Neither Islamic nor a republic
Guardian / Massoumeh Torfeh
30-Aug-2009 (one comment)

As the second act of the post-electoral drama unfolds in Iran, internal weaknesses are exposed more clearly than ever before. Behind the facade of victory lie deep divisions among the top clergy about what an Islamic government should be composed of and how it should treat its citizens.

Ayatollah Ali Montazeri – who is not a state official but has great religious authority in Iran – addressed "top officials" directly when he wrote: "At least have the courage to admit this is neither an Islamic state nor a republic."

Ayatollah Khamenei sidelined Montazeri in 1989, when he should have occupied the seat of the supreme leader after the death of the leader of Ayatollah Khomeini. Montazeri has been enraged by recent developments and made public statements condemning the treatment of the detained demonstrators. In a letter responding to 293 journalists who asked his opinion on recent developments in Iran he said he expected the authorities to stop these "show trials and forced confessions" which were ridiculing Islamic justice.

The supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, then seems to have somewhat adjusted his position when addressing university students during a Ramadan iftar. Speaki... >>>

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liberation08

I've heard from sources in

by liberation08 on Sun Aug 30, 2009 08:37 AM PDT

I've heard from sources in iran that the supreme natl sec council refused ahmadinejad's request to approve the arrests and prosecution of the opposition movement's highest ranking leaders (karroubi, khatami, etc.)

i doubt that such an incendiary move would be taken. there's already a lot of discontent in iran over how the regime dealt with the election disputes


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