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To: koan who wrote (9936)	4/29/2006 2:39:21 PM
From: LoneClone	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 78417

Koan Yes, there are divisions between the generations in Iran, but you are missing the most important division. On the one hand, there are the uneducated rural religious masses who voted for Ahmedinejad on the orders of the mullahs who largely control their lives, and on the other, the urban educated folks who are mostly non-religious. This latter group forms the support base for the progressives whose success in elections over the past decade caused the mullahs to choose Ahmedinejad as a charismatic candidate who could win an election against the progressive candidate. IMO he is no madman as protrayed in the popular media, just a canny religious zealot. Now many of those same mullahs who brought Ahmedinejad to power are quaking in their boots at the monster they have unleashed. They had hoped he would keep his mouth shut about his millennarian beliefs once he had tasted power, but they underestimated his zealotry and thirst for power. Ahmedinejad is a close analogue to Pat Robertson in the US, with the major difference being Robertson never got elected. The Seventh Imam, whose descent to earth Ahmedinejad's sect is waiting for as a signal of the end times, is the exact same personage as the Second Coming of Christ for millennarian Christians like Robertson (and the First Coming for Jews, for that matter). The way to reign in Ahmedinejad and his ilk is to support the secular progressive movement that opposes them, not to undermine them and turn what could be allies into enemies by attacking Iran. And to correct you, urban Iranis are as civilized as anyone anywhere in the world. To give one small example, a remarkable proportion of the most influential art films made over the last two decades have come from Iran, and directors like Abbas Kiarostami and Mohsan Makmalbef are counted among the giants of world cinema. (Apologies for any mispelling of Farsi names -- I'm writing this from memory.) LC