Word: reza
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...political affairs. They must acknowledge that Western forms of democracy don't fit every society. Iran is a deeply Muslim nation, an established Islamic republic, with our own interpretation of democracy based on the holy Koran and on the fatwas of our leaders. So, please, let us be ourselves. Reza Bozorg Isfahan, Iran...
...even run. The Khamenei-appointed Guardian Council, a powerful oversight body consisting of six clerics and six Islamic jurists, barred hundreds of reformists, including 87 members of the Majlis, from standing as candidates on various grounds, such as undermining the authority of the Supreme Leader. Among them was Reza Khatami, deputy speaker and brother of Iran's President. Ten reformist parties, including Reza Khatami's Islamic Iran Participation Front, then pulled out of the balloting, saying they could not run in "illegal and unjust" polls. President Khatami politely asked Khamenei to review the disqualifications, but the Guardian Council still barred...
Open criticism of the government last week reached a level not seen since the fall of Shah Reza Pahlavi. In a letter to Khamenei, angry reformist Majlis members denounced his repressive policies and compared him unflatteringly with his predecessor. "The popular revolution brought freedom and independence in the name of Islam," they wrote. "But now you lead a system in which legitimate freedoms and the rights of the people are being trampled in the name of Islam." Khamenei's allies responded immediately, with judicial officials shutting down Iran's two leading reformist dailies for daring to publish parts...
...reformists' boycott is, in a sense, a strategic withdrawal. "It is better to side with the people than to cling to power," Khatami's brother Reza, leader of the largest reformist party, told TIME. "The next parliament will be undemocratic, but that doesn't mean democracy in Iran has failed." Maybe not, but judging by the election fiasco, its success is still a long...
...wouldn't support anyone's campaign so enthusiastically." In fact, he is not planning to vote at all on Feb. 20. So the reformists' boycott is, in a sense, a strategic withdrawal. "It is better to side with the people than to cling to power," Khatami's brother Reza, leader of the largest reform party, told TIME. "The next parliament will be undemocratic, but that doesn't mean democracy in Iran has failed." Maybe so, but judging by the election fiasco, its success is a long...