Congressman Keith Ellison, D-Minn., marked the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran Thursday with a statement of "solidarity" with the Iranian people
"We are witnessing a brave struggle by the Iranian people to demand their basic rights," Ellison said. "I stand in solidarity with the people of Iran who are demanding their right to freedom of expression, assembly, and conscience." The statement by Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, comes amid an Iranian government crackdown on dissidents, protesters, journalists, and others challenging last year's disputed national elections. The anniversary commemorates the 1979 toppling of the American-backed Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, and his eventual replacement with the Islamic Republic of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution.
