As Iranians pour onto the streets and the Islamic Republic responds with brute force, the world watches with a mix of horror and misplaced hope. Official figures from Tehran put the death toll from the nationwide crackdown at around 2,000. Critics and human rights groups estimate the number may be much higher, with one placing it closer to 12,000. Amid this bloodshed, a familiar fantasy has returned to liberal discourse, both in the West and in Bharat: that Iran is on the cusp of shedding Islamism, reviving its pre-Islamic identity, and perhaps even longing for the “good old days” of...