Article Source: CNN. Original Publication: July 1, 2009:
By Samira Simone
(CNN) — The chants, the clashes, the outrage, the blood — for more than two weeks, the world watched as the fallout from Iran’s presidential elections unraveled from peaceful demonstrations to government-led crackdowns on city streets.
Saying it has tallied the votes and investigated the complaints, Iran’s Islamic leadership considers the election that gave incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an overwhelming win “case closed.” And the massive protests that concentrated in Tehran are growing thinner in number.
Yet for the hundreds of thousands who spilled into the streets — demanding that their votes be counted, their voices be heard — the movement is far from over, experts say.
“This movement isn’t going away anytime soon, but it may not manifest itself as we’ve seen as of late,” said Trita Parsi, president of the Washington-based National Iranian American Council.
But how it will play out is up for debate, with some experts recalling the Islamic revolution that overtook Iran 30 years ago, while others liken the opposition players to the civil rights champions who rocked the United States.
“This is a movement that has swept across all dividing lines in Iranian society — both rich and poor, the merchants and the intellectuals, the young and old,” said Reza Aslan, author of the book “No God But God,” an analysis of Islam in politics and culture.