Chicago Iranians protest election results: 'Where is my vote?'

June 17, 1:26 AMGeopolitics ExaminerMichael Hughes

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An estimated crowd of 250 Chicago Iranians assembled in pouring rain at Federal Plaza tonight to protest the results of Friday’s presidential election in Iran, in which incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner.  Many Iranians worldwide believe that the election was fraudulent and that votes for reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi were not properly counted. Protestors demanded a new election, rejecting the partial recount that was offered by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A short WGN News video clip can be found at the Chicago Breaking News Center site that shows throngs of angry Iranians chanting, singing and holding up signs bearing slogans such as: “Ahmadinejad is NOT Iran’s President” and “Where is My Vote?”

Susie An of Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ 91.5 FM Chicago) reported that the rally was led by Narimon Safavi, who says that they are also concerned with the safety of the Iranian people because seven have been killed during protests in Tehran. Mr. Safavi is a serial entrepreneur who was born in Iran and has been living in the U.S. since 1976. He sits on the board of directors of the National Iranian American Council (NAIC) and serves on the advisory board of the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. On the radio program Mr. Safavi said:

SAFAVI: I think the process was tainted from the beginning. And the good will of the Iranian people who turned out with enthusiasm was abused. And there should be a whole new set of elections and independent monitors brought in.

There is also an audio clip of Safavi on Twitter where he talks about having conversations and exchanging emails with relatives in Iran immediately following the election results, describing the atmosphere as eerily reminiscent to the 1978-79 revolution. Mr. Safavi said his family heard gunshots and that there was fear and trepidation in their voices, but at the same time said: “there is also a feeling of collective will, that people have started to push back [in Iran] and demand their rights back.”

Chicago Iranian Culture
The Encyclopedia of Chicago provides some interesting background on Chicago’s Iranian Community, which consists mostly of Persian-speaking Muslims:

The majority of Chicago's Iranian community, estimated at the end of the twentieth century between 6,000 and 10,000 in the city and up to 30,000 in the metropolitan area, arrived in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.

By the 1980s two Persian-language radio stations had emerged in Chicago. City publications in the 1990s included several Persian magazines and journals, such as the women's quarterly Nimah-i Digar (The Other Half). Through the sponsorship of such organizations as the Iranian-American Cultural Society, major Iranian singers and poets visit Chicago several times a year, drawing crowds of over 1,000. In addition, a popular Iranian film festival is held every October at the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Chicago area has boasted several world-respected medical professionals of Iranian heritage, as well as a significant number of famous Iranian writers and artists, including the sculptor Ario Mashayekhi. Most of the major universities in Chicago have Iranian scholars on their faculty. The majority of Iranians in Chicago live in the northern suburbs but are not concentrated in any particular area.  

 

More Information on this topic:

Iranians in Chicago: "Where is My Vote?" "No More Violence!"