The beginnings of popular dissent in Iran?

Here's a story that has received very little attention in the Western media, but which might be a sign of growing trouble for the regime in Iran.

The earlier story from the Iranian media: Tehran Police Clash With Supporters Of Outspoken Cleric

Hat tip to Ianism! The Sequel for the original heads-up.

Gleanings from the blogosphere, Oct. 2

Armstrong Williams at Town Hall is lamenting the dangers of a culture obsessed with celebrity and entertainment.

It is only when we as a nation recognize that every pre-eminent nation that succeeded us fell when they became enamored with sports, entertainment, and thus became consumed with lifestyles of the rich and famous. We must recognize that we can learn quickly from their mistakes and misplaced values so that we can avoid the same decline.

Unlike most commentators, he doesn't wallow in gloom and doom though; he sings the praises of a program designed to point children toward academic excellence - the Carson Scholarship program. Hat tip to Booker Rising.


Cicero at Winds of Change, shares a bleak and realistic assessment of America's options in a new world of nuclear proliferation. Nonetheless, he seems some small cause for hope. The preamble is a bit lengthy; skip the first four paragraphs if you're not in a leisurely mood.


On a more optimistic note, the Strategy Page outlines the reasons to believe that Al-Qaeda's influence and strength are waning.


Technorati tags: Al-Qaeda

More on Jahanbegloo

The Globe and Mail had a front-page article on Jahanbegloo's release today, speculating on the reasons for his release and debunking Iran's case against him.

Several reasons have been cited for his release, reportedly on bail (the Canadian government would not confirm that yesterday). Those reasons include pressure from the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, diligent work by Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and a purported confession from Mr. Jahanbegloo. The UN Security Council's deadline for Iran to suspend its nuclear program is today; Iran was not expected to comply. It may have seen the release as a helpful diversion.

But nothing obscures the fact that Mr. Jahanbegloo was treated as a threat to national security for trying to build a simple academic centre to which he could invite speakers from the West. These speakers were not demagogues urging Iranians to overthrow the Islamic government. They were philosophers and historians esteemed in the upper reaches of academia, but virtually unknown by the general public -- people such as Leszek Kolakowski, a historian of philosophy from Poland. Mr. Jahanbegloo was deemed a dangerous man because he acted as if intellectual inquiry had a secure place in Iran.

Consider Iran's accusations. At first it said Mr. Jahanbegloo was a spy for the United States. Then it said he was in league with U.S. attempts to bring about regime change. (No formal charges were ever laid.)

"One could say that Ramin's commitment to a civil society through a dialogue of civilizations is part of what one may call a Velvet Revolution," his friend Mohamad Tavakoli, who teaches at the University of Toronto, said yesterday. "But the way the Iranian government and the conservative media have been presenting it, it's a new American-style coup."

For instance, he said, part of the case against Mr. Jahanbegloo is that he had a Woodrow Wilson fellowship, which Prof. Tavakoli described as "every academic's dream" -- and enough for Iranian authorities to deem him in league with the United States. "This is silly," Prof. Tavakoli said. "They take a fact that has some sort of reality and turn it around and bastardize it.'"

Technorati tags: Jahanbegloo