Mahmoud Cancels Appearance as Tevye

We've run out of monsters.

Well, that was fun while it lasted — the Guardian is throwing cold water on the Telegraph’s claim that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had a trim at birth:

“There is no such meaning for the word ‘sabour’ in any of the Persian Jewish dialects, nor does it mean Jewish prayer shawl in Persian. Also, the name Sabourjian is not a well-known Jewish name,” [expert David Yeroshalmi] stated in a recent interview. In fact, Iranian Jews use the Hebrew word “tzitzit” to describe the Jewish prayer shawl.

The Telegraph based its claim on “Sabourjian” being Ahmadinejad’s birth surname, saying it meant “cloth weaver.” But the Guardian says sabor actually refers to “thread painter,” an artisan who works with carpets. And Mahmoud’s mom claims to be a descendant of Muhammad, which the Guardian mischievously says “is equivalent to the Cohens.”

As a Lapsed Lutheran, we have no authority to judge the competing claims — our mother’s maiden name means “eater of RyKrisp.”