Middle-East-Info.org

From the Penal Code of Iran: The penalty for adultery under Article 83 of the penal code, called the Law of Hodoud is flogging (100 lashes of the whip) for unmarried male and female offenders. Married offenders may be punished by stoning regardless of their gender, but the method laid down for a man involves his burial up to his waist, and for a woman up to her neck (article 102)

Article 104 of the Law of Hodoud provides that the stones should not be so large that a person dies after being hit with two of them, nor so small as to be defined as pebbles, but must cause severe injury. This makes it clear that the purpose of stoning is to inflict grievous pain on the victim, in a process leading to his or her slow death.

Islamic Penal Code of Iran (MEHR Iran, Mar 7, 2007)

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khomeini's Religious Teachings on Marriage, Divorce and Relationships (Parvin Darabi, USA-based Dr. Homa Darabi Foundation website, Jun 10, 2006: "A man can marry a girl younger than nine years of age, even if the girl is still a baby being breastfed. A man, however is prohibited from having intercourse with a girl younger than nine, other sexual act such as forplay, rubbing, kissing and sodomy is allowed. A man having intercourse with a girl younger than nine years of age has not comitted a crime, but only an infraction, if the girl is not permanently damaged. If the girl, however, is permanently damaged, the man must provide for her all her life. But this girl will not count as one of the man's four permanent wives. He also is not permitted to marry the girl's sister."

State sponsored cult of blood - fountain spewing "blood"in Teheran,stamp

[Iraq-based] Ayatollah Khomeini's Grandson: 'Iran Needs Democracy and Separation of Religion and State;' 'The Iranian Regime Is the World's Worst Dictatorship' (MEMRI, Aug 6, 2003)

Ahmadinejad's Demons | A Child of the Revolution Takes Over (Matthias Küntzel, The New Republic, Apr 24, 2006)

Iran clarifies the Middle East (Dennis Prager, WND, Dec 30, 2003): "If you want to understand the Middle East conflict, Iran has just provided all you need to know. A massive earthquake kills between 20,000 and 40,000 Iranians, and the government of Iran announces that help is welcome from every country in the world ... except Israel. This little-reported news item is of great significance. It begs commentary. Israel not only has the world's most experienced crews in quickly finding survivors in bombed out buildings, it is also a mere two-hour flight from Iran. In other words, no country in the world would come close to Israel in its ability to save Iranian lives quickly. But none of this means anything to the rulers of Iran. The Islamic government of Iran has announced to the world that it is better for fellow countrymen and fellow Muslims – men, women and children – to die buried under rubble than to be saved by a Jew from Israel."

Real axis of evil. European Union's flirtation with the Axis of Evil delays democracy in the region (U.K.-based Iranian author Ardavan Bahrami, Nov 23, 2003, The Iranian): "Once the tyrants of Qom have been vanquished; Iran, Israel and India need to create an "Axis of Angels" in order to promote cooperation, cultural exchanges as well as safeguarding stability and peace in the Middle East and ultimately in the Indian Ocean. Of course Iran's relationship with her neighbours and all democracies in the world would be one of mutual respect and constructive engagement, but we must recognize our friends, establish contacts, work towards our mutual interests and strive to achieve them now. The European Union's flirtation with members of the Axis of Evil is a known fact and it delays the establishment of democracies in the region. The Islamic Republic is against peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Its leaders have spoken of their intention to "annihilate" Israel once they acquire nuclear capabilities, while the European Union is collaborating with Tehran's regime to portray a rosy picture of those allegedly reformists as victims of a group of hard-line ayatollahs. Today we have Axis of Evil and European Union working hand in hand against the United States, Israel and pro-democracy people of Iran."

Stopping Iran's atomic quest (National Post, Sep 29, 2003): "In a prominent national sermon in December, 2001, former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani declared that the day 'the world of Islam comes to possess [nuclear] weapons' will be 'the day ... global arrogance will come to a dead end.' He added that a bomb used against Israel 'would leave nothing on the ground' and would rid the world of much 'extraneous matter,' by which he appeared to mean millions of Jews."

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Editor: Iran's Nuclear Weapons a Threat to Arab and Islamic Countries. (MEMRI, Oct 10, 2003): An editorial titled "Yes, We Fear Iran's Uranium," authored by Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, editor of the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, appeared in the newspaper's October 8, 2003 issue. [1]The following are excerpts from the editorial: The Primary Target: Pakistan. "If you want to be foolish, you have to believe that Iran is producing its nuclear bomb in order to attack Israel; you'll turn into a complete idiot if you believe it's producing it in order to confront the U.S. The Iranians are enriching uranium to produce nuclear weapons aimed, essentially, at its neighbors, mainly Pakistan. However, the danger encompasses the other neighboring countries as well, such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan, which share with Iran a land border of 5,400 km and a sea border of 2,400 km."

