Iran has supplied the world with another outrage from the application of its medieval Sharia law system. An Iranian court sentenced seven young adults to be flogged plus prison time for the offense of shooting a video of themselves dancing to the American pop hit “Happy.” Another court issued a death sentence for a blogger accused of simply insulting Prophet Muhammad.
The seven were paraded in public and forced to apologize for the offense of merely filming themselves having fun. Each will now received 91 lashes and one was given a year in prison. The others were given six months, though the shorter sentences may have been suspended.
You can see the video here.
The seven defendants were participating in a global campaign launched by pop star Pharrell Williams with six appearing on the video and a seventh filming the scene. They all confessed. Of course, most civilized people would not see anything to confess but under Sharia law such forms of expression are crimes of immorality.
They still fared better than Soheil Arabi, a blogger found guilty of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in his postings on Facebook. He was arrested by Revolutionary Guards with his wife last November. He was kept in solitary confinement for two months inside the notorious Evin Prison and later found guilty of “sabb al-nabi” (insulting the Prophet).
Karen, The book Unbroken makes it clear the Japanese were preparing to kill all US prisoners. It is believed that also played a part in Truman’s decision to deploy nuclear. Truman says it was not a difficult decision.
If you nuked or carpet bombed the entire country, you would also kill those like these kids in the video above who long for a Western, free life.
We bombed Japan because it was clear that they would fight to the last man, woman, and child, and it would cause severe loss of Allied forces to defeat them. They’ve said as much many times over the years after WWII. They never would have stopped otherwise, by their own admission. Only the death of the last man would stop them. Heck, there were still those on islands in the Pacific who refused to surrender for decades. We needed to do something so shockingly awful that they would give up. It was pretty grim, and I don’t see us ever nuking another country again unless they deployed nuclear weapons against us first.
Indio:
You are incorrect. Sharia Law is not “Saudi” or “Wahabi.” Wahabi is a strict Sunni sect.
Sharia Law is merely the application of jurisprudence strictly according to the Qu’ran. It is not restricted to either Shiite or Sunni, as both follow Qu’ran.
Iran does indeed follow Sharia. There are differences between countries as to how exactly to follow Sharia – 50 lashes in one country, 99 in another for the same offense, for example, but all countries under Sharia Law basically follow the same guidelines – death for being gay, for example.
Enclosed is a list of countries that follow Sharia, ranging from only personal issues to absolutely as aspects of the law:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_of_sharia_law_by_country
See http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/green-movement .
My God, Barking Dog. I can only assume that you don´t know any Persians. Like joshgodawful said above, that is some logic you´re using, wanting to kill a whole country because of the tyranny of its government. Most of the people there are too afraid for their lives to take any action against their government, and their fear is justified. Most people just want to live a peaceful life and the people with money got out and went to Europe or the States. So, you really want to bomb the poor people who didn´t find a way out?
Iran wants nuclear weapons and I am of the opinion that we should give them a couple. Some argue that it would bomb them back into the stone age. But I offer the 1945 Parallels. When we bombed Japan with atomic bombs it brought them out of the stone age. “Holy itShay” they said when they woke up and two cities were gone. “What we did in Nangking was evil. Getting nuked got us to re examine ourselves.” The un examined life is not worth living. Those folks in Iran are not examining their behavior enough. Two nukes and they might be good to go.
Shareef don’t like it…
Iran doesn’t follow Sharia. Sharia is Wahabi which is Saudi which is Sunni.
With regards to the bomb them back to the stone age comment which I think many religious extremists would find preferable to modern times, it’s a good thing the “alien observers” don’t take that approach, or perhaps they would have eviscerated mankind from this planet . In all seriousness though the good thing about Iran unlike Iraq is that there is some semblance of order. As bad and intolerant as that order may be, especially compared to what it was pre the Ayatollah destroying its leadership now violently would only lead to more chaos.
We once criticized the Shah for his human rights record and now things are much worse. Imagine what would happen when you have neighboring Iraq in turmoil with extremists on the opposite end of Islam and a power vacuum in Iran. The chaos would spread like wildfire. Other than their enrichment we have to take a lesser of two evils approach, at least until progress naturally occurs.
And cue the Christian and Jewish bashing. Because, obviously, Christians and Jews hold floggings, beheadings, stonings, and amputations in the public square here. So, obviously there’s a similarity.
