The Cruelest Race: Re-Up

Re-upped from 2007

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The Cruellest *Race Of People On The Face Of The Earth

That is how a woman of my acquaintance described the Iranians.

In most everything I have researched I have yet to find much, if anything, to refute her claim.

It must be noted that the lady that made this claim is a strong, serious professional, (head Sister of an intensive care unit) and was in fact married to an Iranian and lived in Iran between Nineteen Seventy Four and Nineteen Eighty Five.

It might be of interest also to note, given that this period included the taking of the embassy hostages, that she was unaware that the hostage situation was ongoing or even existed.

My intention in writing on this subject is to try to bring to attention the unenviable situation that is the lot of women who live under Sharia law/ Code and Islam. Though the two are different entities, they are but one. Sharia law is the law of Islam.

The Iranian revolution celebrated its twenty-sixth anniversary this week and I am of years sufficient to remember it well.

Well I remember it, but more importantly I remember the “Cultural Revolution” and the ensuing bloodbath and the slaughter of thousands who’s crimes included the capital crime of apostasy (the rejection of Islam) to “Enemy of the revolution,” the former being written in Sharia law and the latter we can take as a euphemism for educated, and as history has shown exacted a no lesser punishment.

Not surprisingly one group that was targeted in the subsequent purges were some twenty thousand teachers, who by virtue of being educated were all seen as enemies of the revolution, or were else arrested on some hitherto unknown crime.

It was perhaps at this point that the seed for this article was first sown.The moment has never left me as I laid witness to the evening news showing some poor tearful woman being led away to her death, her only crime being that she was a teacher, and no doubt her crime compounded by nothing more than that she was female.

As well you can imagine, it was with no little dismay that I first viewed the photograph that heads this article.

Dismay turning to disbelief, disbelief that any society could commit such an atrocity on a girl of sixteen years. To snuff out the life of something so precious as that which is a young girl, such a precious precious thing.
To snuff out that precious life and show the world the contempt these men of Islam feel for this wretched girl. Their contempt and cruelty hung in the public square, as she herself is, hung like some worthless piece of meat as a testimony to their injustice, their barbarity and this thing they dare call the religion of peace.

Disbelief to turn to anger, anger to turn to rage, rage to fury, and yes fury to turn to hatred. A hatred I might add that is cemented in me, cemented for all time. To hate with such a passion is far from good, for it can destroy a man, it weakens him so, it leaves him tired and spent, for hatred is a fierce consumer of energy and energy is something I have little enough to spare.

But in writing of this travesty I must put such hatred aside, for I must not let such feelings obscure the intent of this piece, which is to write about the short tragic life of Atefeh Sahaaleh and perhaps then bring to your attention the plights of other women and girls who are forced to endure the barbarities and consequences of living under this religion that calls its self Islam.Make no mistake in thinking that evil men are misinterpreting Sharia law to further there own ends, there is no need to misinterpret. Sharia law is an evil upon this earth and evil men do it’s bidding.

Before I continue let me make this statement; I make no apologies for where I draw the material from or links I provide for the purpose of writing this article. Everybody has his or her own agenda, mine here is to try in my own small way to expose what is happening in Iran today.

It is not my intention to enter into an argument of Left/Right politics or what took place under the puppet rule of the Shah. The regime of the Shah was but a brief spell in modern history, what I discuss here is the contemporary culmination of centuries of Sharia law that results in the cruelties, barbarism, and misogyny that is manifestly displayed in twenty-first century Iran.

My attention was first drawn to the plight, though post mortem, of Atefeh when I read the transcript of a FrontPage Symposium discussing her case and that of other women in modern day Iran.

But before we examine the transcript a few points to bear in mind that are brought to light in the video.

The age of consent in Iran for a girl is nine years of age, and as such she is responsible in law. (fifteen for a Male)

Atefah received her first jail sentence and one hundred lashes at the age of thirteen for “Crimes against chastity”

She subsequently received two more jail terms for the same offence.

And her fourth and final arrest was based upon an anonymous petition whose only signatures were those of two members of the “Moral police” who’s overtures Atefah had rebuffed on the evening of her release from her first jail term.

(From the video) Iranian lawyer Shadi Sadr said (31mins 35secs) “It normally takes six months for an appeal to be heard, this took place within twenty days and a decision was handed down on the same day. Something is very odd in this case but I can’t put my finger on it.”

It is here that I draw your attention to Haji Rezaii who, as is the way of the Iranian judicial system, gathers the evidence and acts as both prosecutor and judge. And once having tried, found guilty and then passed the death sentence on Atefah took it upon himself to present Atefah’s case to the court of appeals.

This then from the first page, the highlights are mine and in this first paragraph are designed to draw attention to questions alluded to by Shadi Sadr (above) as she asked in the BBC documentary.

She (Atefah)defended herself at the so-called trial ) She told the religious judge, Haji Rezaii, that he should punish the main perpetrators of moral corruption not the victims. I've also heard charges(which I had suspected would be the story) that the Mullah judge, Haji Rezai, who was also the proud executioner, had in fact wanted her for himself as a "temporary wife" and because either she or her parents had refused him, he had become enraged and had turned against her and falsified her age as 22, so that he could execute her.


Update: I can't keep up with clips being removed. I'm sure you can find the complete thing on Youtube if you're interested.

Caution. At 26mins 55secs, duration 45secs, there are brief scenes from an actual stoning and a hanging. If you do watch, perhaps I might suggest you watch the actions of the mob rather than the fate of the victims.
Fortunately in the case of the former the video is of very poor quality.


The full transcript of the symposium is here, I urge you to read it in it’s entirety for it sheds light on many things, not least the psyche of the Iranian male and the misogynist society of Iran.

The Execution Of A Teenage Girl. BBC 49 mins.



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Atefeh Sahaaleh Born Neka 1988 Murdered Neka 2004 Rest In Peace Next time, temporary marriages, stoning and other injustices. *What ever you do, don't leave a comment telling me that Iranians are not a race, I am well aware of that.