Mousavi emerges as political rock star

By ROBERT H. REID

Associated Press Writer

updated 8:32 p.m. ET June 18, 2009

He's gone from colorless insider to political rock star — a graying, bearded veteran of the Islamic regime who now stands at the forefront of a youth-driven movement fighting for change.

Despite his newfound fame, Mir Hossein Mousavi still works out of his old office at the Iranian Art Academy and lives in the same unassuming brick home in a middle-class district of Tehran as before, according to an aide.

Only now, he travels with armed guards provided by the very government he is challenging.

When he appears in public, such as at an opposition rally Thursday in Tehran, crowds surge around his car, chanting his name, according to witnesses in the Iranian capital.

It's unclear what has propelled this calm, deliberate architect and artist — who twice refused to seek the presidency — into a confrontation with the ruling establishment of which he was once a part.

Nor is it clear how Mousavi will respond if the opposition movement transforms from a campaign against alleged fraud in the June 12 election into a major challenge against the core values of the Islamic Republic — that senior clerics have the final say on major issues.

Even during the election campaign, Mousavi was less critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than another challenger, former parliament speaker Mahdi Karroubi, who received only a fraction of the vote.

Wife is the firebrand
Associates say the real firebrand in the Mousavi family is his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, a prominent professor who campaigned by his side.

For years, he remained out of the political limelight, painting pictures — mostly with religious themes — and designing buildings, including two universities, a mosque, a museum and a shopping center.

Nevertheless, a 67-year-old figure nearly devoid of personal charisma has become the champion of a generation inspired by the hope of change, organizing protests with technologies such as mobile phones and Internet that didn't exist when their parents overthrew the U.S.-backed shah in 1979.

In his new role, Mousavi has displayed a common touch — something Ahmadinejad has also sought to portray in an effort to identify with millions of impoverished Iranians.

On Thursday, crowds cheered as Mousavi, dressed in a black coat and trousers, climbed on top of his SUV, addressing his followers through a loudspeaker rather than mounting a stage.

Maintains old routine
Although a number of his followers have been arrested, aides insist Mousavi himself has maintained his old routine, even as his challenge to the powerful clerical establishment is growing.

"Mousavi goes to his regular job as the head of Iran's Art Academy and lives with his family in the same place he lived before the election," said Qorban Behzadian Nejad, head of his campaign headquarters.

"At the same time he pursues his activities for nullification of the election."

Much of Mousavi's appeal among Iranians eager for change probably stems simply from the fact that he is not Ahmadinejad, a hard-liner who has failed to deliver on economic promises and who seems to relish provocative statements — from calling protesters "dust" to denying the Holocaust — that stir controversy at home and abroad.

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