There’s a Persian soup called "Aasheh Sholeh Ghalam Kar". To make this soup/Aash you put whatever you have in a heavy pot, fill it up with water,add spices and herbs, leave it on low heat, and hope that the final result will end in something delicious. Aasheh Sholeh Ghalam Kar is also a phrase Iranians use when things are all messed up, such as 2009 IranianPresidential Election.
The Chef, Ali Khamenei (Iran’s Supreme Leader) has 12 Prep Cooks called The Guardian Counsel. These Prep Cooks are supposed to go through more than 1000 of the registered volunteers (ingredients) and thin out "The Bad Ones" within 4 days (May 5th to May 9th). You could be "thinned out" if you are a woman or if they think you don't know enough about Islam or if you like Real Democracy. So, these 12 Prep cooks are supposed to check each volunteer's background and knowledge about Islam and Islamic laws in 4 days. After they picked “the Right” Ingredients (the candidates) they present them to the Chef Khamenei for final approval. Sometimes the Chef adds orsubtracts a few ingredients (depending on his mood that day). One day he may want a hot and spicy Aash so he adds a Reformer candidate.After Khamenei’s approval of ingredients, they all go into one big pot of water where they are stirred for about 20 days. While these Prep Cooks are stirring the pot, the Chef will keep tasting the Aash to make sure its final taste is to his liking. He makes comments and suggestions which will be obeyed by his kitchen staff (the government) without questioning. Then, they let the Aash settle for two days and Voila! Now you have your first serving of the day (the election).
In the past, the Chef always knew the outcome of this Aasheh Sholeh Galam Kar but this year he is not so certain. His 2004 Aash (Ahmadinejad) didn't sit right with Iranians for it gave them some gas and discomfort. For this reason, they are looking for a different Aash and Khamenei’s reputation as a Chef is now damaged.So, we must wait and see what Khamenei and his Prep Cooks are going to present to the Iranian people as their new Aasheh Sholeh Ghalam Kar. Will the Iranian people go to the polls with their soup bowls to get some of Khomeini's Aash of 2009? We’ll see. It depends how hungry they are for change.
I just hope their appetites haven’t been ruined already.
2 comments:
The Aash and the cooks is a good metaphor. It means that with all their precautions, they failed even in their own game. With so much emphasis on being devoted Muslim, there is no need to check if they can actually govern. Let’s hope that the same recipe produces the same failed Aash.
Good analogy mom. I like this one.
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