Sublime

“Death to America!” they shouted, their chants a warning to the American embassy in Tehran that this revolution would not be hindered, no matter the cost. There was also on that day another, more singular contingent of demonstrators consisting mostly of bearded men and black-veiled women who marched through the streets shouting the names of the

Because of the unique status he had earned for himself, Selim was the only ruler capable of leading such a program of reform, the only Muslim monarch able to adapt the civilization and institutions of Islam to stand as universal principles of governance. His retooling of the court system for worldly rule represented one of the most monumental

When he broached the subject of Iran and the proposed coup, he found everyone supportive except Eisenhower. Ike told Eden he considered Mossadegh “the only hope for the West in Iran,” and was greatly concerned about the possibility of a Communist takeover if Mossadegh fell.

But on that February morning, no one was calling Khomeini the Faqih, “the Jurist”: the title he would eventually give himself as Supreme Leader of the newly formed Islamic Republic of Iran. At that time, Khomeini had yet to unveil his plans for absolute clerical rule. Rather, amid the chants of “God, Quran, Khomeini,” and the placards that declared

He made the man who had forcibly married her sign and seal a divorce decree before witnesses, and got Nader’s secretaries to write a raqam saying that the girl was to remain a Christian and should marry a Christian, and that the abductor should not be allowed to bring litigation over the case. Then he gave the girl and the raqam to the father, and