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Welcome back! This week, our Unbelief Brief examines Iran’s modesty laws and moral codes and Pakistan’s latest vigilante efforts.

Unbelief Brief

Parastoo Ahmadi, a female Iranian singer, has been arrested for performing music without wearing a hijab during an “imaginary concert” on YouTube. Two of the four other male musicians performing with her were also arrested. The concert, recorded in a caravansary, was meant, according to Ahmadi, to be a love letter to Iran’s legacy of culture and myth. It’s exactly the kind of celebration that most nations would be proud of—but for Iranian authorities, it is an unforgivable transgression of immodesty that warrants punishment. The judiciary stated that the concert was “unauthorized, lacked legal permits, and failed to comply with the country's legal and cultural norms.” 

Iran continues to clamp down on religious, cultural, and political dissent in its signature totalitarian fashion. Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh, a political prisoner who stands accused of “insulting Islamic sanctities” and “collaborating with the enemy” (meaning Israel), appears at imminent risk of execution after being transferred to solitary confinement in Ghezelhesar Prison. He was found guilty of this “collaboration” as the result of a confession obtained from torture, and the evidentiary standard used to convict him appears void of substance. Although this is a case of naked political motivation and his blasphemy charges appear superfluous, it nonetheless demonstrates the willingness of the Islamic Republic to enforce its cultural and moral code through the frame of religion, claiming innocent life in the process.

Finally, in Pakistan: a judge who recently granted bail to eight individuals accused of blasphemy has come under fire in the form of a hate campaign. The judge, Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro, concluded that the suspects were entrapped and that evidence was insufficient to hold them indefinitely. Now, Voicepk reports, an “online hate campaign” for the purpose of inciting violence has taken off on multiple social media platforms, as religious individuals and groups angry with the verdict exhort the public to “teach [the judge] a lesson.” Pakistan may be the country where vigilante energy behind blasphemy prosecution is at its highest, frequently reaching a fever pitch and resulting in successful or attempted lynchings. This latest example is another manifestation of a culture deeply sickened by religious zeal.

Until next week,

The Team at Ex-Muslims of North America

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