The True Face of Islam

Last week I was sitting in a coffee shop minding my own business when I overheard a young muslim man discuss Islam with other non-muslims who were sitting around him. For those who are not familiar with the evils of Islam, his arguments were persuasive. He argued that women in Islamic countries are free; he professed that those women who wear the hijaab do so because they choose too. Furthermore, he drew similarities between the Hijaab in Islam and and the manner of dress worn by nuns and orthodox Jewish women. I sat there in my seat grinding my teeth and trying desperately not to scream in his direction. I ended up turning to a female student sitting at the table next to me and saying "the muslim world kills women every day for no reason and this guy says they're free." I don't know if he ever heard me, but when I managed to change my seat to sit directly in front of him I proudly displayed the Iranian flag on my computer as I read my text book - I probably should have displayed one of those Danish Mohammad cartoons that people are fuming over, but hindsight is always 20/20.

So are Iranian women free to choose whether to wear the Hijaab? The short and obvious answer is no. They are REQUIRED to do so under Islamic Law. The official punishment for violations of the Islamic dress code is lashing, however there have been many reports of the use of razor-blades on the face of violators and prison time as well. Reports on the absuses that women face in Iran are numerous and can easily be found through a google search. However, it angers me when the supporters of fascist governments use false information to persuade those who have a limited undrestanding of the area that Islam is inherently democratic and free. No religion has ever been successfully intermingled with politics and has always been seen as antithetical to an independant and representative government. The result in Iran has been just the same. The Islamic Regime in Iran is a tyrannical and fascist regime who does not respect the freedom of others to choose.

I recently acquired two pictures that were sent to me. Unfortunately, I do not know when these pictures were taken or for what purpose these women were executed, but they serve as a grim reminder of the brutallity of the Islamic Regime in Iran.