An indictment of a soft violence that wears credentials, not uniforms. This essay maps how intellectual gatekeeping—what Bourdieu called the “racism of the intelligentsia”—polices who gets to speak and which suffering counts. It tracks a alliance with inverted Orientalism: the reflex to excuse non-Western authoritarianism as “authentic culture” or anti-imperialism, while disciplining dissidents as inauthentic or “Western.” Drawing on Said and Bourdieu, it names how petitions, panels, and performative solidarity reproduce hierarchies they claim to oppose. The result: silence marketed as care, respect weaponized as censorship, and a demand that the oppressed fit a script before their pain is admitted.
Between 2021-22, 3,826 workers in Iran were killed in so-called “workplace accidents.” These deaths are not isolated tragedies or unfortunate errors of management—they are the logical outcome of a social order in which the working class is systematically denied the right to organize, to supervise, and to intervene in the conditions of its own labor. This report, without providing any statistics, emphasizes that in the first half of 2024, the number of such incidents has increased significantly.
And this number only includes those who were insured and were on state lists. We know nothing about the thousands of other workers, especially migrant workers who had accidents and possibly died without a contract or insurance! What we are witnessing is not a series of accidents, but an indictment of a regime that has outlawed the collective power of workers in the name of security and order.
A recent report by the Islamic Regime’s parliamentary Research Center surveys workplace safety, with a particular focus on the mining sector. But this document, like the regime itself, is politically designed to obscure rather than to explain. It treats the deaths of thousands as technical failures—insufficient equipment, outdated methods—without a single word on the real mechanisms of death: the banning of trade unions, the persecution of worker militants, the dismantling of every democratic form of labor representation.
By narrowing the question of safety to technical administration, the regime avoids confronting the central contradiction: that under capitalism—particularly its authoritarian variant in Iran—profit demands the suppression of labor’s collective voice. The Parliament shifts blame to mine owners, yet refuses to name the state’s own policies of violent repression, which have made any form of independent worker organizing impossible. The legal framework is not “weak”; it is actively hostile to labor. Supervision is not “ineffective”; it is subordinated to class rule.
In such a system, the worker is condemned to silence. Deprived of unions, denied the right to strike, surveilled by intelligence agencies, and punished with prison for organizing, the Iranian workers is rendered politically naked before capital and its state protectors. In these conditions, to speak of “safety regulations” is an insult to those who die for lack of them. There can be no meaningful regulation where the working class is denied the basic right to defend its own life.
https://firenexttime.net/uknq
Toomaj Salehi, the most famous protest rapper in Iran, is a mechanical engineer and a lathe worker who has spent his salary and even his motorbike on creating his songs in protest against the regime. He says he is not afraid and wants to spread his courage to others. In the past years, he was imprisoned twice, turned 34 in prison, and faced charges of “corruption on earth.” Now, Toomaj’s lawyer says that the Islamic-Revolutionary Court has sentenced this protest singer to death on same charges.
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About The Fire Next Time:
My journey in creating this space was deeply inspired by James Baldwin’s powerful work, “The Fire Next Time”. Like Baldwin, who eloquently addressed themes of identity, race, and the human condition, this blog aims to be a beacon for open, honest, and sometimes uncomfortable discussions on similar issues.
Reza Alijani’s book “The Future of Islam in Iran” explores the social evolution and religious criticism in Iran since the Qajar era, focusing on the post-1979 authoritarian turn and economic corruption of the Islamic Republic. Analyzing society’s move towards modernity and individual rights, Alijani underscores the widespread challenge to traditional religious dominance, the advent of an “Iranian Renaissance,” and rising secularism among Iranians, including many clerics. Alijani, a national-religious figure, argues for the separation of religion and state while acknowledging the deep historical roots of religion in Iran.
The purpose of introducing this book (despite being written in Farsi) is solely to point out criticisms of the theocracy and the fight for secularism. Reza Alijani is among the most well-known national-religious figures in Iran, who, while maintaining and following certain religious principles, pursues the separation of religion from government along with many other religious reformers in Iran.
Valentine Moghadam’s article, “Socialism or Anti-Imperialism? The Left and Revolution in Iran,” analyzes the ideological complexity of the Iranian Left during the revolutionary period. It explores the Left’s commitment to anti-imperialism and its critique of dependent capitalism, while also addressing its failures and challenges. The article delves into the impact of historical events, such as the Shah-CIA coup and the rise of Islamic governance, on shaping the Iranian Left’s strategies and outcomes. The article also highlights the Left’s underestimation of the power of Islamic clergy and its neglect of democracy, providing valuable insights into the struggles of aligning ideological principles with pragmatic political strategies during societal upheaval.
“The Fate of Third Worldism in the Middle East: Palestine, Iran and Beyond” explores the region’s shift from Third Worldism—a evolutionary, anti-imperialist ideology of the 1960s, aimed at universal emancipation—to authoritarian religious governments in the 1980s. Rasmus Christian Elling and Sune Haugbolle’s book discusses how the promising liberation movements in Iran and Palestine succumbed to oppressive regimes and Islamic fundamentalism, respectively. Analyzing the decline of Third Worldism, the work reflects on global neoliberal shifts, the end of leftist movements, and the rise of Islamist politics, suggesting that by the mid-1980s, third-worldist rhetoric was co-opted by authoritarian states. Spanning 320 pages and part of the “Radical Histories of the Middle East” series, the book provides a comprehensive study for understanding current Middle Eastern political dynamics and the legacy of Third Worldism.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis boasted about excelling in migration management at a recent conference, but crucial issues were conveniently omitted. Violations of international laws and human rights, pushbacks of thousands of refugees, and a tragic shipwreck involving over 650 lives paint a different picture. European Commission’s silence and financial support contribute to these atrocities. The EU’s border closures and focus on security over rights and welfare further exacerbate the crisis. Activist repression and the drastic spike in arrivals raise concerns about Greece’s migration policies. These are not just numbers, but human lives at stake, revealing a deeply flawed and inhumane system.
Where is the refugee camp? Everyone knows there are refugee camps in the world that are not good places. No one says much more about refugee camps. Those who live there try to deny it. Then, when they leave the camp, they prefer not to look back and not talk about those plague years. If you ask them where they live, they dodge the question. No one wants to know about refugee camps.
The current protests call the nations to a new social contract in the relations between them, which can potentially cause fundamental changes in the policies of the governments. This new contractualism requires governments to force Israel to accept international resolutions through the application of pressure (including the implementation of international laws, economic sanctions, cutting off political relations, etc.) in order to comply with the rights and justice of the Palestinians.