Ahmadenijad bucks the religious establishment

"When addressing an Iranian university in November, (chief of staff) Mashaei took the attack on the mullahs' authority much further: "God does not unify humans . . . [because] each person's [notion of] God varies from the God of others based on individual understanding." His words, it was quickly noted by aghast ayatollahs, are blasphemous under Islamic law and therefore punishable by death. Rebukes by Shiite leaders fell on deaf ears in the executive branch... the government's cultural adviser, Javad Shamaghdari, is recommending that the hijab, or veil, not be mandatory..Recently Ahmadinejad has even begun rephrasing his oft-repeated statements about the end of the world -- in strictly religious terms. In an interview with U.S. news media in September, he commented: "The [Mahdi, or 12th] imam will come with logic, with culture, with science. . . The stories that have been disseminated around the world about extensive war, apocalyptic wars . . . are false."..Ahmadinejad separated himself further from the mullahs by nominating three women for cabinet portfolios. Ahmadinejad ridiculed his opponents, demanding to know: "Why shouldn't women be in the cabinet?""(Newsweek.com via mrzine)