After this demonstration, the Shah felt better. He seemed to be getting back on his feet. Until then he had been playing cards marked with blood. Now he made up his mind to play with a clean deck. To gain popular sympathy, he dismissed a few of the officers who had been in charge of the units that opened fire on the inhabitants of Tabriz. (R. Kapuscinski, Shah of Shahs)
“My strongest memory of those days are the marches, the sea of people covering miles and miles of the main avenue in Tehran. How can I ever forget those scenes, wave after wave of men and women from all walks of life marching next to each other?” (H. Esfandiari, Reconstructing Lives)
These words – reported by a woman who participated to the Iranian revolution- describe a scenario strikingly similar to that which followed the post-electoral rallies last June.
As the world watched incredulously at the masses of people spilling into the streets of Tehran many external commentators misleadingly saw this as a prelude to a second or counter- revolution. People of all ages and social backgrounds – feeling betrayed and defrauded – decided to impose their voices which had been ignored at the polls. This came as a surprise in a country in which political dissent is generally assumed to be either repressed or dormant.
The substantial differences between 1978-1979 mass mobilizations and the June 2009 rallies are so vast that any comparison is unlikely to be of any analytical value. With thirty years between them, it is in their form that these two events display most points of contact. The image the demonstrators chose to project of themselves was heavily charged with symbolic parallels with its unwitting predecessor – the 1979 revolution.
These symbols stemmed from a wide array of cultural contexts – from global revolutionary movements such as the Russian and Cuban revolution and the 1968 student revolts, to the founding myth of Shiite Islam, namely the martyrdom of Imam Hussein in Kerbala at the hands of Sunnis in 680. The milestones of the Iranian revolution itself – such as the mass mobilisation, the fall of the Shah and the return of Khomeini – became defining elements of the post-revolutionary rhetoric.
The revolution is no longer as effective in conferring legitimacy to the Islamic Republic. Many have come to resent the omnipresence of this anachronistic revolutionary rhetoric – school textbooks, TV shows, street murals and even stamps are pervaded by the establishment’s revolutionary discourse.  This is the case especially for those born after 1979 – which today make up over 70% of Iran’s the population. As the Twitter craze showed the world, many young Iranians are in tune with the global youth-culture, hardly escaping the “Youtube Generation” label.
The iconographic references to the revolution, were borne out of a conscious decision of Mr. Mousavi’s supporters to legitimize an act of political disobedience by precisely appealing to the regime’s own rhetoric – heavily dependent on the “symbols” of the revolution. A few examples follow…
Green. Not any shade of green but a particularly bright green, the colour of Islam which became the colour of Mr. Mousavi’s electoral campaign. T-shirts, wristbands, headscarves, and even baby sleep-suits became politically charged virtually overnight. A simple and clear and means to declare one’s support for the Reformists’ cause and disaffection with the establishment. So widespread did this phenomenon become that the movement as a whole has been referred to as  “the green wave” and even “the green revolution” – prompting the Revolutionary Guards to respond firmly against allusions to an approaching “coloured” revolution.
Allahu Akbar! God is great. For several weeks after the announcement of Mousavi’s disputed defeat – every night, around ten – an old cry rises from hundreds of rooftops across Tehran. The cycle is broken by an occasional marg bar dikatur, death to the dictator. Thirty years previously, with the complicity of the night, these cries filled the air in a crescendo that defied the curfew and anticipated the fall of the Shah.
The bloodstained hand was another staple of the post-revolutionary repertoire which was experienced a political revival. This powerful iconic image has a strong symbolic connections to Karbala and symbolizes fighting until the last drop of blood. During the processions in commemoration of Hussein’s martyrdom, it is common for people to leave red handprints on public walls as part of the mourning – a practice that was adopted in the course of the anti-Shah demonstrations of 1978-79 and reproduced during the June 2009 rallies.
