When "Normies" are the crazy ones
So-called liberal Iranians are disconnected from Iranian and regional realities
The Iranian Diaspora, in any case the patriotic and monarchist opposition to the Islamic Republic regime, has a level of political awareness far beyond most. This has been demonstrated in events of recent events. Attempting to water down Iranian identity in the Georgetown coalition and the charter outraged Iranians, who rose up to defeat it.
The defeated forces have not only refused to accept it, they’ve become unhinged in their attacks on the Pahlavi family and monarchists. Not for nothing they’re now known as the “Cult of Madness” (فرقه جنون in Persian), because they offer no alternatives and no arguments of their own. Most recently this has been manifested in the behaviour of Kaveh Shahrooz (whose bid to run for Parliament failed), Mariam Memarsadeghi (whose claim to fight the regime has made her wealthy), and Alireza Nader (a political “chameleon” and charlatan).
What does it come down to? Years of these people living comfortably in the USA and Canada, engaging with mainstream political elites, have detached them from reality, or rather their politics are not calibrated to the realities of the Iranian diaspora, people inside Iran itself, and the Middle East.
Firstly, there is the fact that the Iranian Diaspora, monarchists certainly, lean Right politically. What’s so shocking about that? Much like the Eastern European diasporas, Iranians’ own experience of a totalitarian system at home and apologists for it abroad, has led them to disdain progressive and Islamist politics. Yet this is now seen as “far right” by people like Nader and Shahrooz, presumably because they’re auditioning for new gigs in the DC and Canadian think-tank world.
The rise of monarchist and nationalist sentiment, and an interest in Iranian culture and history in the past decade has been the biggest factor in undermining the Islamic Republic regime. This has been twisted by liberals who believe Iranians are fighting to transform their country into a copy paste of Western liberalism. Especially since 2020, the liberals have tried to downplay Iranian nationalist sentiment to appease those currently in power.
Certainly, the rise of national conservative “populist” politics in the West in the past decade has coincided with this, and the legacies of the Iraq War and Arab Spring. Now guess what, monarchies have proven to be the most stable, successful and resilient form of government in the Middle East. Ask anyone what “republic” is synonymous with in the region, and you’ll get the examples of Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen… none of which is terribly promising. The surge in interest in Iranian culture, history and national identity is both a direct reaction to the Islamic Regime’s brutal nihilism, and keeping with a trend of surging cultural nationalism abroad.
Since 2020, and especially since the 2022 protest wave, “normie” Iranians have tried to create an artificial world where Iranians are fighting to transform their country into a carbon copy of Western Europe and North America. They are detached from the culture and conditions of Iran and the Middle East, where their fantasies will never be implemented. It’s no wonder why these “normie liberals” are in fact deranged, screeching and screaming about “fascist” and “far right” monarchists and nationalists who far outnumber them.
Monarchists are the only ones who are calibrated to reality and understand what is needed for the future of Iran and the Middle East. The days of a manufactured opposition in line with the values of London, New York and Toronto are over.