Iranians are seeking refuge in classical poets and the Pater Patriae Cyrus the Great.
Women and men gathered at the mausoleums of great poets, either in the ruins of ancient Persepolis or at Pasargadae, where Cyrus the Great (circa 590-530 BC) is buried.
This has been happening for several years during the Iranian New Year. Iranians do not flock to mosques or Shiite shrines but to the tombs of poets and Cyrus the Great.
Poets shaped the language and identity of Iranians. Ferdowsi (935-1020) is buried in Toes, in Khorasan province. He penned all the ancient stories about Persia and the creation of kingdoms.
Heroic deeds he poetised in immortally beautiful language. Iran is unthinkable without Ferdowsi. But also buried in the same province is the eighth Shi'ite imam, Imam Reza (in Arabic Ali ar-Rida, 765-818).
Nowruz over mourning: A political statement
People respect Imam Reza, but for saving their country from the clutches of ayatollahs, they do not seek support from him. An Arab Muslim imam would never want to help Iranians free their country from Islamists who speak and act precisely in the name of Prophet Muhammad, Imam Ali and Imam Reza.
On Thursday, March 20, the Nowruz festivities, which usher in the Iranian New Year, began. This year was different. Nowruz coincides with the 19th day of Ramadan.
On the 19th day of Ramadan, Imam Ali, the first Shiite imam and the fourth rightist caliph, was seriously injured by a terror attack during morning prayers (621).
On the 21st day of Ramadan, he died. From the 19th to the 21st of Ramadan, Imam Ali is mourned in Iran. Here, the Iranian dilemma occurs: mourn Ali or celebrate for Nowruz? A broad majority chose Nowruz.
Nowruz as resistance
Iranians went on mass party shopping and on the evening before the last Wednesday of the year, they celebrated Charshanbe Suri everywhere: at sunset, they jumped over the flames (bonfires) singing. The sacred fire of Zarathustra cleanses man before the new day (Nowruz) dawns.
With all its rituals, Nowruz belongs to pre-Islamic Iranian traditions. Nowruz this year is characterized by striking political slogans. At Ferdowsi's mausoleum, people shouted: “Long live the Pahlavi dynasty!”, “Reza, Reza Pahlavi is our slogan”.
With this, those present expressed their support for Prince Reza Pahlavi (1960). They also shouted loud and clear ‘Reza Shah Rohat Shad!’ (‘Reza Shah, blessed is your soul!’). Reza Shah (1878-1944) was the founder of Pahlavi dynasty (1925-1979). He is the father of modern Iran.
Reza Shah banned hijab, the Islamic dress code for women in public spaces, and made education accessible to women. He also secularised Iran's judiciary.
There was no more place for ayatollahs in the judiciary and administration. Ayatollahs hated him deeply and intensely. But even at the mausoleum of Hafiz (1320-1390) in the city of Shiraz, thousands scanned ‘Reza Shah Rohat Shad!’' and this is ‘the final battle, Pahlavi is coming back. Reza, Reza Pahlavi is our national slogan'.
On the 20th day of Ramadan, a joyously excited crowd ushered in the New Year at the mausoleum of the immortal Hafez. Also in the city of Nishapur at the mausoleum of poet Omar Khayam (1048-1131), thousands scanned: ‘This is the final battle, Pahlavi is coming back. Reza, Reza Pahlavi is our national slogan!'
Parallel universe
Something fundamental is going on in Iran. Ayatollah Khamenei delivered his New Year message in a room in which there was no sign of Nowruz. He did not mention the Nowruz once. He spoke of Lebanon and Gaza. Khamenei and the Iranians live in two parallel universes: the umma of Islam and the nation of Iran.
Is Prince Reza Pahlavi ready to lead the nation? He has made his willingness known in recent months. In his New Year speech, he asks the West to work with the Iranian people to dismantle the regime.
He is not asking for military aid or other forms of violent intervention. Pahlavi is asking the West to undermine the regime by completely isolating ayatollahs.
To Iranians, he asks for solidarity with each other in the struggle against the ayatollah regime. A few days ago, Reza Pahlavi asked Iranians to sing the patriotic song at the New Year, which many now consider the national anthem.
At full breast, they sang 'Ey Iran' under the historical shadow of poets:
O Iran, the land of gems abound,
O the wellspring of arts is your ground.
Far from you may the thoughts of evil be,
Long may you last and eternal be.
O enemy, if you are of rock, I am of iron,
For the first time after 46 years, the Iranian people seem to be choosing a leader who wants to revive the secular past.
Prince Reza Pahlavi's support is growing by the day. In doing so, the people are choosing the end of enmity towards the West and Israel. This would be the beginning of the end of Islamism. But there is still a long dangerous road ahead. Support from Europe, America and Israel will shorten this road.
Nowruz versus Ramadan, Pahlavi versus Khamenei.
The writer is a Dutch-Iranian philosopher and law professor. This column was originally published in EW-Margazine (Elsevier).