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When blasphemy is a matter of life and death

When blasphemy is a matter of life and death

  • Posted by Maryam Namazie
  • On January 14, 2012
  • 17 Comments
  • Iran

Blasphemy is the order of the day on freethoughtblogs. In the Islamic regime of Iran, however, it is a matter of life and death. The regime’s supreme Sharia court has upheld the death sentence of 40 year old Ahmad Reza Hashempour who was arrested in 2007 for ‘membership in anti-religion and blasphemous websites.’ He’s been tortured, forced to confess on TV and become known as one of the ‘Heretics 3’. Vahid Asghari, aged 25, has also been condemned to death for maintaining a website against religion and Islam as has Saeid Malekpour, an Iranian-Canadian citizen.

Of course in a theocracy, anything you say against god’s rule on earth is deemed blasphemous. And whilst no such death sentence hangs over us here in Britain or the west, it will do us well to remember why it is important to be able to mock Islam and religion and why it is a necessity to do so.

(Via Mina Ahadi)

 

17 Comments

billyjoe
Please, people, put him on ignore. He gets off on this stuff - do not be his whore.
PersianPower88
Rafiq Mahmood, here's a story for you, sandnigger: http://i.imgur.com/2FWc2.jpg White American warrior kills hadji family and rapes their sandnigger 14 year old daughter (I lol'd, I bet that dirty sandnegress enjoyed it). American soldiers are pussies though, my uncle killed 60 taazis in the Iran-Iraq war alone, he's a war hero. Filthy. Subhuman. Arab. Dog.
    Sir Shplane, Grand Mixmaster, Knight of the Turntable
    Whoa there, sparky. You could at least try for some subtlety when you troll.
      Rafiq Mahmood
      It is too much to expect any subtlety, let alone humour or reasoned argument from those who cling to myths, whether of race or religion. Racists are our enemies, not allies. I am sure that those of us who are in this forum as thoughtful contributors rather than as anonymous trolls are dedicated to fighting unreason and injustice with all effective and available means. My father fought the NSDAP and suffered at their hands. Hitler worship is again rearing its ugly head in this part of the world where the Islam Defenders Front is virtually indistinguishable from the Hitler Youth (and just as ridiculous). If I can, in whatever way, take up the baton against fascism in all its guises I shall have a meaning and purpose to my life which no mythology, no authoritarian simplistic answers could ever hope to provide. This cowardly troll just gets a cheap thrill from spreading his foolish invective or, perhaps, has forgotten to take his medication. I shouldn't rise to its bait, but I do think that this is a useful reminder of what we are and what we stand for. Maryam has consistently and vehemently opposed all forms of injustice and irrationality and has never faltered in attacking racism, misogyny and all forms of discrimination. The main victims of Islam are Muslims, after all. We are with you in the struggle and will not be silenced.
        PersianPower88
        Anyone surprised the dirty hadji, Rafiq Raghead Mahmood the dumbfuck camel jockey is promoting liberalism and anti-racism? Typical degenerate subversive Arab rat. Who else but a Semite to poison Aryan societies? First the sandmonkey invents Pisslam then the sandmonkey leaves his cult for attention. Typical dirty Arat, I despise all Arats. Damn it feels good to be beautiful (Iranian): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmwR8QkFlcI P - PERFECT E - EFFERVESCENT R - RUGGED S - SEXXXY I - INTELLIGENT A - AUTOMATIC N - NUBIAN
          Sir Shplane, Grand Mixmaster, Knight of the Turntable
          • Jan 16 2012
          See, this is why I can't take you seriously. Everything about that post is a perfect example of a TV caricature of a racist. I would bet good money that you're some 14 year old white American kid sitting in his mom's basement and giggling to himself after every post. Which, honestly, wouldn't bother me all that much. I remember when I was 14 and had just discovered that I could post dumb shit and get a rise out of people online. The problem is that you're INCREDIBLY BAD AT IT. You have no sense of subtlety, everything you post is incredibly obvious trolling, and most of it looks way more like a middle class white caricature of a racist than an actual racist. If you are sincere, though? Good job on being part of a subculture so goddamn goofy that I can't distinguish between it and a dubs thread on /b/.
        Sir Shplane, Grand Mixmaster, Knight of the Turntable
