Mehdi Sahraian

Family background

Sahraian’s paternal line had been raised to the ranks of the Persian nobility of the 19th century. His great grandfather Sayyid Mahmud, as the forerunner of Sahara clan to Jahrom, was the land lord of the Great tobacco plantation of the Hakan region of Jahrom County. During the ruling era of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (1831–1896), Hakan was considered as one of the major suppliers of the Iranian tobacco market. In 1884-1889 Sayyid Mahmud, as a charitable act, had constructed a large caravanserai, a Turkish bath hamam, and an Ab Anbar reservoir, endowing those welfare facilities (free of charge) to the people of the JAHROM (سر سعد) region and caravan (travellers). Soon thereafter, for his services to the public welfare, with regard to his influence within the Jahrom county areas, in 1889 Sayyid Mahmud received the governance of the Hakan region from Naser al-Din Shah.

In 1930, once the heritor Sayyid Ahmad (as the eldest grandson of the House) was to take over the clan heritage, he had realized that in the text of the bequest deed, which was signed by his grandfather (Sayyid Mahmud), the female members of the Sahara clan were dispossessed from their inheritance benefits. The argument over the equal rights of the female family members on inheritance income gave Sahraian’s father (Sayyid Ahmad) reason enough to abandon the plantation and, in October 1932, move to Shiraz. Upon his arrival, Sahraian’s father had established his commerce office in Saraye Moshir, next to the grand Vakil bazaar of Shiraz.

During 1935–1941, the modernization plan of Reza Shah and later the Post-War economic boom (named Wirtschaftswunder) provided Sahraian’s father with the opportunity to expand his commerce export to Western Europe and dominate the sheepskin & leather supply market (holding a majority market share) of the Fars province. The business success enabled Sahraian’s father to join the local social & welfare activities and have a close relationship with the influential Ayatollahs.

Between August 1941 to the first quarter of 1942, confiscation of the domestically produced grain and food supply by the Allies and categorical transport of Iranian domestic grain to the Eastern Front under US Army enforcement had caused perpetual shortages of wheat flour and food supply in Iran. In consequence, a widespread hunger followed by starvation and/or malnutrition broke out all over occupied Iran. The Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi, in a message to Sayyid Ahmad, had expressed his expectation for Sahraian’s father to care for the starved families in the south district of Shiraz. During the famine, having solidarity with the family members of the Sahara clan to Jahrom was an obvious matter to Sayyid Ahmad. But to Sahraian’s father, fulfillment of a personal appeal of a Grand Ayatollah of Shia (on a Bazaari commerce-man like himself) was more of a matter of religious worship and national pride. So it was again for Sahraian’s father a decade later, in 1951, when Ayatollah Abol-Ghasem Kashani had issued a fatwa for granting financial support to the movement for the Nationalization of Oil Supplies, led by Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, which Sahraian’s father (Sayyid Ahmad) did follow and participated in.

On his mother’s side, Sahraian’s grandmother (Hyatt BiBi Khanum 1864-1954) was the daughter of Hassan khan, one of the principal line leaders of the Qashqai tribes during the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. During World War I, Hassan khan with his brother Hussein khan were leading the Qashqai armed resistance against British military domination over the trade road of Bushehr. At his father’s suggestion, Sahraian studied foreign languages and philosophy at home under private tutors, and subsequently began reading the literature of western writers.

Due to his family background in feeling a sense of responsibility with regard to his homeland and the deprived people, his father’s tolerance in dealing with Jews & Christians who enjoyed his father’s hospitality at his home, the humanitarian based social environment of his birthplace Shiraz, having experienced the unrest of the 1953 Iranian coup d'etat at the age of 7, and the uprising of the Ayatollahs in opposition to the White Revolution of Mohammad Reza Shah at the age of 16, Sahraian left to Austria for higher education in 1963.

Activism

At the University of Innsbruck in Austria, Sahraian founded a student organisation targeting the establishment of democracy and political freedom in Iran. On his return to Iran in 1970, he was imprisoned by SAVAK, the political secret service of the Shah.