The mass demonstration in itself, however, was probably the most powerful symbolic (as well as substantial) act of defiance. The collective experience of popular participation became the defining feature of the post-revolutionary imagined community, conferring popular legitimacy to the Islamic Republic. The violent reaction at the hands of the Basij and special police during the rallies turned riots is in itself a crushing symbolic defeat for the Islamic Republic. During the popular uprisings of 1978-79, as part of the traditional mourning cycles, large demonstrations were organised for those who lost their lives in clashes against the Shah’s armed forces -  a ritual which traditionally takes place forty days after someone’s death. In turn, these mourning ceremonies brought more and more people in the streets to march against the Shah in a growing revolutionary momentum. Fearing this precedent could repeat itself, the current government prohibited the funeral of Neda – the symbolic martyr of the recent clashes – from being open to the public.
During the June rallies this symbolic repertoire – kept alive over the years by the Islamic Republic’s propaganda machine – was thus familiar and accessible to most people, making it an efficient and “safe” means of communication. The establishment’s anachronistic rhetoric was thus redefined to legitimize contemporary discontent. What’s more, by appropriating this rhetoric for themselves, the demonstrators deprived the regime of a key political tool and implicitly accused those in power of having betrayed the basic ideals of the revolution. Instead of confronting this attack, however, the establishment decided to bypass …

In the occasion of the tenth presidential election in the Islamic Republic of Iran, four candidates have been qualified by the Guardian Council to compete..
People’s participation in the elections of the Islamic Republic is a great deal since the political system is based on the cooperation of different nationalities. As a result, the government decided to heat up the elections by organizing public debates between candidates as it happens in western elections. All candidates engaged themselves in being respectful in criticizing the others. Nevertheless, the candidate of the conservative party, Mr. Ahmadinejad, openly insulted M.Moussavi, the reformist candidate, and his sponsor Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of the most influential clergymen. President Ahmadinejad accused Mr. Rafsanjani and his family of exploiting national property for their own interest and said that the three candidates opposing him were part of an alliance agaist him.
These words faced the serious objection of the reformist party and Mr. Rafsanjani himself. Thus, he requested a comeback on TV  that has been denied. The official reason was that it could have been a distraction during the period of elections; therefore, it has been postponed to sometime after the elections. M.Ahmadinejad’s straightforward words and charges against Rafsanjani caused in a way a strong reaction of the people against both figures. Due to the fact that the majority of the Iranians has been under an enormous economic pressure during Ahmadinejad’s governement, they decided to support Moussavi massively. The western medias supported the nation’s decision by fulltime sponsorship of the reformist party.
On the day of the elections, the Guardians of the Islamic Republic intensified the massive security presence in the country. Each party should have had its representatives in the polling stations but, besides Ahmadinejad’s conservative representatives, they have not been permitted to enter the polling stations. The majority of the people was sure that the first round of elections would have been won by Moussavi and the reformists but, surprisingly, the results gave 24 million votes to Ahmadinejad, the absolute majority. The fraud which took place in the course of the elections was clear to everyone and the other candidated immediately asked for the nullification of the election results.
Peaceful protests took place, organized by Moussavi’s supporters also called as the ‘Green Party’ from the colour they used to mark their opposition. These protests have been frequently interrupted by military troops and many demonstrators have been killed and injured as an outcome. The government paid some people from relatively low social classes to face the peaceful protesters and beat them. The government officials offered these people free university entrances or scholarships and promised to give economical aid to their families. This situation is still going on.
It is a right of all citizens in democratic countries to elect a person who they believe is a good leader and to nullify the candidacy of an unsuitable person. In Iran, on the other hand, this fundamental right has been suppressed and stolen from the people. Amongst the awful repressive acts carried on by the government, was the murder of many youth such as ‘Neda Agha Soltan’ and ‘Sohrab Aaraabi’.
Regarding the strong opposition of the Iranian nation towards the government of Iran and the quest for changing the system, it is necessary to receive collaboration and support from the western countries. The government of the United States has broken off all relations with Iran since the commencement of the Islamic Republic and has imposed severe economic sanctions on the country. These sanctions, however, did not cause much effect on the economic situation in Iran since they were not supported by countries with huge economic exchanges with Iran, such as China and Russia.
However it’s worth mentioning an other aspect of economic sanctions: countries like China and Russia, led by dictatorial governments, are seeking their own benefits in this situation. They have been able to obtain a great deal of profit by selling merchandise of relatively low quality to Iran. As an example, the purchase of Russian airplanes from the ‘Topolov’ aircraft company, that are forbidden to fly in Europe, has caused a great amount of damage due to their low quality standard. Up until now many of these planes precipitated or have been demolished. The last incident caused 168 loss, all the passengers in the Topolov were killed on their flight to Armenia. Another flight from a Russian aircraft company collided with the ground and led to many deaths and injuries.
