Religion is a Mental Illness

And if you do not, then be informed of a war [against you] from Allah and His Messenger. But if you repent, you may have your principal - [thus] you do no wrong, nor are you wronged.

If you do not, beware of war on the part of God and His Apostle. But if you repent, you shall keep your principal. Oppress none and no one will oppress you.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and give up what remains [due to you] of interest, if you should be believers.

O you who believe, fear God, and give up, abandon, the usury that is outstanding, if you are believers, true to your faith, since it is expected of the believer that he adhere to God’s command: this was revealed when some of the Companions, after the prohibition, wanted to reclaim some of the usury from before.

But if you do not, do what you have been commanded, then be warned, have knowledge, of war from God, and His Messenger, against you: herein is a grave threat for them. When it was revealed, they said, ‘What power can we have in a war against Him!’ Yet if you repent, and forgo it, you shall have your principal sums, the original amounts, not being unjust, by charging interest, and no injustice being done to you, by way of any diminution.

(O ye who believe!) the reference here is to the sons of 'Amr Ibn 'Umayr Ibn 'Awf al-Thaqafi, [and they were four brothers:] Mas'ud [Ibn 'Amr], Hubayb [Ibn 'Amr], 'Abd Yalayl [Ibn 'Amr] and Rabi'ah [Ibn 'Amr] (observe your duty to Allah) fear Allah regarding usury, (and give up what remaineth (due to you) from usury) leave that which the Banu Makhzum owe you of usury, (if ye are (in truth) believers) if you really believe in the prohibition of usury.

(And if ye do not) if you do not abstain from usury, (then be warned of war (against you) from Allah and His Messenger) then be ready for a torment from God in the Hereafter by means of the Fire and its chastisement and also be ready for the sword from His Messenger in the life of this world. (And if ye repent) from usury, (then ye have your principal (without interest)) that is owed to you by the Banu Makhzum. (Wrong not) anyone by demanding interest, (and ye shall not be wronged) by anyone if they give you back your capitals; it is also said that 'wrong not' means: do not harm others; and 'you shall not be wronged' meaning: you shall not be harmed because of your debts.

Riba is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as "usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. Riba is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an (3:130, 4:161, 30:39, and most commonly 2:275-2:280). It is also mentioned in many hadith (reports of the life of Muhammad).

Definitions of riba include:

• Unjustified increment in borrowing or lending money, paid in kind or in money above the amount of loan, as a condition imposed by the lender or voluntarily promised by the borrower. This is called fiqh riba al-duyun (debt usury) (Abdel-Rahman Yousri Ahmad). • Unequal exchange. In addition to loan interest, this can include the exchange of nonequivalent quantities of goods (riba al-fadl) or unequal exposure to risk (Olivier Roy). • All forms of interest, "any excess on the principal sum of loan", i.e. any and all interest, irrespective of how much is lent, whether the borrower is rich or poor, or the use of the loan for investment or for consumption. Some translations of verses of the Quran substitute the word "interest" for riba or "usury". This is the "orthodox"[26] or "conservative" view of classical jurists, as well as revivalists such as Abul A'la Maududi.

And finally, New Rule: if you're out protesting for a couple of hours wearing this...

... you have to go all the way and spend an afternoon running errands wearing one of these.

You can't side with the people who ruthlessly oppress women without at least getting a taste of what you're supporting.

Well, now that summer is here and the Hamas-backing college protesters have dispersed back to their summer internships at Goldman Sachs, I thought it might be a good time to say this: I actually admire your youthful idealism, and our world would be poorer without it. Much like your parents who just wasted 300 grand on that ignorance factory you call a college.

Not that I think it's your fault, being this poorly educated and morally confused. That takes a village. Shitty schools, overindulgent parents, social media, that priest who rubbed lotion on you.

But three cheers to you for at least having the impulse to seek a cause in something bigger than yourself. It's just that the one you picked, you missed the boat by a fucking mile.

But here's the good news. You want a cause? Cuz I totally got one for you. Apartheid. Yeah, apartheid, the thing you've been shouting about with Israel for months. Never mind that Israeli Arabs are actually full citizens. You learned that word from a 2 Chainz song and discovered that protesting South Africa's apartheid in the 80s was a righteous cause, and so it was. To this day, when celebrities are asked, who is the person they most admire, one name is always the safest choice.

So, naturally, when you heard that Israel was an apartheid state it gave you such a boner you literally pitched a tent.

You knew how wrong it was when tens of millions of South Africans had been treated like second class citizens just because of their race.

But here's the thing. Today, right now, hundreds of millions of women are treated worse than second class citizens. When you mandate that one category of human beings don't even have the right to show their face, that's apartheid. And it goes on in a lot of countries.

For the last couple years, women in Iran have been saying, "take this hijab and shove it." Because in 2022, a young woman named Mahsa Amini was arrested for wearing her mandatory hijab incorrectly and then died in police custody. And now security forces have killed over 500 people protesting her death and this obvious human rights violation. How about defunding those police?

