Israeli's ethnocracy 'democracy' closest to Iran's theocracy .. excerpt ..
"If a parallel has to be established with any other political system existing in the Middle East then the closest would be the Iranian theocracy. Iran is a Farsi-centered state in which members of ethnic minorities, the Azeri Turks, Kurds, Arab and other minorities, are culturally discriminated (they were discriminated by the previous Pahlavi regime as well). Today’s Iran has competitive elections in which reformers and conservatives confront each other, a lively civil society, and a relatively free press. The level of achieved ‘democracy’ is much more advanced than in any neighboring Arab state, or in Pakistan. [added emphasis this time] Yet it is a highly deficient ‘democracy,’ controlled from above by a supreme religious leader and a council of Shi’te clerics, supported by a system of quasi-religious courts, who decide what is permitted by the official religion and what is prohibited, which candidate may run for the elections and which one is disqualified, which newspaper has to be closed, etc."
i'm reading it again and just now had the urge .. i think on this thought, 'so any effort at undermining Iran's 'democracy' could be seen as undermining one of the two most 'democratic' systems of government in the Middle East' .. to post that bit, with the added emphasis, again .. just to note undermining Iran, as creepy and 'undemocratic' as the leaders are and the system is, could be seen as undermining a 'democracy' not much worse, or different, than Israel's 'democracy' .. may they all live in relative peace for now .. would be good, so, please .. lol ..