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Historical milestones
Historical milestones shape the ethos, vision and policy-making of ethnic, religious and national entities.
For example, the ethos, vision and policy-making of the Jewish State has been largely shaped by the centrality of the Land of Israel since Abraham the Patriarch (2150 BCE), through Moses and the Biblical Exodus (1300 BCE), the kingdom of David (1000 BCE), the destruction of Jerusalem (586 BCE and 70 CE) and the ensuing exiles, the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid (167-160 BCE) and Roman (66-73 CE and 132-136 CE) Empires, modern day Zionism, the Holocaust and the 1948/49 War of Independence. There is a 4,000-year-old attachment to the land of Israel, physically, spiritually, historically, religiously, culturally, linguistically and nationally.
Muslim entities consider the 7th century emergence of Islam as a pivotal component of their contemporary school curriculum, culture, worldview, vision and policy-making.
Historical milestones shaping the Ayatollahs’ vision and policy-making
*The ferocious 14-century-old rivalry between the Sunni majority and Shiite minority over the succession of the Prophet Muhammad;
*The 680 CE killing of Hussein ibn-Ali, the Shiite grandson of Muhammad in the Battle of Karbala by a much stronger army of the Caliph Yazid. The Battle of Karbala was the “big bang” of the Sunni-Shiite schism;
*The annual commemoration of Hussein’s martyrdom and betrayal through public processions on the Day of Ashura, which includes beating one’s chest and bloody self-flagellating;
*The dominance of Shiite dynasties during the 10th-11th centuries in parts of Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Arabia, Yemen, Tunisia, Sicily, and the Caspian area.
*The 1501 declaration of Shiism as the official religion of Iran, highlighting the Battle of Karbala and revenge for the killing of Hussein as the core of the Iranian Shiite identity.
*The 1979 Islamic Shiite Revolution in Iran, which highlighted Karbala as the role model of a universal rebellion and martyrdom as demonstrated by the dispatching of Iranian children to clear minefields during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, with a key-to-paradise around their necks. The Islamic Revolution also underscored violent pro-activism against tyrannical Moslem regimes (e.g., the Shah), “apostates” (Sunni Muslims, especially Saudi Arabia) and “non-believers” (the West led by the USA, including Christians, Buddhists and Jews).
*Adhering to the legacy of Hussein ibn-Ali and the Battle of Karbala, Iran’s Ayatollahs are convinced – religiously and historically – that sacrificing one’s life and fortunes on the altar of a supreme value will yield a divine prize. They are emboldened by Western indecisiveness, appeasement and reluctance to activate the options of a military action and regime-change. The inclusion of these two options in the negotiation process – as a club over the head of the rogue Ayatollahs – is critical for inducing the Ayatollahs to approach diplomacy in a serious manner.
Historical milestones transformed into rogue conduct
The aforementioned historical milestones feature prominently in Iran’s educational system and mosque sermons – which serve as a most effective production line of Islamic terrorists – and the suppression and discrimination of all religious and ethnic minorities in Iran, as well as the brutal abuse of women’s rights.
These historical milestones have shaped the role of Iran’s Ayatollahs as the world’s leading epicenter of anti-US subversion and terrorism, attempts to topple every pro-US Arab regime (e.g., Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain), the proliferation of ballistic missile and predator unmanned-aerial-vehicle technologies and systems, drug trafficking, money laundering and fueling civil wars (e.g., Morocco, the Horn of Africa, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon) from the Persian Gulf, the entire Middle East through central and south Asia, Africa and Latin America, including the US-Mexico border. Iran’s Ayatollahs consider Latin America to be the soft underbelly of the US.
The worldview and the systematic rogue conduct of Iran’s Ayatollahs– since the 1979 Islamic Revolution – have not been driven by despair or frustration (supposedly, due to sanctions, boycott and non-recognition of their regional and global prominence).
In fact, the worldview and the rogue conduct of Iran’s Ayatollahs have been consistent with their 1,400-year-old vision:
*The global exportation of the Shiite Islamic Revolution, while toppling all “apostate” and “heretic” Sunni Muslim regimes, and establishing a universal Shiite society, ruled by the Supreme Shiite Leader (Ayatollah Khamenei).
*Bringing the “infidel” West – and especially “The Great American Satan” – to submission, diplomatically or militarily.
As illustrated by the Ayatollahs’ violently rogue reaction to the US’ initial support of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the overly generous US diplomatic and financial gestures – which accompanied the 2015 nuclear accord (JCPOA) – the vision and conduct of Iran’s Ayatollahs are a 180-degree-contradiction to moderation, peaceful coexistence and good-faith negotiation.