This is not Islam (Paris based Iranian journalist Amir Taheri, The New York Post, Aug 15, 2003): "Muslim women could easily check the fraudulent nature of the neo-Islamist hijab by leafing through their family albums. They will not find the picture of a single female ancestor of theirs who wore the cursed headgear now marketed as an absolute "must" of Islam. This fake Islamic hijab is nothing but a political prop, a weapon of visual terrorism. It is the symbol of a totalitarian ideology inspired more by Nazism and Communism than by Islam. It is as symbolic of Islam as the Mao uniform was of Chinese civilization. It is used as a means of exerting pressure on Muslim women who do not wear it because they do not share the sick ideology behind it. It is a sign of support for extremists who wish to impose their creed, first on Muslims, and then on the world through psychological pressure, violence, terror, and, ultimately, war." Iranian stamp: Woman's Day

"Ten minute marriages" (Agence France Presse, June 20, 1998): "These are marriages in name only, not least because men have theright to deny their responsibilities for any children born of the temporary liaisons. This controversial law allows Iranian men to fornicate, so long as they register their intentions with a religious Sharia court where they fill out a form specifying how long they intend to ``enjoy'' their partner. In many cases the two sides agree to a ten-minute ``quickie'' in which they are able to satisfy each other and still keep within the law. ``The enjoyment marriage is nothing but a legal cover for prostitution,'' says Mahran Keys Doltchahi, a professor at Iran's Free University. ``How can anyone in the world claim that a marriage for ten minutes is a legal act. ... ``My temporary husbands have included one ayatollah, 21 senior clergymen, five famous merchants, a few hundred university students and the head of a hospital in the holy city of Qom.''The hypocrisy of the clergy was highlighted last year when the former government prosecutor, Hojatulislam Mohammedi, was asked if he approved of enjoyment marriages. Mohammedi said he fully supported the concept because it prevented young people from sinning."

Sex Slave Jihad, Donna M. Hughes, FrontPageMagazine, Jan 27, 2004): "The head of Iran’s Interpol bureau believes that the sex slave trade is one of the most profitable activities in Iran today. This criminal trade is not conducted outside the knowledge and participation of the ruling fundamentalists. Government officials themselves are involved in buying, selling, and sexually abusing women and girls. ... For example, following the recent earthquake in Bam, orphaned girls have been kidnapped and taken to a known slave market in Tehran where Iranian and foreign traders meet. ... Popular destinations for victims of the slave trade are the Arab countries in the Persian Gulf. According to the head of the Tehran province judiciary, traffickers target girls between 13 and 17, although there are reports of some girls as young as 8 and 10, to send to Arab countries."

Hizballah (Party of God) a.k.a. Islamic Jihad, Revolutionary Justice Organization, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, and Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine (Background Information on Designated Foreign Terrorist OrganizationsPatterns of Global Terrorism -2001, Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State : "Three members of Hizballah,'Imad Mughniyah, Hasan Izz-al-Din, and Ali Atwa, are on the FBI's list of 22 Most Wanted Terrorists ... Receives substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and received diplomatic, political, and logistical support from Syria."

Designation as State Sponsor of Terrorism by the United States: "... Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 2000. Its Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) continued to be involved in the planning and the execution of terrorist acts and continued to support a variety of groups that use terrorism to pursue their goals.Iran's involvement in terrorist-related activities remained focused on support for groups opposed to Israel and peace between Israel and its neighbors. Statements by Iran's leaders demonstrated Iran's unrelenting hostility to Israel. Supreme Leader Khamenei continued to refer to Israel as a "cancerous tumor" that must be removed; President Khatami, labeling Israel an "illegal entity," called for sanctions against Israel during the intifadah; and Expediency Council Secretary Rezai said, "Iran will continue its campaign against Zionism until Israel is completely eradicated." Iran has long provided Lebanese Hizballah and the Palestinian rejectionist groups--notably HAMAS, the Palestine Islamic Jihad, and Ahmad Jibril's PFLP-GC--with varying amounts of funding, safehaven, training, and weapons. This activity continued at its already high levels following the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May and during the intifadah in the fall. Iran continued to encourage Hizballah and the Palestinian groups to coordinate their planning and to escalate their activities against Israel Iran also provided a lower level of support--including funding, training, and logistics assistance--to extremist groups in the Gulf, Africa, Turkey, and Central Asia. Although the Iranian Government has taken no direct action to date to implement Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa against Salman Rushdie, the decree has not been revoked, and the $2.8 million bounty for his assassination has not been withdrawn. Moreover, hardline Iranians continued to stress that the decree is irrevocable. On the anniversary of the fatwa in February, the IRGC released a statement that the decree remains in force, and Ayatollah Yazdi, a member of the Council of Guardians, reiterated that "the decree is irrevocable and, God willing, will be carried out." Iran also was a victim of Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK)-sponsored terrorism. The Islamic Republic presented a letter to the UN Secretary General in October citing seven acts of sabotage by the MEK against Iran between January and August 2000. The United States has designated the MEK as a Foreign Terrorist."

