I just saw this on cnn.com and it really surprised me --
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/23/iran.protest.faces/index.htmlA photo showing Iranian clerics prominently participating in an anti-government protest speaks volumes about the new face of Iran's opposition movement.
In a blatant act of defiance, a group of Mullahs took to the streets of Tehran, to protest election results that returned incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.
Whether these clerics voted for Ahmadinejad or one of the opposition candidates is unknown. What is important here, is the decision to march against the will of Iran's supreme leader who called the results final and declared demonstrations illegal.
In the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mullahs rule supreme. They are the country's conservative clerics; the guardians of the Islamic revolution and its ideologies. They're loyal only to God and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.>Where do you see this deviation? Iranian leadership are the most faithful shiites strictly clung to basic tenets of their religion. Supreme ayatolla has undisputed power in Iran in strict accordance with shiite belief that only Mohammed's descendants can rule the country.
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>>To my definition, no. In the world's definition, Iran is run by a religious oligarchy. I argue that once the basic tenets of a religion has been so deviated from, as I see in Iran's case, then the government no longer has that connection.
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>>And yes, crooked elections usually stem from the current regime trying to stay in power.
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>>>Do you say that current Iranian regime has no relation to religion? Would you agree, at least, that 'crooked elections' have some relations to the regime?
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>>>>Then a lot of 'Christians' are still kids. Advocating murder? Assigning blame for disasters to 'the un-Godly'? Still going on.
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>>>>Islam, like Christianity, IS a religion of peace. The problem comes when humans run off the face of the earth with their version of it. Besides, again, the base reason for the protesting is crooked elections. Religion has absolutely nothing to do with it, other than the political leaders just happen to be the religious leaders.
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>>>>>>But then there is that pesky roasting of Jacques DeMolay in front of the cathedral Notre Dame or Savanorola's Bonfire of the Vanities or Tomas de Torquemada or ...
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>>>>>Yes, seven hundred years ago, when we were kids? Chritianity was very brutal and disgusting in many of it's actions. Have you heard the latest? If you have a son daughter who was shot for demonstating, you have to buy the bullet that killed them in order to get the body back. The price? $3000.00 How disgusting.
