Reza Aslan: belief

Transcript context

…And the generals? The generals are like generals everywhere in the world: utterly pragmatic. They will pretend to be pious if that’s what is needed. They will give up on piety if that’s what is needed. I’m really glad that you said that because I think most Iran watchers will tell you that the real power in Iran isn’t the ayatollahs. It seems that way from the outside, but that’s not where the real power is. The real power is the IRGC, the Revolutionary Guards who prop up that regime. For better or worse, they can be the biggest influence in what happens next. It’s not impossible to think that the Revolutionary Guard, which craves stability above all else, would say at a certain point, “We agree with the protestors. It’s time for the clerics to go back to their mosques. In the name of stability, we’re going to declare martial law, and we’ll be in charge for a little while.” Suddenly Iran looks like Pakistan in the ’80s. It looks a little bit like Egypt for a while, and you go from religious rule to military rule. That could happen. I’m not saying that’s a good thing. I’m just saying it is not an unlikely scenario in Iran. To wrap up, the very last question. Your new book is just out, An American Martyr in Persia. What will you do next?…

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