Hillarysworld

The proud procession through the heart of the largest Iranian community outside Iran - dubbed “Tehrangeles’’ - had the feel of a massive coming-out party for a people who had been largely invisible to the rest of the United States.

The violent crackdown against Iranians who continue to protest the outcome of a disputed election in Iran has galvanized Iranian-Americans, especially in Los Angeles, like never before. The challenge here, leaders say, is whether they can capture the passion aroused in the community to establish a greater voice in US politics.

Iranian-Americans are among the country’s wealthiest and most educated immigrant populations. They are partners at major law firms, executives at Fortune 500 companies, and professors at distinguished universities. Yet only a handful have been elected to public office, none of them on Capitol Hill.

Activists and scholars say the community’s aspirations have been hurt by fractiousness, inexperience with grass-roots politics, and a serious image problem. Most Americans know more about Iran’s radical clerics and nuclear ambitions than its proud cultural heritage.

Frustrated by their lack of political clout, some of the community’s most prominent members decided two years ago to form a lobbying and public relations group in Washington, D.C., called the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian-Americans, or PAAIA.

“Our community has a tough time uniting on various issues,’’ said Rudi Bakhtiar, a PAAIA spokeswoman and a former CNN anchor. “While we’ve individually, all of us, been able to succeed in various fields, we have not managed to capitalize collectively on those accomplishments.’’

She said it has taken time for Iranian-Americans to understand the system and grasp the power of their vote.

Iranian immigration largely began when Islamic revolutionaries overthrew Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1979. Subsequent waves included many who welcomed the ouster of a repressive monarch but became disillusioned with the fundamentalist clerics who replaced him. Some belonged to ethnic and religious minorities, others to political factions ranging from monarchists to communists.

US census data put their numbers at about 338,000, but community estimates run as high as 500,000 in Southern California and 1 million nationwide.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/08/02/iranian_americans_galvanized_by_election_protests/