Director of Human Rights in Iran says Law needs Reform

Hello, I know it has been awhile and school has been keeping me busy of late.

However, I have decided to blog about Human Rights in Iran today.  I have tried to post the link, but I believe I have forces working against me because I got the article from Tehran Times.  You can look it up there if you do not believe me.

Director Ahmed Shaheed spoke with a UN reporter and claimed that law, in regards to Human Rights, needs to be reform and that many people do not agree with him at all in Parliament.  I believe that is true because the people who are in office are very conservative especially when it comes to Islam and committing sins.  

Ahmed Shaheed believes that the law needs to be reform in regards to drug trafficking and if you commit that crime you get sentenced to death and 74% of the executions occur over that.  He believes that it is not a serious crime for death and that is true.

However, he does not deny torture being used in prisons nor does it seem that he is going to change the use of torture.  He claims that it is a crime to use torture in the jails yet I do not see any arrests happening.  If it is truly un-Islamic to use torture then they are violating the Qur'an themselves.  

Lastly, they claim that the internet is free and that Iranians can use the internet freely.  However, if you look on the Green Voice of Freedom you will see bloggers and other people using media getting arrested for voicing concerns about the regime in power.  They are not allowed to speak out against their government especially in regards to the injustices in the country.  Director Shaheed says they should have the right to speak out, but we all know that is going to be a longtime before that occurs.  On the other hand , he says the internet is censored to protect Islamic Culture so that they do not see anything or do anything that will force them to commit sin. I guess it is a sin to voice opposition to the government in charge.

Iranian Dress Code

This post is going to be based off an article that I have read from the Washing Post called "Struggle Over what to Wear in Iran": 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/struggle-over-what-to-wear-in-iran/2012/07/21/gJQAbkspzW_story_1.html  

This summary of the article covers the enforcement of the dress code in Iran and why the government sees the enforcement of the Hijab necessary because it is a national security threat and a threat to Islamic values.

Iran is becoming more strict about dress code as time goes by because they are worried that western soft power is going to destroy their nation.  They want the women to continue to wear the Chador, the hijab, or the manteau with a scarf (the minimum requirement).  I will clarify some of the terms, a Chador is a full body cover and only hands, feet, and face or eyes are visible. The hijab is just a head covering and the manteau is a long sleeve jacket that women wear a scarf with to cover up their head. The Iranian government said that they increased enforcement because the west is trying to influence women to improperly wear head scarves.  I like how they blame the west for every single one of their problems.  Yes, America and other western countries do use soft power to influence other nations, but I honestly think that a majority of Iran's problems come from the government not accepting reality.

The problem in Iran stems from the government, just like we have some of our problems from the government. The government is losing support because they are tired of being forced to practice Iranian and/or Islamic ways.  The government is making the people want to push away from the Qur'an and the religion itself. For example, I know a few people that were raised Catholic, but the religious practices in the Church that made them want to get away from the religion.  Some will come back to the religion in time.  The Iranian Government does not understand that they are pushing the people away from the government and the Islamic faith. The Iranian government does not realize that there is a middle ground. The people could embrace the Islamic values at the same time and embrace the modern times.  People that follow the Islamic belief do it all the time in the United States and in Europe.  However, there is another problem with Iran is that they are making vague sentences in the Qur'an into more specific ones.  On the other hand, people that follow the Bible do it too.  
 
The problem with what is considered Islamic practice in the Qur'an could be interpreted differently.  The Qur'an is just like the Bible, some of it could be interpreted in many different ways.  The part in the Qur'an that says that men and women have to be modestly dressed is vague (I will add a quote from the Qur'an I forgot to bring it today).  I have read the Qur'an and it is just like the Bible, it could be taken out of context.  

Iran get it together, western forces are not going to destroy the nation, you will destroy it yourself by alienating your people.  The United State is not promoting improper hijab wear, the Iranian people want more freedom.  They are tired of being treated like children, they want to be treated like adults and that means making their own decisions.

On a side note, I am not criticizing the use of the hijab because people in America wear them and I am not criticizing the Islamic faith.  I just feel that the Iranian Government is becoming out of touch with reality.