Amnesty International says that, "Iranian authorities are waging a war on women that subjects them to constant surveillance beatings sexual violence and detention." What P. Diddy calls a hotel stay.

In Iran, MeToo isn't a movement, it's what a woman says when another woman says, my life sucks.

Yasmine Muhammad is a human rights activist who got married off to a Muslim man with fundamentalist views about women not exactly uncommon in the Muslim world. He forced her to wear the niqab all the time, including once beating her because she took her hijab off at home, because the apartment had a window through which people might see in. And this was in Vancouver.

Here's what Yasmine said about veiling.

"It just suppresses your humanity entirely. It's like a portable sensory deprivation chamber and you are no longer connected to humanity. You can't see properly. You can't hear properly. You can't speak properly. People can't see you. You can only see them. Just little things. Passing people on the street and just making eye contact and smiling, that's gone. You're no longer part of this world, and so you very quickly just shrivel up into nothing under there."

And that's my answer when someone says "Islamophobe."

Really, feminists? Come on, there's got to be a happy medium between a husband making his wife wear this, and a husband making his wife wear this.

I know 1619 was bad, but this is happening right now, right under your nose rings. And it's not just the clothes. 15 countries in the Middle East, including Gaza, have laws that require women to obey their husbands. Laws. Not just Harrison Butker's opinion.

And those societies also have guardianship laws, which means a woman needs permission from her husband to work, to travel, to leave the house, to go to school, to get medical attention. Nothing?

Honor killings, where women are murdered by their own fathers and-or brothers happen so frequently they can't even have an accurate account of how many.

In 59 countries, there are no laws against sexual harassment in the workplace, and many have no laws against domestic violence or spousal rape. 20 countries have marry-your-rapist laws. Multiple societies have laws about what jobs women can and can't do. Make a Barbie movie about that. 30 countries practice female genital mutilation, and 650 million women alive today were married as children.

Kids, if you really want to change the world and not just tie up Monday morning traffic, this is the apartheid that desperately needs your attention. Gender apartheid. This is what should be the social justice issue of your time. How about, from the river to the sea, every woman shall be free?

But in reality, it's not an issue at all. For one reason: the people who are doing it aren't white. I hate to have to be the one to break it to you kids, but non-white people can do bad things too. Now, white on black racism certainly has been of one of history's most horrific scourges. But also, it's true that in today's world being non-white means you can get away with murder.

So good on you kids for following your instinct to protest social injustice. Just remember, when it comes to finding a cause, pulling your head out of your ass is an important rite of passage.

The death of Iran’s president Raisi has exposed the sickness at the heart of the West

While women in Iran risk their lives to celebrate Raisi’s death, global bodies show how sick they are

The Telegraph

The women of Iran are dancing. Women blinded, with one eye, or one arm, are dancing. Iranian Kurds are dancing. Across Europe, Iranian dissidents are dancing. Iranians – often, relatives of the regime’s victims – are drinking to show their joy. The daughters of Minoo Majidi, a mother shot dead by security services during the 2022 protests, shared a video of them raising a glass to President Raisi’s death. 

Dark humour – the jokes of an oppressed people – are circulating. “Mr Raisi, you surprised us. We have no tapas for our drinks,” chuckles one Iranian in a celebratory video on social media. There was the gag about how a Mossad agent called “Eli Copter” had caused the crash. People have handed out cakes and sweets in public squares – an act of symbolic importance in Persian culture, often associated with joyous events. Celebratory fireworks filled the skies in Iranian cities.

Such courage is all the more impressive given how little Raisi’s death is likely to change anything in this closed prison of a society. It may somewhat alter the succession, since he had been one of the men tipped to succeed Khamenei, but the Ayatollahs retain their stranglehold. The bravery of anyone involved in any celebration or act of civil disobedience such as removing a headscarf, is astounding. Those letting off fireworks or handing out sweets are risking their lives. 

History will remember Raisi as a squalid tyrant who took a twisted pride in human suffering. He was involved in the torture and extrajudicial murder of thousands of political prisoners held in Iranian jails and the mass killings of opponents in 1988, when as many as 30,000 are believed to have lost their lives. As Mariam Memarsadeghi wrote in a chilling article for the Tablet, “virgins were systematically raped before their execution, to circumvent the Islamic prohibition on killing virgins and to prevent women and girls from reaching heaven”. 

And yet, the BBC posted about “President Ebrahim Raisi’s mixed legacy in Iran”. You can imagine the 1945 headlines about the mixed legacy of “motorway-builder, vegetarian rights enthusiast and dog-lover” Adolf Hitler, or that of “inspirational plus-size influencer” Hermann Goering. Reuters described how Raisi “rose through Iran’s theocracy from hardline prosecutor to uncompromising president, as he burnished his credentials to position himself to become the next supreme leader”. 

Reading such things you would think Raisi was, at worst, a slight renegade. A cheeky chappie in a kaftan whose loss will be felt by light entertainment for generations. They tweeted like he was Rod Hull – rather than, you know, someone nicknamed “the Butcher of Tehran”. But in the real world, faced with the real consequences of the regime he ran, people are dancing. 

It wasn’t just the BBC in its classic “tightrope walk” mode, either. Things were getting a bit Candle in the Wind at the UN, as the entire Security Council (including both the UK and US representatives) stood to observe a minute of silence for President Raisi. Goodbye Tehran’s rose. 

European Council president Charles Michel tweeted out his sincere condolences, while the “European Commissioner for Crisis Management” committed the EU’s Copernicus satellite system to help locate Raisi’s helicopter, in the name of “#EUSolidarity”. 

Lest we forget, Johan Floderus, a young EU official from Sweden, has been incarcerated at Iran’s notorious Evin prison for more than two years. We don’t see much “#EUSolidarity” coming from the other direction. Not to be undone, President Higgins of Ireland channelled the spirit of Eamon de Valera c.1945, by offering his “deepest sympathies” upon the death of a tyrant. 

Such statements go well beyond basic diplomacy. Nobody asked anyone to gush; they chose to. The message it sends is a slap in the face to those bravely putting their lives on the line for freedom. But it’s par for the course in what is (sometimes optimistically) termed the “international community”. 

Speaking of which, on Monday, the International Criminal Court put out joint bids for arrest warrants for the leaders of Hamas and the prime minister and defence minister of Israel. Given that the ICC has no jurisdiction, nor power of its own to arrest anyone, there was something bleakly comic about the manner of the announcement. Chief prosecutor Karim Khan delivered his statement flanked by a couple of glaring bureaucrats. The ICC appeared to be putting on its best “don’t mess with us” face. It looked like a geriatric version of Bugsy Malone.

The ICC application refers, pointedly, to the “territory of Israel” and the “state of Palestine”, which makes it clear which side its bread is buttered. It notably ignores Hamas’s use of human shields, surely a factor when assessing the civilian death toll. It even holds Israel entirely responsible for “closing the three border crossing points” after October 7. 

Yet Hamas destroyed the Erez crossing, murdering its operators and blowing up the barriers separating it from the Gaza strip. Small wonder border checkpoints weren’t up and running immediately. Condemning Israel for this is grotesque; gaslighting on an international scale. 

The timing is also telling. We have known about the crimes of October 7 from day one, thanks to the body-cams Hamas terrorists so proudly wore to document their butchery. Yet the ICC waited until May 2024 to condemn both Israel and Hamas on the same day. The effect is to suggest a moral equivalence between a democratic state and a genocidal terrorist group that says it wants to repeat the atrocities of October 7 indefinitely. You don’t have to believe Israel is above criticism – and nor should we – to recognise this. 

Multinational organisations like the ICC are often held up as moral arbiters in themselves, when they will only be as virtuous or corrupt as their component member states, and reflecting the same biases. The World Health Organisation has long excluded Taiwan from its membership due to Chinese pressure. A ruinous decision, when Taiwan’s early warnings about the risks of human-to-human transmission of Covid in late 2019 were ignored. Something is rotten in the state of many international bodies and moral courage is in short supply. 

Given such a clear-cut case of evil as Raisi, the mealy-mouthed global response does not bode well. For genuine bravery, we can look to the people at the sharp end of such regimes. Because still, in the midst of it all, the women of Iran dance. 

Fireworks and dancing as Iranians defiantly celebrate Raisi’s death

Jubilant scenes posted online while regime broadcasts footage of mourning after president killed in helicopter crash

The Telegraph

Defiant acts of celebration broke out in Iran as state television broadcasted footage of mourning following the death of president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

Fireworks were set off in several cities on Monday night and some people posted videos of themselves dancing in the streets early on Tuesday.

However, the open displays of celebration were limited as dissent is often met with a strict crackdown by the hardline regime.

In one video showing fireworks, a woman’s voice can be heard saying: “People are rejoicing at the downfall of Raisi.”

“People are celebrating and I congratulate the president’s death,” said another man over another clip. “I hope the rest of them die too.”

People in the capital Tehran told The Telegraph there was a heavy presence of armed security forces in several neighbourhoods.

“I went up to the roof last night, and there were fireworks in several parts of the city,” a resident of Karaj, near the capital Tehran, said.

“I also heard people chanting ‘death to the dictator’ somewhere close by,” he added.

Many Iranians celebrated in secret and some people told the Telegraph they stayed awake waiting for “good news to come out of the mountains”.

“I was on my phone all night and when I finally saw the news, I jumped from bed and started dancing,” a man in Tehran said.

