Restarting the Iran ping. On or off ping list.
Posted on 07/21/2007 6:10:44 PM PDT by freedom44
PARIS -- A senior Iranian cleric, jailed for opposing the Islamic regime in Iran, has appealed to the Pope in a letter smuggled out of Iran by his supporters and made available to NewsMax.
"Time is running out for me as I have been sentenced to death," wrote Ayatollah Hossein Kazemini Borujerdi in the letter, obtained this week from sources close to the jailed cleric in Europe.
"This is my last plea for help."
In addition to the Pope, Borujerdi addressed his appeal to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the president of the European Parliament and to international human rights organizations, asking them to intervene with the Iranian authorities to prevent his execution.
Borujerdi was placed under house arrest in July 2006 after addressing a massive gathering of his followers inside Iran.
Last October, anti-riot troops stormed his family compound, using water cannons to overpower demonstrators who had gathered in his defense. He was then taken to Section 209 of Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, which is reserved for political prisoners.
Since then, he has been beaten and tortured repeatedly, supporters in Europe told NewsMax. He has been denied the right to a lawyer or visitation rights.
The senior cleric fell afoul of the authorities for refusing to acknowledge the role of Islam in politics, and for speaking out against the doctrine of velayat-e faqih, absolute clerical rule.
In his letter, he called the Iranian regime "unlawful."
In a clear attack on Iran's ruling clerics, he wrote, "People who use religion for their own benefits and create their own rules are blasphemous and are destroying the people's belief in their God."
Borujerdi belongs to the "quiestist" school of Shia Islam, which rejects the role of Islam in government.
Associates say he has received support from Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in Iraq, and from Grand Ayatollah Sadegh Rouhani, who has been under house arrest in Qom, Iran since 1986 for similarly rejecting the authority of the Islamic regime.
Hmm. Quietist Islam... These guys we might could work with. But still there’s a certain sense of “You made your bed, buddy, and we’re not sure we can get you out of it.”
This man deserves our prayers and the Pope’s support.
It took courage to reach out to the Holy Father even for a man on death row because that gesture certainly won’t make him Mullah of the year....
Good luck. Mullahs hate the pope.
They didn't make it all alone. A combination of Communist cold-war realpolitik and the political whining of the populist left here against a reform minded anti-fundamentalist ruler gave the world the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
I’m going to guess that appealing to the pope is only going to hasten his death.
Well said though I would add Carter’s affiliations with the Soviets ensured its success. Have a look at some articles about this - top left hand column on http://www.antimullah.com
Agreed, especially prayers.
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