All Religions Believe in Peace, Compassion and Kindness? An Opinion That Will Never See the Light of Day in The New York Times

Do you remember Obama's June 4, 2009 Cairo University speech (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-cairo-university-6-04-09), during which the president declared:

"As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam -- at places like Al-Azhar -- that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities -- it was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality."

Throughout history, Islam has demonstrated the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality? Yeah, right.

Maybe you will also recall Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman who was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery? World outrage had prevented the Islamic Republic of Iran from proceeding with this abomination, but now her execution is again drawing near (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/25/iran-stoning-woman-adultery_n_1169429.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000002):

"Authorities in Iran said Sunday they are again moving ahead with plans to execute a woman sentenced to death by stoning on an adultery conviction in a case that sparked an international outcry, but are considering whether to carry out the punishment by hanging instead.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is already behind bars, serving a 10-year sentence on a separate conviction in the murder of her husband. Amid the international outrage her case generated, Iran in July 2010 suspended plans to carry out her death sentence on the adultery conviction.

On Sunday, a senior judiciary official said experts were studying whether the punishment of stoning could be changed to hanging."

Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, a woman named Amina bin Salem Nasser was executed in the northern province of al-Jawf for practicing "witchcraft and sorcery" (see: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/saudiarabia/8952641/Saudi-Arabia-execution-of-sorcery-woman-condemned.html). This execution brought the number of persons beheaded in Saudi Arabia in 2011 up to 73. This should give Obama food for thought the next time he considers bowing to Saudi King Abdullah.

In Egypt, liberal commentators are stunned by election results providing the Muslim Brotherhood and the even more radical Salafis with some two-thirds of the vote. In fact, these results should never have come as a surprise, given the statistics issued in December 2010 by the Pew Research Center (http://www.pewglobal.org/2010/12/02/muslims-around-the-world-divided-on-hamas-and-hezbollah/):

"About eight-in-ten Muslims in Egypt and Pakistan (82% each) endorse the stoning of people who commit adultery; 70% of Muslims in Jordan and 56% of Nigerian Muslims share this view. Muslims in Pakistan and Egypt are also the most supportive of whippings and cutting off of hands for crimes like theft and robbery; 82% in Pakistan and 77% in Egypt favor making this type of punishment the law in their countries, as do 65% of Muslims in Nigeria and 58% in Jordan.

When asked about the death penalty for those who leave the Muslim religion, at least three-quarters of Muslims in Jordan (86%), Egypt (84%) and Pakistan (76%) say they would favor making it the law; in Nigeria, 51% of Muslims favor and 46% oppose it."

Time for Obama, a self-anointed "student of history," to wake up and smell the coffee.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani: Obama, Say Something!

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is soon to be executed in Iran, although it is not certain whether she will be stoned to death in accordance with her original sentence. According to CNN:

"Authorities in Tehran, Iran, have given the go-ahead to execute a woman who initially was sentenced to death by stoning, according to an activist working on her behalf.

However, what method will be used to execute Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is unclear, said Mina Ahadi, spokeswoman for the International Committee Against Stoning. The execution could happen as soon as Wednesday, she said, citing information received from a source in Tabriz, Iran, who is close to Ashtiani's family.

Ashtiani initially was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. The Iranian government later said she was also convicted of murdering her husband, but her lawyer and family dispute that.

. . . .

Ashtiani, 43 and a mother of two, drew international attention when she was sentenced to death by stoning. She concedes that she was convicted of adultery, as initially reported, but says she was acquitted of murder. 'The man who actually killed my husband was identified and imprisoned, but he is not sentenced to death,' she said in August.

. . . .

Ashtiani's son and her attorney are still in jail after being arrested last month, Ahadi said. Also still detained are two German journalists.

. . . .

Ashtiani's other former lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, is being protected by European diplomats after he fled to Turkey from Iran."

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/11/02/iran.woman.execution/index.html?hpt=T2

Obama, it's time to say something! Your charm campaign aimed at Iran and the world's other leading tyrannies has failed miserably, and it's time to change course. Nothing has been or will be gained by appeasing Ahmadinejad and his henchmen in Tehran.

You've just received a slap in the face from the American electorate, and it's time to wake up to reality.

Speak up! Save a life, save the world!

The Wager: Can I Make Paul Krugman Lose His Liberalism in Less Than an Hour?

Here's the wager: Can I make Paul "The Conscience of a Liberal" Krugman lose his liberalism in less than an hour? Of course, there are conditions attached: I will need to transport the professor away from the ivied halls of Princeton to the wilds of Iran in order to witness the forthcoming execution of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, whose picture appears to the left. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, convicted of adultery by the Islamic Republic of Iran, has been sentenced to death by stoning, unless Iran's benevolent judiciary decides merely to hang her or otherwise reduce her sentence as the result of world outrage. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani confessed to this "crime" after 99 lashes, but subsequently declared her innocence.

Paul, just so you know, stonings are performed with relatively small rocks, so the victim, buried almost up to her neck, will feel prolonged pain and will not lose consciousness after being hit in the head by a single stone. Yes, there's blood, an eyeball may be detached from its socket, and often the children, who are forced to watch the execution of their mother, swoon, but if all goes as expected, it should be over within the space of an hour, after which I can drive you back to Imam Khomeini International Airport and then put you on a plane to JFK.

As I mentioned, the possibility exists that the Islamic Republic of Iran will bow to international pressure and commute the sentence, in which case allow me alternatively to suggest that we stop in Saudi Arabia, where we might be lucky enough to witness the decapitation of a person convicted of robbery and the subsequent crucifixion of his body.

Of course, there is no knowing for sure when the next armed robbery will take place in Saudi Arabia, so as a stopgap measure, we can also visit Turkey, Jordan and Gaza, where we are certain to be able to witness the aftermath of several honor killings perpetrated by family members against their mothers, sisters or daughters, who might have been foolish enough to have used a cell phone to call someone outside of the family, or have committed some other horrifying action that has forever sullied the reputation of their men folk.

And after you have partaken in one or more of these "events", I will ask you again whether you still want that mosque built in what were once the shadows of the World Trade Center (http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/bad-for-the-jews/) without first asking who is financing the extravaganza and what form of Islam is to be preached there. You may know a lot about economics, Paul, but have you studied Wahhabism or some of the more radical forms of Shiite Islam? They aren't exactly Ethical Culture.

But forgive my rudeness if I ask how it is that liberals like Maureen "Loosey Goosey Saudi" Dowd (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/03/opinion/03dowd.html), Roger "Iran is not totalitarian" Cohen (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/opinion/01iht-edcohen.1.20503279.html), Nicholas "End the Siege of Gaza" Kristof (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/04/opinion/04kristof.html?ref=nicholasdkristof) and you haven't seen fit to write a column about poor Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani in The New York Times? Is this too unpleasant, or simply not in keeping with current liberal thought?

If it were up to me, I would say it was indeed a matter of conscience, liberal or otherwise.

New York Times Editorial "Congress, Sanctions and Iran": Selectively Enforce Sanctions

Incredibly - or not so incredibly - The New York Times editorial board today takes the position that sanctions approved by the U.S. Congress should be selectively enforced by Obama. As observed by this editorial:

"Extraterritorial sanctions are always problematic. They can open American companies to retaliation and provoke a political backlash.

* * * *

Unless they are used sparingly, they could strain relations and make it even harder to persuade governments of the need to isolate Iran.

* * * *

If Tehran keeps pressing ahead with its nuclear program, the international community may have to restrict gasoline sales to Iran. That could hurt ordinary Iranians and rally support for the government. Since the demand on foreign companies goes beyond what the Security Council is requiring, it could shift international anger away from Tehran and toward Washington.

* * * *

Congress is insisting that President Obama enforce this new law. It also gave him some room to waive punishments, on a case-by-case basis, on companies in countries that are cooperating with efforts to isolate Iran. Political and business leaders should give Mr. Obama every reason to do that. For this to work, the White House will also have to exercise considerable diplomatic finesse."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/03/opinion/03sat1.html

This editorial fails to mention even once Iran's horrific oppression of Baha'is, Kurds and other minorities. The editorial would have Obama exercise caution in enforcing sanctions while Iran's Baha'is, Kurds, Sunnis, homosexuals and political dissidents rot in prison and are executed.

The Times editorial board warns that sanctions can lead to "political backlash"? Don't fundamental requirements of morality take precedent over any such "political" considerations?

While anguishing over possible "political backlash" instead of over an Iranian initiated atomic war against Israel or Iran's Sunni neighbors, I wonder whether The New York Times editorial board took into account the following letter from the children of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who faces imminent excecution by stoning for alleged adultery:

"Today we stretch out our hands to the people of the whole world. It is now five years that we have lived in fear and in horror, deprived of motherly love. Is the world so cruel that it can watch this catastrophe and do nothing about it?

We are Sakine Mohammadi e Ashtiani’s children, Fasride and Sajjad Mohamamadi e Ashtiani. Since our childhood we have been acquainted with the pain of knowing that our mother is imprisoned and awaiting a catastrophe. To tell the truth, the term 'stoning' is so horrific that we try never to use it. We instead say our mother is in danger, she might be killed, and she deserves everyone’s help.

Today, when nearly all options have reached dead-ends, and our mother’s lawyer says that she is in a dangerous situation, we resort to you. We resort to the people of the world, no matter who you are and where in the world you live. We resort to you, people of Iran, all of you who have experienced the pain and anguish of the horror of losing a loved one.

Please help our mother return home!

We especially stretch our hand out to the Iranians living abroad. Help to prevent this nightmare from becoming reality. Save our mother. We are unable to explain the anguish of every moment, every second of our lives. Words are unable to articulate our fear…

Help to save our mother. Write to and ask officials to free her. Tell them that she doesn’t have a civil complainant and has not done any wrong. Our mother should not be killed. Is there any one hearing this and rushing to our assistance?

Faride and Sajjad Mohammadi e Ashtiani"

http://missionfreeiran.wordpress.com/2010/06/26/sakine-children-2/

Needless to say, I am horrified beyond words by this Times editorial.