Famous American author and humorist, Mark
Twain, was once quoted as saying, “If voting made a difference, they wouldn’t
let us do it.”
This week’s presidential election in Iran
was anything but a real Democratic election, rather it was a “selection”
hand-picked by the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. “Only candidates approved,
vetted, and qualified by the 12-member Guardian Council are eligible to participate.”
The members of the Guardian Council are the most loyal puppets and servants of
the Supreme Leader.” What qualifies the candidates is not their education,
according to Marziyeh Amirizadeh, an Iranian American author and human rights
activist, who immigrated to the US after being sentenced to death in Iran for
the crime of converting to Christianity. “Their qualification is based
exclusively on their subservience to the Supreme Leader.” Marzieyh goes on
to explain that their qualifications must include “blood on their hands, and
supporting, organizing, and exporting extremist Islamic ideology and terrorism
abroad.”
On
July 5, in a special run-off, Reformist candidate, Masoud Pezeshkian, defeated
ultra-conservative, Saeed Jalili, by approximately three million votes, during
one of Iran’s lowest voter turnouts, since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. The mainstream media reported that the turnout was less than 50%, but
according to Marzieyh Amirizadeh, the turnout was less than 10%, with over 80
million Iranians saying “No” to the Islamic terrorist regime, and boycotting
the election. As a reformist, Pezeshkian has been an advocate of letting women
choose to wear the hijab and ending internet restrictions that require the use
of VPN to avoid government censorship. Pezeshkian claims to be a “voice for the
voiceless," urging police to refrain from violent confrontations with Hijab
violators. But once again, coming from someone who used to live under the
dictatorship government, Marziyeh is quick to expose this bogus claim by
Pezeshkian. She declares, “The reformist candidate is playing the part of a
candidate on the side of the people, seeming to care about their issues.”
When in reality, he is being used as a pawn to draw women and young voters to
the polls, trying to portray to the world, that Iran has democratic elections.
It is a well-known fact that the new
president is really not on the side of the people. It is an image-building
façade that the government is using to deceive the people. The new president
will continue to enforce the same policies of his predecessor, Ebrahim Raisi,
who was tragically killed in a helicopter crash on May 19. Pezeshkian’s loyalty
is not to the people of Iran but to the Supreme Leader and once again the real
victims will be those who accepted the façade and voted.
Iranians are hurting and desperate for
real freedom and have put their hopes in a new president who claims to be their
voice. More than 50,000 mosques have closed in the last two years. Iranians are
spiritually hungry and thirsty, searching for a god who really cares and will
do something to make their lives better. Transform Iran, a Christian
internet organization, dedicated to reaching Iranians with the gospel, recently
published a series of letters from members of the underground house church
movement. They were asked to describe the reality of the situation for those
living under the iron fist of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Their letters
revealed the voices of oppressed Iranians who have described their situation as
being hopeless with no future.
“The majority of people are depressed, writes
one house church member, This is no exaggeration. The opportunity to earn a
living and make a life for yourself is gone. Poverty is great. People are
hungry and powerless to change their circumstances. Prostitution is alarmingly
high. Real value and worth is fragile. Dignity is lost.”
Another
house church member writes, “The top three problems are poverty, addiction,
and joblessness. People are turning to drugs and getting high to forget their
troubles, even if just for a moment. They have lost all hope. Our girls, our
younger generation, are being lost to prostitution. Little children who should
be getting an education are instead out in the streets selling flowers, washing
car windshields, polishing shoes.”
I
want to be optimistic, but unfortunately, I have to face the hard reality. The
new president will not keep his campaign promises to the people of Iran. Like
most politicians, even those in Iran, he played the people for a fool to get
their so-called votes, but of course, it wasn’t a real election, but rather a
cleverly disguised “selection” courtesy of the Supreme Leader.
Where can the people of Iran turn to for
hope? Who can they trust that will make a profound difference in their
desperate lives? The members of the house church that wrote these letters have
the answer. They found their hope and freedom in Jesus. They found a savior who
satisfies their spiritual hunger and thirst. They made a choice that has put
their lives in jeopardy, forcing them to meet secretly to worship and read
their bibles.
Jesus is calling out to hopeless Iranians
with a promise to radically transform their lives and give them real hope and
rest. Jesus declares:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For
my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30)
Phony politicians will come and go, their
empty promises will do nothing but line their own pockets with wealth. However,
Jesus keeps his promises. He will not lie. He will never leave and forsake a
desperate heart that is crying out to him. True freedom and democracy is coming
to Iranians, not in a new government, but in a faithful savior, whose words
have stood the test of time.
*Quotes from Townhall article by Marziyeh Amirizadeh
https://townhall.com/columnists/marziyeh-amirizadeh/2024/06/26/irans-three-ring-circus-presidential-selection-n2640989
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