"What effect must it have on a nation if it learns no foreign languages? Probably much the same as that which a total withdrawal from society has upon an individual." --G.C. Lichtenberg
Is Iran ready for democracy? Reza Ebrahimi thinks so. Although hardline conservative elements are still firmly in control of the government and armed forces, change is brewing among the country's 40 million young people. The nation that demonstrated Islamic fundamentalism for the first time as a viable political system and provided much of the inspiration for like-minded movements from Algeria to Indonesia may also be the source of its ultimate unraveling.
Paradoxically, one of the greatest fruits of the 1979 Revolution was the provocation of debates on political Islam and consequently Islam’s innate harboring of moral values that deny individualism. Seemingly, the progressive democratization of Iran is on the inevitable historical path of this country and its civilization. posted by David at 7/25/2002 10:44:00 AM ::
