...for killing a would-be rapist in self defense.

Not a blog I'd normally post links to, but this is something that you all need to see.

http://powerlineblog.com/archives/016446.php

January 09, 2007
Sharia In Action

Nazanin Mahabad Fatehi is an Iranian teenager who was sentenced to be hanged for murder by an Iranian court. I had been unaware of her case until I read about it in the Power Line Forum last night. According to her account, Nazanin was with her sixteen-yeare-old niece and their two boyfriends when they were approached by three men who tried to rape them. The boyfriends fled, and Nazanin defended herself with a knife she carried in her purse. She stabbed one of the men, who later died. So far, at least, I haven't seen any version of the facts that differs materially from Nazanin's account.



Nazanin was prosecuted for murder and sentenced to hang. The verdict was apparently set aside by an ayatollah, and she is due to be retried tomorrow, January 10.

Wikipedia has the story here. A Canadian singer (and former Miss World runner-up) named Nazanin Afshin-Jam has taken up Nazanin Fatehi's case and has set up a web site called Help Nazanin. So far, over 250,000 signatures have been collected on an internet petition. Check out the Forum post linked to above for more links.

One intriguing aspect of this controversy is that some have called on prominent American Muslims to try to intercede on Nazanin's behalf. Dymphna of Gates of Vienna has written an open letter to Congressman Keith Ellison. It says, in part:




I think Dymphna has a good point. Millions of people have wondered how Sharia can be reconciled with the United States Constitution. This is a golden opportunity for Ellison to put his Nation of Islam years behind him, and show unequivocally that he rejects Sharia. If he can use his unique position of influence to save an innocent human life--or at least make the attempt--it will go a long way toward quieting the concerns that his history in public life has raised.

Likewise with CAIR. CAIR always postures itself as a mainstream, patriotic American organization, yet its leaders have repeatedly been associated with those who seek to impose Sharia around the world through violence. Thus, this blogger wonders why CAIR has not taken up Nazanin's cause:




Again, these strike me as excellent questions.

One would think that just about anyone, in this country, anyway, would oppose a teenaged girl's being hanged for an act of self-defense. Yet, among those who raised a hue and cry about Saddam Hussein being "taunted" before being hanged for the murders of thousands, there has been a strange silence about Nazanin's case. It is a bit troubling that so far, all of the liberals who have weighed in at the Forum have been hostile to the idea of asking Ellison and CAIR to use their influence on Nazanin's behalf. Why is this, exactly?

You can weigh in at the Forum. More important, you can telephone Keith Ellison's office at (202) 225-4755 (fax is (202) 225-4886). You can call CAIR at (202) 488-8787, fax them at (202) 488-0833, or email at info@cair.com.

I think most people believe that moderate Muslims world-wide need to stand up against the insanity that now prevails in countries like Iran. This strikes me as a good opportunity for moderate Muslims to show that they do not accept the precepts of Sharia and have no desire to impose them here or elsewhere.

UPDATE: Beldar writes:

Re your post on Nazanin Mahabad Fatehi: I’m in the middle of reading George Crile’s “Charlie Wilson’s War” (soon to be released as a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts), and I was immediately struck by the parallels to this passage (at pp. 206-07):
[In 1983,] everything seemed on track for [Charlie Wilson] to make his legislative strike [for more U.S. funding of the anti-Soviet mujahideen in Afghanistan] when [U.S. Rep. Clarence “Doc” Long, D-Md., the then-chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on government operations] stumbled across an article recounting the plight of a young, blind, orphaned Pakistani girl who had been raped. To [Long’s] disgust, the article explained that by Islamic law, rape can only be proved if there are four witnesses. Since here there was only one, and since the girl admitted that intercourse had taken place, the Pakistani authorities promptly tried her and threw her in jail for fornication.
All bets were now off. Hair swirling, eyes bugging out in a fury, [Long] was suddenly calling his newfound friend General Zia [of Pakistan] a barbaric dictator. “Zia is not going to get a dollar of foreign military aid. Period,” screeched Long. “I want him to know that I control the bucks.” Long dispatched his aide Jeff Nelson to inform the Pakistani ambassador that if the girl was not immediately pardoned, put in a home, and cared for, Pakistan would be cut off.

For a moment, the plight of this unfortunate teenage girl became the most sensitive issue in U.S.-Pakistani relations. In Wilson’s view, Long was just powerful and crazy enough to sabotage the entire Afghan war effort if Zia did not yield. ***

Very quickly, General Azim assured Long that the girl would be taken care of in a private home for life. The president, he said, wanted the chairman to know that he personally guaranteed this. “As far as I’m concerned,” says Nelson, “the blind girl was the key to everything.”


So: There’s precedent for a U.S. Congressman (like Keith Ellison) to speak out to save a rape victim who might otherwise suffer outrageous injustice at the hands of fundamentalist Islamic justice — and it’s worked before.


The circumstances were obviously different, but the precedent is nonetheless heartening.

that story just broke my heart

for what it's worth, you can petition here

Disgusting. And the boyfriends are pussies. Hopefully there will be enough public outcry for this to be stopped. Sadly, I don't think there will be, but I hope I'm wrong.

The reason I posted this:

WRITE TO KEITH ELLISON AND CAIR. TODAY. NEW TRIAL STARTS TOMORROW.

Sharia.
Coming to an EU nation near you.



Sad story, but I'll give up RM for a week if CAIR does anything about it.

I just called Congressman Ellison's office and spoke with an aide. I was told he was not aware of this and that he can't do anything. The aide said if he was on the International Relations commitee then perhaps he could do something. Funny thing is he is on the Judiciary Committe.

CAIR hung up on me. Granted I did say I was media member so I could talk to a live person.

I'm taking off from work, take the time to call or write CAIR and the Congressman.

theocracies are really fucked up...

someone's dying because they defended themselves?

FUCK IRAN AND THEIR FUCKED UP POLITICS

And the war on terror isn't going to stop it - the Afghan government the US installed tried to hang someone for converting from Islam.

This was in the front page of the newspaper in Vancouver. Here's one of the things that stood out for me:

"If Fatehi had allowed the men to rape her, she would have been given 100 lashes under Iranian law. If she had been married at the time, she could have been found guilty of adultery and sentenced to death by stoning"

That's fucked up right there

That is horrible. Any updates on this?

I say bollocks to people who say that cultures should be respected

Feeling pretty damn cold after reading this

I'm confused here? So...is the war on terror working and did that person not die? Or was the Afghan government successful in hanging this person for converting to Islam?

I think this thread is cute in general.

Islam, a religion of peace.

The "war on terror" put in place a government in Afghanistan that tried and convicted and attempted to hang (I can't recall if that was ever carried out) a person who converted FROM Islam to Christianity. Still confused?


Please, oh please, justify sharia law for us. We just don't understand that beautiful ancient culture that would punish a woman for being raped.

Honest question:

Can an internet petition really do/change anything? Or is it just a bunch of people who think they're accomplishing something, but are really just sitting at their desk sympathizing and not actually getting anything done?

It's whatever you make it, bro