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America's ideal ally in the Muslim world is not Jordan or (the new and improved) Iraq - and certainly not Saudi Arabia - but Iran.
So argues journalist and historian Stephen Kinzer, author of the acclaimed 2003 political study, All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror.

Would that be the same Iran that reveled as militants took 66 Americans hostage in 1979?

Yes, says Kinzer, who argues that the pro-democracy movement in Iran inevitably will lead the country to adopt a new, more open regime. He argues that America will profit greatly from this change.

Kinzer will discuss Iranian politics Monday with Inquirer columnist Trudy Rubin at the Central Library of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

The event is part of the citywide literacy project One Book One Philadelphia, now through March 17, which this year focuses on Iranian-French author Marjane Satrapi's two-volume comic-book memoir, Persepolis.

One Book features eight weeks of readings, lectures, workshops, and film screenings that will explore not only Satrapi's work, but also aspects of Iranian culture and the genre of the graphic novel.

Other programs will consider the image of Iran in the media; the role of women in Iran; the psychology of the Iranian people; and traditional and contemporary Persian literature.

"We thought that Kinzer's book was a great way to start a discussion about Iranian politics and history," says One Book progra... >>>