ABSTRACT
I DRIVE THROUGH THE NOISY STREETS of central Tehran at two in the morning. It's just days before the Iranian presidential election of 2009. Thousands of people jam the streets, honking horns and shouting slogans. Most wear green armbands and support reformist candidate Mir Hussain Mousavi. Smaller numbers wave banners favoring incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Most of the Mousavi supporters are economically well off. They drive new cars and wear designer sunglasses. Who else wears sunglasses at night? The young men wear polo shirts with designer labels. Many of the women have all but abandoned the hijab, wearing scarves barely covering their hair. 1