“I went to a nearby shop, and it was incredible. The shopkeeper, whom I know, gave me a free cigarette and said, ‘Let’s hope for more crashes like this’,” he said.

The mother of a Kurdish prisoner executed earlier this year posted a video of herself dancing upon hearing the news of Raisi’s death.

A shopkeeper in central Isfahan said he experienced a surge in selling sweets on Monday as people “keep coming to celebrate”.

“It’s very strange and good, people come and congratulate me for the death of Raisi,” he said. “It’s been a long time since I saw something like this.”

“Many are hiding their happiness because they are afraid of government spies and worried about the subsequent consequences,” he added.

On Monday afternoon, state TV continued to broadcast scenes of mourning and tearful individuals.

“I don’t know what to say,” said a crying man. “I’m shocked, and I hope God helps people in these grieving times,” said another.

“He lost his life while serving the nation, which made me very sad,” said a man in a mosque where people had gathered to mourn. “He held a special place in people’s hearts.”

Mourning songs and live footage of memorials played continuously on several state channels.

Many changed their logos to black and aired tributes about how “beloved and close to the people the martyred president” was, highlighting that he lost his life on the “flight of service”.

“The president set new benchmarks for good governance, and we hope his legacy continues,” a presenter said. “He accomplished significant feats and would have achieved even more if given more time.”

“He was a soldier of the Supreme Leader, and anyone who respected the Supreme Leader respected him as well. He was dedicated to the development of Iran,” an analyst said on state TV.

Iran’s president and his foreign minister were confirmed dead after the helicopter they were travelling in crashed in a mountainous region during bad weather on Sunday evening.

Rescuers reached the wreckage early Monday morning after a desperate search mission hampered by rain, fog and snow.

Mr Raisi won Iran’s closely stage-managed 2021 presidential election, a vote marked by the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history.

His victory brought all branches of power under the control of hardliners, after eight years in which the presidency had been held by Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist who entered into a nuclear deal with Washington.

“These three years of Raisi were like a nightmare,” said a woman in her late 20s in northwestern Mashhad, Raisi’s hometown.

“I do not expect any big change to happen now, at least we can hope,” she added.

Under the code name “Noor” or “light” in Farsi, the Islamic Republic has intensified a clampdown on anyone violating its draconian female dress codes.

Iran Ramps Up Executions, Averaging One Every Five Hours

Over the course of two weeks, from April 16 to April 30, the Iranian government executed 63 individuals, averaging one execution every five

Iran International

Over the course of two weeks, from April 16 to April 30, the Iranian government executed 63 individuals, averaging one execution every five hours, continuing a trend that began last year.

The data presented by the Iran Human Rights Organization (IHRNGO), headquartered in Norway, highlights a broader pattern of capital punishment in Iran.

Since the beginning of 2024, 171 people have been executed across various prisons in the country.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of IHRNGO, criticized the international community's silence on the issue, stating, "In the last two weeks, the Islamic Republic has executed one person every five hours without any political cost. States that adhere to human rights and have diplomatic relations with Iran must react to the wave of executions in Iran. Silence paves the way for more executions."

The organization's latest figures indicate that at least 71 people were executed in 24 different Iranian prisons during April alone, with 63 of the executions occurring in the latter half of the month. Out of these, 44 were executed for drug-related offenses, 26 faced 'qisas' (retribution-in-kind) for murder, and one for rape.

The surge in executions follows the onset of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in 2022, after which the Iranian government has significantly increased the pace of carrying out death penalties. In 2023 alone, the country saw at least 834 executions.

An April press release from 82 Iranian and international human rights organizations pointed out that over half of the executions in 2023 involved individuals arrested on drug-related charges. The statement emphasized the low cost of the drug-related executions to the government, signaling a potentially punitive approach towards non-violent offenses.

Why do the UN and BBC mourn 'Butcher of Tehran' who hanged rape victims?

THE President of Iran died at the weekend in a helicopter accident – news that the BBC marked with the headline “President Ebrahim Raisi’s m

The Sun

THE President of Iran died at the weekend in a helicopter accident – news that the BBC marked with the headline “President Ebrahim Raisi’s mixed legacy in Iran”.

“Mixed legacy” is an interesting way to sum up the life of someone better known as the “Butcher of Tehran”.

Raisi rose through the ranks of the revolutionary Islamic Government that overthrew the Shah in 1979.

And he made his name in the usual revolutionary Islamic way.

By killing his political opponents — including the leftists who the regime rounded up, imprisoned and murdered by the thousands in their jails.

Some of the obituaries have noted that Raisi helped speed up the backlog of trials in Iran.

That is true. He did it in the same way Stalin did — by killing his opponents fast.

The United Nations noted his passing in its own unique way.

At the Security Council, the member States were invited to stand and observe a minute’s silence for Raisi.

Those taking part shamefully included our own deputy ambassador to the UN, James Kariuki.

