We have yet another example of the perversity of justice under Sharia law. The latest case comes out of Iran where university students have filed a criminal complaint against famed actress Leila Hatami, who recently starred in the Oscar-winning film, A Separation. Some Iranians were outraged when Hatami accepted a customary peck on the cheek from Gilles Jacob, the President of Cannes Festival, as she arrived at Cannes Film Festival to serve as a member of the prestigious jury. Not only is such a sign of affection a crime in the Islamic Republic but (gasp) Hatami was wearing a head scarf that did not entirely cover her hair from being seen by men. She is now subject to jail and flogging under article 638 of Islamic Criminal Justice. The Sharia law calls for 50 lashes.
One would think that a nation like Iran would be overwhelmed with pride at the success of a citizen on the international stage. Hatami is one of just five women members on the Palme d’Or prize jury. However, in a country where women are segregated and flogged in the name of Islamic morality, many view Hatami with disgust and anger. That includes the Hizbullah Students, a group of university students with links to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard that first brought the criminal complaint. They are demanding that Hatami be flogged.
The petition, supported by many officials and citizens, declared “We, the undersigned, who are a group of student Muslim brothers and sisters, ask the cultural and media branch of the judiciary to prosecute Leyla Hatami for her sinful act of kissing a strange man in public, which according to article 638 of Islamic Criminal Justice carries a prison sentence. Furthermore, the action of this film star has hurt the religious sentiments of the proud and martyrs breeding nation of Iran and as such we also demand the punishment of flogging for her as stipulated in the law.”
Hatami has been denounced in the media as committing a “an affront to the chastity of women in Iran” and Hossein Nushabadi, Iran’s deputy minister of culture, declared Hatami to be in open “violation of religious beliefs.” He went on to say that she had disgraced the nation and the faith by such an immoral act and that, unlike Hatami, “Iranian woman is the symbol of chastity and innocence.” And of course Iranian courts are the symbol of cruelty and ignorance.
Source: Telegraph
It sometimes very nearly astonishes me how the some people who are of the law profession, or who accept the validity of the law profession, in the United States of America are oblivious to the contradiction of objecting to Sharia Law in Iran being as though an abomination of human rights without recognizing that an essentially similar abomination is comparably present within the profession of law in the United States.
In both U.S. adversarial law and Iranian Sharia law, the law is held to be superior even to life itself.
The contrast between U.S adversarial law and Iranian Sharia law is only a matter of inconsequentially trivial differences in what is, and is not, deemed to be violation of law.
Authoritarian law sustained by coercive indoctrination and terrifying punishments for tangibly unavoidable violations is authoritarian and coercive regardless of how such law is named.
Scientifically demonstrated refutation of the above is very welcome. Mere hypothetical arguments, no matter how eloquent or persuasive, simply are not scientific demonstrations of any kind whatsoever.
Please refute the above…
Hmmmmm, would I kiss someone for 50 lashes. Depends on the circumstances. But, probably.
I can accept that to some extent Sharia inevitably bends to the popular will. The Common Law took somewhat different paths in the U.S. and Canada, though each has the same “core” origins. While (incredibly) oversimplifying the CL, I don’t see the nations looking to that body of law using it to regularly torture, maim, and kill.
Was the CL regularly used in that manner? Sure, but while accusing someone of being a witch and demanding death might work under Charles I, by the time of (his son) Charles II it was laughed off as ridiculous. We, the West and Western Christendom, advanced. Nowhere in Islam did the same. Islam simply “missed” the Enlightenment.
The events in Iran are especially shameful given that it is, essentially, “Persia”. It can trace a pretty uniform nation back to the Medes, along with a singularly advanced & complex culture. This is not a nation with no meaning but for the inventions of history (i.e., the Hejaz, etc.). To see what is Persia degraded in Western eyes to the point of being indiscernable from the Arabs, shows the disgraceful state of modern Iran.
Some states like Arizona have re-codified their statutes and do not recognize Common Law. That is why Arizona does not recognize common law marriages.
Yes we Cannes!
In our jurisprudence we had Sheria Law for a long time.
If you were a she you could not vote until the constitution was amended circa 1920 (1787-1920 = 133 yrs.).
Today, Sheria Law has unofficial and unspoken jurisprudence in many subject areas, such as equal pay.
keebler – the hive thought seems most prevalent on the Democratic side. How people like Rangel keep getting elected is a testament to either racism or low information voters.
