The double life of a people

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The crowd of bearded men looked and sounded as though they meant it, punching the air in unison and chanting the familiar slogans: ‘Death to America!’, ‘Death to Israel!’. A quarter of a century after the revolution that swept the Islamic regime to power the official message in Tehran had barely altered. America remained the ‘Great Satan’ and Britain, Iran’s traditional foe, still merited the title ‘little Satan’. But a chance encounter with one of the participants in this supposedly spontaneous, but evidently well-rehearsed, demonstration revealed a very different side to the country. ‘You are from England?’ he said, beaming. ‘You are welcome. My cousin lives in Manchester. You must come home and meet my family.’

Judging by Jason Elliot’s timely, perceptive and important travel book, the simple act of hospitality I was shown is typical of the people he discovered during his adventures. As he embarked by bus, taxi and sometimes on horseback to explore this ancient land, his encounters with modern Iranians expose a nation tired of war and revolution, eager for contact with the outside world and desperate for a normal life.

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Understanding modern Iran is more than just a matter of academic interest in the affairs of a middle-sized country sandwiched between the Arab world and Central Asia. How we deal with Tehran in the coming months and years may well decide the fate of Iraq (where Iran’s Shia Muslim brethren are a majority), the destiny of the Middle East (where the Iranians support militant groups across the Arab world) and whether the West can resolve its struggle with modern Islam. As anyone involved in foreign policy will tell you, Iran matters.

All too often our perception has been shaped by the provocative statements and defiant actions of the current leadership, especially President Mahmoud Ahmadin- ejad.