        I am not convinced that he/she/it (because you can never be sure of a troll's gender, really) sincerely believes this shit. The way it posts is just a little too insane, and it showcases too many of the bookmarks of a classic troll. If I thought that it actually meant any of this, I would not be so dismissive of its opinion or call it a troll: the term, as most of the internet uses it today, implies a degree of insincerity. If the creature means it, it isn't a troll. It's just a racist fuckbag. Which is plausible, I suppose, and I have interacted with people this fucking insane before, but this guy is just giving off too many indicators that he's probably just trying to annoy us. Take it from someone who used to be big in the whole troll culture thing and used to read edit Encyclopedia Dramatic and post on /b/ (And still posts on the parts of 4Chan that are bearable). This guy just seems way too goddamn fake.
PersianPower88
Hey, sandmonkey. No one gives a shit and get the fuck off Maryam's blog. Iranians hate Islam because Islam is a foreign Arab alien invader cult which your subhuman taazi ancestors forced on us. Race war is coming, faggot. Every Iranian I know hates Pisslam and ALL Arabs. Iranian Atheists are united: WE FUCKING HATE ARABS AND WILL EXTERMINATE *ALL* OF YOU AFTER THE PISSLAMIC REGIME FALLS. I hate all Arabs, even Arab babies. I'm a born2hate and hardcore racist Iranian NS (National Socialist), we want Iranian culture, Iranian religion (Zoroastrianism), Iranian blood (Azerbaijani and Arab populations need to be gassed, Kurds are our racial brothers so they're fine), Iranian nation. Hardcore Iranian NSBM set to real Iranians protesting against the Pisslamic Republic (unlike you sandnigger hadji Arab muds who want more theocracy) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-uj2nYS8qs GAS THE ARABS - RACE WAR NOW - BLITZKRIEG OVER GAZA, BAGHDAD, MECCA, MEDINA, GAS THEM ALL - HAWWWWWWWWWWWW HAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
    OooShiny
    You seem tense. I shall give you a *hug*.
billyjoe
Martyn Hughes, you could be me amongst my politically correct family and friends. My sentiments exactly. Desensitisation is the name of the game, and we must continue at all costs. Did women, blacks and gays achieve equality by being nice and polite? Diplomacy was required but, without activism, they could not possibly have gotten off the ground.
Rafiq Mahmood
I am living in a "moderate" part of the Muslim world where you "only" get five years in prison for blasphemy. I shall continue to call out the Grand Old Delusion for what it is and so shall many others. They cannot hang and imprison everyone. There are no bars and there is no rope that can hold back the surging tide of intelligence, reason and awareness.
    Tony
    Well said! Best wishes to you, as living in even a moderate "Muslim" society can't be easy.
ed
Of course, people could try and adopt the attitudes of most (asiatic) Indians, and deny the existence of concepts such as heresy, apostasy, and blasphemy. And of course, I dream. But wouldn't it be nice if these concepts were relegated to the scrap heap of history?
Martyn Hughes
'And whilst no such death sentence hangs over us here in Britain or the west, it will do us well to remember why it is important to be able to mock Islam and religion and why it is a necessity to do so.' Agreed. I often have conversations with my politically correct pals who often ask; Why the need for blasphemy though? This is exactly why. Criticism and caricatures(of the assorted pantomime figures of religion) are actually very helpful tools in de-sensitising people who have always held their beliefs - or critiscm of them - as off limits. Let the de-sensitising process continue I say.
    HowardV
    When you come from a religious belief where you would never dare utter words against or blaspheme your god, it comes as a huge shock to see people who are completely unafraid to do so. It comes as an even greater shock to observe these same people continuing to criticize and mock your god without any apparent recourse - in many cases they go on for years! This does cause a thinking process to begin - a mustard seed of doubt, as it were. I believe this is one of the many thousands of "seeds" the secular movement sows daily in the minds of religiously indoctrinated people, and will be partly responsible for the ultimate demise of Christianity in North America - or at the very least be the agent whereby it is eventually extremely unpopular to be a believer.

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Maryam Namazie