At the same time, Iranians were letting off fireworks and handing out sweets in their own streets.

There has been more mourning at the United Nations than there has been in Iran.

Perhaps that is because the Iranian people are the first ones who have had to suffer under the cruel rule of President Raisi.

It was on his watch that students and others who have protested against his regime have been abducted, tortured and killed.

It is Raisi’s regime which has overseen the harshest rule of Islamic law — which includes the hanging of women who have been raped.

That’s right. If you are a woman who has been raped in Iran, you are the culprit.

And you will be the one that is hanged.

Are the women who suffered that horror worth a minute’s silence at the UN? I would have said so.

Is their hangman? I’d have said not. Yet the UN and others continued with this gross spectacle.

Today, the organisation flew its flags at half-mast at its HQ in New York.

How morally sick can an organisation be?

We seem to have come to the stage where international bodies, as well as some sick people at home, will love anyone so long as that person hates us.

And Raisi and his foreign minister, who died with him, certainly did hate us.

Theirs is a regime which has, for 44 years, called for “Death to America” and “Death to the UK”.

It is a regime which has caused a numberless loss of lives inside Iran and in the wider region.

It is a regime which has been trying to expand its power in its own region and whose assassins have made it as far as New York and London.

Only last month, a member of the Iranian opposition was stabbed outside his house in London.

Almost certainly by assassins sent to the UK by the government in Iran.

All the time, Raisi and his friends have tried to make their regime invincible by gaining a nuclear weapon.

So far they have had that project delayed many times.

But they still seek the bomb and are one of the very few regimes on Earth that has said they would like to use it.

We should take them at their word.

It is the regime in Iran that has, for years, funded and trained terrorists across the region and indeed the world.

In October last year, when Hamas terrorists broke into Israel and carried out the largest mass slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, it was Iran which backed them.

It is Iran that has funded Hamas. It is Iran that has trained Hamas. And it is Iran that has armed Hamas.

Just as they have also trained, funded and armed their other terrorist groups.

Notably in Yemen. Where Iran’s Houthi friends have fired missiles and attacked British ships.

But also in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, where Iran’s weapons have killed British and American soldiers.

And that is before even getting on to the 150,000 missiles Iran has helped Hezbollah store up in southern Lebanon.

Or the drones and other munitions it has been giving to Vladimir Putin’s Russia as he tries to overrun Ukraine.

All of his foul life, Raisi hoped to start and win a massive regional war.

Why should the man who oversaw all this and very much more be given any respect?

You might say it makes political sense to keep doors open — as most of our Foreign Office seems to think.

But it is quite another thing to mourn, or lament, the passing of this man.

The BBC, Foreign Office and United Nations may not know what a tyrant is. But the Iranian people do.

If only we could show that we are on their side.

We could start by showing that we are also on our own.

Of its many failures, social media is let down by the speed of its news cycle, and the fickleness of its followers.

We’ve all seen it happen…

A flash-in-the-pan story blows up overnight, catches fire, and captures the eyes and ears of the online world.

A groundswell arrives, ‘this is it’ you hear, whispered, and then as fast as it arrived… it’s gone. Nothing changes.

All that knee-taking, and placard waving.

All that chest beating, and fist shaking.

All those buckets of icy water dumped on heads, and black squares slapped onto Instagram feeds.

The endless clapping, and clattering of pans on doorsteps.

After all of it; the performative grandstanding and slack-tivism… and nothing.

So we look around, blinkered, confused and deflated, shuffling home like a washed-out trip head, coming down from last night’s high.

The words we yelled are a rapidly fading dream, to be wound up, stored away and cringed over, in years to come.

The party is packed down, but don’t worry, the next ‘this is it’ moment is right around the corner.

Two years ago, we saw scenes of historic bravery and sacrifice in Iran, we saw strength, unity and heartbreaking loss.

We saw the familiar response from social media, and heard the same promises made, as they always are.

And again, nothing.

But Iran never stopped, and the revolution rolls on, quieter now, and away from the watchful eyes of the world.

The ‘women-lead revolution’ and the colossal sacrifice it’s built upon, falls on the deaf ears of fair-weather activism, too busy indulging in its next great battle.

But we cannot afford for Iran, and the thousands killed, to be consigned to the history books, or forgotten about, as tomorrow’s chip paper.

Because the violence continues none the less, and the deaths stack up.

So why is nobody talking about Iran?

And does it need our help now, more than ever?

"Iran has a right to 'fight back.'"

If those are the words that are coming out of your mouth, remember, you're not talking about the people of Iran. You're talking about the Islamic Republic.

You're talking about the IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps). This is one of the Iranian generals that were killed in the Damascus airstrike. Now, Mohammad here was a Quds (IRGC branch) commander. He helped execute and plan the October 7th massacre. He led Hezbollah's operations in Syria and Lebanon. And he also worked very closely with this guy. He also has the blood of Americans on his hands. So, this is what you're defending, not the people of Iran.

