Blogging has become a favorite tool of political activists everywhere, and a particular challenge to regimes used to keeping public debate under tight control. In an interview, Mohammad Ali Abtahi talks about how he uses his blog to speak his mind about politics, make fun of his rivals, and discourse on anything else that interests him.
Teks Lengkap
Blogging has become a favourite tool of political activists everywhere, and a particular challenge to regimes used to keeping public debate under tight control. Nowhere is this more the case than in Iran, where tens of thousands of blogs have popped up since 2001, when an Iranian exile in Canada devised a way of bloggmg in Farsl. There are now some 65,000 live blogs written in Farsi, as well as several hundred written by Iranians in English.
Iran's rulers keep a firm grip on traditional media, monitoring the
content of newspapers, radio and television broadcasts. Monitoring the
blogs is harder, because there are so many sites and most bloggers write
anonymously. The regime has still managed to
filter and block provocative websites, and has arrested and imprisoned
identifiable bloggeis who have called too strongly for reform or stepped
out of line in othei ways. And web censorship looks likely to increase, following the election of conservative president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad m June.
One of the best known bloggers in Iran is Mohammad AIi Abtahi. Rut he is ,in unexpected star, a cleric in his late 40s, he is a foimer parliamentarian and vice-president, and a close advisor to former president Mohammad Khatami. Abtahi uses his blog to speak his mind about politics, make fun of his rivals, and discourse on anything else that interests him. He started it in December 2003 partly, he says, to get closer to the people. And if the popularity of Abtahfs blog is any guide, the people are relishing the opportunity to debate with a prominent official. Michael Bond talked to him in Tehran about how blogging is changing Iran, and how he gets away with criticising the regime.
Why did you start a blog?
I was looking tor a way to
express my points of view, disengaged from my official and governmental
responsibilities. Hlogs have no heritage ami thev are no! owned by
anyone's tatlu-r - anyone with any kind of thinking can write in them. I he public is interested.
What do your colleagues in politics think of it?
Most of them didn't know that I'd started it until theirchildren lotind out and told them. To begin with it was hard to communicate with other bloggers. because of my position as a religious scholar and because of my place in
government But fairly soon I caught the imagination of the younger
generation and my website has been the most popular personal blog in Iran for some time. And it can be controversial: I take pictures of officials and post them on the web. The blog has sparked many challenges from the regime, even though I make it clear it's personal and doesn't concern the actual politics of the government.
Has your blog ever got you into real trouble?
I pay a high price. Conservative elements in
the Iranian regime have made accusations and published many lies about
my personal life. For example, they published a rumour that I had
resigned my position as vice-president last year because I had swum in a mixed swimming pool - with men and women - at a party m Tehran. That may not sound very serious to you but it is serious in Iran.
Earlier this year, my blog
was hacked for M-ven days by security forces. This happened because I
had become a voice for some Iranian bloggers who had been jailed because
of what they were writing. I wrote about how they were tortured and interrogated in prison. After being hacked. I was forced to route my blog through a server based outside the country so they couldn't interfere with it again
Which authorities have been targeting your site?
All the pressure comes from the conservative regime. It has always been
that way. The public is supportive, but most bloggers are very young
and get scared easily. They became afraid after other young bloggers
were failed. I have been working against the censoring of wcbsites. They
still get filtered in Iran, net service providers have to obey the government or they get closed down.
Yet despite the surveillance, you seem to get off quite lightly with what you write on your blog?
I get away with it because of my background as a political activist and because I am well known. If the regime decides to censor my blog, it costs them in terms of public opposition. My background helps protect me.
What effect is blogging having on Iranian society and politics?
Reform will happen first in society, then in
government. Iran did undergo reform under President Khatami, though the
people were dissatisfied with the pace of change. The net is one of the
tools society has been using, and developing, to change things. The net is influential and will bring more pressure for change. It belongs to
the new generation, and now that young people consider themselves
members of a worldwide movement they have higher expectations. Getting
through the establishment's filters is not very hard as computer
knowledge is widespread in Iran.
When did you start using the net?
It came to Iran about nine years ago and I got involved immediately. Maybe it was because of my background as an activist and in the media: I had experience of trying new things. The net has been popular here for about four years.
Tell me about your background as an activist.
I am from a religious family. My father was a religious scholar. When I was a teenager, before the Iranian revolution in
1979,1 had a Super 8 camera and made short films everywhere I went.
With my help, my father used my movies and slides when presenting his
critical theological lectures at religious gatherings. At that time, in my religious culture, it was very unusual for someone to be doing that.
I was thoroughly active around the peak of the revolution movement. I
made speeches, shot films, distributed leaflets and so on. It was very
exciting to sacrifice something for my country, to be out on the streets campaigning for justice. I considered the shah's regime unjust. I was very idealistic, and wanted to bring freedom to the people.
But you got arrested.
Yes. I was arrested for publishing lectures of Ayatollah Khomenei, and for giving a public lecture in
the north of Iran. People came out onto the street, there was a riot. I
was 18 at the time - it was a young revolution. After our victory, we
had a lot of problems because the organisers of the revolution didn't
have any experience of managing things.
I
consider myself a child of the revolution. I believe the way the regime
is acting today is against the principles we stood for. Reform will
happen but, as in
1979, it will be led by the people. The people are ahead of the game,
and the net has become one of the most influential factors in the reform of society.
How do young people react to your blog?
I'm in
a difficult position. Because I am a media figure, some conservatives
consider me radical, while some members of the public see me as part of
the regime. It's exciting for people to be able to
interact with a public figure. I have a question-and-answer section,
which many people visit. They talk among themselves, about politics, the
regime, and about other subjects I bring up. They ask questions, they
insult me, and they insult the conservatives, but the majority
sympathise with me. I publish everything people contribute to my blog, as long as it's not immoral.
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Copyright Reed Business Information UK Oct 15-Oct 21, 2005
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