On a chilly February afternoon, the city of Munich resembled a music festival. The “music” was the chanting of the crowd, and the “tickets” were the flags and the posters. The open spaces of the city were filled with people who claimed to have gathered there for only one reason: to force the rest of the world to take the situation in Iran seriously. Estimates of the crowd size cited by the AP News ranged between 200,000 and 250,000.
Such a large number of people made the protest in the German city an international sensation. Imagine a school playground. If one child is bullied, and no one intervenes to stop it, the bully gets the message that says, “I can do this.” The people who gathered in the German city were there to make the bullying of the Iranians impossible to ignore.
Why Munich was the ‘perfect stage’
The protest was not held in the German city randomly. It was held there because the same weekend saw the Munich Security Conference, a summit of presidents, ministers, military leaders, and the best diplomats the world has to offer. So, the protest was held where the leaders of the free world were to gather. Where the leaders are, the media is sure to follow.
This protest was not just against the government of Iran. It was also held to force the leaders of the free world to increase the pressure on the Islamic regime, to strengthen the sanctions, and to support the protesters.
Who called people into the streets?
The participants claimed they received the call to protest from Reza Pahlavi. Pahlavi called for a “global day of action” and asked the international community to stand with Iranians who were being oppressed. The demonstrators were seen carrying the “lion and sun” flag used before 1979 and chanting for political change.
The rally was not just a “Munich story,” however. Other similar protests were held in cities with large Iranian diaspora communities, particularly Toronto and Los Angeles. This made the protest a “diaspora flex.”
What people in the crowd were actually saying
If you were to focus your attention on the faces of the demonstrators instead of the big aerial photographs of the crowd, you would have seen a variety of people. You would have seen the older people who claimed to have lived through the past revolutions. You would have seen young adults who were born and raised outside of the country. You would have seen people with young kids on their shoulders. You would have seen the revolutionaries who have spent years organizing these small gatherings, but have never made it to the news before. What they were saying in basic terms was:
- The world only looks to Iran during big crises. Please don’t turn your back again.
- Iran is just another difficult country. Look at it like a human rights crisis.
- Support the Iranians who are seeking change. Don’t give the government any space to breathe.
Some of the demonstrators were also seen referring to reports of the high level of violence and arrests in the country. However, major reports of the protest indicate that it is hard to verify the exact number of deaths because of the limited ability to access the area and the state of the internet.
Why world leaders noticed (and why some joined in)
One of the reasons why the rally went viral quickly is the politics and symbolism of the situation. When a protest of such a large scale is happening near a major international security conference, it will be part of the international conversation, whether world leaders want it to be or not.
There were also other major moments in the world of politics happening in the area. For example, there was a meeting between Zelenskiy and Pahlavi, in which they discussed the possibility of increasing sanctions and working against authoritarian cooperation.
This connects the Iranian protest to other international conflicts in which world leaders are already having heated discussions. Some politicians in the U.S. were also in attendance or made comments about the protest, which further increased the international visibility of the event.
Why did it draw “huge crowds” instead of the usual thousands
Large-scale protests are not planned by putting up a flyer. There are many different parts of a protest, all of which have to come together like building blocks.
First, there is the emotion. Many Iranians living outside of the country report a sense of helplessness as they watch the situation in their home country unfold while they are thousands of miles away. A large-scale protest is a way to break free of this feeling of helplessness.
Second, there is the timing. Holding the protest during the Munich Security Conference gives the protesters a sense of connection to the people in power, rather than a megaphone to the sky.
Third, there is the community. There are many different Iranian communities living outside of the home country, and they are able to mobilize quickly if they believe the time is “now or never.”
Fourth, there is the fear of silence. Protesters have repeatedly stated their fear of the world being quiet, as it will allow the government to crack down more easily.
The other side of the story: criticism and big questions
Despite the huge crowd, one big question remains: what comes next?
The politics of the Iranian opposition outside Iran is divided. There are different views about leadership and what a new Iran should look like. Symbolism may be important, but it does not necessarily translate into a roadmap for a country of 90 million people.
The bottom line
Munich was named the world’s loudest ‘megaphone’ for Iran that weekend because of the huge crowd, its well-timed delivery, and a message everyone could understand: pay attention to Iran, take a side, and don’t pretend it’s just another news headline. Of course, it’s up to what happens next to see if that attention translates into real policy changes or disappears as quickly as the cameras do.
