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	<title>Iran News Digest &#187; Islam and Reform</title>
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	<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com</link>
	<description>For a Democratic &#38; Pluralistic Iran</description>
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			<item>
		<title>The Power Lies in the Middle</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/03/25/the-power-lies-in-the-middle/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/03/25/the-power-lies-in-the-middle/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:17:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=20616</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[  
&#8220;Forces of Fortune&#8221;: Vali Nasr believes a prosperous Muslim middle class will bring stability and democracy to the Middle East.
Political scientist Vali Nasr is an advisor to US President Barack Obama and is viewed as one of the country&#8217;s leading specialists on Iran. In his view, recent reform movements in the Islamic world [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/03/25/the-power-lies-in-the-middle/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Is religious bigotry and intolerance hardwired into human beings?</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/03/14/is-religious-bigotry-and-intolerance-hardwired-into-human-beings/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/03/14/is-religious-bigotry-and-intolerance-hardwired-into-human-beings/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:48:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islamic Fundamentalism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=19798</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Huffington Post:  Texas Textbook MASSACRE: 
&#8216;Ultraconservatives&#8217; Approve Radical Changes To State Education Curriculum

Thomas Jefferson? Who&#8217;s that?










The Board removed Thomas Jefferson from the Texas curriculum's world history
standards on Enlightenment thinking, “replacing him with
religious right icon John Calvin.”
.
AUSTIN, Texas &#8211; A far-right faction of the Texas State Board of Education succeeded Friday in injecting conservative ideals into [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/03/14/is-religious-bigotry-and-intolerance-hardwired-into-human-beings/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Future of Islam</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/03/02/the-future-of-islam/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/03/02/the-future-of-islam/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:39:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=18850</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[President Barack Obama travelled to Cairo in June 2009 to promise a new beginning between the US and the Muslim world based on “mutual interest and mutual respect”. In The Future of Islam, John Esposito has written the handbook for this new age of engagement. Intolerant of the extremists bent on provoking a clash of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/03/02/the-future-of-islam/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Kadivar and Ganji Debate Islamic Doctrine</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/02/18/kadivar-and-ganji-debate-islamic-doctrine/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/02/18/kadivar-and-ganji-debate-islamic-doctrine/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:30:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=17829</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In an article published in Gooya News, a Farsi news site outside Iran, Akbar Ganji, an outspoken Iranian dissident, wrote an article in which he criticized Mohsen Kadivar, a Duke University professor and Iranian cleric, for his recent remarks at various public events in the United States.
Ganji, who spent several years in prison in Iran, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/02/18/kadivar-and-ganji-debate-islamic-doctrine/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Be Like Reagan</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/16/be-like-reagan/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/16/be-like-reagan/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:04:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=15678</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Iran is the new Eastern Europe during the last phase of the Cold War. Like Poland during the heady days of Solidarity in the early 1980s, the protestors in the streets of Iranian cities are not crazed ethnics demonstrating on behalf of some illiberal blood-and-soil nationalism, but enlightened, technologically savvy multitudes crying out for universal [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/16/be-like-reagan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Greening of Islam</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/13/the-greening-of-islam/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/13/the-greening-of-islam/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:20:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=15513</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[IND:  Another excellent piece by Dr. Milani.  This essay highlights a split within Shiism that could have profound positive ramifications.
The Green Movement is a revolt against theocracy. Most of its adherents are young Iranians with little or no religious motivation. Yet, an iconic figure of the revolt was the nation’s highest-ranking cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hussein [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/13/the-greening-of-islam/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Iran move to defrock dissident ayatollah opens rifts in theocracy</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/07/iran-move-to-defrock-dissident-ayatollah-opens-rifts-in-theocracy/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/07/iran-move-to-defrock-dissident-ayatollah-opens-rifts-in-theocracy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:09:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership Split]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=15121</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The decision to defrock a dissident ayatollah – widely considered to wear the mantle of spiritual leader of the opposition – has pried open conflicts within the Islamic Republic’s religious core.
The Qom Theological Lecturers Association, a regime-aligned grouping of clerics, mandated Saturday that Ayatollah Yusuf Sanei’s edicts are no longer religiously binding. The ruling was [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/07/iran-move-to-defrock-dissident-ayatollah-opens-rifts-in-theocracy/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Iranian Officials Close Opposition Ayatollah&#8217;s Mosque</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/04/iranian-officials-close-opposition-ayatollahs-mosque/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/04/iranian-officials-close-opposition-ayatollahs-mosque/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:02:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=14893</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Iranian authorities have locked the doors of a prominent mosque in the southern city of Shiraz that is the base of an opposition ayatollah, RFE/RL&#8217;s Radio Farda reports.
The closing of the mosque is apparently aimed at silencing Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Mohammad Dastgheib, who is based there.
