by Thomas Erdbrink
Those close to Mousavi, who is also an architect, describe a worldly intellectual who is not hungry for power but who thinks that Iran's bad economy and international isolation require him to try to effect change. Others, however, accuse Mousavi of having played a pivotal role in the purging of pro-Western professors and students in the first years of the Islamic revolution.
But most Iranians say that Mousavi, like many of the founders of the Islamic republic, has changed. They say the dogmatic hothead who wanted to spread the Islamic revolution around the world has become a pragmatic politician who firmly believes in Islamic governance but also has called for greater freedoms and civil rights protections.
“One of my slogans is 'freedom from fear,' ” Mousavi said recently on state television. ” 'Fear' does not have only a physical meaning, rather, peace of mind should be created in the society.”
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Yet it is not his plans for Iran's future that draw people into the streets to campaign for him.
“Mousavi is so popular because many people dislike Ahmadinejad's policies,” said Majid Hoseini, a political analyst in Tehran. “He doesn't have any charisma. It's the worries in the society that will get him votes.”
Years as a Hard-Liner
On a recent day, Mousavi's son-in-law Mahdi Makinejad strolled through the new Iranian Academy of the Arts building, which Mousavi designed. He stopped by a traditional closed courtyard, purposely made accessible to the public from the busy street it faces, and pointed at marble columns decorated with calligraphy, writings from Iran's pre-Islamic and Islamic years.
“He feels that all should be represented in Iran and all should have a place,” said Makinejad, an artist who specializes in ceramics and glass.
via A Relative Unknown Leads Election Challenge to Iran’s Ahmadinejad – washingtonpost.com.
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