In 1996, due to the open policies of President Khatami, Sahraian renewed his efforts to encourage comprehensive social and economic reform. Sahraian gathered Iranian parliamentarians, intellectuals, economists, moderate politicians, journalists, and a number of the leading elites, in an academy, a meeting point for opinion-exchange for those seeking reform. The subjects to be researched by the gathered elites were agreed as follows:

In early 2001, the academy presented about 63 reform bills, which were favorably received by President Khatami.

Currently Sahraian serves as chairman of the Young Elite's academy and leads the Iran Poverty Movement.

Theories

Sahraian believes that "The main reason for decline of western democracy in the Middle East, lays in the objective look of the western democracy to the issues of the Islamic Societies of the Middle East. Thus the objective based political conclusions toward the Islamic Societies of the region are much deceiving." The negligence of the western democracy to understand the social problems of the invisible underclass of the oil rich Muslim societies of the Middle East by a subjective point of view, caused a much larger problem namely Islamic extremism, which soon became globalized. In absence of a subjective based social analysis, the western civilization began to prescribe the establishment of western democracy for those much sophisticated Muslim societies. In consequence, the marginal claimed on the wings of religious brave, intimidate the intellectuals and political nobles of the society, by grasping to the "Election", as the main matter of Democracy, took over the political power of the society and intent ally left out the other two most important a priories of democracy, in fact the human rights declaration and the personal and social freedoms of the humankind. Because those two a priories of western democracy are not in accordance to the Islamic lectures, according to the Islamic extremists.

However, by having a subjective base of knowledge about the social economy of the Muslim societies of the region, would have provide the western civilization with the reality that an approach for implementation of democracy in the oil-rich Middle East, needs a process stage of social and economic development for creation of middle class and for decrease the size of the underclass, minimize the gap between rich and poor, and create a middle class that has the impulse for guarding the elements of democracy.

By collection the experiences from continued field studies, Sahraian is much convinced that the power keepers, would never desire a realistic economic and social development of the society. Otherwise with expansion of Middle class, they will be losing their main ground of their support and source of power.

And this hesitation toward economic development would be the true threat for the western civilization. Annual increase of the economic and social refugees to Europe is just the beginning of long term social standstill of the western democracy and an allocation of the cultural conflict from Near East and Middle East to Europe.

Economic freedoms

In his new theory "Productionalism" (1998) for Economic Development of the Developing Countries, Sahraeean – based on his several field studies concludes that: "…in those societies the economic freedom of persons certainly is prior to the political freedom of persons. Once a person is overwhelmed with poverty, he becomes very fragile and harmful. Since the Poverty-stricken person has nothing to lose, he changes his votes with little Money. Which this reality was observed on several occasions. The Poverty-Stricken person, easily joins the extremist groups, and becomes the optimal mobile ground for acceptance of any kind of advises toward fanatic actions. Seeking for implementation of western type democracy in the societies with majority of poverty, would be a poison which turns back to the preachers of democracy.

Characteristic philosophy of SMES

In his third volume of "Productionalism" SME's (1999), Sahraian brings the characteristic philosophy of the small and medium size production workshops to the attention as the optimal solution for driving the society toward: domestic and international responsibility. Because according to Sahraian:

Usually a small workshop is owned and managed by a family. Therefore, the "Family interest" encourages the family members to collectively protect their interests. This creates a kind of self-control inside the family over the insurgent youths.

By increase of productivity in the small workshop, the production costs would be decreases, the manufactured goods of the workshop becomes more competitive and causes new employments. In consequence stepwise, the Unemployment rate of the society will be lower down. It means more and more young persons get out of unemployment and become forced to take the responsibility toward their job interests.

Because of flexibility of the SME's production line, the management starts to expand its market share domestic and regional. The need on new technology and business contacts abroad becomes bold. In order to reach out the hand to new technology and new business contacts, the entire personal of the SME-because of collective interests – would not have other solution than to adopt a moderated behavior in face of their foreign partners.

