NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- If you 're Iranian , you probably know both and Akbar Ganji and Googoosh . You also know that 30 years ago they had as much in common as Rush Limbaugh and Madonna . The story of how they came together this week on a street corner in Manhattan for a hunger strike is a glimpse of the evolution of the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the far-reaching impact of Iran 's current opposition movement . Akbar Ganji went on a three-day hunger strike this week outside the U.N. to protest Iran 's crackdown on dissidents . In 1979 no Iranian singer was more famous than Googoosh . She was Iran 's Madonna , Sheryl Crow and Mariah Carey wrapped into one . She was rich , famous and adored by millions . Back then , the 29-year-old singer was also a symbol of an increasingly westernized Iran . In 1979 Akbar Ganji was 19 . He was a devout Muslim and staunch supporter of a religious movement to overthrow the western backed Shah of Iran . Ganji says he had Googoosh 's records , but his religious mentors convinced him that her music was un-Islamic . So he tossed the records in the trash . `` All my friends did , '' Ganji said . `` Back then everything had to be about the revolution . '' In February 1979 , Ganji 's wish came true . The shah fell from power . In his place came the father of the Islamic revolution , Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini . For Googoosh and Ganji , the tables turned . Googoosh never recorded another album in Iran . Ganji went on to become a member of Iran 's Revolutionary Guard , worked for the government , then went on to become an accomplished journalist . The two very different roads traveled by Googoosh and Ganji began to converge in the mid-1990s . That was when Ganji started becoming disillusioned with Iran 's theocracy . This was n't what he had in mind , he says , when he struggled for freedom and change in 1979 . As a journalist he described Iran 's leaders as fascists and dared to accuse high-ranking officials of murdering political dissidents . In 2000 , the government accused Ganji of being an enemy of the revolution and sentenced him to six years in prison . In 2005 Ganji went on a hunger strike . For 74 days he ate no food , surviving on water , tea and sugar cubes . Ganji left Iran for the United States after he was released from prison in 2006 . Soon after he arrived , he says , he got a call from the singer whose records he 'd trashed more than 25 years before . Googoosh was already living in exile in the States . `` I do n't want to go into details of what she said , '' Ganji said . `` It was personal . She just wanted me to know that I was in her thoughts during my time in prison . '' Watch Googoosh and Ganji talk about the hunger strike » . This week , Ganji welcomed Googoosh at a rally as they started a three-day hunger strike in support of Iran 's opposition movement . Dozens of Iranian artists , authors and intellectuals living in exile joined them in the hunger strike in front of the United Nations ' headquarters in Manhattan . Many were draped in green , the official color of the opposition movement that claims Iran 's presidential elections were rigged . The gathering called on the U.N. and the international community to help free the hundreds of detainees arrested by Iranian authorities after the disputed June 12 election . The names of the detainees were printed on a banner . The names in red were those who had been killed . When Googoosh arrived on Wednesday , her fans mobbed her . One woman wrapped a green scarf around her shoulders . `` As an artist I have a voice , and I can ask the world to help our people , '' Googoosh told CNN . Two Iranians with nothing in common 30 years ago now struggle for the same cause . `` No , I do n't think anybody expected this , '' Ganji said . The hunger strike ended Friday evening , and Ganji called it a success . He said the hunger strikers also vowed to oppose any future appearance at the United Nations by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . `` If he decides to come to the U.N. , we have to bring 10 times as many people as we had this week to prevent him from making an appearance , '' Ganji said .
Akbar Ganji was committed to the revolution in Iran before souring on the regime . Googoosh was a superstar in Iran who went into exile after the 1979 revolution . He is now an American citizen and lives in California, but he still has ties with his homeland.