Saturday July 25, 2009

I've Been Thinking:

This week's major Friday sermon in Teheran was delivered by The Ayatollah Sayid Mohammed Khatami.
Khatami, who was president of Iran from 1997-2005, took the opportunity to criticize Ahmadinejad and tell him that he should fire his 1st deputy vice president Rahim Mashaie.

Khatami made his point because The Supreme Leader, The Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, wants him to - and conformity to religious authority is a central part of Iranian politics.

It is important to know that before Mousavi became a serious presidential candidate, the chief reformist candidate was Khatami.
Khatami choose to step out of the running so as not to split the vote.
And now, once again, Khatami is in keeping in line with the party/political/religious line, adhering to the political and religious authority of The Supreme Leader.
That is the way things are in Iran.

It is interesting and perhaps even ironic to note that Ahmadinejad is trying to carve out some independence for himself and for his position. We saw some of this toward the end of his previous tenure.
Ahmadinejad is trying to create a political counter balance to The Supreme Leader.
But there is no place for that independence in Iranian politics and Ahmadinejad will soon be slapped back into place.

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah