The political and cultural clashes between secularism and religious fundamentalism in Iran can be traced to the life of the late Shah and his father, Reza Khan. The Shah at age 22 was installed as ruler in 1941, and ruled for 38 years until his overthrow in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini. Iran's present clerical regime defines itself in terms of its opposition to the United States, invoking the Qor'an to brand America as the "Great Satan." After the stolen Iranian 2009 presidential election and economic sanctions by the West, the clerical regime now faces the most serious challenge to its rule.

Speaker: Al Gourdji, C.P.A., M.B.A., City College of New York, who lived the first 19 years of his life in Iran. Prior to retirement he was a corporate officer of Dow Corning Corporation in charge of its global tax activities.

This is the fourth of 9 lectures in OLLI's monthly 2nd Tuesday Distinguished Lecture Series. OLLI activities are open to anyone age 50 or older.