These incidents occur because of the American economic sanctions held against Iran and because of the refusal of the American aircraft companies such as ‘Airbus’ and ‘Boeing’ to sell their planes to the country. In this way the nation will have to pay the heavy price of losing their lives.
Based on the previous matters, the Iranian nation, which is a liberal and peace seeking nation, requests the serious collaboration of the western countries to put an end to the Islamic Republic and to create a new democratic regime through free elections. We can only hope that the blood that was shed from our youth will not be squandered and that the people responsible for these terrible murders will pay the price of their violence.

Why have you chosen to study abroad? And why in Milan?
The main reason for applying to an international university course in Milan was to experience a different academic system; moreover the opportunity to enroll to an University of acceptable cost and to live in a city closer to my home country, compared to the other European and American universities
An extra incentive in favour of Milan is the behaviour of the Italians, wich are very nice people, with many cultural similarities with the Persians.
Are you satisfied with your choice?
I believe that when someone changes his lifestyle, such as studying in a foreign country for a long period of time, one should not expect to live in a comfortable situation for a while. Different everyday living situations create several problems, including a phenomenon known as “culture shock”.
But above all these facts, I am still content of the decision that I have made.

Was it difficult to interact with Italians in general? How do you describe Italians of your age in particular?
As I mentioned , I have found Italian very familiar and mostly so kind. It is hard to say whether I have had any problems with them since I am here; throughout different situations such as police office, bank, university or pubs.
It sounds odd , but they act more friendly when they figure out that I am a Persian. This also supports my idea about the conjunction between our cultures.
Are you satisfied about your studies in the Politecnico of Milan? Can you compare your studying experience in Italy with the one you had in Iran?
I have already passed one third of my doctoral program and there have been and still are positive points that keep me satisfied.
It looks like the most serious problem is the language; it is expected that all international PhD students are familiar with the Italian language almost at a good level. 80% of all seminars, lectures and workshops at the Politecnico are in Italian; even if the professors can speak English, they still give the lectures in Italian because the Italian students don’t understand English well.
Given that the lessons and the official lmailing are in Italian. I wonder why they just provided the enrollment form in English!
In fact the lack of English knowledge can be experienced almost everywhere in Milan, but maybe it is less expected in a university. In brief, compare with my country where almost everyone knows English expecially at the university, it looks that the persons in charge of the Politecnico should be concerned about their international status more than what they do.
From the point of view of available facilities and equipments, here there are many more than what we have in Iran or among the other universities that I know. However it is regretful that most of the students I have met in Milan do not properly use them.

You are now working with an Italian architect. How do you describe your working experience? What are the similarities and the differences with your previous experiences with Iranian studios?
I prefer not to answer this one , because I have experienced only one studio in Milan; so if I want to compare it with those I had worked for in Iran, for me it looks too personal and so there is nothing in general to talk about.
Speaking of the works, there are different types of projects indeed. Clearly here they pay more attention to the spaces than in my country and also I find the municipalities’ regulations stricter and more punctual than ours, which thing has helped the city to mantain its identity. Beati voi!
Where will be your future? Are you thinking about staying in Italy or going back to Iran?
Continuing my profession as a researcher will be more satsfactory in the EU than in my country.
Otherwise, in my opinion there will be more privatisations and consequently more opportunities in my country for the architectural profession: if you are going to ask to me which will be my decision, honestly that will be depending on what will happen in the future. I always believed on “ CHANGE.CHANGE IS GOOD” Louis Rossetto
What are your advices to other foreigners thinking about coming to Italy to study and to work?
My advice to everyone who wants to move out of his country for any reason is to figure out in advance what he/she is looking for, and if moving really is the only way to reach it. Because usually when you enter to a new country ,you will find yourself being swallowed by different systems that want you becomes a part of them, if you haven’t set your aims , they will make you one and sooner or later you will find yourself faraway than what you had expected to be. In fact this is on of the specification of developed countries to have a system, so do Italy.