Sahraian by counting a serial number of natural character of production-business for keeping the established SME on growth; concludes that; by a natural constraint the individual small industries have no other choice but become a ring of an industrial long chain which from one side is connected to the large industries and from the end the chain is connected to the large distribution centers, the entire chain employers, their family members, the entire a posteriori, a priori and service linkages, for reason of collective interests going to be forced to change their Tendencies Toward Moderation of,Politic, economical, religious, and philosophic Behavior in the society. Once the economic freedom - by having a relative productive job - for a large number of the society members is realized, in order to maintain the realized living standard, the very same person would feel responsible and gives effort to stop the extremism by all means.

Sahraian advises (1997) the international organizations specially the UN Organisations to lead the international efforts toward industrial job creation by support the SME's, in the Islamic societies of the Middle East. Sahraian believes, that 50 Million unemployment till 2010 in the Middle East is a real threat for western civilization, because a massive economic immigration to Europe will take place and cause cultural conflict.

Green Revolution

Sahraian, in his research on the green revolution, criticizes the theory of David Ricardo known as Ricardo Effect, in international trade and emphasizes that the non developed countries will remain an agricultural producer with a consistent trade deficit, and this would cause the growth of poverty linked to extremism.

Sahraian advises to assist the undeveloped countries for mechanization of their agriculture sector, creation of "Produce Preferences" of products with more added value, link the producing program in linkage to the industrial agriculture economy and let the developing country riches out to the new sources of money for investment in the productive job-creation and welfare installations. In consequence the Econ o-immigration from agriculture pole to the large cities would become reversed the marginal of suburban immigrants which are the best ground for personal logistic of extremism, decreases drastically.

Money laundering

The most controversial work of Sahraian is his field study based research about money laundering in Iran and Middle East. Sahraian succeeded to slide into the organized Afghani-Pakistan Drug Mafia and meet with two of the scariest Mafioso leaders. Who are in charge of financial support of Al-Qaida.

In his researches Sahraian has unveiled the structure of well organized fanatic Wahabis under the leadership of Osama Bin Laden. In his research "Money Laundering", Sahraian has unveiled the complicated structure of Bin Laden's Wahabi Organization, considered as the most dangerous Wahabism. Bin Laden believes that killing people who do not believe in Allah will allow the killer to go directly to heaven.

Cultivation, production and trade of drugs, is an efficient sward at the service of the holy war (Islamic Jihad) against the western unbelievers, which is practiced by the true obeying of god, according to Wahabism.

The Al-Qaida organization is formed on several layer of logistic, production, training, mass support, commanders, and clergies, expanded all over, golden triangle, Central Asia, with 200 heroin labors in the mountain on the Pakistani boarders, several opium poppy cultivation fields in the Afghan valley, some spiritual schools in north Pakistan and the militant training centers in western Afghanistan. Handling the drug matters of the Wahabi organization is equal to worship the god, and the good believers are obliged to this daily worship, according to the Mafias Leathers of Al-Quada.

Because drug is the legitimate weapon for success of the holy war against the western atheistic civilization. From one side the drug would devastate the soul of the youth-soul of atheistic civilizations, and from the other hand the drug money would provide the Bin Laden Organization with solid financial resources.

In his research, Sahraian has drawn the road map of Bin-Ladan organization's money laundering. From collection stage on the streets, up to converting to consumable items, smuggled to Iran via Dubai, laundered at loan & savings non banking establishments, changed to hard currency and landing to the offshore banks. Annual amount: USD$11.8 billion.

A large number of Swiss Banks, Korean manufacturers, Foreign Financial and trade companies of India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Channel Islands, Switzerland are involved in money laundering for the Bin Laden Organization. Unfortunately they have chosen Iran as a petrodollar rich country for their supply of hard currency.

Sahraian emphasizes that the Iranian economy is controlled by seven power mafias. Three of them involved in selling the organized smuggled goods for laundering the 6 billion dollars of Afghani-Pakistani drug Mafiosi's, and making sure that in exchange, equivalent hard currency fly's to offshore banks of Switzerland, for that organization of Wahabism.

