Scholar Sentenced to Death in Iran

[Ardsgaine]

Thursday November 7, 2002 2:40 PM

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - A prominent reformist scholar was sentenced to death on charges of insulting Islam's prophet and questioning the hard-line clergy's interpretation of Islam, his lawyer said Thursday.

A court in Hamedan, in western Iran, issued the sentence against university professor Hashem Aghajari, Saleh Nikbakht told The Associated Press.

Nikbakht said Aghajari, a close ally of President Mohammad Khatami and a leading member of the reformist political party Islamic Revolution Mujahedeen Organization, also was sentenced to 74 lashes, banned from teaching for 10 years and exiled to three remote Iranian cities for eight years.

Complete Story

Aghajari is a socialist who has been speaking out against the power of the clerics in Iran. His specific crime was saying that "the clerics' teachings on Islam were considered sacred simply because they were part of history, and he questioned why clerics were the only ones authorized to interpret Islam." (Quoted from the article.)

Here is an interview with him from last May. It was a rather difficult read for me, possibly due in part to being poorly translated, but also due to the need for more background for me to understand what they're talking about. Still, it was apparent from what he said that in the particular form of theocratic socialism ruling Iran, Aghajari leans more towards socialism than theocracy.

Two more articles I found give a little more background on Aghajari's battle with the courts. He first resisted their order to appear because he claimed that he might be assassinated by radicals on the way to court. When he did appear, he was detained immediately after the interrogation by the court.

It's an interesting story, and indicative of the nature of the Iranian government. Khatami is simply a figurehead. The real power is held by the mullahs. They really do need to be next.

 

[HeXp£Øi±]

I've been following this. They were comparing the guy to salmon rushdie so i had little doubt he would be put to death. He is a brave man and we should all atleast feel bad about this if we choose not to act.

 

[Gonz]

insulting Islam's prophet and questioning the hard-line clergy's interpretation of Islam

I wonder, are these the charges that are actually brought before a judge? Couldn't they at least trump something up like failing to signal for a left turn? So sue me, I am American & these just seem beyond belief.

 

[HomeLAN]

A real impartial judge? Under a theocracy?

Get serious.

 

[Ardsgaine]

I wonder, are these the charges that are actually brought before a judge? Couldn't they at least trump something up like failing to signal for a left turn? So sue me, I am American & these just seem beyond belief.

It's not called an Islamic Republic for nothing. What I've found most bizarre in the past, though, is that liberals in the US, who claim to oppose theocracy when they detect it in Republicans, haven't called for war against the most militant, violent theocracy in the world. My confusion was somewhat alleviated by reading the interview with Aghajari. The revolution in Iran was a hybrid of socialism and theocracy. They confiscated private property, nationalized industries, took over control of the economy, etc. That leads me to a conclusion I should have already reached. The socialists of the US don't oppose the theocratic leanings of the Republicans so much as they do their capitalist leanings.

 

[Bubba]

i am disinterested in what goes on in 3rd world countries. iran could disappear off the face of the planet and i wouldn't miss it.