Lessons from Iran's recent history

Between
1982 and 1990 an unknown number of Iranian women political prisoners
were raped on the eve of their executions by guards who alleged that
killing a virgin was a sin in Islam. ...This book is dedicated to the
memory of those women.

That is the dedication from Journey from the Land of No by Roya Hanakian.
Ms Hanakian tells of her experiences growing up in Tehran, Iran. She
was 12 in 1979 when the revolution occurred. She describes growing up as
a Jew in Iran and how the hopes of the revolution morphed into a
horribly repressive regime of Islamic fundamentalists. She left Iran in
1984.

Some years ago I coached soccer with a gent from Iran. He is Baha'i and told me stories of the authorities coming into his family's home, gathering all the books, and burning them in the street.

The little bit I've read in the book so far, and the stories from my
friend, have me thinking about the lessons we need to realize
immediately, before the United States descends further down the path of
a religion-state. We cannot allow Karl Rove and the rest of the
neo-conservatives to legislate religion. Freedom is too precious and
has been defended too vigorously to allow these narrow-minded bigots to
decimate our Constitution.

Comments

[Rob McDonagh]

Amen, brother. No irony intended.

[Dr. Lavine]

I second that emotion.

[Paula]

The United States has always been a "religion-state" and women have always been victimized because of it. African-American slave women raped by their "masters;" Native American women beaten and raped for speaking their own languages; and thousands of women burned alive as "witches" because they were different, old or alone - all in the name of the White Male Right Way Religion. This festering disease in the guise of salvation comes in all colors and all countries. Change will only happen when each individual becomes educated and humbled by the oneness in world religion and mythology. Alas, ignorance and mediocrity seem to be the status quo and there are few heroes willing to slay that dragon.