Few Iranians have been celebrating the 24th anniversary of
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's Islamic revolution this month. It is easy to
understand why. A movement that once brought millions into the streets
demanding freedom from the shah's dictatorship has gone on to oppress its
young, disillusion its middle-aged veterans and silence even grand
ayatollahs who question its course.
Two recent events illustrate the growing isolation of the clerical
conservatives who retain real power in Iran. Earlier this month Tehran
newspapers reported that a leading reform strategist had been sentenced to
seven years in prison for publishing a poll showing three of four Iranians
favor talks with Washington. That same reformer, Abbas Abdi, was one of the
students who led the takeover of the American Embassy in Tehran in 1979.
Last month, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri was freed after five
years of house arrest for questioning the course taken by Iran since the
revolution. Ayatollah Montazeri, 80, was once Ayatollah Khomeini's closest
associate.
Mr. Abdi and Ayatollah Montazeri are personally responsible for some of the
harsh cruelty of the Islamic Republic's early years. Since then, each has
come to recognize the damage clerical dictatorship has done to Iran. Mr.
Abdi has courageously fought for reform for more than a decade. Ayatollah
Montazeri has been speaking out fearlessly since the late 1980's.
Mr. Abdi and Ayatollah Montazeri have substantial followings. But the
biggest threat to continued clerical dictatorship comes from young
Iranians. Most of Iran's 65 million people were born after the revolution.
For them the rule of the mullahs has meant stunted job and housing
prospects and furtive social lives. For now, they have lodged their hopes
in the presidency of Mohammad Khatami and its long-thwarted promises of
reform. The mullahs believe that by jailing people like Abbas Abdi they can
delay needed changes indefinitely. They are wrong.
