John Kami
Contributing reporter
The Islamic Republic of Iran has had a long history of human rights violations. Among these crimes against humanity are those committed upon gays by Iran’s government. For those of you who are unaware, “President” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was allowed to speak at Columbia University after Iran’s government paid $300,000 to the university for a publicity stunt that backfired in September 2007. During this speech he said “we don’t have gays” when someone asked him why gays were being abused in Iran.
Many of the students laughed at the “president’s” comments, but few really know that he meant what he said. I say this because homosexuality is punishable by torture or death. The Islamic Republic of Iran, since its beginning, has ruled that minors as young as 15 years of age are eligible for the death penalty via public hangings to further intimidate and bully other homosexuals who are in-the-closet.
Iran has been known to execute children for crimes such as stealing, but for the gay community, many Iranians will never forget the public hanging of 21 year-old Makwan Moloudzadeh. Moloudzadeh was accused of committing sodomy with three other boys. All of the witnesses during his trial retracted their statements and Moloudzadeh was never proven to be gay while stating his innocence. The 21 year-old was hanged before his family and attorney were notified by the Iranian government.
Currently at home, people are extremely concerned with the issue of gay marriage. I feel that the LGBT community needs to be more supportive, vocal, and protective of homosexuals in Iran. Other Islamic nations like the United Arab Emirates and Bosnia do not impose such inhumane tactics to try and change a natural tendency each human must live with. If the Qur’an forbids homosexuality, then why is polygamy allowed at a time when men aren’t constantly traveling or at battle like they used to during the period of Muhammad? Couldn’t a polygamist having sex easily encourage his wives to have sex with each other at the same time? Isn’t the word for that lesbian or rather bisexuality?
As heterosexual couples have abused the institution of marriage and taken it for granted and suddenly, in our overly-romantic society we live in, many are trying to defend it, let us take a moment to think about those who cannot even come out of the closet for fear of physical harm or death.
To this day, the number of homosexuals arrested, tortured, and executed remains unknown due to such numerous incidences of crimes against humanity governed by the savagery of mullahs. To this day, the Iranian government continues its abuses to human rights of all kinds. In Iran’s current regime, nobody wins. According to world statistics, 10% of the world is gay. This is an urgent worry considering Iran’s “president” said that there are no gays in Iran. This means that he seeks to obliterate at least 10% of his nation’s population because of its people’s sexual orientation while sending out a message to the world’s homosexuals and bisexuals. Iran’s government seems to care too much about what its people do in bed…how dignified for a nation that prides itself upon religious fundamentalism!
