حميد دباشی - گارديين

If the Dead Could Speak

Two weeks ago, in a post in Persian which I simply tagged as “Neda Aghasoltan”, I confided to my compatriots, with deep sorrow, that the real tragedy of the victims of the Islamic Republic, such as Neda, is that even after death, they are murdered, and murdered again, as they fall prey to the vicious propaganda and disinformation campaigns of those claiming to be their advocates and sympathizers.

In the previous post I focused on the distasteful and contemptible opportunism of the republican “opposition” abroad. Here, I’ll highlight a case in US media wherein the individual presented as an advocate and sympathizer is himself accomplice to the crimes. With English speakers in mind, I’ve chosen Hamid Dabashi’s self-serving piece in CNN. There are, of course, plenty of other examples; in fact, the net is now abounding with them.*

Dabashi’s “accomplishments” for the past three decades, then, are no secret. He is a shameless supporter and apologist of the Islamist regime, and well-known for his numerous praises of such terror groups as Hizb-Allah; that is, Neda’s murderers.

CNN’s editors may have reason to have confidence in their readers’ ignorance; that is something for its readers to consider.

For Iranians, however, Dabashi’s opportunistic invocation of Neda’s name is vile and repulsive, much like his character.

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*Note Guardian’s repulsive use of some of the recent victims of a regime it has supported for years, including Neda, to present murderers and criminals such as Yazdi, Abtahi, Nabavi, and Saharkhiz as “victims.”