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a trim Ahmadinejad-style beard, big teeth, and a playful smile. He reminded me of Raf-
sanjani, Iran's moderate former president. In the courtyard, a man hit the branches of a
mulberry tree with a pole as kids scrambled for the treasured little berries.
Esfahan TV, which had televised the prayer service, saw us and wanted an interview.
It was exciting to be on local TV. They asked why we were here, how I saw Iranian people,
and why I thought there was a problem between the US and Iran. (I pointed out the “Death
to Israel” banner, for starters.) Suspicious of our agenda, they fixated on whether our show
would actually air…and if we'd spin our report to make Iran look evil.
Leaving the mosque, our crew pondered how easily the footage we'd just shot could
be cut and edited to appear either menacing or heartwarming, depending on our agenda.
Our mosque shots could be juxtaposed with guerillas leaping over barbed wire and ac-
companied by jihadist music to be frightening. Instead, we planned to edit it to match our
actual experience: showing the guards and “Death to Israel” banner, but focusing on the
men with warm faces praying with their sons at their sides, and the children outside scram-
bling for mulberries.
After prayer service at the mosque, a proud dad grabs a photo of his children.
It occurred to me that the segregation of the sexes—men in the center and women be-
hind a giant hanging carpet at the side—contributes to the negative image many Western
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