probably run in either arizona republic, tucson citizen, arizona daily star
Blasphemy trial over play opens in Iran
CAIRO - A trial opened Wednesday in Iran against four people accused of committing blas- phemy against Islam in a play they published in a university magazine, the official Islamic Republic News Agency said.
The play, printed in August in the 'magazine Mowj, created a furor in Iran after hard-line clergymen condemned it as defamatory to the 12th Imam - one of the holiest figures for, the Iran's majority Shiite Muslim population.
Officials have said the text involved the theme of faking religious convictions for political gain satire which sparked tension in Iran after hard-liners used the play to condemn reformist President Mohammad Khatami for allowing greater freedom of expression.