Iranian demonstrators set fire to the building of Hozeh Elmieh whilst protesting high prices and the poor state of the economy under President Hassan Rouhani. Qazvin, Takistan, Iran, January 01, 2018. SalamPix/ABACA/ABACA/Press Association Images. All rights reserved. Through the slogans chanted by protestors one can clearly see that large sections of the Iranian public no longer have hope in reform and, unlike in the Green movement, are directly targeting the political system of the regime.
They are not only determined to overthrow the dictatorial religious state, but are saying that they want "independence and freedom" in a new-model Iranian Republic without ‘Islamism’. They are loyal to the guiding principles of the 1979 revolution, but are now demanding a secular version of it.
Furthermore, the new constitution being introduced by secular and Islamic opposition separates state from religion and does not include any official religion. As Abolhassan Banisadr has repeatedly argued, the religion that was usurped by the state should return to its real place, the hearts of believers.
