Turkeys religious political faction is not comparable to the Muslim Brotherhood, even in its "kindler-gentler" incarnation, but both countries seem to consist of educated, modern and religious populace caught between a secular junta and parochial mullahs. In that sense, the TV show is encouraging just because it has not sent anyone to a prison or hospital yet, as is Okashas ability to publicly endorse Israels right to exist, even if it generated widespread complaint. Such strongly negative and common reactions to even the perceived presence of Israelis is more worrisome.

I did not expect Iran to lead the world in percentage of female college students, for the same reason ending female enrollment in many classes is unsurprising. If the church wants women readmitted it will happen; otherwise, not. The difficulty of believing the change unsanctioned by the church makes reversal unlikely though. It looks like another educated, modern and religious people in the grips of strict and antiquated religious leaders, without the counterweight of a military or other secular force.

Your reference to Ahmadinejads "clash with the ayatollahs" indicates you have heard something I clearly have not, but if federal candidates still require ayatollah permission to even run I cannot imagine a clash of any significane possible. The only thing I recall on that score is Ahmadinejad naturally trying to maneuver free of subordination but the clerics successfully dismissing the attempt. Ahmadinejad is little more free than the rest of Iran, but sympathy and complicity with the religious heirarchy have brought him many privileges.

Outside China, no nation simultaneously evokes my fear and pity like Iran; I strongly sympathize with its people while realizing they are powerless to prevent their leaders starting WWIII. Chinas leaders are too rational to unleash apocalypse, but Ahmadinejad may not be. He may just be playing the radical to extort Western concessions, but one thing I recently learned about game theory is that rational actors pretending irrationality for such purposes often PROVOKE irrational decisions even when all actors are rational. Whether Iran is preparing for war is less relevant to preemptive strikes than Israel and the West BELIEVING war imminent (in fact, disagreement about that is at the heart of Israel and Americas attitudes toward Iran.) Meanwhile, the people of all involved nations remain at their leaders mercy.