The columnist Roger Cohen discusses his recent reporting trip to Iran.

opinion Videolink New York Times
Roger Cohen on Iran
Jigar Mehta Published:
The columnist Roger Cohen discusses his recent reporting trip to Iran.
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/06/25/opinion/1194841179757/roger-cohen-on-iran.html

Teargas fired on streets of Tehran

Teargas fired on streets of Tehran
(00:38) Rough Cut Reuters Video

Jun. 20 - Riot police try to disperse protesters in the Iranian capital, Tehran, as the protestors defy a ban on demonstrations.

Two separate posts on YouTube show protesters throwing stones and chanting. Witnesses said the protesters numbered 2,000 to 3,000, far fewer than the hundreds of thousands involved in earlier rallies.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Iran’s Tensions, Foreshadowed in Its Cinema

Film
Iran’s Tensions, Foreshadowed in Its Cinema (NYT Permalink)
By A. O. SCOTT Published: June 20, 2009
From the early 1990s until the middle of this decade, Iran’s historically rich movie culture entered a remarkable period of rejuvenation.

Iranian bloggers upload clash video

Iranian bloggers upload clash video
(00:52) Rough Cut Reuters

Jun 17 - Iranians have been using the Internet to distribute amateur video of post-election unrest.

This amateur video posted on Wednesday (June 17) purports to show members of the Basij militia firing at a crowd of demonstrators from the roof of their building on Monday (June 15).

Iranian state media says seven people were killed during the vast opposition protest in central Tehran.

On Wednesday it appeared that supporters of Iran's defeated presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi were aiming to keep up the pressure with new protests. They dispute a poll in which hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was officially declared to have won a resounding victory.

# PLEASE NOTE: Reuters coverage is now subject to an Iranian ban on foreign media leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

TEHRAN -- Pro-government and opposition demonstrators poured into the streets of Iran's capital Tuesday for a fourth day of sometimes-violent rallies

TEHRAN -- Pro-government and opposition demonstrators poured into the streets of Iran's capital Tuesday for a fourth day of sometimes-violent rallies, as the country's religious leaders agreed to a partial recount of Friday's disputed presidential vote.

(Source Wall Street Journal)
Amid the unrest, and more shooting by government-backed militia, authorities arrested prominent opposition leaders and clamped down on media covering the crisis. The demonstrations came hours after state media reported the top religious oversight council would examine Friday's vote, which saw President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad trounce opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and two other challengers

Protests Flare in Tehran as Opposition Disputes Vote

International / Middle East
Protests Flare in Tehran as Opposition Disputes Vote (New York Times Permalink)
By ROBERT F. WORTH and NAZILA FATHI Published: June 14, 2009
The streets of Iran’s capital erupted in the most intense protests in a decade as riot police officers clashed with demonstrators who accused Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of stealing the election.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/world/middleeast/14iran.html

Election clashes erupt in Iran

Election clashes erupt in Iran
(02:21) Report Reuters Video

Jun. 13 - In Tehran thousands of Mousavi supporters protest over the election result.
Hayley Platt reports.

Ahmadinejad unleashes new tirade against rivals

Ahmadinejad unleashes new tirade against rivals

Wednesday 10 June 2009
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has lashed out at rival candidates in an increasingly testy campaign ahead of presidential elections on Friday. Former Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousavi, a reformist, is seen as Ahmadinejad's main challenger.
http://www.france24.com/en/20090610-iran-presidential-election-rafsanjani-slams-ahmedinejad-slur-campaign-mousavi