Sahraian concludes, as long as the financial throat of Bin Laden Wahabism is in regular organized flew, the terrorism would be growing around the world, consistently. But according to fact based statement of Sahraian to the World Bank and UN Delegations; many of western companies, banks and financial institutions of Europe and the dual faces of politic, does not seem to be ready to renounce the fat profit they earn from handling of $11.8 billion in good-smuggle, and laundering procedure from Hong Kong to Switzerland in favor of Bin Laden organization.

Finally, he regrets that the national economy of his homeland has become hostage to the Wahabism extremist organization.

Political life

In early stage of his life as student on University of Innsbruck Austria he was fascinated, by the philosophic thoughts of the Austrian social freedom. Sahraian become an idealist freedom lover for his country and the neighboring countries of Middle East. Pretty soon he gathered his student colleagues and established a group of freedom fighters with much Idealistic goals. Later on the group did expansion it's thoughts for freedom and democracy to the other universities of Europe, where the similar tendencies among the students were in existence.

By return to his homeland he was arrested by Political Police of ex-Shah (SAVAK) and was jailed in 1970. With interference of the Austrian minister for high education professor Kolb, shah has released Sahraian from jail. But Sahraian did not drop his political activities on the Iranian universities for implementation of democracy and freedom, emphasized with fulfillment of the human rights declaration, in his country.

Thereafter on several occasions he became a political prisoner. After revolution of 1978. For his critics on serial executions of people by self-judgment of revolutionary ayatollahs, Sahraian was again jailed. This time much harsher than ever. His entire wealth was confiscated and as a non-desired element was expelled from Iran.

During his complementary studies in Europe and USA, Sahraian realized that Idealism would not lead his country to freedom and welfare. Democratic freedom of the society needs a pass through procedure from traditional commune thought, to an evolutionary formation of the society philosophy of life. Sahraian became convinced that: … without a pre-developed cultural evolution of the society, processing the democracy in the developing countries like Iran, would be serving the political left & conservative extremists.

Sahraian also warns that; processing of a premature democracy could be serving the economic interest groups, who are hidden behind the legitimate face of parliament, but in reality they seek to expand the trade monopole in their own favor, enforced by Mafiosi-like actions. And this leads the society to a division of poverty stricken majority and very rich minority.

Once United States President Ronald Reagan declared his War on Drugs, linked to United Nations protocol of (Palermo Convention) against transnational organized crime, in his first UN-research on international money laundering of drugs, Sahraian has uncovered that the Swiss bankers have established an international operation, coded as "Swiss-connection" or Pizza Connection, for collecting the drug money from US streets, package them, tag them with diplomatic courier, transfer those dirty money from New York and California to Switzerland, launder those bloody money and let the Medelin & Cali Cartels, have them on their legitimate accounts at Swiss bank branches to the Caribbean islands.

Sahraian published the unveiled involvement of Elisabeth Kopp, Swiss minister for Justice, army, police and custom. Furthermore, Sahraian showed documents for being 80 percent of Swiss Supreme Court on the payroll of Medellin and Cali cocaine cartels.

Upon a well designed plot by Swiss politicians and Swiss bankers in connection with the organized money laundering of Swiss Banks (known as operation Suisse connection,also do see Jean Ziegler), by the end of George W. Bush administration the Swiss justice did organize an artificial investigation to force him withdraw his claims.the same punishment as was imposed to Jean Ziegler professor on the University of Geneva. But unfortunate to all of efforts of human rights activist lawyer John Lobb, Sahraian never obtained a trial. Sahraian has experienced that even in the well developed countries, defending the human values has a very expensive price.

From 1998 to 2005, by establishing the Iran Productionist Party, young elite's academy and poverty movement, inside Iran, Sahraian follows-up his rational dream for economic freedom of the people as a pre qualification of the society for obtaining to a comprehensive political democracy.

Because of his undesirable philosophy, in 2000 he was banished from lecturing at the Iranian universities, In 2002 his face was banished from appearing in the Iranian governmental television for interviews . Until May 2005, he was forbidden from doing any research with public money . Some of his books are confiscated by censure office .For his life dedications to re-establishment of natural human freedoms, Sahraian is respected by academic community of Iran .

Publications