U2Bama said:
My point exactly; that is, I think it is a circular phenomenon that goes around the globe. We've been debating both sides of it here in the U.S. for decades.
But just a few years ago, it was "liberal," reform-minded students who supported Iran's previous leader, Khamenei, and he would have likely pushed for more openness in Iranian society had the hard-line clerics not retained so much sway.
What's different between the situation in Iran and what "many in America...believe" is that Ahmadinejad DOES have the power to personally purge dissident professors himself; but his strategy is to get the movement started by convincing the hardline students to start the process.
When you're referring to the leader that the Iranian reformists supported, I think you're referring to former President Mohammed Khatami.
However, both Khatami and current President Ahmadinejad are really a puppet for the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khameini. While Khatami would offer genuine, if only token resistance, no person in Iran can overrule the whims of Ayatollah Khameini.
Granted, Ahmadinejad is much more likely to agree with Khameini's stances from the onset. However, trying to negotiate with him is an exercise in futility. Khameini has all the power, and Iran's entire government is merely a smokescreen to give the illusion of a democracy.
The purging of liberal/secular/reformist professors is unsurprising. The hardliners pulled a virtual coup in the last "election," which just happened to disqualify all the reformist candidates (as Iran's closed loop of power has the right to dismiss candidates that they believe aren't "true Muslims"). Now they're merely purging the people they blame for creating the reformist movement in the first place.
Interesting, Ayatollah Khomeini, when interviewed once, actually believed that he had created a democratic "Islamic Republic." With that, he said that any true Muslim would overwhelmingly vote for a theocracy. When I hear that kind of reasoning, I'm often reminded of the rhetoric we hear from the leaders of Christian "family" organizations. I'm sure they'd love to have the power to dismiss all candidates that they didn't deem to be "true Christians."
Melon