We all remember where we were, and the confusion we felt when we understood what was happening when the second plane flew into the twin-towers.
Many of us also shared in-common, our next thought. “I hope none of the terrorists where Iranian.”
We all remember where we were, and the confusion we felt when we understood what was happening when the second plane flew into the twin-towers.
Many of us also shared in-common, our next thought. “I hope none of the terrorists where Iranian.”
You see, it sounds like a selfish thought, considering that thousands were murdered, more injured and maimed, and even more scarred and traumatized forever, but it’s not. It’s a realization that someone from our homeland, someone from a family similar to our own, could have played a role in one of contemporary history’s most infamous events.
It’s a scary thought not because it would have brought shame to the many Iranians around the world who are hardworking, righteous and forward-thinking, but because those of us who love our motherland as much as I do, are painfully aware of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s priority to indoctrinate the next generation of Iranians—the Iranians who will lead the country next. And with ‘exporting’ the revolution and it’s ideals as a core tenet in the Regime’s Foreign Policy, we are sadly aware that international terrorism is a key tool, in Iran’s toolbox.
The pain of 9/11 as an American, as a human, is in no way alleviated by the fact that Iranians were not directly involved (there is discussion on whether Iran played a secondary role). Instead, that day is doubly painful—not only was a horrific terror attack carried out, but the West also realized that it simply does not understand the Middle East, its intricacies, its history and its people.
Over a decade later, nothing has changed. The Sunni-Shia divide is still a cause of devastating turmoil throughout the Middle East, dictators still butcher people to maintain power (Syria’s civil war, Iranian Elections 2009), Taliban-like armed groups (IS and Boko Haram) still wield the sword and enforce the strictest of Sharia Law interpretations, Israel and Hamas are still caught up in the same war, and Iran is still choosing to fund clandestine activity and international terrorism around the world, whether in Syria or in Africa or Latin America, instead of social-welfare programs, domestically.
In my reflections I grieve the thousands lost on 9/11, and the unimaginable number of souls lost since, as it seems nothing has changed. I pray first and foremost for peace, enlightenment and understanding to come to the leaders and people of my beloved Iran, to be quickly followed by the rest of the region I care for so deeply. In my reflections, I also pray that the leaders of my home country, the US, will think more thoroughly and wholly in the coming weeks, months and years—as some decisions, have decades, and perhaps centuries long, consequences.