{"id":1839,"date":"2014-03-19T03:28:57","date_gmt":"2014-03-19T03:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/simorgh.de\/niceswine\/?p=1839"},"modified":"2014-03-19T03:37:11","modified_gmt":"2014-03-19T03:37:11","slug":"no-freedom-of-thought-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simorgh.de\/niceswine\/no-freedom-of-thought-there","title":{"rendered":"(Human Rights) No Freedom of thought over there … with no change in sight."},"content":{"rendered":"

Why is free thinking banned in places like Iran? Because of the clerical “power” and the ones who support this type of system.<\/strong><\/p>\n

People are getting used to how things are in a place like Iran, from the outside at least. I can’t imagine that people inside of the country can get used to the praxis of public hanging or any type of public execution, punishment or routine torture tactics (http:\/\/iranhr.net\/<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Well, there is just one place that’s as frustrating an example of political failures mixing with a totalitarian style reality of a religion, such as we have it in Iran. I was wondering if anything about the persecution of Sufis has changed in Iran. Nothing has changed, things get worse and the situation seems paralyzing. Below are some links that I found in that context.<\/p>\n

Yet, another thing I was wondering about, was, when was Persia invaded by the the Islamic Arabs? So I took a mini excursion back into past history. I do wonder what created these strange divides that we find culturally in Iran up til today. Here is what Wikipedia says about the Muslim Arab invasion:<\/p>\n

The Battle of al-Q\u0101disiyyah<\/a> (Arabic: \u0645\u0639\u0631\u0643\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0642\u0627\u062f\u0633\u064a\u0651\u0629\u200e; transliteration, Ma’rakat al-Q\u0101disiyyah; Persian: \u0646\u0628\u0631\u062f \u0642\u0627\u062f\u0633\u064a\u0647\u200e; alternative spellings: Qadisiyya, Qadisiyyah, Kadisiya), fought in 636, was the decisive engagement between the Arab Muslim army and the Sassanid Persian army during the first period of Muslim expansion. It resulted in the Islamic conquest of Persia<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sasanian general\u00a0Rostam Farrokhz\u0101d<\/a>\u00a0(remembered as an historical figure, a character in the Persian epic poem\u00a0Shahnameh<\/a>)\u00a0faced with the Arabs had to experience this:<\/p>\n

During the final day of the battle, there was a heavy sandstorm facing the Sasanian army. Rostam used a camel loaded with weapons as shelter to avoid the sandstorm. Not knowing that Rostam was behind,\u00a0Hil\u0101l ibn `Ullafah\u00a0accidentally cut the girdle of the load on the camel. The weapons fell on Rostam and broke his back leaving him half dead and paralyzed. Hilal beheaded Rostam and shouted “I swear to the god of Kaaba that I have killed Rostam.” Shocked by the head of their legendary leader dangling before their eyes, the Sasanian were demoralized, and the commanders lost control of the army. Many Sasanian soldiers were slain in the chaos, many escaped through the river, and finally the rest of the army surrendered.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

…<\/p>\n

So here are some links on the situation of Sufis and other oppressed groups \/ people \/ individuals in Iran:<\/p>\n

Witness Statement of Hamed Khajeheian: A Sufi Persecuted<\/a> (2013)\u00a0iranhrdc.org<\/p>\n

Iran Continues Crackdown on Sufis<\/a> (2013) HuffPost<\/p>\n

Be the voice of political prisoners in Iran
\nhttp:\/\/cfppienglish.wordpress.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Ayatollah Hossein-Kazamani Boroujerdi, a senior member of the Shiite Muslim clergy, is presently serving the eighth year of an 11-year sentence handed down to him by the Islamic Republic’s courts for advocating the separation of state and religion inside Iran.
\nhttp:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/4158\/ayatollah-hossein-kazamani-boroujerdi<\/a><\/p>\n

From Tahereh Ghorrat-al-Ain\u2019s death at the instigation of reactionary mullahs [1] to today we have witnessed a century and a half of struggle of Iranian women for social justice and gender equality. It has cost the lives of thousands of women.
\nhttp:\/\/www.iran-bulletin.org\/witness\/ghaffar2.html<\/a><\/p>\n

The Perils Of Religious Persecution In Iran<\/a> (2013) Forbes Mag<\/p>\n

Finally:<\/p>\n

2011: According to\u00a0BBC Persian<\/a>, the largest mural in Iran (5,000 meters), found along the walls of Mashad\u2019s Ferdowsi Square, was removed in the course of one night as part of the municipality\u2019s \u201cbeautification\u201d efforts. The mural had only been completed a few months ago, and\u00a0depicted scenes from Ferdowsi\u2019s\u00a0Shahnameh.<\/em>It\u00a0had taken a team of workers a year to create. Source:\u00a0fesenjoon.tumblr.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Oh yes, let’s of course not forget about freaking gender segregation, it’s reality!!!<\/p>\n