Playing with Death

With music still frowned upon,the Islamic Republic of Iran has no true pop stars. But Akbar Ganji is mobbed like one nearly everywhere he goes these days. When Iran's No. 1 muckraking journalist attended a lecture at Tehran University last month, students whistled and chanted his name until he went onstage and gave a speech. At an election rally featuring the country's most popular reform politicians, it was Ganji who brought down the house. "Ganji! Ganji!" the crowd roared when he arrived. Once a functionary in the Revolutionary Guards and Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance, Ganji, 40, is now calling...