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Mohammad Mohabbie

In ancient Greece, approximately 2400 years ago, Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher, made an interesting statement about the conflict between tribal, clan, and similar societies and citizenship, civilization, and the formation of a political community.

The establishment of a police force (meaning a city or civilization) is only possible when all concepts based on nature, such as φράτρη (tribe) and φυλή (clan), and in other words, all identities based on kinship and blood ties, fade away and disappear.

In many societies, the tribal system has disappeared, but in Iran, all three systems – urban, rural, and tribal – still exist and in some cases, they do not follow any rules or laws except their own and promote prejudice. When this prejudice is combined with traditional economic interests, it creates terrifying violence, as Dr. Taghi Azad Armaki, a renowned sociologist at the University of Tehran, says, “The two main factors for creating war and violence, especially tribal violence, are common material interests and tribal emotions and prejudices. When both factors are present, we will witness an increase in violence.” Unfortunately, in different ethnicities, there are no proper ways to acquire wealth and, for example, the issue of water can be a factor in poverty or wealth of individuals. In these tribes, the fear of poverty and water scarcity will have serious consequences and in the absence of strong laws within the tribes, it will lead to severe violence.

In this culture and order, there is another prominent feature which is the patriarchal nature. In this culture, a man must be tough, resolute, and have a dry and authoritative behavior, always standing up for his rights. In the culture of tribes and clans, in addition to all the bitter issues, women’s rights are also widely violated.

On the other hand, there is a strong sense of national solidarity among members of the tribe. They are committed to each other and in the face of difficulties, act as a collective, neutralizing any external threats. Therefore, in case of a dispute or conflict between two members of the group, the rest of the individuals also get involved and the conflict between two individuals turns into a conflict between two groups.

Tribal or clan conflicts in the past were mainly carried out with cold weapons and relying on the strength of individuals, but in the modern world with the spread of firearms and easy access of tribes to advanced weapons, the situation becomes dangerous. In these conflicts, firearms have a significant impact as they increase the intensity of damage and casualties. The governing institutions in Iran have also lost their former power and solving problems has become very difficult. On the other hand, in the past, animosities would disappear through intermarriage after conflicts, but now the mediating institutions have lost their power and have not been replaced by a new institution, which causes animosities to remain and with just a spark, war and conflict can start again. It is clear that the high unemployment rate and lack of welfare in areas where these conflicts occur have a significant impact on increasing the number of conflicts. Conflicts over resources such as land, water, agricultural products, livestock, etc. or disputes that are only about

The escalation of tribal conflicts in some regions, especially in southern Iran.

A few months ago, news was published in the media about 23 people from two tribes, “Mohammadsaies” and “Mohammadiha”, being killed in the village of “Petk Jalali” in Baghmalek county in Khuzestan province due to tribal conflicts. The incident began in Khordad 94 (May/June 2015) with some disputes, including telephone harassment, theft of livestock, and objections to irrigation of land, leading to the first clash. Stones were thrown between the two tribes in the village, leaving dozens severely injured. Due to their skill in throwing stones, the injuries and damages from this clash were very severe. Two days later, one of the Mohammadsaies shot and seriously wounded one of the Mohammadiha. As it was certain that this incident would not go unanswered by the other tribe, a 120-member peace council was formed with the presence of the governor of Ramhormoz and

There is an old tradition among tribes and clans that whenever a clan sheds blood, they must leave their home and life behind and never return. After this very distressing and upsetting incident, a 300-member council consisting of Ayatollah Musavi Jazayeri, representative of the Supreme Leader in Khuzestan, Ayatollah Malekzadeh, representative of the Supreme Leader in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, elders of the Bakhtiari and Bahmai tribes, Arab-speaking sheikhs, and many other leaders of the province, took action. However, the elders of the Mohammadmosayi clan stated that the spiritual conditions of their tribe are not suitable. The fighting and bloodshed between the two tribes continues and as of the latest report until July 2017, a total of 23 people have been killed in the conflict between these two clans.

But the problem is not just bloodshed and bleeding; animosity and revenge-seeking from both sides and the recklessness of some young people who do not listen to the words of their elders, leads to other events. Burning each other’s homes, looting and damaging them, setting fire to agricultural lands, shooting at power transformers, destroying street lights, destroying water wells, blocking roads and attacking each other are among the problems that ultimately led to the order of the prosecutor, forcing the Mohammadmosai and Mohammadis tribes from the villages of Petak Jalali, Kal Jahān, Darreh Qir, and Sorkhar to migrate. This order is to protect their own lives and restore their peace, and to monitor its proper implementation, hundreds of police and special units are present in these areas.

The roots of tribal conflicts.

Bloody conflicts between tribal and clan groups, including the events that took place in Ramhormoz and Baghmalek in Khuzestan province, have affected every Iranian. The fact that two tribes, for various reasons, engage in conflict with each other and in the span of two years, 23 people are killed and a large number are injured, and two villages are completely evacuated, is unacceptable in the 21st century. Especially in a country with a strong central government that is capable of neutralizing any anti-security behaviors. Unfortunately, this is the reality that exists. In such conditions, where unemployment and production shortages are our problems, a village with a population of two thousand, whose lands are linguistically valuable in the region, is now deserted. For the past two years, due to these conflicts, its lands have been turned into wasteland.

Let’s put aside these differences alongside the report of the Gallup polling institute, which was published in June 2017 and introduced Iranians as one of the angriest people in the world. This anger naturally reflects in our behaviors and one of its most important reflections is personal or collective conflicts. The tragic incident in Bahmanmolk is divided under the title of collective conflicts. Medical and judicial statistics also indicate an increase in personal and group conflicts, which have various reasons; including:

A- Numerous economic problems in Iran.

B- The cultural issues of the diverse Iranian society, which have not yet been properly integrated in the process of nation-building, have caused more divergence than convergence among the different components of Iranian society.

Cultural and social policies of the reactionary and demagogic system that are far from the current cultural discourse in society.

D- The continuous struggle for reform and change in Iran over the past century has led to a dead end.

In summary, the society and government institutions in Iran, each in their own way, for various reasons including inherent and historical factors, have not fully adapted to the requirements of the modern era. As sociologists say, Iranian society is an anomic (disorganized) society. On the surface, many aspects of modernity have entered Iran. However, remnants of the pre-modern era still exist and manifest themselves in various social crises.

The only way out of this situation is education on citizenship and human rights. In Iranian society, it is not acceptable to discriminate based on ethnicity, as it is very dangerous. There is another reason as well; ethnicity itself is not the basis of discrimination in Iran, but factors such as religion, gender, ideology, distance from the center, and climate are the basis of discrimination and oppression. Focusing on ethnicity not only does not solve any problems, but it also adds to them, spreading ethnic and tribal tensions in Iran that benefit no one. Without a doubt, the majority of people in Iran are deprived of fundamental rights (such as welfare and freedom) and only a minority dependent on the government hold all political positions, political opportunities, and a large portion of wealth. This minority, dependent on the government, does not belong to a specific ethnicity. Minority rights (especially linguistic, racial, ethnic, and religious) are guaranteed in a democratic and free structure. Let us not forget that the modern

Sources:

1. A narrative of the reasons and victims of the bloody conflict of a tribe, Fararu, on June 20, 2017.

2. Abdi, Abbas, political tension and personal anger, Shahrivar newspaper, issue 1157, July 4th, 2017.

3. Sajadian, Nahid, and colleagues, “Evaluating the Role of Tribalism in the Sense of Social Security,” Scientific-Research Journal of Geographic Information, Vol. 24, No. 94, Summer 1394, pp. 76-59.