WEBVTT
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[non-English narration]
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Karaj Cemetery, south of Tehran.
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This is the funeral of Mohammad
Mokhtari, a writer, a poet,
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who is murdered by the cronies of
the ministry of the information.
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We\'re in the Islamic Republic of Iran and
he is one of the many lay intellectuals
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who\'s throats have been slit or have been
strangled or stabbed in the name of Islam.
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[sil.]
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[music]
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In the heart of the Middle East,
at the foothills of Central Asia,
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Tehran, the capital of Iran, is a metropolis
of more than 10 million inhabitants.
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[music]
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[sil.]
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A Muslim country
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with a sheet culture, Iran is run by
religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
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who succeed the supreme
guide, the eye man Khamenei.
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[music]
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[music]
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[sil.]
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I came to Tehran in order to grasp the
meaning of revolution and its ideals,
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to delve into the daily life of
a society long considered to be
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the cradle of Islamic fundamentalism.
I wanted to discover this country
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that has been demonized by western powers and
that is once again prey to historical turmoil.
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[sil.]
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[non-English narration]
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In order to immerse myself
better into contemporary Iran,
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I decided to go back to the archives to become
informed on one of the last revolutions
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of the past millennium.
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[music]
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In those days, a corrupt despot
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who felt vested with the divine mission proclaimed
himself Shah of Shahs or King of Kings.
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[music]
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Sustained by their own faith,
the people took to the streets,
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prepared to pay dearly with their blood.
They were able to force the Shah into exile.
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[sil.]
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Revolution has its own martyrs. Young Islamists
who by the hundreds and the thousands
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sacrificed their lives.
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[sil.]
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Leading this revolution, Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei returned from exile
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and imposed himself as the supreme leader.
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[sil.]
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Thus the first Islamic
Republic of modern history
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put an end to the separation
of church and state.
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But today what is left of this revolution?
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[sil.]
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[non-English narration]
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[non-English narration]
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The young Bassid,
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our volunteer force organized as youth movement.
They\'re trained by the religious authorities
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and are mentor pulled
order, an Islamic morals.
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[sil.]
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An oasis of supervised freedom
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within the arts department of the university, boys
and girls can express a certain amount of creativity
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but always within set rules,
such as the wearing of the veil.
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[sil.]
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[sil.]
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[non-English narration]
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[sil.]
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[music]
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[sil.]
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The undisputed leader of the reformers,
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President Khatami has been twice been
elected by more than 70% of voters
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and enjoys an absolute
majority in parliament.
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[music]
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The President Khatami is however caught in a vice
between the yearning for change of the youth
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and the threat imposed on him by the religious conservatives,
determined to keep their power and privileges.
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[music]
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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
successor to Ali Khamenei
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as the Supreme Leader acts as the
safe guard to religious orthodoxy.
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More significantly, he is the true
bearer of political and military power.
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[sil.]
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Mohammed Khatami, the President,
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has only token powers. He does not
control the army, the police,
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the judicial system, or radio and
television. He remains under the tutelage
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under the religious authorities.
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[non-English narration]
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[non-English narration]
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At the University of Tehran
for several years now,
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students have been mobilizing to promote
the democratization of the regime
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but they keep running into the violent
reaction of extremist Islamic groups.
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[sil.]
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[sil.]
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[sil.]
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Without any real legitimacy
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and in spite of the presence of the
Forces of Order, the radical Islamists
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brutally arrested several students.
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[sil.]
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In order to suppress any opposition,
the Islamic militia do not hesitate
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to confront the student movement on University
grounds. They ransack, wound, or even kill.
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[sil.]
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This student revolt is the first expression
of violent opposition to the regime
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in 20 years of Islamic Republic history.
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Many students will be arrested and
sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
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[non-English narration]
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The university remains the
strong hold of opposition,
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even if meetings are becoming harder to organize and
attend, and if the various associations\' premises
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are declared off limits. But
it is hard to prevent students
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from meeting in the dorms.
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[non-English narration]
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[non-English narration]
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[music]
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On the initiative of the Guide
and under his moral authority,
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thousands of collective marriages take
place in all the Iranian Universities.
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[music]
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In Tehran, this ceremony takes place in the
banquet hall of the Ministry of the Interior.
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[music]
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[non-English narration]
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[non-English narration]
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[non-English narration]
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[sil.]
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Exceptionally, authorization
has been secured
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for a pop music concert. However,
although, seemingly common place,
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this cultural event is well supervised by
agents of the Ministry of the Interior,
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who stand ready to contain any disruption.
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[non-English narration]
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[music]
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[sil.]
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[sil.]
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Respecting Persian traditions,
but in love with modernity,
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marriages of the better half take place
in the Northern districts of Tehran.
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[non-English narration]
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[music]
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[music]
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[sil.]
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In the Northern Districts,
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a modernist and western (inaudible) experiments
with different ways of wearing the veil.
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And the few strands of visible hair are the
first indicators of the balance of power
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between tradition and modernity
at the heart of Iranian society.
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[sil.]
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[sil.]
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Friday, the day of prayer
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and introspection in the Muslim world, thousands
of youth climb into the Alborz Mountains
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that overlook the city of Tehran.
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[sil.]
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[music]
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[sil.]
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[non-English narration]
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[sil.]
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[music]
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[non-English narration]
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[sil.]
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[music]
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[music]
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[sil.]
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[sil.]
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[non-English narration]
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[non-English narration]
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[non-English narration]
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[non-English narration]
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[sil.]
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Set free after several months in prison, Mr.
Bastengar(ph) is a dedicated Muslim who have case
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to Islamic democracy. Very active during
the revolution, he was also in prison
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for many long years under the Shah.
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Ashura celebrates the martyrdom
and death of Imam hossein\'s,
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the Founder of Shia(ph) Islam.
It is a festival of mourning,
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promoted by the religious authorities
who constantly seek new martyrs
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prepared to sacrifice their lives in
the name of religious revolution.
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South of the town of Tehran is the
bastion of Islamic conservatives.
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Here everyone respects the rules,
morality, and religious practice.
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Every week, a different
family takes its turn
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in preparing to receive neighbors
for community prayers.
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[non-English narration]
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[music]
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[sil.]
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[music]
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A personal advisor to President Khatami,
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Said Hajarian, who is also a major
(inaudible) and favor of democratic reform
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was the victim of an assassination attempt.
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[music]
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[sil.]
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[sil.]
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[non-English narration]
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[sil.]
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[sil.]
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[sil.]
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[non-English narration]
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[sil.]
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[non-English narration]
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[sil.]
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[sil.]
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[non-English narration]
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[music]
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[music]