Ahmadinejad really is an asshole
In our (absolutely correct and essential) opposition to the neoconservative dream of war against Iran, liberals should never forget what truly awful people the Islamic fundamentalists running Iran really are. In fact, one of the principal reasons we need to fight the Bush Administration’s anti-Iranian belligerence is that it’s playing into the hands of Ahmadinejad and the radical mullahs.
(NY Times) Iran Cracks Down on Dissent, Parading Examples in Streets
Young men wearing T-shirts deemed too tight or haircuts seen as too Western have been paraded bleeding through Tehran’s streets by uniformed police officers who force them to suck on plastic jerrycans, a toilet item Iranians use to wash their bottoms. In case anyone misses the point, it is the official news agency Fars distributing the pictures of what it calls “riffraff.” Far bloodier photographs are circulating on blogs and on the Internet.
The country’s police chief boasted that 150,000 people — a number far larger than usual — were detained in the annual spring sweep against any clothing considered not Islamic. More than 30 women’s rights advocates were arrested in one day in March, according to Human Rights Watch, five of whom have since been sentenced to prison terms of up to four years. They were charged with endangering national security for organizing an Internet campaign to collect more than a million signatures supporting the removal of all laws that discriminate against women.
Eight student leaders at Tehran’s Amir Kabir University, the site of one of the few public protests against Mr. Ahmadinejad, disappeared into Evin Prison starting in early May. Student newspapers had published articles suggesting that no humans were infallible, including the Prophet Muhammad and Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
You should read the rest, but fair warning – it’s depressing.
June 24th, 2007 at 1:02 am
Religous fanatics and rigid fundamentalists of any religion are poisonous. They are all about hatred, control, power and money. They use religion to foster political agendas. The Inquisition is still with us in one form or another. They create mass hysteria, fear, scapegoats, and pander paranoia. They prey on people’s ignorance and prejudices. They lure young people into acts of destruction, like sucide bombing. I remember that heart-wrenching scene in Syriana, where the two young men are hurtling in a boat to their death. Before Bush invaded Iraq, Iran was softening somewhat toward the West. Now, Bush has united radicals of all ilk, and given them fresh fodder for hatred and terrorism.