Posted on 06/21/2003 8:29:25 PM PDT by sorraya
Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, one of Iran’s most influential and radical clerical leaders called Friday on the Judiciary to consider the students and all those who protest against the Islamic Republic and chants death to the leader of the regime as “mohareb” (an Arabic word meaning enemies of God) and treat them as such, not as opponents.
The charge of being a Mohareb carries the death penalty in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Speaking at the weekly Friday prayers, Mr. Yazdi urged the Judiciary, which is directly controlled by Ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i, the lamed leader of the regime, to take strict measures against the “trouble-makers” behind the recent unrests in Tehran and major Iranian cities.
The cleric, a former head of the Judiciary who now is a member of the leader-controlled Council of the Guardians referred to the thousands of students and people who, for the last nine days, are protesting against the Islamic Republic and call for the collective resignation of all the clerical rulers as “trouble-makers” who are waging war against the God.
“There should be no tolerance for those who fight God and put at risk the security of the regime”, Ayatollah Yazdi said, as anti-regime demonstrations entered its ten consecutive days.
The protest movement started out in Tehran on 10 June following a peaceful gathering of students denouncing a government plan, approved by the Majles, aimed at privatising Iranian universities.
He said, quoted by the official news agency IRNA, that the acts of these “trouble-makers” do not differ from the behaviours of "mohareb" and the way the enemies of God should be treated is clearly stated in the Shari’a, or the Islamic Canons.
"Can one consider as simple "protesters" those who come to the streets overnight to harass the passers-by, beat them or inflict damage to the passing cars?" he asked.
Ayatollah Yazdi said those who sparked the recent events in Tehran universities campuses were not in fact students but acted in the name of student’s movement, confirming what many eyewitnesses and independent journalists and observers were suspecting from the outset that most of the so-called students who started the chants and slogans of “death to Khameneh'i” or “death to Khomeini” were in fact agents of the regime.
Analysts said Ayatollah Yazdi’s tough statement against the students and other protesters might be the prelude for a wider and brutal crackdown on the dissidents.
Two days after the start of the protest movement, Ayatollah Khameneh'i warned the students that if they do not stop with their movement, they would be dealt mercilessly by the faitful nation.
The stern warning was responded immediately by chants and slogans of “death to Khameneh'i”, giving the demonstrations an unprecedented anti-regime, anti-cleric colour.
President George W. Bush and other American officials praised the students and those who have joined their call for democracy, freedom and referendum, prompting Tehran sending an official protest to Washington over what it denounced as a “flagrant interference in Iran’s internal affairs”.
"We applaud the Iranian people for calling attention to the destructive policies of the Iranian government, that do such a disservice to its population", said Richard Boucher, the US State Department’s senior spokesman.
Lashing out at the American officials who gave their support for the “agents” behind the campus incidents, Mr. Yazdi said the Americans are ”erroneously” relying on the false reports on Iran, since the Iranian brave people would come to scene and would fight to defend their nation to the last drop of their blood in case of crisis or war.
“Authorities have blamed the unrest on the United States and their on-the-ground agitators, although they have also been at pains to reel in hard line pro-regime vigilante groups in a largely successful bid to ease tensions”, the official news agency observed.
The Islamic thugs and the Basij volunteers, backed by plainclothes men belonging to the leader’s intelligence organisation have fought violently with the demonstrators, using clubs, chains, knives and electrical cable against them and the thousands of ordinary people who, every night, came out in force to defend the students.
The Ayatollah praised the Basij and other pressure thugs for acting “vigilantly” to control the situation.
But contrary to precedent unrests, including the first large-scale student’s protest movement on 9 July 1999, the police, wearing new uniform, arrested several people, including plain-clothes vigilantes who would assail student dormitories and beaten up students.
As the cleric was calling on the authorities not to show mercy for the demonstrators, the media said sporadic demonstrations continued in the Capital and its suburbs as well in some major cities.
Ayatollah Yazdi said it was of prime importance for officials to adopt measures to promote the unity and solidarity in the country under the currently critical conditions to foil the ploys hatched by enemies against the Islamic system.
In his first reaction to the events, President Mohammad Khatami on Wednesday defended both the rights of the people to criticise the authorities and the Law Enforcement Forces to stop those who take the law in their hands. But on Saturday, a student association affiliated to the Basij militia said it would defend the sacred Islamic regime and the beloved leader. ENDS STUDENTS UNREST YAZDI 20603
Did you hear that people are wrapping mullah type turbans on the heads of dogs and donkeys and letting them run free. It would appear the protesters haven't lost their sense of humor.
Just an amazing coincidence :)
It appears that the Iranian shiite "agitators" in Iraq have been distracted lately. Wonder why…
Over greater timespans, the quote applies also to religions.
The religion of Marduk, for instance, was once predominate in ancient Babylon; and death went to those that did not believe.
They can. But they will have to kill these students. This they will do and I have no illusions about that. IMO, this is the moment of truth for us. Either we kill off the mullahs & crew or Iran will back to business as usual, minus a million or so students -- while the UN agonizes over whether to sit on their hands or applaud.
"Can one consider as simple "protesters" those who come to the streets overnight to harass the passers-by, beat them or inflict damage to the passing cars?" he asked.
I wonder if any of the left-wing protestors in this country would be so quick to ally themselves with the Islamists (i.e. Hezbollah who were prominent in the anti-war demonstrations) if they know that they would suffer this fate if their "allies" came to power.
One of the deepest theological concepts expressed on FR.
And one of the evidentury reasons why it was from our Judeo-Christian culture that the ideas of freedom were developed. Knowledge of the True God and His nature leads to freedom of the soul ("he who knows Me is free indeed!") which then leads to insight regarding the value of each individual, which then leads to the concept of inalienable rights given to us by our Creator.
Sounds like the gangs of Los Angeles.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.