In Iran, unlike in any other Middle Eastern country save perhaps Egypt, those ideas are debated passionately, sometimes violently. When a group of writers, mostly secular and leftist, recently began speaking out vocally about the idea of freedom of expression--anathema to conservatives--three of them were found dead. In all, five dissidents were killed in a frightening period of assassinations late last year, the memory of which still chills Iranian writers and intellectuals.

A firestorm of protests ensued, intensifying when it became clear that hard-line Ministry of Information/Intelligence agents were involved in the killings. The minister, a staunch conservative, was forced to resign amid the controversy, and the agents were taken into custody. Although it may offer little solace to the families of the writers and dissidents who were fatally silenced, many analysts see a glimmer of hope in the admission of guilt and the resignation of the minister. "This is unprecedented in Iranian history for a government agency to admit killing citizens and to face punishment for it," said Shirzad Bozorgmehr, editor of the English-language Iran News daily. "This served notice on the foot soldiers of the right that they can no longer act with total immunity, and this strengthened Khatami."

Political analysts also point to the late-February nationwide municipal elections, which were won overwhelmingly by pro-Khatami candidates, as another important victory for the president. Khatami, the student of Mill, is also a student of Tip O'Neill. He knows, like the late House Speaker, that all politics is local, and he has used his presidential power to replace all provincial governors with his supporters and to institute municipal elections that would devolve some power from the federal to the local level. "These are the tools at Khatami's disposal," Bozorgmehr said. "He needs to build a bureaucratic power base, and the only way he can do it is by strengthening himself in the provinces in the hope of preparing for the next parliamentary elections." The Parliament has effectively blocked many of Khatami's reforms. There is one major obstacle to a pro-Khatami sweep of next year's parliamentary elections: the Guardian Council, an influential conservative body that has the power to vet candidates, which it regularly does to the detriment of liberals and moderates.

To be sure, Iran's conservatives are not a monolithic force, nor are Khatami's moderate supporters. A handful of conservatives have embraced Khatami's reform ideas, while some moderate political supporters of Khatami radically differ with the president on many issues--including the theocratic underpinnings of the state, which some Khatami supporters challenge. It would be a mistake to view Iran solely through the prism of the conservative-moderate struggle for power, despite the fact that this tends to dominate both local and international press coverage and constitutes a very real battle. A better paradigm would be to view the struggle in Iran as one of freedom versus repression--Khatami's ideas of civil society and freedom of expression versus traditionalist views of patriarchy, hierarchy and authoritarianism. Within the context of this struggle, many of those who favor the latter are in positions of immense power and thus are able to halt Khatami's reforms and the dissemination of his ideas.

While the political odds may be stacked against Khatami, Iran's youth remain optimistic. "Khatami is our only hope," said Nilufar, a female nursing student from the eastern city of Mashad. "We must support him fully. We must build a civil society. There must be government accountability and an end to monopolistic practices. Freedom is paramount. We are ready to fight for these beliefs. This is all we have now." Nilufar uses language that Khatami has made familiar, a language that instills fear in the minds of conservatives, who view greater freedom and more open political participation as threats to their power.

A young political science graduate, Hamid, put it nicely: "Many in the West see this battle between conservatives and moderates as a struggle for the soul of Iran. But they are mistaken. The soul of Iran belongs firmly to Khatami and the moderates." Said Hamid, a secretary in the office of an important Iranian official, "We are merely witnessing a struggle for temporal political power. The conservatives may be able to hang on for a few more years with desperate acts, but the May 23 revolution [the date of Khatami's election] is irreversible."

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