Iran: A Quiet Ashura

Writing on the Shi’ite holiday of Ashura, Scott Peterson notes the absence of protests in Iran. Last year, thousands of Iranians took to the streets, invoking the memory of Imam Hussein to protest the repressive Ahmadinejad regime. “Now forced underground and facing severe restrictions, where is the Green Movement today?” Peterson asks. Nader Hashemi, Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the University of Denver, responds that the Iranian opposition is likely engaging “in a process of reflection, social networking, and organization to raise critical consciousness, and to basically just try and keep the movement alive, waiting for another opportunity where they manifest their presence and push forward their pro-democracy agenda.”