Or, we could just state the obvious, that Sharia Law abuses human rights and we should stop its spread.
When I went through Iran in 1984 the revolution was new, restaurants had little more than eggs and the young ‘revolutionary guards’ were obviously having fun stopping our bus and getting to see tourist ladies not covered from head to foot. They were also polite and let us go in three or four minutes each stop. Anyway, it shows that the regime is followed out of fear and custom, but not really agreed with by the majority. Clearly we have many more freedoms but are also losing many too. At some point in time they will have to stand up to and oust their repressive regime. We have our task here against the Illuminati and their NDA Acts.
Holy Guacamole! You get flogged and jailed for happy dancing in Iran?
Els DL, You forgot to bash Bush, also.
I obviously find this latest news from Iran absolutely disgusting but I am getting very disgusted by how religion in our own country is trying to meddle in the public sphere. There is plenty of venom being spouted by many in the Evangelical Christian leadership and their political friends. Do I foresee equally brutal repression of atheists, gays, Muslims in the US anytime soon? No, but I don’t think we keep our eyes averted to the daily disgusting intolerance from some claiming God as their Saviour.
Groty, Good observation. Hate Crime statutes, PC, and speech codes are our Sharia Law.
I see little difference between what the Iranian authorities have done here and what Turley’s colleague, John Banzhaf, wants to do. The Iranians claim to be morally offended by the actions of young people in the video. Banzhaf claims to be morally offended by the name Redskins. Both the Iranian authorities and Banzhaf want to use the coercive force of government to stop people from expressing themselves because they believe they have the moral high ground. No difference.
Two hideous peas in the same hideous pod. John Banzhaf is keeping company with Islamic Iranian mullahs.
It is an outrage, but are we policing Iran, much as we despise its theocratic brutality?
Mass hysteria. Mass psychosis. Promoted by “religious” leaders for profit.
Millennia of selling “belief” by disturbed greedy profiteers have led to this point.
There is no “God.” There has never been evidence of a “God” and the existence of “God.” has never been proven because it doesn’t exist.
The existence of multiple “religions” proves there is no omnipotent “God.”
Religious beliefs have NO basis.
Theocracy must be the new face of “Evil.”
Religion must be banned from governance.
People go to school. They learn. They concern themselves with physics when they “believe” in religion. They don’t consult the physics department about the non-existence of “God.”
If people would pay attention in school, they would learn from the physicists that “there is nothing between the atoms.”
“No Hell below us. Above us only sky.” John Lennon 1971′
The inmates have taken over the asylum.
We used to have “Sundown Towns” in the United States. Many were up in northern states like Illinois. There is a book out called Sundown Towns. I recall that the author’s name is Lowelen or sumsuch. The local sheriff or white klan guy would say to a negro who came into town and was filling up the car at the gas station: N guy, don’t let the sun go down on you in this town. That meant that they would lynch him if he stayed past sunset. America kind of got over that kind of normative behavior. It is time for the pirate territories of the middle east to do the same. Cairo. Illinois has been cured. It is time for Cairo, Egypt.
But, if any of those terrorist tentheads move into my town then they are in trouble because I lived in both Cairos and I know a thing or two.
Who is surprised? I mean, for people who would suggest that these actions aren’t mainstream, I’d invite them to check out the Cairo Declaration which is an expression or a counter-expression of sorts with respect to the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
” ARTICLE 10:
Islam is the religion of true unspoiled nature. It is prohibited to exercise any form of pressure on man or to exploit his poverty or ignorance in order to force him to change his religion to another religion or to atheism. ”
” ARTICLE 22:
(a) Everyone shall have the right to express his opinion freely in such manner as would not be contrary to the principles of the Shari’ah.
1.. Everyone shall have the right to advocate what is right, and propagate what is good, and warn against what is wrong and evil according to the norms of Islamic Shari’ah.
(c) Information is a vital necessity to society. It may not be exploited or misused in such a way as may violate sanctities and the dignity of Prophets, undermine moral and ethical Values or disintegrate, corrupt or harm society or weaken its faith.
(d) It is not permitted to excite nationalistic or doctrinal hatred or to do anything that may be an incitement to any form or racial discrimination.”
Now, don’t get me wrong, this is not law of course, and I’m not sure if Iran signed onto this or took a role in this, but its supposed to represent a kind of ‘high’ form of rights in the Islamic world……