Why some Iranian-Canadian students want a flag changed at UWindsor's student centre
CBC
The ceiling of the CAW Student Centre at the University of Windsor is decorated by flags of numerous nations — among them, Iran.
But what's on display is the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran, distinguishable by its central symbol representing Allah, along with the slogan 'God is the Greatest' in Arabic writing.
For some Iranians — such as University of Windsor graduate student Elnaz Akhavan Rezaee — it's a flag of oppression.
"When I even look at the current Islamic Republic flag... that flag carries a lot of traumas for me," Akhavan Rezaee tells CBC Windsor. "We lost many lives. I know at least three or four people in Windsor that lost lives — like sister, cousins, brother, and niece, in the protests in Iran."
"So it is really hard for them that still, this flag is a representation of Iran — which we keep saying, this is not Iran. This is Islamic Republic... I feel like this is not the flag of Iran. This is just a representation of the regime."
Akhavan Rezaee is among those who have taken up a centuries-old flag of Iran that shows a lion and a sun.
The United Nations considers the Islamic Republic flag to be Iran's official one.
But opponents of the regime of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, and his son and successor, Mojtaba Khamanei, fly the lion and sun flag as an emblem of revolution — and to show their support for exiled prince Reza Pahlavi.
Earlier in March, at a celebration of nations at the University of Windsor, controversy arose when Iranian students disavowed the Islamic Republic flag.
In a statement to CBC, the University of Windsor says its annual celebration of nations traditionally features officially recognized national flags.
Nevertheless, Akhavan Rezaee says she has requested that the flag for Iran at the CAW Student Centre be switched.
"Right now, the lion and sun is the movement, and the feeling of representation flag," she explains. "The sun means something good will happen as a representation of light through darkness. And the lion is the sign of resilience and power and getting through difficult times. That's why we see it as a freedom sign."
However, Toronto Metropolitan University sociology professor Shirin Khayambashi, who has studied the Iranian diaspora extensively, points out that the lion and sun flag is a monarchist flag — and it carries its own problematic history.
"The Islamic Republic flag is representing the current regime, which is oppressing people. The lion and sun flag is representing the monarchist movement, which is a far-right movement, which is again, extremely dangerous," Khayambashi says.
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This First Person column is the experience of Mehdi M. Kashani, who lives in Toronto. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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