“I call IRAN a short-term society”

Mehru Jaffer Vienna

Homa Katouzian, 67, author of The Persians, says that to know Iran is to see the land and its people from an Iranian perspective. At the end of a conversation, the professor of Iranian History and Persian Literature at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, preferred perhaps to leave us more puzzled about the Persians rather than project clichéd conclusions about the future of the country of his birth.  His mantra remains clear: the world should stop looking at Iran over the shoulder of the European experience. Professor Katouzian spoke to Hardnews in Vienna, where he was on a vacation.

On Iran today
Iran faces two problems today. There is a crisis of authority in the country and a crisis of legitimacy of the present government. How this crisis will resolve is anybody's guess. A possible scenario is that the opposition will move towards a kind of reconciliation. After all, there are conservative and radical forces in both the government and within the opposition. It could also happen that in the future more fundamentalist elements within the government will demand more punishments and executions of members of the opposition, the enemy within.

On the puzzle that is Persia     
Iran is a puzzle because it is not easy to predict what will happen there next. I call Iran a short-term society. That is why all predictions by modern day analysts frustrate the world and create further misunderstandings about Iran. In Iran it is not just the government that is unpredictable but also the individual. It is common knowledge that most of the time most Iranians do not know what to expect round the corner next. There are individuals in Iran who have experienced being a merchant, government minister and political prisoner all in one life time. A common saying in my country is that a man leaving home in the morning is never sure where he might end up at the end of the day.

On revolutions    
Most revolutions in Iran almost always unite the entire society against the State. The antagonism in Iran is not between different social classes but between all of society and the State. What happened in Iran after the June 2009 elections has come as a surprise to Iranians and to the world. This was never predicted. What will happen next is also anybody's guess.

On better understanding in the East of western societies    
Maybe that is true. But there is not enough understanding and knowledge about the other, in both the worlds. For example, many in Iran will look at a modern young woman from the West and often conclude that she is a whore. On the other hand it is not rare for many in the West to look at an Iranian woman dressed modestly and conclude that she is a slave of society. There are grave misconceptions on both sides.

Has this happened in Iran before?    
It has more often than not. To express antagonism towards the State is not uncommon in Iran. However, it is perhaps the first time in the history of Iran that all of society is not united against the State. At least 14 million voters seem to be in favour of the government today, if not more.

On prisons    
I don't know any more than you do. I hear the conditions in prisons in Iran are harsh and there is violation of human rights. The government too agrees that there are irregularities. I can only repeat what I have read in reports.