Under Khatami's orders, police used tear gas to disperse the crowds. The judicial authorities hinted they might press charges of treason against the cleric. The power of Islam is unquestionable in Iran. There are few mosques in Teheran and no prayer chants that call people to worship. But on Fridays at the University of Teheran, thousands participate in the long noon prayer that starts with lectures and continues with a namaz, a silent prayer which includes verses from the Koran.
Stores remain closed all day and Iranian TV broadcasts religious education programs.
Artists hope that they will be able to express themselves more freely under Khatami. Photographer Meryem Zandi has a studio in an affluent neighborhood in Teheran. She used to take the famous photographs of Ayatollah Khomeini when he was preaching from the small mosque in the southern part of the town. They would let me in. But after a year or so, when the revolution really picked up, we were allowed nowhere near him.