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While in Iraq Christians are being offered the opportunity to convert, pay the jizya or die, in Iran only the last of those options seems to be in play. "Hanged for being a Christian in Iran," by Alasdair Palmer in the Telegraph, October 11 (thanks to Elisa):
A month ago, the Iranian parliament voted in favour of a draft bill, entitled "Islamic Penal Code", which would codify the death penalty for any male Iranian who leaves his Islamic faith. Women would get life imprisonment. The majority in favour of the new law was overwhelming: 196 votes for, with just seven against.Imposing the death penalty for changing religion blatantly violates one of the most fundamental of all human rights. The right to freedom of religion is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and in the European Convention of Human Rights. It is even enshrined as Article 23 of Iran's own constitution, which states that no one may be molested simply for his beliefs.
And yet few politicians or clerics in Iran see any contradiction between a law mandating the death penalty for changing religion and Iran's constitution. There has been no public protest in Iran against it.
David Miliband, Britain's Foreign Secretary, stands out as one of the few politicians from any Western country who has put on record his opposition to making apostasy a crime punishable by death. The protest from the EU has been distinctly muted; meanwhile, Germany, Iran's largest foreign trading partner, has just increased its business deals with Iran by more than half. Characteristically, the United Nations has said nothing.
It is a sign of how little interest there is in Iran's intention to launch a campaign of religious persecution that its parliamentary vote has still not been reported in the mainstream media.
For one woman living in London, however, the Iranian parliamentary vote cannot be brushed aside. Rashin Soodmand is a 29-year-old Iranian Christian. Her father, Hossein Soodmand, was the last man to be executed in Iran for apostasy, the "crime" of abandoning one's religion. He had converted from Islam to Christianity in 1960, when he was 13 years old. Thirty years later, he was hanged by the Iranian authorities for that decision.
Today, Rashin's brother, Ramtin, is also held in a prison cell in Mashad, Iran's holiest city. He was arrested on August 21. He has not been charged but he is a Christian. And Rashin fears that, just as her father was the last man to be executed for apostasy in Iran, her brother may become one of the first to be killed under Iran's new law.
Not surprisingly, Rashin is desperately worried. "I am terribly anxious about him," she explains. "Even though my brother is not an apostate, because he has never been a Muslim – my father raised us all as Christians – I don't think he is safe. They assume that if you are Iranian, you must be Muslim."...
Posted by Robert at October 12, 2008 7:47 AM
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"There has been no public protest in Iran against it."
The Iranian government and the religious police will see that it remains this way..
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at October 12, 2008 9:34 AM
There would hardly be any protest even if Iran didn't crush opposition to it. You cannot contest with the will of Allah after all. What a bunch of sick freaks.
Posted by: thehistorysage at October 12, 2008 11:46 AM
Oh yes, and there is no compulsion in religion.....
Posted by: dhimmiwit at October 12, 2008 12:05 PM
... and yet, POTUS, who touted his Christian faith for votes, is silent. Guess petro-dollars speak louder than faith, if faith speaks at all, except for votes.
Posted by: Alert at October 12, 2008 1:07 PM
So... what happens when (likely)"Vice-President of Kenya" President Obama goes to visit Iran? Do they have his noose ready for being an apostate?
Posted by: No More Ham, Ed at October 12, 2008 2:17 PM
And the UN and US State Dept "diplomat" criminals let Iran's Amadinejad walk on American soil just a few weeks ago without fear of arrest. Professional courtesy, I guess. Politicians and diplomats are truly the filth of nations.
Posted by: Max Publius at October 12, 2008 2:28 PM
ISLAM IS THE RELIGION OF PEACE...Would anyone care to present any evidence of that?
Posted by: duh_swami at October 12, 2008 3:21 PM
Why doesn't Bush stand up to these savages? What does he have to lose? What is wrong with the UN or the rest of the world. Instead, we are supposed to beat ourselves over the head for being Islamophobic.
Posted by: MorrisMinor at October 12, 2008 3:48 PM
Oh yes - it's the religion of peace. Morgues and cemeteries are very peaceful places.
Posted by: charlie at October 12, 2008 4:05 PM
There is no compulsion in religion. In Iran you're free to be a Christian, as long as you're dead. Compulsion would be forcing Christians to convert. Forcing them to hang from a crane is a different thing entirely.