Dastgheib is a prominent supporter of opposition leader Mir Hossein [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/04/iranian-officials-close-opposition-ayatollahs-mosque/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Five Expatriate Intellectuals Issue “The Demands of the Green Movement”l</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/04/five-expatriate-intellectuals-issue-%e2%80%9cthe-demands-of-the-green-movement%e2%80%9dl/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/04/five-expatriate-intellectuals-issue-%e2%80%9cthe-demands-of-the-green-movement%e2%80%9dl/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:25:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=14872</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[IND:  This is a positive step forward.  We need as much transparency as possible in order not to repeat the same mistakes as in 1979.  One glaring omission, though, is the absence of any reference to the two pillars of democracy: separation of powers and checks &#38; balances.  Sadly, Iran&#8217;s history is full of examples [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/04/five-expatriate-intellectuals-issue-%e2%80%9cthe-demands-of-the-green-movement%e2%80%9dl/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Statement by Five Religious Intellectuals</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/04/statement-by-five-religious-intellectuals/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/04/statement-by-five-religious-intellectuals/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:18:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=14847</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On Sunday, January 3, five important religious intellectuals issued a joint statement in which they declared their full support for the leaders of the Green Movement in Iran, and listed ten demands that they believe must be met in order to get the country out of deep crisis. The ten demands include the five that [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2010/01/04/statement-by-five-religious-intellectuals/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Iranians Want Regime Change</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/12/30/iranians-want-regime-change/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/12/30/iranians-want-regime-change/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Dec 2009 04:54:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[US Policy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=14574</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Even religious scholars who until recently did not openly defy the regime, have now joined the calls of the opposition. There is the well-respected Ayatollah Yussuf Sanai, for example, who was a friend of Khamenei, who went so far as to state that Khamenei&#8217;s continuing struggle for power is against Sharia law. There is Ayatollah [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/12/30/iranians-want-regime-change/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Kadivar: &#8216;I Am Convinced that the Regime Will Collapse&#8217;</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/12/26/kadivar-i-am-convinced-that-the-regime-will-collapse/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/12/26/kadivar-i-am-convinced-that-the-regime-will-collapse/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 26 Dec 2009 15:49:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Montazeri]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=14129</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In a SPIEGEL interview, Iranian Ayatollah Mohsen Kadivar, currently a visiting research professor at America&#8217;s Duke University, discusses the recent death of opposition leader Hossein Ali Montazeri, the frustrations Iranians have with their regime and the future of the green movement and the prospect of an escalation.
 
// 
//  
 
Kadivar: You are right [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/12/26/kadivar-i-am-convinced-that-the-regime-will-collapse/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Muslim televangelist takes his message to millions</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/12/17/muslim-televangelist-takes-his-message-to-millions/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/12/17/muslim-televangelist-takes-his-message-to-millions/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:01:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=13552</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[IND:  A very interesting piece.  After what&#8217;s happening in Iran, individuals like Mr. Khaled are critical in helping Islam embrace modernity.
Amr Khaled&#8217;s unique brand of Muslim preaching has made him one of the most popular preachers in the world.
Such is his appeal, he was recently named the 13th most influential person in the world by [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/12/17/muslim-televangelist-takes-his-message-to-millions/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>2009 is over. But is it history?</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/12/12/2009-is-over-but-is-it-history/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/12/12/2009-is-over-but-is-it-history/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:55:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=13270</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[IND:  This article focuses on important events in years 1959, 1969, 1979, 1989 and this year.  99 is absent and so are 49, 39, &#38; 29.  Although the writer is not certain what the significance of this year will be, we think 2009 is the year that history will judge that radical Islam got discredited [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/12/12/2009-is-over-but-is-it-history/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Latest Iran Protests Show a Resilient Opposition</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/12/08/latest-iran-protests-show-a-resilient-opposition/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/12/08/latest-iran-protests-show-a-resilient-opposition/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:03:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=12993</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The protest face of the movement is dominated by younger activists who are waging a wider civil disobedience campaign that includes dozens of less visible tactics, from commercial boycotts to wearing green en masse at televised sports events and graffitiing slogans on surfaces ranging from buses to banknotes.
&#8220;The Green Movement belongs to the youth,&#8221; says [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/12/08/latest-iran-protests-show-a-resilient-opposition/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Khatami:We are proud of defending freedom and free elections</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/11/26/khatamiwe-are-proud-of-defending-freedom-and-free-elections/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/11/26/khatamiwe-are-proud-of-defending-freedom-and-free-elections/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:06:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Khatami]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reformists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=12470</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Khatami, who was speaking for the members of central branch of the Islamic Society of Physicians, emphasized that one of the proud features of religions and particularly Islam is giving value to the dignity of human and said that in the reformists’ view of Islam and that of the Islamic Revolution, human deserve to determine [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/11/26/khatamiwe-are-proud-of-defending-freedom-and-free-elections/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Khamenei Will Be Iran&#8217;s Last Supreme Leader</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/11/19/khamenei-will-be-irans-last-supreme-leader/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/11/19/khamenei-will-be-irans-last-supreme-leader/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:41:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Khamenei]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[velayat-e faqih]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=12136</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[IND:  This is a fantastic article that highlights the moral bankruptcy of velayat-e faqih, and by extension the Islamic republic.  Well worth reading the whole article.
