Stop Thinking Like A Westerner

 ... when trying to understand the Islamic world.

Two data points.

These are Islamic goons patrolling the streets of Shahsavar, Iran.

I read some long-winded analysis of the state of the Rial and why this means doom for the Mullahs, but does it really? If Allah promises you unlimited, fantastic sex in the afterlife in exchange for you fighting for his cause, is the lack of pay going to keep you at home?

How did that work out in Libya or with ISIS?

We keep trying to apply Western macroeconomics and behavioral science to a society that is entirely based on what is essentially a primer for life as a 7th Century desert warlord and his crew. Then we end up surprised that the foreign exchange rate didn't have much of an effect on the zealots.

Things certainly seem bleak for the dudes in black robes and flea-infested beards and I'd really like to see them all whacked, but who knows where this will go even if the Ayatollah buys the farm?