Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 15, 2006 9:51:55 GMT -5
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Issue Date: 9/14/2006, Posted On: 9/14/2006
Hate speech
Iranian authorities executed two youths in July 2005 on contested charges of sexual offense.
Ethan Jacobs
ejacobs@baywindows.com
On Sunday, former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami gave a 30-minute speech at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University that touched on the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden, Hezbollah and Israel. At the end of his speech, three audience members were invited to ask questions. The second came from a Harvard senior named Eric, who asked about the Iranian government’s policies toward homosexuals:
“During your remarks … you repeatedly condemned Muslims who commit violence in the name of their religion. In line with that sentiment I’m wondering why the government of Iran executes gay people and whether you believe they should continue to.”
Khatami answered that homosexuality is a crime in Islam. His full answer is below. The ellipses mark when Khatami was speaking and his translator was waiting for him to finish:
“He was just repeating the questions that how you said that I oppose violence being done in the name of Islam, and with this view why are gay people executed in Iran?... We are at a university, the cradle of science, so we can speak a bit scientifically… In all schools of thought and in all religions there is punishment, and punishment is not a form of violence… Punishment is seen as a response to violence or deviance in society and if there is no punishment in a society, a society cannot run effectively…. In regards to the fact that is capital punishment a fair reaction to crime, this is an issue that has been debated extensively in legal circles and there are even some states in the United States still maintain capital punishment, and even some other countries in the world, so the issue of capital punishment is still being largely debated…. As an expert of Islamic sciences I tell you that yes, capital punishment is accepted in Islam, but it has conditions that are so stringent that executions should almost never happen. If in fact they do happen in Islamic countries it is because, [if] it happens excessively in Islamic countries, it is a problem of bringing those religious rulings into practice… In regards to the issue of gay people as well as the issue of adultery the conditions that are required for capital punishment are so strict that it’s virtually impossible to meet… Of course this is my opinion and a lot of people don’t accept my opinion, but I was asked my opinion, so this is what I believe…. In many Islamic texts and countries homosexual relationships as well as nonconsensual heterosexual relationships have been punishable…. There are also others in the world that have similar views, namely important sects of Christianity… So yes, you are correct, homosexual activity is a crime in Islam….. And crimes are punishable…. And the fact that could crimes be punished by execution is debatable… and that we must differentiate between punishment and violence.
Issue Date: 9/14/2006, Posted On: 9/14/2006
Hate speech
Iranian authorities executed two youths in July 2005 on contested charges of sexual offense.
Ethan Jacobs
ejacobs@baywindows.com
On Sunday, former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami gave a 30-minute speech at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University that touched on the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden, Hezbollah and Israel. At the end of his speech, three audience members were invited to ask questions. The second came from a Harvard senior named Eric, who asked about the Iranian government’s policies toward homosexuals:
“During your remarks … you repeatedly condemned Muslims who commit violence in the name of their religion. In line with that sentiment I’m wondering why the government of Iran executes gay people and whether you believe they should continue to.”
Khatami answered that homosexuality is a crime in Islam. His full answer is below. The ellipses mark when Khatami was speaking and his translator was waiting for him to finish:
“He was just repeating the questions that how you said that I oppose violence being done in the name of Islam, and with this view why are gay people executed in Iran?... We are at a university, the cradle of science, so we can speak a bit scientifically… In all schools of thought and in all religions there is punishment, and punishment is not a form of violence… Punishment is seen as a response to violence or deviance in society and if there is no punishment in a society, a society cannot run effectively…. In regards to the fact that is capital punishment a fair reaction to crime, this is an issue that has been debated extensively in legal circles and there are even some states in the United States still maintain capital punishment, and even some other countries in the world, so the issue of capital punishment is still being largely debated…. As an expert of Islamic sciences I tell you that yes, capital punishment is accepted in Islam, but it has conditions that are so stringent that executions should almost never happen. If in fact they do happen in Islamic countries it is because, [if] it happens excessively in Islamic countries, it is a problem of bringing those religious rulings into practice… In regards to the issue of gay people as well as the issue of adultery the conditions that are required for capital punishment are so strict that it’s virtually impossible to meet… Of course this is my opinion and a lot of people don’t accept my opinion, but I was asked my opinion, so this is what I believe…. In many Islamic texts and countries homosexual relationships as well as nonconsensual heterosexual relationships have been punishable…. There are also others in the world that have similar views, namely important sects of Christianity… So yes, you are correct, homosexual activity is a crime in Islam….. And crimes are punishable…. And the fact that could crimes be punished by execution is debatable… and that we must differentiate between punishment and violence.