The clerical establishment has become so sick of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that they will not replace him when he dies.
A not-so-quiet debate is now brewing inside the seminaries [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/11/19/khamenei-will-be-irans-last-supreme-leader/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Mohsen Armin:“Religion and Freedom”</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/11/16/mohsen-armin%e2%80%9creligion-and-freedom%e2%80%9d/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/11/16/mohsen-armin%e2%80%9creligion-and-freedom%e2%80%9d/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:45:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reformists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=11972</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today (Nov 15th) Mohsen Armin, the spokesman for the Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution (reformist) gave a talk in the symposium of “Religion and Freedom” that was in the University of Tehran for the anniversary of the day celebrating the freedom of speech and expression.
In his speech Armin by pointing out that criticism is a form [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/11/16/mohsen-armin%e2%80%9creligion-and-freedom%e2%80%9d/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Khomeini&#8217;s spell over Iranian people has broken</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/11/09/11626/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/11/09/11626/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:29:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=11626</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;The seizure of the American embassy in Iran served as a pretext for the seizure of the Iranian state and economy by radical Islamists loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini. Under the cover of waging a holy war against the Great Satan, the hostage crisis allowed Khomeini and his allies on the left to stage a constitutional [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/11/09/11626/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The power behind the scene: Khoeiniha</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/30/the-power-behind-the-scene-khoeiniha/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/30/the-power-behind-the-scene-khoeiniha/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:01:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Leadership Split]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conservatives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reformists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=11225</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Divisions between Shia clerics existed from the beginning of the 1978-79 Revolution. But as a result of the rigged June 12 presidential election, those fissures have widened and grown too glaringly obvious to ignore. In addition to the long existing gulf between leftists and right-wing clerics, fissures now exist in the ranks of the conservative [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/30/the-power-behind-the-scene-khoeiniha/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>738</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tensions Between Turkey and the West Increase</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/28/tensions-between-turkey-and-the-west-increase/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/28/tensions-between-turkey-and-the-west-increase/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:20:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=11045</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[IND:  As Turkey may be turning more Islamic, Iran becomes all the more critical for promoting Islamic Enlightenment.  In Iran, Islamic fundamentalism is no longer a Utopian ideology.
With Turkey’s prospects for joining the European Union growing more elusive and the country reaching out to predominantly Muslim countries with a vigor not seen in years, a [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/28/tensions-between-turkey-and-the-west-increase/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Eyes on the Prize</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/25/eyes-on-the-prize/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/25/eyes-on-the-prize/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:58:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nuclear]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[US Policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=10889</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[IND:  Mr. Friedman is correct in saying &#8220;Change Afghanistan and you just change Afghanistan&#8221; but wrong in his confidence about Iraq&#8217;s regional influence.  We don&#8217;t understand how he keeps repeating the same delusional story about Iraq year after year, especially after having been so wrong about supporting the Iraq war in the first place.  Iraq [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/25/eyes-on-the-prize/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A tale of modern Iran: a young woman&#8217;s flight from her father</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/25/a-tale-of-modern-iran-a-young-womans-flight-from-her-father/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/25/a-tale-of-modern-iran-a-young-womans-flight-from-her-father/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:52:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership Split]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Civil Society]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green Movement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=10861</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[AS President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad&#8217;s chief advisor on media and the arts, Mahdi    Kalhor is famous for his diatribes against the pernicious influence of    Western &#8220;cultural saboteurs&#8221;.
Now, though, having railed against everything from the BBC to Hollywood, he is    grappling with a challenge from rather closer to [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/25/a-tale-of-modern-iran-a-young-womans-flight-from-her-father/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Faltering Islamic Leviathan</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/23/the-faltering-islamic-leviathan/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/23/the-faltering-islamic-leviathan/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:24:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=10727</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;But, like the early modern leviathan, the Islamic regime has never fully succeeded in regulating the inner lives of the faithful. Even before the post-election uprising, ordinary Iranians of faith had been seeking alternatives to the oppressive public cult. Some had turned, for example, to the Zoroastrianism of their forefathers. Others had sought transcendence in [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/23/the-faltering-islamic-leviathan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Societies don&#8217;t have to be secular to be modern</title>
		<link>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/22/societies-dont-have-to-be-secular-to-be-modern/</link>
		<comments>http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/2009/10/22/societies-dont-have-to-be-secular-to-be-modern/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:58:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Free Iran</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam and Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.IranNewsDigest.com/?p=10681</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[IND:  Excellent interview with Prof. Fukuyama, one of this writer&#8217;s  favorite authors.
Francis Fukuyama, author of &#8216;The End of History and the Last Man,&#8217; spoke with Global Viewpoint editor Nathan Gardels on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
The basic point – that liberal democracy is the final form of government – is still basically right. Obviously there are [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
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