You claim that Israel hit a diplomatic compound, which, by the way, it did not. You can see it's still intact here. It did, however, hit the building next to it, which was being used as an IRGC base, which strips it of diplomatic immunity.

But here's the question. Is Israel, by your logic, allowed to fight back? When our borders are invaded? When the Republic's proxies killed 1200 of our people and are still holding 134 hostages? What about the seven months of almost daily bombardment from Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis? Are we allowed then?

When you defend the Islamic Republic, you're not speaking for the people of Iran. Iranians are saying this.

And this.

And this.

The real sad part is the people of Iran are the ones that have suffered at the hands of this regime the most. So please stop pretending that your genocidal fetish towards Israel's destruction is on behalf of the people of Iran.

Islamophobia was invented to silence those Muslims who question the Koran and who demand equality of the sexes.

At the end of the 1970s, Iranian fundamentalists invented the term "Islamophobia" formed in analogy to "xenophobia". The aim of this word was to declare Islam inviolate. Whoever crosses this border is deemed a racist. This term, which is worthy of totalitarian propaganda, is deliberately unspecific about whether it refers to a religion, a belief system or its faithful adherents around the world.

But confession has no more in common with race than it has with secular ideology. Muslims, like Christians, come from the Arab world, Africa, Asia and Europe, just as Marxists, liberals and anarchists come or came from all over. In a democracy, no one is obliged to like religion, and until proved otherwise, they have the right to regard it as retrograde and deceptive. Whether you find it legitimate or absurd that some people regard Islam with suspicion – as they once did Catholicism – and reject its aggressive proselytism and claim to total truth – this has nothing to do with racism.

Do we talk about 'liberalophobia' or 'socialistophobia' if someone speaks out against the distribution of wealth or market domination. Or should we reintroduce blasphemy, abolished by the revolution in 1791, as a statutory offence, in line with the annual demands of the "Organisation of the Islamic Conference".  Or indeed the French politician Jean-Marc Roubaud, who wants to see due punishment for anyone who "disparages the religious feelings of a community or a state". Open societies depend on the peaceful coexistence of the principal belief systems and the right to freedom of opinion. Freedom of religion is guaranteed, as is the freedom to criticise religions. The French, having freed themselves from centuries of ecclesiastical rule, prefer discretion when it comes to religion. To demand separate rights for one community or another, imposing restrictions on the right to question dogma is a return to the Ancien Regime.

The term "Islamophobia" serves a number of functions: it denies the reality of an Islamic offensive in Europe all the better to justify it; it attacks secularism by equating it with fundamentalism. Above all, however, it wants to silence all those Muslims who question the Koran, who demand equality of the sexes, who claim the right to renounce religion, and who want to practice their faith freely and without submitting to the dictates of the bearded and doctrinaire. It follows that young girls are stigmatised for not wearing the veil, as are French, German or English citizens of Maghribi, Turkish, African or Algerian origin who demand the right to religious indifference, the right not to believe in God, the right not to fast during Ramadan. Fingers are pointed at these renegades; they are delivered up to the wrath of their religions communities in order to quash all hope of change among the followers of the Prophet.

On a global scale, we are abetting the construction of a new thought crime, one which is strongly reminiscent of the way the Soviet Union dealt with the "enemies of the people". And our media and politicians are giving it their blessing. Did not the French president himself, never one to miss a blunder - not compare Islamophobia with Antisemitism? A tragic error. Racism attacks people for what they are: black, Arab, Jewish, white. The critical mind on the other hand undermines revealed truths and subjects the scriptures to exegesis and transformation. To confuse the two is to shift religious questions from an intellectual to a judicial level. Every objection, every joke becomes a crime.

The desecration of graves or of places of worship is naturally a matter for the courts. In France, for the most part it is Christian graveyards or churches that are affected. Let us not forget that today, of all the monotheist religions, Christianity is the most persecuted – particularly in Islamic countries such Algeria, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey or Egypt. It is easier to be a Muslim in London, New York or Paris than a Protestant or Catholic in the Middle East or North Africa. But the term "Christianophobia" does not function – and that's a good thing. There are words which taint language, which obscure meaning. "Islamophobia" is one of the words that we urgently need to delete from our vocabulary.

7 Reminders to Help Those Advocating for the People of Gaza

It has been reported that the Israeli Defense Force is now on the ground in the Gaza strip, beginning what will probably be a long operation

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• Within the first 48 hours of Hamas’ invasion into Israel on October 7th, Hamas fired over 5000 rockets into Israel. This rocket attack began before the invasion began, and continued until just a couple of days ago. The bombs being dropped from Israel was to neutralize Hamas, who continuously barraged Israel with rockets. Can’t really ceasefire when the other side keeps firing.

