To fully grasp Iran’s current situation, we need to be reminded of the Islamic revolution of 1979. Many Iranians have compared the 1979 Islamic revolution to the Arab-Muslim conquest of Persia in 651 AD when Arab conquerors forced the Persians to convert to Islam and started to demolish Zoroastrian temples. Those who refused to convert, a special tax was imposed known as jizya (poll tax), and acquired the status of dhimmis.  Ibn Kathir (Commenting on Quran 2:256 in the unabridged version of his tafsir) -- "Therefore all people of the world should be called to Islam. If anyone of them refuses to do so, or refuses to pay the jizya, they should be fought till they are killed." The 1979 Islamic revolution was a plague upon the Iranian people. Most people are under the impression that Iranians voluntarily chose an Islamic government. Nothing could be further from the truth. On March 30, 1979, the new and unstable Islamic leadership conducted a...(Read Full Article)