Iranians abroad

Submitted by Edward (Austria), Sep 23, 2003 at 13:04

I could not agree more with the article. My personal experience with exiled Iranians confirms this. The majority of those I have met in Europe are really not very religious. They are very satisfied with Western freedoms, and they are very clear in their rejection of Islamic law and of the government and legal system of their home country. Many would be delighted to see the Iranian regime toppled and replaced with a Western-style democracy with similar human and constitutional freedoms to what people enjoy in Western Europe, although obviously they are hoping that this can happen without the kind of destruction that happened in Iraq.

Having said that, many of them would rather not gain too much visibility. Most of them have relatives back home, and the Iranian government has not hesitated to carry out assassinations of opponents as far away as Germany or Switzerland.

And so I can only applaud your call to charities and governments in the West to come to the support of pro-reform Iranians (and other pro-reform Muslims) by granting them money, media support and personal security, where necessary.

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