The mind of a mullah

Wow, what a piece of racist tripe

One big early mistake: Khamane'i was NOT appointed by Khomeini. And THAT is very important. Khomeini appointed no one. The Assembly of Experts, in a compromise, chose Khamane'i, but since he had little to none of the charisma or qualifications of the founder of the Islamic Republic, he was elevated overnight into an "ayatollah" and a "faghigh" (a much higher ranking cleric) by that Assembly (akin to the British parliament elevating a priest to an Archbishop overnight; they can't do that, it's not in their power), and then bestowed the Leadership in him. Some people even came forth with testimonies of "Seeing a light go from Khomeini upon his death bed to Khamene'i," supposedly indicating Divine transfer of authority.

And your generalization of Islam is horrific, bigoted, and ignorant. Shame.

P.s. I am NOT a Muslim, but a Baha'i, and was raised in Iran.

"Islam in general is a very joyless religion: Life is miserable, prepare to die and go to heaven. The kids aren’t into that. Culturally it’s a complete disjunction."

I'm a Jew and find this statement to be an unthoughtful characterization - did it really help your story? Plus, you are missing the point. The younger population in protesting in the streets have been very careful en masse and during individual interviews to make sure this isn't about Islam, but about democracy and self-determination. This young group may be the first generation to strike a balance between joy and respect in their Islamic life and an openness to other cultures. They want it all, and I, for one, hope they get it.

Wow, please find an actual expert on Iran next time. The number of errors in this article is astounding. Khamene'i, for example, *did* have religious credentials - they just weren't at the level required by the Constitution (so they both promoted him and rewrote it to lower the qualification level). Also, "leader" (not "the leader") is the term for Khamene'i's position; "Supreme Leader" is the English term for it. It has always been simply "leader" (rahbar in Farsi). Some also call him "Faqih," as his position is to be the Vali-ye Faqih, or Guardian Jurist. Furthermore, while the Iranians are indeed a bit conspiracy-minded, they are far more focused on US (also British) interference with the 1953 overthrow of Mossadeq rather than the 1979 revolution. The depiction of Islam is also incorrect, and I most definitely qualify as an infidel! This article as it is should be removed.