TORONTO STAR: It is clear that Iran is going through its worst internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Less obvious but more significant is this: Islam is no longer the dividing line between the proponents and opponents of the theocratic regime in Tehran.
The trend has been in the making for a decade. But it has manifested itself clearly during the crisis roiling the country since the contested results of the June 12 presidential election. If the trend holds, it would constitute the biggest political, religious and social change in the history of the Islamic republic.
The new battle line divides those in the regime who continue cracking heads to hang onto power and those who, in varying degrees, want the rule of law, human rights, greater personal freedoms and an end to Iran's international isolation.
The latter include Islamists and non-Islamists alike, and those in the regime and not. They are led, for the most part, by women and the young in Iran and in the diaspora.
This was evident in Saturday's rallies in Toronto and more than 50 cities around the world calling for reforms in Iran, said Sima Zerehi, 31, editor of the English part of the Toronto Farsi weekly Shahrvand. >>> Haroon Siddiqui | Thursday, July 30, 2009
