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Few Things Are as They Seem in Tehran

[AP/Washington Post] George Jahn - It's Friday, the Muslim holy day, and thousands of Iran's faithful are again gathering at Tehran University's main campus for what has become a weekly ritual. "America is the greatest Satan of them all!" the black-bearded speaker howls. "Down with the U.S.!" comes the response, first from a few, then from the full gathering. The voices are thunderous, but the faces are curiously emotionless. The expressionless faces offer a clue - this is a regular staged performance, a message from the official Iran. Yet the chatter in Tehran of a myriad of other voices is startling in its defiance of the party line and threatens to drown out the government message of strict Islamic piety and distrust of the West. Iran's leaders have been more enthusiastic than ever in preaching hatred of America. Yet at the same time, and in reaction, a more reform-minded public has become contemptuous of the mullahs and clerics, bending when it has to and doing what it wants otherwise.
2008-09-01 01:00:00
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