Why the Mullahs Are Vulnerable
What began as anger over a stolen election has grown into a revolt against Iran's system of Islamic government.
By CON COUGHLIN
WSJ
Six months after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hotly disputed election victory, the Green protest movement led by Mir Hossein Mousavi, the defeated candidate for the presidency, shows no sign of abating. As a result, the Iranian regime finds itself once more resorting to the tactics of repression it has relied on for more than 30 years. Eight people were killed in nationwide protests on Sunday, including Seyed Ali Mousavi, the nephew of Mr. Mousavi.
Yet rather than being quelled by the regime's brutal response—as happened during the antigovernment protests of 1999 and 2003—the protestors' resolve has been strengthened. In the past week, antigovernment protesters have seized on two highly significant events to show that, despite the regime's attempts to silence its critics, Mr. Mousavi's opposition movement has grown substantially since last June's disturbances.
First there was last week's funeral of Ayatollah Ali Hossein Montazeri, a vocal critic of the repressive regime established by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Mr. Montazeri, a close associate of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran's Islamic revolution, was a pivotal figure in establishing the Islamic Republic in 1979. He drafted the constitution that incorporated Khomeini's concept of Velayat-e Faqih (the guardianship of the jurist), which legitimized the ayatollahs' political authority.
But Mr. Montazeri, who for years had been Khomeini's heir apparent, was removed from the succession following a series of disagreements over policy, including the mass executions of political prisoners in late 1988. Consequently, Mr. Khamenei became Iran's spiritual leader upon Khomeini's death in 1989, and Mr. Montazeri was placed under house arrest at Qom, the traditional base of Iran's Shiite clergy.
(More here.)
By CON COUGHLIN
WSJ
Six months after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hotly disputed election victory, the Green protest movement led by Mir Hossein Mousavi, the defeated candidate for the presidency, shows no sign of abating. As a result, the Iranian regime finds itself once more resorting to the tactics of repression it has relied on for more than 30 years. Eight people were killed in nationwide protests on Sunday, including Seyed Ali Mousavi, the nephew of Mr. Mousavi.
Yet rather than being quelled by the regime's brutal response—as happened during the antigovernment protests of 1999 and 2003—the protestors' resolve has been strengthened. In the past week, antigovernment protesters have seized on two highly significant events to show that, despite the regime's attempts to silence its critics, Mr. Mousavi's opposition movement has grown substantially since last June's disturbances.
First there was last week's funeral of Ayatollah Ali Hossein Montazeri, a vocal critic of the repressive regime established by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Mr. Montazeri, a close associate of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran's Islamic revolution, was a pivotal figure in establishing the Islamic Republic in 1979. He drafted the constitution that incorporated Khomeini's concept of Velayat-e Faqih (the guardianship of the jurist), which legitimized the ayatollahs' political authority.
But Mr. Montazeri, who for years had been Khomeini's heir apparent, was removed from the succession following a series of disagreements over policy, including the mass executions of political prisoners in late 1988. Consequently, Mr. Khamenei became Iran's spiritual leader upon Khomeini's death in 1989, and Mr. Montazeri was placed under house arrest at Qom, the traditional base of Iran's Shiite clergy.
(More here.)
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