To better understand the threat that Zionism poses to the world, and especially Iran, allow me to turn to a historical analogy. The scenario is eerily reminiscent of the late-1930s, as the earlier aggressive, racist state, Nazi Germany, was allowed to pursue its selfish, warlike agenda against its peaceful neighbors, despite its agenda of world war. The actors in that drama were Nazi Germany versus the Soviet Union, the latter being the only credible peaceful resistance to fascism. Britain, France, and the US refused to stand up to the threat to peace, mistaking the Soviet Union for the enemy, despite it being the only credible resistance to the Nazis.
In today’s drama, the bad guys are US-Israel-Saudi against the only credible peaceful actor: Iran. In the 1930s the perceived threat was the “specter of communism” haunting Europe. Today the perceived threat is the “specter of Islam,” now reduced to Iran, as the only anti-imperialist Muslim state. Terrorism then was seen to be communism, though the Soviet Union was peaceful.
The “enemy,” the real terrorist, was imperialism, which meant Germany had passive allies in the “peaceful” West.
Socialists and communists were persecuted as enemies there, or in the case of the French socialist government in the 1930s, were spineless, giving in to the British imperialists, hoping that the Nazis would turn against the Soviet Union. History was soon to jolt them awake, as they became the victims of the real terrorist threat, the most aggressive of the imperialist club, the Nazis.
This drama is vividly shown in the popular movie Dunkirk (2017), where hapless British soldiers were marooned in a belated attempt to confront Germany, most miraculously escaping in 800 boats, mostly small private boats, many of which were bombed, resulting in 3,500 deaths—a terrible price to pay for mistaking the real enemy of peace.
Terrorism now is seen to be Islam, despite the obvious peaceful nature of Islam. Mistaking the real source of terrorism is reenacting the buildup to WWII, with the craven support of the soft imperialists of today and the supposed Muslim (in the first place Saudi) rulers, who should be anti-imperialists but are co-opted (like the soft imperialists and social democrats in the 1930s) by the forces of imperialism (that is, the US and Israel).
Just as the Nazis were defeated only after the world united against this lethal form of imperialism, the current lethal form of imperialism—US-Israel—can only be defeated when the world unites.
History wakes us up to our reality. Communism is frowned on in Iran for its dismissal of religion, but the communists beat Hitler in WWII (the West pretends it did—not true). The Soviet Union was the true advocate of peace at that time.
Communism’s weakness was to dismiss religion, even though Russian communism became a kind of secular humanist religion, with “icons” of Stalin and other leaders, rituals, and holidays. The economic system of socialism is in fact very close to that advocated in the Qur’an, as I argue in From Postmodernism to Postsecularism: Re-emerging Islamic Civilization. It is time to heal the lack of understanding between the two ways of thinking.
Iran is playing the same role today that the Soviet Union played earlier, and the West is Iranophobic for the same reason it was hostile to the Soviet Union: because Iran stands for peace and opposes imperialism. Being honest and peace-loving will eventually win against Zionism, though the road is a difficult one. Iran’s foundation in Islam is much stronger than secular communism, and justice will prevail, thanks to Iran’s principled stand.
Sadly, the leftists of today are not always able to see the vital role that Iran plays as an Islamic state. Leftists call for the “victory of the united people of Iran against the ruling dictatorial regime.” How about calling for a “united front against invasion”? The worst thing (except for the US and Israel) would be to undermine the Islamic Republic. The secular leftists argue Iran should be a secular multiparty state like the Western “postmodern nations,” despite the bankruptcy of this model of “democracy.” It is sad to see the left criticizing Iran based on distorted mainstream news. This makes it doubly important for Sunni Muslims especially, to recognize Iran’s vital role in the world of Islam and the struggle against imperialism.
Canadian Eric Walberg is known worldwide as a journalist specializing in the Middle East, Central Asia and Russia. A graduate of University of Toronto and Cambridge in economics, he has been writing on East-West relations since the 1980s. He has lived in both the Soviet Union and Russia, and then Uzbekistan, as a UN adviser, writer, translator and lecturer. Presently a writer for the foremost Cairo newspaper, Al Ahram, he is also a regular contributor to Counterpunch, Dissident Voice, Global Research, Intrepid Report, Al-Jazeerah and Turkish Weekly, and is a commentator on Voice of the Cape radio. His latest book is The Canada Israel Nexus.