Iran's unfinished revolution

Friday 03 April 2009
(Source France24)
Iranians flocked en masse to celebrate thirty years since the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the Shah's regime. But unlike their elders, some young Iranians seized on the occasion to go for a hike, taking their hookah pipe with them.
Iran. The name invokes countless images of a country that is stubborn, Islamic, revolutionary, isolated; but also proud, educated, modern and dynamic. The true face of modern-day Iran eludes most Westerners. FRANCE 24's Sophie Claudet and Alexandra Renard report from a country of a thousand and one contradictions.
Thirty years ago, in February 1979, in the full glare of the world's media, the Ayatolla Khomeini flew back from exile in France, and overthrew Iran's Western-backed Shah.
Iran's shift from monarchic to religious leadership was sudden, violent, and irrevocable. And this year's anniversary celebrations for the revolution have been intense.
Like every year, tens of thousands of Iranians gathered to commemorate the anniversary by singing revolutionary songs. Businesses and schools are shut, and many families make it a day out.
The father of the revolution, the Ayatollah Khomeini, is still celebrated as a hero, and the popular slogans “Down with Israel, down with the USA” are still on the crowd’s lips, even while President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that "the Iranian nation is ready for talks [with Washington], based on mutual respect."
People who have gathered to celebrate the revolution’s anniversary seem less concerned with their president’s current diplomatic efforts, than with honouring the past.
http://www.france24.com/en/20090403-iran-unfinished-islamic-revolution-youth-reporters-anniversary-30-years

Islamic Greenwashing. Why is the color green so important in the Muslim world?

Islamic Greenwashing. Why is the color green so important in the Muslim world?

(Source Slate Magazine)
The main rival of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the Iranian elections, Mir Hossain Mousavi, has adopted green as his signature color. The flags of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian group Hamas also include the color. Why is green so prevalent in the Muslim world?
Because it was supposedly Mohammed's favorite color. The Islamic prophet is said to have worn a green cloak and turban, and his writings are full of references to the color. A passage from the Quran describes paradise as a place where people "will wear green garments of fine silk." One hadith, or teaching, says, "When Allah's Apostle died, he was covered with a Hibra Burd," which is a green square garment. As a result, you'll see green used to color the binding of Qurans, the domes of mosques, and, yes, campaign materials.

Green has other properties, too, that make it a natural fit for Islam and the Middle East. It's a symbol of nature and life—especially potent in the dry desert. Mohammed invoked this connection when he wrote about a folkloric figure called al-Khidr, or "the Green One," who symbolizes immortality. (Al-Khidr may have been an inspiration for the Arthurian character of the Green Knight, who in one story is described as worshipping Mohammed.) At least one commentator has speculated that because green is in the middle of the color spectrum and Mohammed preached moderation, one complements the other. (The Quran describes the Muslim community as "the midmost nation.")
Green comes up a lot in Islamic history. It was the color of the flag of the Fatimid Caliphate, the last of the four Arab caliphates. During the crusades, Islamic soldiers wore green to identify themselves. (Likewise, crusaders avoided green in their coats of arms, just to be safe from friendly fire.) Some say the banner under which Mohammed fought in the war on Mecca was green with golden trimming. (The flag is currently locked away in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey—we don't really know what color it is.) For centuries in Persia, only descendants of Mohammed, known as the Sayyids, were allowed to wear green turbans—anyone else would be punished for it. Green was also favored by the Ottoman Empire, which after the Tanzimat reforms of the mid-19th century dyed its secular flags red and its religious flags green. More recently, the color has become associated with Hamas, which sports a bright green flag.
http://www.slate.com/id/2220136/

Obama's Message to the Muslim World

Obama's Message to the Muslim World
6/4/2009

President Obama delivers a speech the White House hopes will change the relationship between the U.S. and the Muslim world. He speaks to a large audience gathered at Cairo University in Egypt. Video courtesy of Fox News.

Report Spotlights Iraq Rebuilding Blunders (New York Times)

International / Middle East (New York Times Permalink)
Report Spotlights Iraq Rebuilding Blunders
By JAMES GLANZ and T. CHRISTIAN MILLER Published: December 14, 2008
An unpublished federal history of the U.S.-led reconstruction of Iraq depicts the effort as crippled by poor planning, waste and deception, leading to a $100 billion failure.