American legislators gone mad.
Justice Holmes
What Sharia laws do you fear? Do you fear the probating of a Muslim will? Do you fear that these anti-Sharia laws are being passed to sow hate? Do you fear that legislators are passing anti-Sharia laws without having ANY knowledge of what there is to fear? Do you fear hate groups are using the fear of Sharia for vile political purposes?
Religion gone mad.
Your fear of Sharia Law being imposed in this country is a fear sown by ignorance and hate. I expect better from almost all the commenters here. (Unfortunately, there are some here who only want to spread misinformation and lies) Here is what happened in that hotbed of Islamic terrorism: Oklahoma…
http://newsok.com/state-of-oklahoma-owes-303333-in-plaintiffs-legal-fees-over-shariah-law-case/article/4835274
Excerpt:
“The bill has come due for the state’s effort to keep international law and Sharia law out of Oklahoma courts.
It wasn’t cheap.
Oklahoma must pay $303,333 for attorneys’ fees of the plaintiffs who challenged a measure approved overwhelmingly by voters on Nov. 2, 2010, U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange ruled May 14.
Plaintiff Muneer Awad, an Oklahoma City Muslim man, said in the lawsuit that the measure would stigmatize him and others of his faith, limit the results they can receive in court and prevent his will from being probated in Oklahoma because his will references Sharia law, the Islamic law system”
_____________________________________________________
You are being misled by the likes of Orily Taglitz. To allow this ginned up fear of the imposition of Sharia law in the United States to fester and grow is akin to supporting the Salem Witch Trials.
It is shameful.
Hear hear Justice Holmes.
When she’s out of the country why the heck does she go back to it? Seek asylum, or be a good little Iranian female. When I saw all those female protestors in th streets years ago during the Iranian revolution, I thought “You idiots, you don’t know what you’re doing”.
I have no doubt that there are some who would like us to accept some of the aspects of sharia law in this country but I think many would be surprised to see who they are. Of corse they wouldn’t call it sharia law but it would have a similar impact.
The US should not permit the usurpation of our secular law or courts by any religious group and I do mean any. Individuals who wish to live in a theocracy that applies the laws of their religion should find some where else to live. For some reason they have chosen to live here. As a result, they should accept our law and not seek exemption for theirs or seek to have us accept or implant their religious code. This is a secular society. It may not be perfect but we can see every day what theocracies do to humans.
“When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty”. T-Jeff
If Leila starred in the movie True Lies, the Sharia law lashings would be unlimited.
Rob – just think of the punishment due to Adam Sandler for all his horrible movies.
“Remember, CAIR is trying to get Sharia law included in American jurisprudence, let this be a lesson to all of us.”
Paul, really? Come on!
And before they start, the ignoramus, let me suggest a correction: “She is now subject to jail and flogging under article 638 of (the IRANIAN) Islamic Criminal Justice. The (IRANIAN )Sharia law calls for 50 lashes.” Once again there is not one shariah law. Shariah law is essentially an exercise in judicial interpretation, and whatever offense taken and punishment meted out is one derived from THE CULTURAL MORES of the locality. And since the Iranian cultural mores are influenced by their political and historical legacy, which was determined by their negative interactions with the West (namely support of their dictator, killing of their leaders, arming Sadaam Hussein against them…etc), we ultimately have to, first, thank ourselves for whatever symbol of cruelty and ignorance the Iranian courts have turned into, then pull that beam out of our communal eye. I am not sure we have much to be proud of, in lights of non-impartial justice, police killings, lifetime jail sentences for drug offenses, solitary confinement of minors and torturous death penalty.
po – Yeppers, they have an office in the WH. And they have been making inroads in this area. We are not responsible for the Iranian courts unless we agree that Jimmy Carter is responsible for the regime change in Iran putting the fundamentalists in power.
Remember, CAIR is trying to get Sharia law included in American jurisprudence, let this be a lesson to all of us.
time to apply for asylum to a sane country.
Although I am against lashing people as a punishment, I do think that she committed the crime as stated by their code. As such she deserved conviction and some punishment. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, as they say.
So called “Sharia Law” and similarly, other groups that make up the cruelty based controlling of others without deference to the rule of law are committing crimes against humanity.
They deserve to be dealt with accordingly.