Using Religion to Lecture Bush

Iranian Letter: Using Religion to Lecture Bush - New York Times: "The letter was framed entirely in religious terms but also laid out a populist manifesto of anti-Americanism, offering illustrations of what has won the Iranian a following among many ordinary people throughout the Middle East. He presented himself as the defender not only of Muslims but of all oppressed people, including those in Africa and Latin America.

But his primary focus was on religious principles central to Shiite Islam, specifically the concept of a just ruler and the fight against oppression. With a respectful, if superior, tone, he used a question and answer style to present a case for American hypocrisy.

Since he was elected last June, the Iranian has promised to return to the principles of the revolution, and his letter echoed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who wrote to Mikhail S. Gorbachev in September 1989 that Communism was dead, and then invited him to study Islam."