The Booksellers of Tehran (Matthias Kuntzel, Wall Street Journal, Oct 28, 2005): Every book fair exhibits bestsellers. But anti-Semitic bestsellers? And in Germany, of all places? Last week at the Frankfurt Book Fair, I happened to find myself in the International Publishers section and was simply astonished. At the stand of the Iranian publishers, in plain view, was the text that influenced Hitler's Holocaust fantasies like no other: "The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion," published in English by the Islamic Propagation Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The first page of the tract makes clear that Israel is the target of this new edition. It shows a snake made of triangles, enclosing an area labeled "Greater Israel" that includes large areas of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, parts of Turkey and northern Saudi Arabia. Each triangle, according to the annotation, symbolizes the "Freemason's Eye," supposedly a "symbol of Jewry." A few steps farther on, the second most important classic of modern anti-Semitism was on display: Henry Ford's "The International Jew," in a 200-page abbreviated version, published by the Iranian "Department of Translation and Publication, Islamic Culture and Relations Organization." It was interesting to read the numerous footnotes that the Iranian publisher had added. For example, Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses" is presented as the latest example of the viciousness of Jewish slanders. A third anti-Semitic screed caught my attention for its gaudy cover: A red Star of David over a gray skull and a yellow map of the world. Its title was "Tale of the 'Chosen People' and the Legend of 'Historical Right,'" written by Mohammad Taqi Taqipour. In his foreword, the author is certain of another "final solution": Given the "global Islamic movement," Israel will soon be destroyed.

Situation of the Bahá'ís in Iran (The Bahá'í World)): "The 300,000-member Bahá'í community comprises the largest religious minority in that country, and Bahá'ís have been oppressed solely because of religious intolerance. Islamic leaders in Iran and elsewhere have long viewed the Bahá'í Faith as a threat to Islam and have branded the Bahá'ís as heretics."

Iran's Secret Blueprint for the Destruction of the Bahá'í Community (The Bahá'í World): "Stamped "confidential," the document indicates clearly that it was prepared at the request of the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, and the President of Iran, Hahsemi Rafsanjani. The memorandum was signed by Hujjatu'l Islam Siyyid Mohammad Gulpaygani, Secretary of the Council, and approved by Mr. Khamenei, who added his signature to the document."

A legal system that fails to protect freedom of expression and association (Amnesty International Report): ''Insult'' to religion. For many centuries, Iran has enjoyed a tradition of debate, discussion and interpretation of religious precepts, yet laws relating to religion have been used repeatedly to limit freedom of expression. These include, in particular, Articles 513 of the Penal Code and Articles 6 and 26 of the Press Code. Under Article 513, offences considered to amount to an ''insult'' to religion can be punished by death or prison terms prison mtermsimprisonment of between one and five years. Similarly, Articles 6 and 26 of the Press Code proscribe ''writings containing apostasy and matters against Islamic standards [and] ''the true religion of Islam...'', but state that such cases will be heard in a criminal court. Article 6 of the Press Code specifically states that those convicted will be ''assigned punishments according to Article 698 of the Penal Code.'' This article concerns the intentional creation of ''anxiety and unease in the public's mind'', ''false rumours'' or writing about ''acts which are not true'', even if it is a quotation, and provides for between two months and two years' imprisonment or up to 74 lashes. Neither the Penal Code nor Press Code specifically define what activities constitute insult to religion, and both have been used to punish people for the expression of their opinion. For example, journalists connected with the newspaper Neshat (Happiness), including the publisher, Latif Safari, editor Mashallah Shamsolvaezin and another journalist, Emadeddin Baqi, were detained, tried, convicted and sentenced, each to prison terms in excess of two years, for the publication of two articles which discussed the place of the death penalty in society. The court considered the two articles to amount to ''insults to religion.''

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Iran - 2001 (Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of U.S. Department of State)

Library of Congress's Country Studies (Iran)

CIA World Factbook (Iran): "Despite restored diplomatic relations in 1990, Iran lacks maritime boundary with Iraq and disputes land boundary, navigation channels, and other issues from eight-year war; UAE seeks United Arab League and other international support against Iran's occupation of Greater Tunb Island (called Tunb al Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran) and Lesser Tunb Island (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and attempts to occupy completely a jointly administered island in the Persian Gulf (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by Iran); Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; Iran threatens to conduct oil exploration in Azerbaijani-claimed waters, while interdicting Azerbaijani activities."