Iran Protests: Powerful Symbolism of The White Scarf And Its Connection to Legendary Hero Kaveh

When the anti-government protests erupted in Iran in late December of 2017, one image really resonated with  Iranians at home and abroad. A woman standing tall and proud with her jet black hair flowing on her shoulders waving a white scarf on a long stick. 

The photo of her quickly made rounds around the Internet and became a symbol of what many are now calling the White Revolution, but many do not talk about why it resonated so much with Iranian people and why it became such a powerful symbol.

One reason  for it is the very courage of this woman who dared to remove from her head the symbol of the oppression, a scarf that Iranian women are being forced to wear since 1979 at the pain of harassment, imprisonment, and beatings from the religious police. One woman who was  taken to the police station and beaten for her husband's alleged anti-government comments told me that she saw a pregnant woman beaten as well because she wore "too much make-up." The women of Iran carry a disproportionate burden of oppression under the current Islamic Republic. Therefore it is the women of Iran who find the most courage to stand up for their rights.

But it wasn't only her courage that lent such deep meaning to her act. it was also because it evoked an image of a very well known Persian hero of pre-Islamic history named Kaveh. His story can be found in "Shahnameh" , the longest epic poem in the world describing the history of Persia, its Kings and heroes both historical and legendary.

Kaveh was a blacksmith who led a revolution against a foreign King who became a tyrant over Persia. He put his apron on a lance, which became a symbol of his revolution, of common people rising up against foreign oppression and marching together as one to the palace. The parallels are unmistakable. I don't know if this woman consciously evoked the imagery of Kaveh when she chose to visually represent the resistance of common people, especially the women, who are the most oppressed in Iran against Islamic rule, which is foreign, to the people of Iran most of whom hold on to their long 5000 years old Persian history and culture that predates Islam.

That is why the white scarf on a stick became such powerful symbol and will continue to be. The woman who created this symbol, a young mother, was found out by the government and arrested, but other women carry on that same symbol. Each Wednesday they pose  for a picture or video with a white scarf on a stick.

So, the White Revolution continues and will continue until the yoke of Islam is broken off the Iranians' shoulders. Let us continue to support the Iranian people, especially the women of Iran in their struggle for freedom and for a better future.

2018 : The Year of Hope And Anticipation

At the end of each year, we usually have a foretaste of what the New Year will bring. Last year, I felt

that the year will be filled with many changes and challenges. It was so, both in my personal life and in the world affairs.

What I sense for this New Year 2018 is hope and anticipation of what the Lord will bring about. It looks like the new wave of protests taking place in Iran right now will eventually finally bring down the oppressive regime that is holding Iranian people hostage for nearly four decades now, which will also bring an end to many terrorist activities around the world that this regime is funding, including Hamas.

I look forward to see if the biblical pattern of 70s for Israel will hold and what type of restoration will take place there as well. In the Church also there is a sense of renewed energy and joyful expectation as the movement of prayer and cooperation between different churches continues, there will be pouring out of God's blessings upon His people worldwide.

Last year, we saw how the materialist and postmodern philosophy that pushed people towards increased ungodliness began to crumble and an interest in the Bible began to grow in unexpected places. It does not cease to amaze me how a secular liberal Canadian psychologist, Jordan Peterson, is able to draw hundreds of thousands into listening of his series of lectures on the Bible stories and they cannot get enough of it. The spiritual hunger among the people, especially the young people is growing. There are therefore many reasons to hope.

It is often easy to focus on all the bad that is happening in the world, but we have to remember that God is always on the move and way ahead of the enemy and that where the darkness gets deeper, His light can shine the brighter. So, determine to notice all those good things and understand what The Lord is doing, and be encouraged by it. God bless everyone and have a blessed New Year 2018!

Iran Protests: Writing On the Wall for The Islamic Republic

It is a 4th day of wide spread anti-government protests in Iran, which main stream media is either

ignoring or like CNN, reluctantly covering because of being shamed into it by the social media and their own President, who issued a public statement of support for the people of Iran almost as soon as the protests broke out.

This is the largest form of unrest in Iran since 2009 Green Revolution, but it is very different in many ways. This time, the people are not just opposing a single issue such as the economy or their displeasure with one politician, or one faction of their government, but with the entire current political system.

They are shouting: "Down with the Dictator," and "We don't want Islamic Republic." This time they are demanding the regime change altogether and they are literally risking their own lives by doing that. Reportedly more than 50 people were already arrested ( who will be tortured and killed in prison) and 2 were shot dead. The government is blocking cell phone communications with the Iran and limiting the Internet in hopes of keeping the reports of the protesters from getting outside the country, but they are failing.

It is Writing of the Wall for this Regime. The protests will continue to grow and even if the government manages to shut them down somehow, the people will regroup and come again with greater force.

The fall of this Islamic regime will be a blessing since it will cut off the funding to Islamic terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, and will stop fueling violence even in countries such as Yemen and Saudi Arabia, and that is the grievance that the people of Iran have with their government, that all the national wealth is going to funding of terrorism and the pockets of the clerics while the money for basic social services for Iranian people such as public schools and pensions are being shut down. Now even the generation that brought in this government in an Islamic Revolution of 1979 says that they regret doing this. They hoped for a more just society, but what they got is oppression, poverty, and corruption, so the old, young, men, and women are marching together in these protests and will not stop until this regime is gone.

We must pray that they will succeed and we must pressure our politicians to support them, and to put more pressure on the Iranian regime to resign and open the country to truly free elections and transition to a democratic system that the people of Iran want.

This coming year 2018 will mark 40 years since the beginnings of the Islamic Revolution, perhaps it will mark the end of the desert experience the people of Iran had under this government and will usher in the promises of God for them. The promises of freedom and return of those who have been exiled to all countries around the world.

'But it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam,' says the LORD." ( Jeremiah 49:39) Amen.