In Iran, ancient rite links God and wrestling
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For the men who practice it, it's about not just fitness but a connection with God.
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The celebration of the birthday of Imam Mahdi, the savior of the Shiite faith, is receiving plenty of attention from the government of Iran.
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There is an increasing awareness among Iranians of the contrast between their growing influence abroad and frailty at home.
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NAJAF, Iraq  For centuries, the world&#39;s 120 million Shiite Muslims have revered the gold-domed mosque of Imam Ali bin Abi Talib named after the slain cousin and son-in-law of Islam&#39;s prophet Muhammad as a place of pilgrimage.
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After eight years of a bold but bungled experiment with reform, Iran's government is in the throes of a takeover by conservatives determined to restore the revolution's Islamic purity, according to Iranian politicians and analysts.
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ATHENS, Greece -- If you recall, my concerns involved car bombings, kidnappings, beheadings and Al Qaeda. So when the scariest moment of the Olympics involves a defrocked, kilt-wearing Irish priest who tackles
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Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Wednesday called on Islamic nations to retaliate against Israel for its construction work at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, state TV reported.
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28-year-old Eddy Koaz, the president of the Israel Judo Federation, has demanded that the International Judo Federation (IOC) disqualify Iranian judoka, Arash Miresmaeili, from the Olympics. The Iranian judoka was declared overweight at the weigh-in on ...
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For days I have tried my best to perform the rituals of the annual Muslim hajj that are supposed to bring me close to God.
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TEHRAN -- Emad Baghi is a human rights activist who spent three years in prison for his writings. Shadi Vatanparast is a promoter of underground Iranian rock bands who, in the semi-privacy of her office, throws off her government-mandated headscarf. And Fazel Mehbadi is a mullah who preaches a message that's dangerously dissident in the theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran: ...
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She has persuaded her father that wrestling is worthy of her time and her passion. The conversion took years, but it is now complete.
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Friday prayers in Iran rang with defiance in the face of expected tough action from the UN nuclear watchdog over suspicions this country is trying to build a nuclear bomb.
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By ARIEL DAVID ROME - The fans were pious. The players bound for glory. And the victory? A miracle. Priests and seminarians from several soccer-loving countries took to a field near the looming dome of St.
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TEHRAN: Iran staged its annual show of military might on Tuesday, with President Mohammad Khatami vowing the Islamic Republic will push on with its controversial nuclear program even if it risks international isolation.
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Ayatollah Khomeini's grandson is one of hundreds of candidates reinstated in Iran's parliamentary election.
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Iranians are deeply divided on politics, the economy, the role of religion in government and a dress code for women. But reformers and conservatives, urban and rural, old and young
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TEHRAN -- After eight years of a bold but bungled experiment with reform, Iran's government is in the throes of a takeover by conservatives determined to restore the revolution's Islamic purity, according to Iranian politicians and analysts.