Posted on 05/19/2006 2:55:11 AM PDT by Squawk 8888
Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.
"This is reminiscent of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. "Iran is moving closer and closer to the ideology of the Nazis."
Iranian expatriates living in Canada yesterday confirmed reports that the Iranian parliament, called the Islamic Majlis, passed a law this week setting a dress code for all Iranians, requiring them to wear almost identical "standard Islamic garments."
The law, which must still be approved by Iran's "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenehi before being put into effect, also establishes special insignia to be worn by non-Muslims.
Iran's roughly 25,000 Jews would have to sew a yellow strip of cloth on the front of their clothes, while Christians would wear red badges and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear blue cloth.
"There's no reason to believe they won't pass this," said Rabbi Hier. "It will certainly pass unless there's some sort of international outcry over this."
Bernie Farber, the chief executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said he was "stunned" by the measure. "We thought this had gone the way of the dodo bird, but clearly in Iran everything old and bad is new again," he said. "It's state-sponsored religious discrimination."
Ali Behroozian, an Iranian exile living in Toronto, said the law could come into force as early as next year.
It would make religious minorities immediately identifiable and allow Muslims to avoid contact with non-Muslims.
Mr. Behroozian said it will make life even more difficult for Iran's small pockets of Jewish, Christian and other religious minorities -- the country is overwhelmingly Shi'ite Muslim. "They have all been persecuted for a while, but these new dress rules are going to make things worse for them," he said.
The new law was drafted two years ago, but was stuck in the Iranian parliament until recently when it was revived at the behest of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
A spokesman for the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa refused to comment on the measures. "This is nothing to do with anything here," said a press secretary who identified himself as Mr. Gharmani.
"We are not here to answer such questions."
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre has written to Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, protesting the Iranian law and calling on the international community to bring pressure on Iran to drop the measure.
"The world should not ignore this," said Rabbi Hier. "The world ignored Hitler for many years -- he was dismissed as a demagogue, they said he'd never come to power -- and we were all wrong."
Mr. Farber said Canada and other nations should take action to isolate Mr. Ahmadinejad in light of the new law, which he called "chilling," and his previous string of anti-Semitic statements.
"There are some very frightening parallels here," he said. "It's time to start considering how we're going to deal with this person."
Mr. Ahmadinejad has repeatedly described the Holocaust as a myth and earlier this year announced Iran would host a conference to re-examine the history of the Nazis' "Final Solution."
He has caused international outrage by publicly calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map."
Iran does not yet have nuclear weapons, but Tehran believed by Western nations to be developing its own nuclear military capability, in defiance of international protocols and peace treaties.
The United States, France and Israel accuse Iran of using a civilian nuclear program to secretly build a weapon. Iran denies this, saying its program is confined to generating electricity.
Ahmedinejad is a dangerous lunatic.
Really? The only human rights groups I see mentioned are Jewish. Where are the rest of them?
Santayana said "Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it". In this case, Ahmedinijad denies the Holocaust while walking in the exact footsteps of its perpetrator.
I am sure there will be gigantic international protests, marches, slogans etc...because of this. Or have I not studied my history either?
I say we all wear those badges, my Club Gitmo t-shirt is getting worn out.
Good picture - depicting islam as an animal they consider unclean. I'm surprised Iran hasn't destroyed all canines in the country, yet.
Somebody actually wrote to Kofi Annan and asked him to do something.
Now I dont care what you say, Thats funny.
Moving??
They are already there
What part of the speech from the Lunatic Nutcase President of Iran about wiping Israel off the map did the world not understand?
Why is this guy still breathing?
And, we'll make all the Muslims in the world wear a bomb exploding emblem in the center of their chests.
Well I certainly won't forget and need no convincing as to what they're are all about either.
My late grandmother and six years of Greek school taught me all I needed to about that bunch.
Funny how my being taught about 400 years of the people of my origin's being systematically raped, tortured and murdered changed my whole perspective on the Religion Of Peace.
There's also Munich, 241 dead Marines, Leon Klinghoffer and everything before and since then.
So suffice it to say that this American is Not a fan of them or their gutter religion.
Not even the uh, "moderate" ones.
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The Belgians did this too last century in their Rwanda and Burundi colonies. They had the Hutu's and Tutsi wear badges identifying their ethnic background.
It accomplished the premise of divide and conquer and later after the Belgians gave up the colonies the extreme methods to create ethnic divisions helped result in the genocide.
Sometimes it seems we're living in a movie- each day there's one more "OMG I can't believe this"...and yet they keep coming..these things- ugly and horrible.
Iran eyes badges for Jews ?????????????
It's time,
start looking at Iran ... through CROSSHAIRS.
How many Christians and Jews live in Iran?
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