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Wm. Scott Harrop, a long time assistant to R.K. Ramazani, is a recent Jefferson Fellow at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. He was present there when President Khatami visited on September 11, 2006.
Whether or not Muhammad Khatami decides to run again for President of Iran, his prominent legacy symbolizes an ongoing fertile debate inside Iran about political reform and adaptation. For Khatami, democracy and dialogue remain the essential path for Islamic Republic, a bridge between civilizations, a solid course for Iran to the future.
Observers, including this author, often emphasize apparent Iranian paradoxes to alert outsiders to Iran’s vibrant and dynamic society, beyond the static, enigmatic “black” clichés so commonly clung to in popular Western discourse.