President Obamodinga will meet with the Mayor of Munchkin Land and they'll explore the common ground. Obama has found some common ground with every thug, terrorist, racist, and cold-blooded killer he's ever met.
I think we can take him at his word when he says he'll do lunch with the likes of Ahmadinejad.
And the horrible plight of Muslim apostates and Christians in Iran will not be part of the conversation.
Posted by: Haid Dasalami at October 12, 2008 4:16 PM
Unbelievable. Iran is to have coded law where men who leave Islam will get the death penalty? Let me get this straight: the rest of the world is even bothering to debate whether these neanderthals should have nuclear capability of any kind? Why is their "leader" even allowed to step foot on the soil of civilized nations?
What would be nice is if they started leaving Islam in droves and then turned table on their in-house oppressors.
Posted by: charlie at October 12, 2008 4:18 PM
Well! I do not know what is possible in order to save Iranian people from that illness: Islam ...
What could we do?
Posted by: Coaltaxopeuh at October 12, 2008 5:34 PM
Oh, this could not be true- afterall spencer demonizes Islam.
or maybe it was that particular person who said this about Spencer is demonzing his material.
Very Sad and hopefully world pressure will stop this atrocity by the religion of peace. All we can do is pray for this man.
Posted by: eaglecap at October 12, 2008 6:06 PM
The sad thing is that the West have willfully closed their eyes to the human rights violations where the Christians were victims of their muslim governments.
The West should have raised a big stink with these muslims governments. But they have been missing in action for so ......... long.
On the contrary, they're giving asylum to Muslims in this country, who bring their muslim ideologue with them. Before we know it., we're going to have a problem in our midst.
Posted by: jasmine at October 12, 2008 7:18 PM
You know what is really interesting about this article?
The fact that it has been published in the Telegraph.
Usually these kinds of stories only appear on dedicated Christian sites like 'Tears of the Oppressed', 'Barnabas Fund', 'Release International', 'Voice of the Martyrs'; or, sometimes, on sites run by more general Human Rights activist bodies.
But *this* story - complete with a lot of quite accurate background information about the horrible way in which Muslims in Muslim-majority countries routinely treat non-Muslims and apostates, and using the word 'sharia law' - is in The Telegraph.
Surely some of those who read it might get a frisson down their spine when they think about the fact that Muslims in the UK have already managed to wangle recognition for portions of sharia.
The reporter whose byline is attached to the article - Alasdair Palmer - is to be heartily congratulated. So is the editor and the owner/s of The Telegraph.
UK jihadwatchers: I think this is your call. Hurry up and send, to the Telegraph, polite and informative letters to the editor, commenting approvingly on the complete accuracy of what Mr Palmer has said about Muslim sharia. Praise Mr Palmer for his efforts in educating the general public. Cite the relevant hadith - there have been some excellent discussions of the subject right here at jihadwatch. Mention Samuel Zwemer's historic work, 'The Law of Apostasy in Islam'. If you own a business, let The Telegraph know that because it published this story - with no-nonsense exposure and critique of a very cruel Muslim 'law' - you will prioritise the Telegraph when seeking ad space. Tell them that you are subscribing to the paper for a month, for the same reason - to reward them for educating the public on a matter of life and death.
The editor and owners of The Telegraph, and Mr Palmer, need a flood of positive reinforcement, right about now; for I would bet my bottom dollar they are being barraged with taqiyya and kitman by Muslim spin doctors and apologists, laced with a judicious proportion of outright or veiled threats. The last thing Muslims want is for British mainstream newspaper to openly discuss this horrible aspect of Islam-on-the-ground, and to remind people that it is part of the sharia package.
Everyone reading this who is a Christian - make sure that your parish priest gets a copy of this story.
Final note: may the Holy One bless, preserve and greatly multiply the Saints, Martyrs and Confessors of the Persian Church.
The photo of Rashin Soodmand, provided with the Telegraph article, is worth contemplating. No hijab. No horrible black shroud - she's wearing a western-style shirt. A luminously beautiful woman, gentle and gracious. This is Persia as Persia *ought* to be.
at October 13, 2008 3:19 AM
I hope they hanged the seven who voted against this, too.
Islam, where justice is just ice.
Posted by: profitsbeard at October 13, 2008 10:14 PM
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