Faith is never far in the Islamic Republic, declared to be a "Government of God" by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979. It is relentlessly on the minds and in the hearts of many Iranians, and can be felt from mosque to classroom to street corner.
Likewise faith is never far away in America, where the Declaration of Independence proclaims that all men are "endowed by their Creator" with unalienable rights, where Americans pledge allegiance to "one nation under God," and where every piece of currency is marked: "In God We Trust."
"In the US, having a system that thinks religiously is not bad.... I prefer people in the US who go to church," conservative editor Amir Mohebian once told the Monitor. "But war between these two people – who think they are acting on behalf of God – is not good. War between believers is too dangerous."
