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December 3, 2006

Iran: Second Ayatollah's Death Fatwa Condemned

Back in February 14, 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini shocked the world with his fatwa, issued against the British author Salman Rushdie, for his "blasphemous" book, the Satanic Verses. Khomeini's fatwa stated that the author and all involved in the book's publication should be sentenced to death. The world had its first wake-up call to the true nature of Islam, if news reports of barbaric sentences which followed the 1979 Iranian revolution had not already made it take notice.

A report comes from the agency Reporters Without Borders, concerning a fatwa issued by an Iranian cleric against two Azeris who were jailed last month for publishing a newspaper article on November 6, which "insulted Mohammed".

The edior-in-chief of Azeri fortnightly newspaper Senet ("industry"), Samir Sedagetolu, and journalist Rafiq Taghi, were sentenced to two years' imprisonment. They had published an article by Taghi, who is also a cardiologist, entitled "Europe and Us". This claimed that Islam has impeded humanity's development. The article also said that all misunderstandings connected with Islam were the responsibility of Mohammed himself.

Before their sentencing, Islamists gathered at the village of Nardaran, 17 miles north of the capital of Baku in Azerbaijan. The Islamists called for the death of Taghi and Sedagetolu. The calls persisted after the sentencing, with Islamists demonstrating each Friday, and calling for the journalists' death. The protests had been initiated by Haji Ali, a local religious leader who had summoned people on November 17 by striking a pillar with his stone.

He said: "Last week we, the residents of Nardaran, condemned Rafik Taghi and the editor-in-chief of the newspaper. Our religion knows only one punishment for such people, which is execution. This is not our decision, this is what our holy book prescribes. The authorities sentenced the journalists to two weeks (years) in custody. But that is not enough!"

Nardaran, population 8,000, is predominantly Shia, and in 2002 there were clashes between residents and police. On June 4, police shot dead one protester from the village and wounded dozens more. The day before the shooting, police had arrested 8 protesters who had been demonstrating against poverty and poor infrastructure in the village.

On November 17 last month, the day after Tagi and Sedagetolu had been jailed, Haji Ali announced to the crowd in Nardaran: "We declare that if these people are not sentenced to life imprisonment, we will take measures to punish them by ourselves. It's a pity that there's no death penalty in our country. We are told that their houses are being guarded, but let them hear us vow - Muslims never take vengeance on women and children. No one will touch their families. We've heard that Rafik Taghi's family members have asked Denmark for political asylum, but no matter how things turn out nothing bad is going to happen to them. Rafik Taghi is the only one we want to have punished."

As is de rigueur for Islamists having public hissy fits, there were calls of "Death to Israel" and American and Israeli flags were burned. Hajiaga Nuriev, the chairman of Azerbaijan's Islamic Party, who is also a village elder in Nardaran, said that Taghi and others were "acting on behalf of international Zionism and Armenia, and they have deliberately damaged Azerbaijan's credibility with its brothers-in-faith. In this situation, the residents of Nardaran could not have acted otherwise... to the enemies of Islam... who discredited Azerbaijan in the eyes of the world. This blasphemy ought to be punished."

Azerbaijan is currently chairing the 57-nation OIC, and Hajiaga Nuriev said that by rejecting the sentencing, Nardaran's citizens had defended their country's reputation.

The protest by Shias in Nardaran then spread to its neighbor Iran. At the Azerbaijan embassy in Tehran on November 19, a demonstration was held, with about 50 people present. On the Iranian TV station Seher, calls for the overthrow of Azerbaijan's "anti-Islam" were aired.

We reported on November 27 that an Iranian cleric, Ayatollah Morteza Bani Fazl, had called for the murder of Rafik Taghi in a fatwa. As an inducement to any willing assassin, Fazl had offered him a house which had been inherited from his father.

In the article today from Reporters Without Borders it is stated that a far bigger Iranian Ayatollah than Morteza Bani Fazl has now announced his own fatwa. This newer fatwa comes from the highly influential cleric Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani (pictured).

Existing news sources, such as Reuters, RSI, Radio Free Europe, AsiaNews, the Azeri news source IWPR and others have claimed that the original fatwa was made by Morteza Bani Fazl, who resides in Tebriz in the northwest of Iran, which has a large Azerbaijani population.

Azeris comprise about 25% of Iran's population of 70 million. There is sometimes tension between this minority and the authorities. A talented Iranian cartoonist of Azeri descent, Mana Neyestani, did a cartoon which was published in the weekly newspaper Iran Friday on May 19 this year. Though the cartoonist and the publisher of the paper were jailed, and the newspaper closed down, Azeris staged demonstrations, in which 5 people were killed. The first riots, where police dired tear gas at protesters, took place at Tebriz, and then spread to Ardebil, Naqadeh and Meshkin Shahr. On May 27, banks, TV stations, government buildings were burned down in Meshkin Shahr.

The BBC from Wednesday November 29 states that the Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankrani made his fatwa against the two Azeri journalists after being consulted by Azeris living in Iran. Though born in the holy city of Qom in 1931, the son of another Ayatollah of the same name, Lankarani is an ethnic Azeri.

The statement from Reporters Without Borders reads: "We urge the Iranian authorities to calm people down as there has been a great deal of tension since the publication of Mohammed cartoons in a Danish newspaper last February. We also ask the Azerbaijani authorities to do everything necessary to protect these two journalists."

"It is deeply shocking and completely unacceptable that religious fundamentalists should call for the murder of two people who just expressed their opinions."

The press freedom organization states that the fatwa was published on Grand Ayatollah Lankarani's official website on November 25. I have checked this site, and on the English language section, no translation has yet appeared.

It can be read in Farsi - Persian - HERE.

The fact that a Grand Ayatollah has now taken on the original fatwa of Morteza Bani Fazl makes the situation for the two Azeri journalists a lot more serious. The fatwa condemns not only Rafiq Nazar Oughlo Taghi (or Taghizadh) but the editor-in-chief of Senet, Samir Sedagetolu (Samir Sedaght Oughlo).

Earlier, when only Morteza Bani Fazl had issued a fatwa, Vugar Aliev, spokesman for the prosecutor's office said of the original protests in Nardaran: "We live in a constitutional state, and all issues should be solved in accordance with the law. What happened in Nardaran is a protest reaction to what these people did. But the law-enforcement bodies have already taken appropriate actions, and these harsh calls with regard to the two journalists are unacceptable. The police responded in a timely fashion and there remains no danger of any civilians undertaking any illegal actions against them."

Once again, Iran's clerics are showing to the world that their interpretation of Islam is backward, intolerant, and murderous. Hypocritically, Lankarani prefaces some of his articles, such as a recent vicious attack upon Pope Benedict XVI, with the words "In the name of Allah, the Compassionate the Merciful". Islam is a religion of peace? Dream on......

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at December 3, 2006 8:59 PM

Comments

Posted by: Martin Musculus at December 6, 2006 10:21 AM

Posted by: Martin Musculus at December 6, 2006 10:21 AM

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