Students in and around Tehran, Iran have been filling the streets in protest for what initially was their opposition to the privatization of their universities. These demonstrations have since turned into an act of civil disobedience spotlighting their quest for more social, economic and political freedom. As the Radical Islamic regime that heads that country tries in vain to quell the protests, the cries for freedom and democracy are being heard around the world.

These protests stand as a testimony to Islam’s failure in the political arena. While I will not condemn or declare the religion of Islam a catastrophe it is quite apparent that as a political movement it has been "outed” as an utter failure not only to the world but to its followers as well. This is the reason that the separation of church and state is a fundamental need in all governments of the world. While the freedom of religion should be afforded all people of the earth, religious zealots should not dictate in the business of running a government.

Time after time when the leader of a nation has been an Islamic cleric the world has witnessed a litany of problems and abuses that cast these nations into centuries past. The basic freedoms that were even considered common under many oppressive dictators and communist regimes are considered an abomination under their fanatical interpretation of the Koran. The Ayatollahs. Women cannot go to the market place unless their husbands or a male member of their families accompanies them. The Mullahs. Those who oppose the regimes, even in their own homes, put their lives and the lives of their families in danger. The Clerics. While men are allowed to commingle with numerous women, women are stoned to death for just letting it be known that they had impure thoughts about a man other than their husbands. If Jimmy Carter had been a woman in an Islamic run nation he would have been stoned for having lusted in his heart.

But the most disturbing thing about the failure of Islam as a ruling force in government is the fact the Islamic zealots who are in power spin the teachings of the Koran to feed their political survival. They rail against the United States and the West for the perceived decadence that prevails under freedom and democracy coloring it the will of the infidel. They spin the words in their holy book so that it says the infidel must die when in fact it says the infidel should be eliminated. These are two very different teachings. One could just as well contend that eliminating the infidel means the infidel should be educated in the teachings of the Koran. Education or death; two very different things to teach with death winning out but that is what is being taught in the lands governed by Islamic fanatics. That is what is being taught in their schools, daily. It is nothing less than brainwashing.

As their propaganda machine functions, a propaganda machine that would make the Cold War propaganda machines envious, it churns out soldiers of hate who use terrorism as their swords and dynamite filled jackets as their shields. They lash out at innocents and those who would choose freedom from around the world with their reward being the tainted promise of receiving seventy virgins at the gates of the Promised Land. One has to wonder if that applies to the female suicide bombers too, or whether they are simply supposed to die for the cause.

In a time when the liberals of this country and the world are preaching that we should try to better understand the teachings of Islam and the people of the Muslim world perhaps it would be a better thing to expose the Muslim world’s zealots for who they are, teachers of hate and political oppressors. The people of Iran who are taking to the streets in the pursuit of freedom and democracy deserve to have the light of the world shined on them for if we sit idly by saying, "Good for you! It’s about time,” from the comfort of our homes so far away from their struggle their voices could very well be silenced forever. It would be an incredible tragedy to be this close to hearing the voices of free people cheering out in Tehran only to hear the echoes of silenced hope from Tiananmen Square once again.

Iran should have their revolution; the revolution of common sense sans the spun words from clerics who would bastardize a religion for their own political and monetary gains. Through their brave voices shall be born freedom for their people.

Frank Salvato is a political media consultant and the managing editor for The New Media Journal.us. He is a contributing writer for The Washington Dispatch, GOPUSA, OpinionEditorials, Men’s News Daily, Canada Free Press & AmericanDaily. His pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com. He has appeared as a guest on The O’Reilly Factor, The Kevin Matthews Radio Show (Chicago) and The Brad Messer Radio Show (San Antonio). His pieces have been recognized by the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention and are occasionally featured in The Washington Times and The London Morning Paper as well as other national and international publications.