If Iran is next on Bushie's to-attack list, I might not be so quick to judge -- based on what I read of a BBC report today.
I learned, through the article, that an Iranian man fighting against deportation from the Netherlands expects to be executed if he is returned to his homeland. Why?
He's gay.
The man, 19-year-old Mehdi Kazemi, was outed by a former boyfriend who was subsequently executed.
It seems that homosexual acts are illegal in the Islamic country. The serious kind of illegal. Deadly illegal.
And, for whatever reason, the Dutch government denied Kazemi's application for asylum. He's already been rejected by the UK. It's not looking promising.
The article reported that Kazemi believes his life will be in danger not only because of his homosexuality but also because of the extensive media coverage of the case. Based on the number of hits I get a day, I'd say I guess I'm responsible for extending that coverage by at least 40 or so more readers. For that, I suppose I apologize.
They will hang him because he is gay. Put a noose around his neck, drop the floor out from under him, and wait for the blood to stop pumping. He did not murder. He did not maim or rape, steal or destroy. He did nothing to hurt anyone. Yet he deserves to die? Is this Iran's idea of Homeland Security? The Islamic version of the Nazis' ethnic cleansing practices?
As it has been, historically, I'm sure this punishment against alternative sexual orientation will be done in the name of God, or Allah, or whatever deity helps one rest easier at night after taking the life of another.
Mehdi. Somewhere, somehow, I hope you find peace. Or, perhaps, that peace finds you.
I learned, through the article, that an Iranian man fighting against deportation from the Netherlands expects to be executed if he is returned to his homeland. Why?
He's gay.
The man, 19-year-old Mehdi Kazemi, was outed by a former boyfriend who was subsequently executed.
It seems that homosexual acts are illegal in the Islamic country. The serious kind of illegal. Deadly illegal.
And, for whatever reason, the Dutch government denied Kazemi's application for asylum. He's already been rejected by the UK. It's not looking promising.
The article reported that Kazemi believes his life will be in danger not only because of his homosexuality but also because of the extensive media coverage of the case. Based on the number of hits I get a day, I'd say I guess I'm responsible for extending that coverage by at least 40 or so more readers. For that, I suppose I apologize.
They will hang him because he is gay. Put a noose around his neck, drop the floor out from under him, and wait for the blood to stop pumping. He did not murder. He did not maim or rape, steal or destroy. He did nothing to hurt anyone. Yet he deserves to die? Is this Iran's idea of Homeland Security? The Islamic version of the Nazis' ethnic cleansing practices?
As it has been, historically, I'm sure this punishment against alternative sexual orientation will be done in the name of God, or Allah, or whatever deity helps one rest easier at night after taking the life of another.
Mehdi. Somewhere, somehow, I hope you find peace. Or, perhaps, that peace finds you.
Comments
Anywho, that story is really sad. I hope SOMEONE gives him asylum!
If I could give it six or seven stars I would. I'd have to say it's one of the 10 best books I've ever read. I have the author's next book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, on my shelf but I need a break. He's so powerful in his writing, I can't handle that much drama and emotion right now. I need to recover. He so vividly and eloquently breathed new life into traditional themes -- friendship, battle, betrayal, devotion, redemption. I'm awestruck.
As an aside, it made me want to eat Middle-Eastern-ish food. I went to an Indian place earlier in the week, mostly just to eat naan (a round, flatbread that is a staple of Afghanistan and neighboring countries and oft-mentioned in TKR).
So now I'm going to read Laurell Hamilton's latest Merry Gentry offering -- mindless drivel. Faerie trying to get pregnant. That'll lighten the mental load.