Sarah Boumedda in Los Angeles
Published on July 26
- United States
Among Middle Eastern diasporas in the United States, there is growing discontent with the major parties, fueled by the American response to the unrest in their home countries. How do these communities view the presidential race? ? Last stop: Tehrangeles, Los Angeles, the heartland of the Iranian-origin population.
The California metropolis is home to the world’s largest Iranian diaspora, estimated at around half a million people and established since at least the 1970s. Its epicenter is Tehrangeles, one of Los Angeles’ many ethnic enclaves, on the city’s west side. At the intersection of Westwood Boulevard and Wilkins Avenue, a sign indicates that we are entering Persian Square, named in 2010 to honor the community’s historical contributions.
All along Westwood Boulevard, the Iranian presence takes the form of restaurants and shops offering Persian specialties, but also service offices offered in English and Persian: a notary, a real estate agent, a language school… On the walls, a number of stickers, posters and slogans denounce the Islamic Republic of Iran or support the Women Life Freedom movement, which erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 in Tehran at the hands of the Iranian morality police.
However, talking about politics with the neighborhood is difficult. Questions about the upcoming American elections, or even the Women Life Freedom movement, are met with silence or pronounced distrust. “I’m not talking about politics,” a carpet merchant tells Devoir in a firm tone. “I’m going to vote for [Donald] Trump. That's all I can tell you. »
A little further on, a grocer is a little more open, although he refuses to give his first name or have his picture taken. For him, the Women Life Freedom movement is a symbol of hope. “I think it’s going to change,” he says in impeccable French. “Democracy in Iran is just a matter of time. And when the regime falls, it’s going to bring huge changes throughout the Middle East.” »
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The last chapter
An opinion shared by Roozbeh Farahanipour, owner of three restaurants on the main street of Tehrangeles. The businessman sits on the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and knows many of his colleagues on Westwood Boulevard. He is also a fervent opponent of the Islamic Republic.
According to him, the death of Mahsa Amini “was a wake-up call for the community. [Some], especially those who still believed that this regime could be tolerated, understood that it cannot be reformed at all,” he insisted in an interview with Devoir, seated at a table in one of his restaurants.
M. Farahanipour was a leading figure in the 1999 student protests in Tehran, among the most violent in the country’s history since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. His arrest and subsequent death sentence forced him to leave the country and flee to the United States as a political refugee in 2000.
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This text is published via our Perspectives section.
The 2022 protests, he says, reflect the same discontent with the system that drove him to activism in his youth. “It opened a new chapter in history. It’s the last chapter of the regime,” he says.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000“A lot of Iranians who hadn’t paid a lot of attention to Iranian politics in the last few years, or their whole lives, were suddenly very interested in Iran,” says Kevan Harris, a sociologist and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has published a book and numerous articles on Iranian society.
Of course, such a political situation, punctuated by calls for protests in Iran, but also in its diaspora in the United States, “has politicized many,” he explains. “But it’s also not reasonable to expect that it’s the entire diaspora, or even the majority. Not everyone is very politicized or aware of the politics of their country of origin.” » Since 2022, a good number of them have “returned to their daily lives as Americans,” observes Kevan Harris.
Photo: Julien Forest Le Devoir A poster in front of a business on Westwood Boulevard in Tehrangeles calling for regime change in Iran.
Americans first and foremost
Similarly, Kevan Harris doubts that the Women Life Freedom movement will have an impact on the choice of Iranian-Americans in the next US elections. “People are likely to vote for the same reasons as other Americans: social, economic, domestic and foreign policy [as a whole]. »
At present, we perceive a more Democratic than Republican tendency within this community. A poll conducted by Lake Research Partners for Iranian American Democrats of California and released last year shows that 45 percent of respondents are Democratic voters, and 18 percent are Republican. A quarter of them (24%) choose not to affiliate with any party.
“There’s nothing unique to Iranians” in these numbers, Harris points out. “There are better studies of this kind on other Asian communities in the United States, like Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos. When you look at their political allegiances, [the numbers] are almost the same.”
Community First
Roozbeh Farahanipour sees similar trends in her community. “It’s the same in the American population. In every family, you’ll find people who are ultra-conservative, and people who are on the left, more progressive.”
And while the Women Life Freedom movement may have sparked renewed community engagement in Iranian politics, he too doubts it will have an impact on the November election. “The president of the United States should not be chosen based on his view of the world, or his view of Iran. Why should the American president have a narrow perspective on Iran or put the interests of the Iranian people ahead of the interests of the American people?”?
That’s not to say that Farahanipour isn’t skeptical of the U.S. posture toward the Islamist regime. He points to the Vienna nuclear deal on Iran, signed by Democratic President Barack Obama in 2015. “I was against that deal. But when the Trump administration tried to back out of that deal, I was against it, too.” The damage is done, so why pull out of a deal that's already been signed ? »
The businessman is among the quarter of Iranians in California who have no political affiliation. “I believe that every human being must first take care of his or her community. Politics is local. We must start with our community first, but we must keep in mind that the planet is a bit like a big village. We must open up dialogue.”
With Julien Forest
This report was funded with support from the Transat International Journalism Fund-Le Devoir.