• Israel drops notes, sends text messages, and even hacks television sets to tell the people of Gaza to evacuate, and the fastest routes to take to do so. Hamas routinely blocks the roads. If a Palestinian tries to leave on foot, Hamas threatens to kill them. Hamas shoots bullets at the people, and tells them if they try to leave, Hamas will kill them.

• The only job opportunities in Gaza are working for Hamas. The ones who do are paid extremely well. The ones who don’t are stuck in poverty.

• For Gazans, it's forbidden to even say that you don’t want war. Journalists are tortured, beaten, and killed if they report anything other than what Hamas tells them to report. Any Palestinian outside of Gaza who calls attention to it, if they have friends or family in Gaza, Hamas threatens and tortures them.

• No, that repeat isn’t an accident. It is a reminder for those who are unwilling to connect the dots to do so. If Hamas is so incredibly strict on the press and opinions of the general public, there is much to be said about the messaging that does freely come out of Gaza.
• For example: Hamas has many people—young people—on their payroll to tell the Hamas narrative and nothing else. And for an organization worth billions of dollars, this is a well-oiled, propaganda machine.

• Based on everything provided in this article, it would be difficult, dishonest even, to conclude otherwise.

• Hamas executes homosexuals. They use their vehicles to drag the bodies of dissenters in the streets. They rape their women. They kill their children. Their top leaders have mansions in Gaza and other homes in Qatar where they flee to while wars they instigate wages. And they do all this while feeding disinformation to the world about why and how their people are suffering.

The Iranian people, including inside of Iran, have been the people who offered me the most condolences, I mean, they're active on social media speaking out against Hamas, in favor of Israel and Israel's right to self-defence, because they understand. They understand the reality of what Hamas actually is. Of what Islamic Jihad in Gaza actually is.

So, the reality on the ground in Iran is that they're very, very pro-Israel, they look to Israel as an example and they want Israel to help them as well. So, any attack on Israel they take very personally.

I've spent the better part of the last year traveling quite a bit to different locations for lectures and for meetings, but more importantly, to meet with members of different Iranian diaspora communities, connect them with the Jewish communities, since we have the same goals and the same interests, and also, honestly, a shared history that a lot of people aren't aware of. The Iranian people are definitely not enemies of Israelis.

Iran was actually one of the first countries, one of the first Muslim countries actually, to recognize the state of Israel. So, the friendship of Iran and Israel is much longer than, you know, being enemies. That's something new that only came with the regime in 1979.

So, in the last year I have been meeting with different lawmakers about how to hold the Islamic Republic accountable, whether it be designation of IRGC or sanction enforcement. And then at the grassroots level, I've been an activist within Iran, in the Persian community, organizing protests of solidarity on the ground in Israel. And the point of this is to motivate the people of Iran and to show them, and to show the world, that we stand with them in their pursuit for freedom, and that regardless of Israel and the conflict with the Iranian government, the people of Israel stand united with the people of Iran.

And I think what's interesting about what's happening right now with the operation in Gaza and the war that we're facing from Hamas terrorists - who of course, incidentally are supported, funded and trained by the Islamic Regime in Iran - so, it's been really, really moving to see how much the Iranian community, even inside of Iran is supporting Israel.

In fact, before I even saw a Jewish community's posting about rallies that they were going to host in solidarity with what's happening in Israel against terrorism, I saw that the Iranians had organized flyers and promotional materials for holding a rally of support for the state of Israel. So, it's just been incredible to see that these people who have been told that they're our enemies are in fact not at all. They're our greatest defenders and they're our greatest allies and I have nothing but love for the people of Iran and I think I can speak for the majority, if not all, of Israeli citizens as well.

I think that the only option in Iran is regime change. Unfortunately, we've had a lot of people who spoke up against Iran and some of them tried to work within the system in the last few decades. None of them have been successful because, frankly, the Iranian Regime is very intelligent. They do know what they're doing. They use unbelievably complex psychological warfare even on their own people, and that's part of the reason that they've been able to maintain control with such an iron grip for so long.

So yes, I think the reality is we're not going to see a change in Israel-Iran, as a state, relations until there is a regime change. But when there is a regime change, there will be peace the next day. Iranians and Israelis will be the best of friends, publicly and openly once again.

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According to Sheikh Abdul Latif Aziz al-Sheikh, those who use social media sites, especially Twitter, have not only lost this world but also their afterlife. The religious police head's remarks echo the concerns of Riyadh that Twitter is being used by Saudis to express opinions about sensitive political as well as other issues. The reason for the conservative kingdom's concern can be attributed to the fact that Saudi Arabia is seeing the world's fastest growth in the use of this social media platform according to the BBC. In April this year, the imam of Grand Mosque, Mecca, warned during the course of the sermon that Twitter was threatening Saudi's national unity.

