 40 years on.