Calls for change in Iran reach even Shiite heartland of Qom

Some Iranians in the holy city of Qom, a center of Shiite Muslim shrines and scholarship, are quietly calling on the country's ruling clerics to reconsider how they deal with unrest. They say the harsh crackdown on months of protests that have shaken the Islamic Republic was a mistake. They say the authorities should soften their approach to demonstrators and women’s demands on being able to choose whether to wear an Islamic head covering. However, even these critics from within still back the government, and a wide gulf remains between them and the protesters who have called for an uprising. Iran marked the 44th anniversary this month of the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.