Iran Hard-Liners Lose Gambit in Parliament
Iran’s liberal minister of culture on Saturday survived a no-confidence motion in parliament, an embarrassing defeat for hard-liners seeking to roll back President Mohammad Khatami’s democratic reform efforts.
Deputies voted, 135 to 121, to reject the move to impeach Ataollah Mohajerani after his eloquent defense of greater pluralism within Iran’s Islamic system.
Earlier, Mohajerani, a driving force behind Khatami’s cultural reforms and author of several acclaimed books, won over lawmakers with a broad command of Persian and Arabic verse, including references to the Koran, in defense of fewer restrictions on creative work.
Mohajerani had been accused of helping to promote a culture of “corruption and prostitution” through books, the press, theater and films.
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