Reza Aslan: The Supreme Leader Blew It

Iran's Supreme Revolutionary

by Reza Aslan


By inexplicably inserting himself into the election controversy, Ayatollah Khamenei is destroying his reputation and tainting himself with an aura of corruption, Reza Aslan writes. Worse, he’s unwittingly turning a protest into a revolution.


The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader and the country’s most powerful man, has unwittingly transformed a protest into a revolution.

“If there is any bloodshed, leaders of the protests will be held directly responsible,” he warned Friday, in an attempt to put an end to accusations of voter fraud in the presidential election that returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power. “The Islamic republic would not cheat and would not betray the vote of the people.”

In throwing down the gauntlet to the protesters, Khamenei spoke with the confidence of a man who believes his is the final word on all matters legal and religious. In his speech he even implied that questioning his decision on the matter would be tantamount to questioning the authority of the Prophet Muhammad.

But what Khamenei seems not to recognize is that the uprising in Iran is no longer about a disputed election. It is about his own legitimacy as Iran’s supreme leader. It is about the very notion of clerical rule. It is, ultimately, about the future of the Islamic republic.

more...

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-06-22/irans-supreme-revolutionary/full/

but the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looked visibly shaken when he made that statement.

A man trying to convince himself of the truth of his own words...

I think he is an honest man, caught in a dishonest situation.

I hope he survives.

a dictator, of the worst kind to survive?

I don't like people to die?

:shrug:

I would wish that on very few people

But he does have to go (I mean as the Leader of the Country)

I just don't wish him to die for his mistakes.

gays, and other members of Iranian society who don't live up to his religious ideals? If so, I won't shed a single tear at his passing.

And forgive me if I stand apart.

I wonder if we had a handy dandy time machine, that allowed backwards travel. When an austrian corporal was recovering from a british- french mustard gas attack, what would have happened if someone created a slight medical mishap, so Adolph Hitler would not have grown to be the mass killer that he eventually became?

Khameni has ordered the deaths of hundreds, if not more, in the name of his religion. I view his religion the same way I view christianity - as death-causing, evil entities. If I could erase all religions, call me vengeful. But I think the world would be a better place for it.

So now expressing an intention to not mourn the passing of someone who has ruthlessly executed countless people who do not pass muster with his particular brand of religion is akin to "wallowing in vengeance"? Wow.

Someone went shopping at the hyperbole aisle at Costco and bought a whole buttload!

Thanks for the thread, babylonsister.:thumbsup:

"But what Khamenei seems not to recognize is that the uprising in Iran is no longer about a disputed election. It is about his own legitimacy as Iran’s supreme leader. It is about the very notion of clerical rule. It is, ultimately, about the future of the Islamic republic."


Simple and so true. They're sick of it and ready to move on.

It's hard for some I've encountered (NOT here at DU) to admit this is real. They can't wrap their mind around the fact that Iranians are doing this. I don't know why but they claim this is all controlled by US intel truly substitutes ability for desire. It relies on good old 'post hoc ergo propter hoc.'

Hopoe you're enjoying the summer!