The Iranian Sharia courts have given the world a steady stream of horrific judgments — using the pretense of a legal system to mete out religious-based and perfectly medieval punishments. They have now added a fresh outrage. Despite worldwide condemnation, a trial court in Iran has issued its final verdict that Youcef Nadarkhani, 34, be put to death. His crime? Converting to Christianity. During the country’s Sharia law, such apostasy is punished by death.
We have previously discussed this case and the demand that Nadarkhani renounce his faith or face execution. Nadarkhani was arrested two years ago and many in Iran have demanded his death as demanded by the Koran. Under Islamic law, he was given three chances to recant to save his life.
Various countries have demanded his release, but Nadarkhani can now be executed at any time.
The “court” found that Nadarkhani had in fact practiced Islam from age 15 (considered adulthood under Islamic law) to 19 when he converted. Notably, another court found that he had not practiced Islam as an adult but was still guilty of apostasy because he was born into a Muslim family.
There appears a crackdown across Iran against Christians generally.
Source: IBTimes
idealist, You have made some friends here.
AY,
It was I who waded into your discussion. I see that I’m making a lot of friends here. My eagerness has me sprattling again. No excuse.
Apologies.
Actully I felt ashamed for asking such a question when
Wikipedia lies so near. So went hunting and came back bearing the duck hoping to be praised. How simple-minded. Thanks for the kind heads-up.
I707,
You know best…..now why would I wish to enter a debate you obviously knew the answers to? Think about it!
Mike S.
So much for skimming, and resulting misunderstandings. It was ALL fundamentalists you attacked, and if not expressly so, even the non-religiously motivated fundamentalists, like Mammon worshipers.
As yet I haven’t been threatened by a worshipper of democracy.
The Saudis would be a military pushover. Can’t we equate them to the native americans as justification? A question of “national in-security” as I wrote earlier above.
I am highly recommending the above film. It overs a compelling look into Iranian society and the Iranian legal system.
Mike S.,
Risking being called an apologist for Islam and the Muslims, I will note again the proposition of religion ofter hides both economic and power dominance factors. The reasons, or my own ideas, for the explosive expansion of muslim rule, would be willingly discussed.
But let me note as some “proof” that the crusades for the holy land, perhaps even were motivated by booty (see the rape of Constantinople by the Venetians, et al) and control of the spice trade, not just religious fervor.
At this point I find 200 years of persecution under European search for empire and colonies, has become a festering boil which is now being fed with religiously based fuel. Or are the Saudis financing a straw man to be used by Washington as a “scarecrow”? The money is coming from there, the religiosity is also. And we find most immigrants are the educated and the mobile who find themselves in new positions of disadvantage in these adopted lands in Europe and USA.
This is not an apology for them or Islam, but an attempt to make a useful analysis. Conspiracy thinking, no, because when the truth leaks, worse is often revealed. VietNam, Iraq, and soon more from Afganistan and Pakistan. Who knows, there might be oil in Somalia, there is in southern Sudan.
So behind fundamentalism lies other problems too.
“Risking being called an apologist for Islam and the Muslims,”
Idealist707,
My comment was about all religious fundamentalists who I consider to be of the same stripe. As for the Crusades, this has never been something that I looked at as being totally Christian aggression, even though their result were pogroms of Jews along their routes. We too easily dismiss the fact that were it not for Charles Martel, all of Europe might have been forcefully made to be Muslims. There are never any innocents in the wars of religious fanaticism. As to greater underlying reasons I’ve always held the belief that US foreign policy is much more dictated by the Saudi’s than by Israel.
Religions have long used the the government’s power to enforce religious tenents upon all the citizens. Virginia’s latest “Christian”, mechanical rape bill is no less barbaric than Iran’s Islamic kill the Christian convert trial. Both governments are attempting to deny individual citizens their right to self-determination and self-ownership at the behest of a religion.
This is why separation of Church and State is so damn important
Rafflaw et al,
Actually it is many hundreds of millions have been killed in religions’ name.
Surely worship of Mammon must be regarded as a religious belief.
Or would you call it worship of power. They both have many guises.
In reply to AY assertion and my question, Wikipedia reveals:
Christian Portugal was the first European country to establish an empire, long before Spain. Eventually the Pope got involved in this battle of empire expansions and drew a longitude in the western hemisphere as the dividing line; thus giving all east of it to Portugal (Brazil to the Portuguese), and the world to the west (rest of America) to the Spanish.
So muslim domination of Portugal ended long before the iberian peninsula was quit of the last muslim state. In fact, the Portuguese on this basis as being the first to throw out the muslims, ca 1139 (?) see wiki, and claim therefore to be the first “nationstate” of Europe.
The quick expansion and collapse of Muslim rule is an interesting subject but not for here.
PS
As for killing non-believers, native Indian followers of Doubting Thomas, Jesus disciples ,were murdered (at least the bishops) by the Portugese when Portugese ships arrived around 15?? and invaded southern India. The christians still survive there today.
Because the Thomasians were non-Catholic or because of power????
Mike took the words out of my mouth. The answer to Rafflaw’s question is “many, many thousands.”
This is a disgusting tale of religion gone wild. Contemplate though, if the American Fundamentalist Taliban ever came to total power would they act much differently? I cite the Inquisition, Cathar extinction and the Salem Witch trials as but a few of many examples. Fundamentalism of any religion equates to repression, death and destruction.
AY
Under what period was Portugal under muslim rule?
Dresden,
This is a very ancient practice dating back to the mogul empires….all of those ancient wars we’ve read about or most of them were to repel the Muslims encroachment ….just think…if Portugal had not been Muslim would America have been made an original Spanish conquest?
rafflaw,
actually it’s in the name of national in-security.
How many people have been killed in the name of god?
Sorry,
….not in accordance with Geneva conventions pertaining to careless and unnecessary force, which conventiions we signrd but with reservations (unclear which)…….ad finitum.
Skipping Skip’s good points.
Let’s just assume that Iran is using these measures as trading pieces with the USA. Sacrificing people in national interests are done by the USA, as constantly evidenced. Chomsky can cite for hours, and has.
I argue that using degrees or quantities of evil are not a defense de facto or de juris (?) (I’m absorbing it through the skin); since we kill more innocents in the world in a month than they do in 5 years. And as to de juris, declaring them as “collateral damage” is no defense in my eyes, and in fact not in accordance with Geneva conventions, which we signed with reservatiions as to careless and unnecessary force.
So protests will be met by well-based counterclaims, at least ones which will be published in certain parts of the world. They seldom appear in MSM here.
If Virginia’s vaginal probing law was medieval, this is stone age.
Throughout history, religious arrogance has always shown it’s ugly darkness on the world and governemnts have always been their facilitators and protectors. Just believing that you are the translater and spokesperson of God is evil enough, thinking that you are authorized to carry out his moral enforcement and be his hangman, puts these assholes into even a darker level of human dispotism and existance. It is time to overthrough those Saria Courts that place themselves above others and try them for crimes against humanity at the World Court. “You must believe as I do, or I will put you to death”. Most of the people of the world world be dead, if my mother-in-law was on the court.