It’s interesting how we tend to remember historical events that stand the test of time and discard those that don’t. For example, we all know the famous words of Patrick Henry, “Give me liberty or give me death.” But lost in history is the fact that he felt equally strongly that there should be an official state religion by which the government would be operated.
That would be, of course, Christianity. Fortunately, the state of Virginia had more than its share of brilliant public servants who knew that such an idea would be a disaster. How they dealt with Mr. Henry is a matter of debate but James Madison and Thomas Jefferson (among others) saw to it that he was elected in 1776 as the first Governor while they went off to Philadelphia and founded a nation which emphasized the importance of religion by making sure it never joined up with the politics.
Other countries have not been so fortunate and we have all too many examples of how state-sponsored religion turns into state-sponsored terrorism. Iran happens to be the one over which we have the most current concern.
When the Shah was overthrown in February of 1979 we can recall the triumphant return of Ruhollah Khomeini from exile to assume the title of Ayatollah, the Supreme political and religious leader of Iran. After his death, with the help of the Revolutionary Guard, successive Ayatollahs have ruled the country with repression of all opposing thought. After the 2009 election, an uprising was put down by the military, and the country suffered increasing international isolation due, in part, to the controversy concerning the enrichment of fissionable materials to weapons grade.
Recently the most recognizable leader of Iran has been President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but he has been a figure head. Nothing, we are told, is done without the approval of the Ayatollah and the Revolutionary Guard.
To the credit of the Iranians, they have held another election and this one seems to have been honest. Now Iran will have a new President, Hasan Rowhani, moderate and protégé of former President Rafsanjani with whom the international community had a reasonable relationship.
Unlike the riots following the 2009 election, last week there was great jubilation in the streets of Tehran while the security forces stood by making no effort of quell the celebration. All that is a good sign but there are still major problems.
While President Rowhani swept into power with more than three times the votes of any of his four opponents, the Ayatollah is still the Supreme Leader. Whether he will have the good sense to recognize that the time for repressive control (if there ever was such a time) is gone and will release his power of religion and politics to a democratically elected government remains to be seen.
Even after more than two centuries, there are those in this country who believe as Patrick Henry did that religion should have an official function in the affairs of state. If you find that hard to believe, visit some of our neighboring counties and their insistence on joining the two.
We need to channel James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and the framers of the Bill of Rights. They got it right then, and it’s still right today. In the meantime we can celebrate with the Iranians and remind them that the good fight should continue and is worth the winning.
Hayden Hollingsworth
