Word: ayatullah
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...front of him like a giant Persian carpet: turbans, signs, balloons. He speaks to thousands, delivering the scrupulously worded message of moderate change that has made him a hero to many--and a terrifying figure to the hard-liners who have dominated Iran's politics since the death of Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989. Khatami's struggle to reform Iran is proving a dangerous task. One of the President's closest friends is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head, nearly assassinated by hard-liners. Dozens of other supporters are in jail or heading there. Iran's hard-liners...
...most revered scholar, absolute, God-given authority to govern Iran. Considering that legacy, political reformers avoid challenging it directly. But dissident clerics began questioning the dogma after Khomeini's death, an action that put some 500 mullahs in prison or under house arrest, including the most senior critic, Ayatullah Hossein Ali Montazari, once Khomeini's designated successor. Conservatives are worried that democracy will disembowel velayat-e faqih--and the clerical establishment along with it. "If this debate is not resolved," warns Eshkevari, "the Islamic Republic will run into a dead...
...Eventually you are driven into a barricaded neighborhood protected by bearded militiamen and hustled into an apartment block with mirrored windows. Wallets, key chains, and even belts are removed from you and taken away for inspection. Finally you are seated in a room dominated by an acrylic painting of Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini. At the far end is Hizballah's yellow banner, the words "Islamic Revolution of Lebanon" written in Arabic beneath the silhouette of a holy warrior's rifle...
...delight of most reformers, however, Ganji--an unabashed partisan of President Mohammed Khatami's, an avid reader of Western philosophy and the son of a gas-station attendant--refuses to avert his eyes. A street activist during Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini's revolution, he now insists that building Iran's democracy entails acknowledging the Islamic regime's past mistakes. Whether Ganji will be able to continue his campaign is a crucial test for Iran's reformers as they maneuver against the hard-line conservatives who maintain control over the security forces and judicial system. If Ganji manages to remain alive...
...students cheered when he declared, "With the support of the youth, we shall all build the future of this country!" An hour's drive away at the mosque in Shahr-ray, he addressed a subdued throng of working-class men, reassuring them that the reform movement is inspired by Ayatullah Khomeini. Inside the mosque, neighborhood elders nodded with approval as Khatami dropped to his knees, knelt in the direction of Mecca and prayed. Even before he was back on his feet, though, the President's brother was tapping out a number on his cell phone...