Thriving café culture filters right through to the top
TEHRAN, Iran — Shoulder to shoulder, cheek to cheek, young women and men sit next to each other while a thick film of cigarette smoke fills the dimly lit café in central Tehran. Bob Dylan’s Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door blares from the speakers.
Young Iranians with slick smartphones and packs of American- made cigarettes who frequent the café come for the chance to hang out, away from the eyes of moralizing elders. They also form a bloc of strong support for moderate President Hassan Rouhani as he works to allow greater social freedom in the Islamic Republic.
It is a reflection of a boom in café culture that has led to a mushrooming of similar coffee shops over the past two years, providing an outlet for young, middle- class Iranians who suffer from a lack of public places to meet.
With a box of black Marlboros on his table, Mahnaz Ghassemi, 20, who voted for Rouhani in June, said she comes to the café for the freedom it offers.
“Here, I can smoke freely. At home, both my mom and dad regularly complain about it,” she said.
Majid Rouhian, 24, sips his double espresso while chatting with his girlfriend Maryam. Both voted for Rouhani.
“In the past we had fewer chances to meet,” he said. “In recent years we have more chances simply because of increasing number of public places, like this.”
For years, Iranian authorities kept the number of cafes limited since they were seen as a symbol of Western influence and places to spread nonIslamic beliefs. But reports of cafes being shut because they violate “Islamic dignities” have dropped markedly in recent months, suggesting a growing tolerance by the authorities.
During his campaign, Rouhani vowed that young people would have more social freedom. “We should not intervene in private life. ... We should know that young people are energetic so we should not be tough on them. It will not lead to positive results,” he said.
Tehran- based economic and political analyst Saeed Leilaz believes cafes symbolize the network of young people who played an essential role in bringing Rouhani to power.
“The role of the young people, those who sit in cafés, was a significant ... part of Rouhani’s success,” he said.
Leilaz said authorities learned they had to give youth more freedom and a bigger role in society as the economic failures of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration grew more acute. The allowance of more and more cafes symbolizes that opening.
“If getting government permits for cafés gets easier, then their number would match the number of mosques in Tehran,” said Leilaz. There are 2,000 mosques in Tehran, according to official statistics.
Café association head Eskandar Azmoudeh said the number of cafes has roughly quadruped over the past two years, from around 20 up to around 80.
Mehrdad Khadir, a social columnist for the moderate Asr- e Iran news website, said cafes provide “fewer restrictions on relations between the genders,” compared to other places in the Iranian society.
“Girls and boys feel secure there,” he said, adding that café- goers “supported Rouhani in the 2013 elections simply because Rouhani promised more social freedom.”