The sermon was watched by millions on television. Grand Mufti, the most senior Muslim cleric in Saudi Arabia, had earlier on called Twitter users “fools”. The verbal attacks on Twitter by the religious leaders are seen as part of a determined offensive launched against the social media platform by Saudi's establishment. Many of the Saudi citizens have seized the opportunity presented by Twitter to quickly and effectively communicate and express opinions in a traditionally conservative society.

The Kingdom's concern about Twitter stems from the fact that the social media platform has been made use of to keep people informed about human rights activists on trial. Twitter has been used not only to post tweets about the protests that the Eastern Province witnessed recently, but also to upload images of the human rights activists when the trial was underway in the court.

This prompted the authorities to initiate action to link Twitter accounts of Saudis with their ID numbers so that some amount of restriction can be imposed. Several online activists have been jailed. At least one of them has been detained for alleged apostasy which could carry a death penalty.

Pakistan to try blasphemy suspects under terrorism charges too; deal signed with radical Islamic group TLP - Times of India

Pakistan News: Succumbing to the demands of a radical Islamist party, the Pakistan government has agreed to try blasphemy suspects under ter

The Times of India

LAHORE: Succumbing to the demands of a radical Islamist party, the Pakistan government has agreed to try blasphemy suspects under terrorism charges in addition to the other sections of the country's penal code. The Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) ended its 25-day-long march protest at Sarai Alamgir, Gujrat district, some 200 km from Lahore, on Saturday after signing a pact with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led federal government. Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said the government has accepted "all legitimate" demands of the TLP, especially on blasphemy laws. In a 12-point agreement signed on Saturday with the TLP, the federal government agreed to book those accused of committing blasphemy and charged with Section 295-C (use of derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet) of Pakistan Penal Code under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997, too. "Besides, speedy trials of the blasphemy accused will be ensured. For the first time, a Counter Blasphemy Wing (CBW) will be established under the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)," Sanaullah said, adding the government would ensure steps to block blasphemous content on social media. The radical Islamic group gained political capital as the federal government agreed to issue a letter declaring that the TLP was not a terrorist organisation, the Dawn newspaper reported. The government also conceded to lift the ban on the coverage of TLP on broadcast and social media while agreeing to withdraw all political cases filed against TLP workers and leaders. Sanaullah said the TLP leaders whose names have been taken off the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, will have the freedom of movement, and the federal government will issue directives to provincial governments for it. According to Amnesty International, Pakistan's blasphemy laws are often used against religious minorities and others who are the target of false accusations. The addition of terrorism charges will make the blasphemy suspects more vulnerable.

Even if it doesn’t call them by their name, Pakistan is being quietly run by its own Ayatollahs, who negotiate with the State on behalf of a higher sovereign. They are laying the foundations for turning the country into a Shari’a-run Islamic State, more surely than jihadists who have escalated violent operations across Pakistan.

Iran executes 3 protesters despite international outcry

Iran said it executed three men Friday morning on charges of "waging war against God" and collaboration with terrorist groups.

ABC News

LONDON -- The Islamic Republic of Iran said it executed three men Friday morning on charges of "waging war against God" and collaboration with terrorist groups.

The judiciary's website Mizan claimed that Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi's charges were based on their confessions that they were involved in killing three members of the regime's forces during protests in Isfahan last November.

Protests in Isfahan and other cities across the country erupted in September after 22-year old Mahsa Amini who was arrested for not fully abiding with the mandatory hijab rule of the country died in police custody.

At least 22,000 people had been arrested across the country in the ensuing protests, as the Islamic Republic News Agency confirmed. Iran Human Rights reported that at least 537 people were killed by the regime which never accepted the responsibility of what happened to Amini.

After Iran's Supreme Court upheld the execution sentences of Kazemi, Mirhashemi and Yaghubi, families of the men executed Friday and members of the Iranian public pleaded with international bodies to take any action to stop the Islamic Republic from carrying out the sentences.

Amnesty International said the men's fast-tracked trial was flawed and the pointed out there were significant procedural flaws, lack of evidence, and torture allegations that were never investigated.

In a last message that the three men reportedly signed and smuggled out of the prison, they asked the public to help them stop the regime from executing them.

"Hello, we ask you dear fellow citizens not to let them kill us. We need your help. We need your support," the message signed on May 17 reads.

In December, Mohsen Shekari was the first person hanged for alleged crimes related to the protests after allegedly holding up traffic and assaulting a guard. Less than a week later, 22-year-old Majid Reza Rahnavard, who had been convicted on charges of "waging war against God" amid protests, was executed.

According to the Iran Human Rights group, 13 executions were recorded on May 18 and at least 90 people have been executed since the start of the month.

United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said on May 9 that Iran is executing a "frighteningly" high number of people, with over 209 executed so far since January.

"On average so far this year, over 10 people are put to death each week in Iran, making it one the world's highest executors," said Türk.

Protests against the regime erupted across the country Friday in response to the executions.

"waging war against God"

Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment