Racism Is Not Exclusive To The West

RACISM IS NOT EXCLUSIVE TO THE WEST

Iran’s Attachment to Indo-Aryan Supremacy

by NZK

THE IRANIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY in Southern California is as confusing as it is absolutely glorious. With Westwood being deemed a second Tehran and Persian restaurants popping up all across Los Angeles and Orange County, it is easy to get wrapped up in the positive aspects of a homogenous Iranian-American population in California. However, as we Americans know all too well, racism is difficult to unlearn. Simply moving to liberal, diverse, and seemingly progressive California is not enough for many Iranian-Americans, especially the older generations, to shed their racist tendencies.

An epidemic of white-washing is rampant in Orange County, where the combination of racist upbringings in Iran and a desperation to fit into an inherently racist American society causes Iranian-Americans to become unknowingly trapped into a cycle of internalized xenophobia. It seems purposeful to me that American society morphs Iranian racism into a conglomerate of American-brand bigotry with a dash of historical Iranian ethnic superiority. There have been many times at Iranian functions in Orange County that I have heard someone say that they would disown their child if they married an Arab person. Or how African-Americans are good people, but not good enough to be granted access into their friendships and relationships. Quite frankly, we must do better as Iranian-Americans living in a time that no longer tolerates this type of backwards behavior.

There is no question that ethnicity is integral to national identity. However, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is notorious for its strong commitment to maintaining and protecting its ethnic identity. This very commitment and protection oftentimes leads to exclusionary, bigoted, and racist ideals deeply engrained in many, if not all, cultures within the MENA region. Iran is no exception; in fact, Iran proves to be a perfect example of how a deep commitment to ethnic identity leads to racism in the national population.

While Iranian society is very committed to the idea of having one ethnic identity, Persian, the fact remains that Iran has a history of diverse ethnicity. Since the dawn of the Persian Empire, all major Persian emperors, Xerxes, Darius, and Cyrus, prided themselves in their devotion to syncretism, operating on a system where their conquered subjects would be unified but be permitted to retain their ethnic identity. Iran has historically maintained an immensely diverse ethnic makeup, with ethnic groups including the Persians, Kurds, Lors, Azeris, Arabs, Turks, Baluchs, Gilaks, Mazniks, and more. Though over 50% of Iran’s ethnic makeup identifies as Persian, the fact remains that though mostly united under a common Shia faith, Iran boasts a beautifully diverse ethnic makeup.

The question of whether Iran holds a homogenous or heterogenous ethnic population is complicated for one reason only: the answer differs based on whether you value principle or reality. In principle, Iran is inarguably heterogenous in its ethnic makeup, as over ten ethnic groups call Iran home. However, in reality, Iran, and more specifically the Islamic Regime, is notorious for acting as if Iran is homogenous, for they see the larger ethnic groups of Persians as superior to all others. Rooted in beliefs of Aryan supremacy, Iran is notably desperate to act as though it is a homogenous Persian nation-state, for Persians are known to be descendants of the original Indo-Aryans.

In addition to the Islamic Regime’s attempts to Aryanize Iran, Western politics and culture are equally responsible for pushing Iranians into a single, homogeneous ethnicity of Shia fundamelists. The West has purposefully established an internationally-held stereotype of Iran as a monolithic state where all Iranians are to blame for the Islamic Regime’s shortcomings, in order to invalidate the reality of Iran’s historical identity.

Within Iran, there exists a sort of superiority complex among the ethnic majority, Persians, that proves to be infinitely dangerous to the safety and integrity of the nation’s minority groups. Due to their long history in Iran stemming back to the early rise of the Persian Empire, Persians hold themselves in vastly higher regard than their fellow ethnic Iranian counterparts, and feel no shame acting on these prejudices through racist rhetoric or unfounded violence. After all, Afghans in Iran are notoriously ill-treated in Tehran, with Persians poking fun at their class status as they simply seek to provide the labor that Iran so desperately needs in order to maintain its economy. Slurs like “sorkh-ghoosh,” translated to something synonymous to redneck in English, are often used by Persians against ethnic minorities they deem inferior. Countless other ethnic minorities in Iran face this sort of treatment, and worse.

Even in Iranian diaspora, there exists this interesting phenomena in introducing oneself as Persian, as opposed to Iranian. A seemingly small difference, but boxing oneself into the identity of Persian as opposed to Iranian furthers the already damaging divide between Iran’s Persians and other minority groups. Whether one can track their family tree all the way back to the original Indo-Aryans of the Persian empire, or was raised in the Hormozgan province as Iran’s only black population, membership of a certain ethnic group does not make one Iranian superior to the other. If the Persian empire was founded on ideals of ethnic syncretism, then it is the duty of modern-day Iranian-Americans to maintain their nation’s devotion to the diverse, inclusive, and outstandingly beautiful ethnic makeup of Iran.

There exists a dichotomy in Iran’s relationship with racism. On one hand, Iranian culture is unwaveringly racist in its treatment of ethnic minorities within the country, as Persians find themselves to be superior to their ethnic counterparts. Yet, on the other hand, the Iranian government constantly aims to capitalize on Western racism by utilizing its existence as evidence of the inferiority of the West. Following the protests surrounding the murder of George Floyd in the US, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei chose to make a statement demonizing the United States for its oppressive and racist treatment of its African-American population. Ironically, at the same time as this statement, the Islamic Regime was facing major international pressure for its same oppressive and racist treatment of the Azeri and Baluch ethnic groups.

Racism among Iranians is both internal- and external-facing — internally Persians are racist against their ethnic counterparts, while externally Iranians as a whole are racist against other ethnicities and races, most notably Arabs, Black people, Asians, and South Americans. The most infamous racial tension in the Middle East exists between Iranians and Arabs, where a tumultuous history and differing Islamic sects propel the two groups into an unwavering battle of superiority in the MENA region. The Aryan supremacy mentioned previously reappears when acknowledging that Iranians find themselves to be racially superior to Arabs due to their historical connection to the Indo-Aryans.

In the same breath, Iranian-Americans complain that American racism brands them as “terrorists,” then turn around and cry out the same stereotype that says it was actually the Arabs and their Islamic fundamentalism that got all Middle Easterners living abroad into this mess. This unique brand of irony makes me want to laugh as much as it makes me want to cry.

Despite this, I know for a fact that if there’s any group that can single-handedly dismantle racism in their native country, it is Iranians. If we want to end racism against our own community, we must begin by ending the Iranian-American community’s own culture of internalized racism against minority and ethnic groups deemed inferior by non-Persians.

Easier said than done, but the best place to start is always at the beginning (insightful, I know!) If all Iranian-American youth began speaking up when their relatives made an insensitive comment about Arabs, or Black people, or Asians, then that would already be progress, progress that would undoubtedly lead us in a direction that I take great pride in: a direction towards growth, humility, and compassion, three traits I know all Iranians value and hope to encompass. And we can get there, if and only if, we devote ourselves to dismantling racism within our communities, and being part of a movement not only against racism, but anti-racism.