dowla

My captors were burly and wore leather jackets – up close I could see they were amin dowla, plainclothes officers from Egypt's notorious state security service.

Bloody and bruised: the journalist caught in Egypt unrest 2011

So words by presidential Chief of Staff Mashaei ring true for many Iranians: "Iran needs to remove the mullahs from power once for all and return to a great civilization without the Arab-style clerics who have tainted and destroyed the country for the past 31 years" because in Iran "din [religion] should be distinct from dowla [state]," and "those who do not value science and culture will never see heaven."

Jamsheed K. Choksy: Shiism, Nationalism, and the Past Clash in Modern Iran Jamsheed K. Choksy 2010

So words by presidential Chief of Staff Mashaei ring true for many Iranians: "Iran needs to remove the mullahs from power once for all and return to a great civilization without the Arab-style clerics who have tainted and destroyed the country for the past 31 years" because in Iran "din [religion] should be distinct from dowla [state]," and "those who do not value science and culture will never see heaven."

Jamsheed K. Choksy: Shiism, Nationalism, and the Past Clash in Modern Iran Jamsheed K. Choksy 2010

So words by presidential Chief of Staff Mashaei ring true for many Iranians: "Iran needs to remove the mullahs from power once for all and return to a great civilization without the Arab-style clerics who have tainted and destroyed the country for the past 31 years" because in Iran "din [religion] should be distinct from dowla [state]," and "those who do not value science and culture will never see heaven."

Jamsheed K. Choksy: Shiism, Nationalism, and the Past Clash in Modern Iran Jamsheed K. Choksy 2010

So words by presidential Chief of Staff Mashaei ring true for many Iranians: "Iran needs to remove the mullahs from power once for all and return to a great civilization without the Arab-style clerics who have tainted and destroyed the country for the past 31 years" because in Iran "din [religion] should be distinct from dowla [state]," and "those who do not value science and culture will never see heaven."

Jamsheed K. Choksy: Shiism, Nationalism, and the Past Clash in Modern Iran Jamsheed K. Choksy 2010

The men were burly and wore leather jackets - up close I could see they were amin dowla, plain-clothes officers from Egypt's notorious state security service.

The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com The Huffington Post News Editors 2011

The men were burly and wore leather jackets - up close I could see they were amin dowla, plain-clothes officers from Egypt's notorious state security service.

The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com The Huffington Post News Editors 2011

The men were burly and wore leather jackets - up close I could see they were amin dowla, plain-clothes officers from Egypt's notorious state security service.

The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com The Huffington Post News Editors 2011

The men were burly and wore leather jackets - up close I could see they were amin dowla, plain-clothes officers from Egypt's notorious state security service.

The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com The Huffington Post News Editors 2011

The men were burly and wore leather jackets - up close I could see they were amin dowla, plain-clothes officers from Egypt's notorious state security service.

The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com The Huffington Post News Editors 2011