Iranian-American Academic Gets 12 years for Unrest

The hard line Iranian government, has continued to punish those that opposed them and their rigged election.

Iranian-American academic gets 12 years for unrest
By NASSER KARIMI

TEHRAN, Iran – A special court formed after Iran's post-election unrest has convicted an Iranian-American academic and sentenced him to more than 12 years in prison, state media said Tuesday.

Kian Tajbakhsh was the only American in an ongoing mass trial of alleged Iranian opposition members and reportedly faced charges including espionage, contacting foreign agents and acting against Iran's national security.

Tajbakhsh was arrested July 9 during a crackdown on protesters and Iranian political figures rallying against the disputed presidential elections, which critics claimed were rigged in favor of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Washington has repeatedly denounced Tajbaksh's arrest. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton appealed in August for Tajbakhsh's release, and he was specially named in a call by the British rock star Sting to free all political prisoners in Iran.

In 2007, Tajbakhsh, a social scientist and urban planner, spent four months in prison on charges of endangering national security. He denied the charges at the time, and has also denied the post-election allegations against him.

His lawyer, Houshang Azhari, was quoted by the official Islamic Republic News Agency as confirming Tuesday he received the verdict. The attorney said Tajbakhsh's sentence was "more than 12 years," but that the law prohibits him from divulging further details.

The report came as more than a third of Iran's parliament asked judicial authorities to prosecute opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi. According to IRNA, 100 deputies in the 290-member parliament supported the demand in a letter to State Prosecutor Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi.

The letter, delivered by lawmaker Hamid Rasai, a staunch Ahmadinejad supporter, said Mousavi should be put on trial because his statements and actions had damaged "reputation of the Islamic system."

It's unclear whether authorities would bring charges against Mousavi, who declared himself the rightful winner in June's election. But he has vowed to press ahead with opposition to the government.

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48 Arrests at Anti-Islam rally in Manchester

This is an update to the "30 Arrests at Anti-Islam Protest in UK" story. While the Britishness supporting English Defense League was outnumbered, it appears that their numbers are growing. This is still hope.

48 arrests at anti-Islam rally in Manchester

By Vasilije Gallak on Oct 11, 2009 in Featured, United Kingdom
London – Police arrested 48 people Saturday night in Manchester during a rally by an English nationalist group and counter demonstrations.

Authorities estimated about 700 supporters of the English Defence League protested what they called radical Islam and Islamic law. Some participants were described as making Nazi salutes.

Some 1,400 counter demonstrators marched in protest of the rally, accusing the English Defence League of bigotry and fascism.

Saturday’s confrontation was the latest rally by the group that has sparked clashes in the last several weeks. (dpa)

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30 Arrests at Anti-Islam Protest in UK

Today was the day of the English Defence League's anti-Islam demonstration, taking place in Manchester.

Here is the first update, as they come in I will post them.

30 arrests at anti-Islam protest in Birmingham

MANCHESTER, England — At least 30 people were arrested when a group demonstrating against Islamic fundamentalism clashed with anti-racism protesters in Britain on Saturday, police said.

Trouble flared as supporters of the English Defence League (EDL) and hundreds of activists from the Unite Against Facism movement faced off in Manchester, northwest England.

Several hundred police in riot gear separated the EDL protesters, who waved placards saying "No More Mosques in England", from the rival demonstration across a square in the city.

Police said a total of around 2,000 people took part.

A police spokesman said most of the arrests were for public order offences, but no one was injured.

It was the latest protest mounted by the EDL, after a similar demonstration in England's second city, Birmingham, last month and a protest by an affiliated group in London on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Its supporters were planning to hold a two-minute silence for British soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan before singing the national anthem.

The group denies it is racist, insisting in a statement on its website that it is a "multi-ethnic, multi-faith organisation".

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Iran:Anti-Israel, Anti-Govt Protesters hit the Streets

Iranians hit the streets to today for two different protests. One against their own government, and one against Israel. Unfortunately the protests against Israel were much larger.

Thousands march in Iran opposition protests
By NASSER KARIMI

TEHRAN, Iran – Hard-liners attacked senior pro-reform leaders in the streets as tens of thousands marched in competing mass demonstrations by the opposition and government supporters. Opposition protesters, chanting "death to the dictator," hurled stones and bricks in clashes with security forces firing tear gas.

The opposition held its first major street protests since mid-July, with marchers decked out in green — the reform movement's color — waving V-for-victory signs on major boulevards in the capital.

In some cases on several blocks away, larger crowds marched in government-sponsored rallies marking an annual anti-Israel commemoration, waving pictures of Iran's supreme leader and president and placards denouncing the Jewish state.

The commemoration, known as Quds Day, is a major political occasion for the government — a day for it to show its anti-Israeli credentials and its support for the Palestinians. Quds is the Arabic word for Jerusalem. During a speech for the rallies, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad railed against Israel and the West, questioning whether the Holocaust occurred and calling it a pretext for occupying Arab land.

But the opposition was determined to turn the day into a show of its survival and continued strength despite a fierce three-month-old crackdown against it since the disputed June 12 presidential election.

Top opposition leaders joined the protests, in direct defiance of commands by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who barred anti-government demonstrations on Quds Day. That could provoke an escalation in the crackdown: hard-line clerics have been demanding the past week that any leader backing the protests should be arrested.

Several tens of thousands joined the opposition marches, witnesses said — far smaller than the masses that turned out in the Quds Day rallies, which were helped by government organizing. Police and security forces, along with pro-government Basij militiamen, fanned out along main squares and avenues and in many cases tried to keep nearby opposition protesters away from the Quds Day rallies to prevent clashes, witnesses said.

Opposition supporters poured onto main boulevards and squares, wearing green T-shirts and wristbands and waving green banners and balloons. They waved pictures of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi and denounced Ahmadinejad, chanting "death to the dictator."

Others chanted, "Not Gaza, not Lebanon — our life is for Iran" — a slogan directly challenging the government's support for anti-Israeli Palestinian militants in Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrilla. Some shouted for Ahmadinejad's government to resign. Some women marched with their children in tow.

But at one of the several opposition rallies around the city, a group of hard-liners pushed through the crowd and attacked former President Mohamad Khatami, a cleric who is one of the most prominent pro-reform figures, according to a reformist Web site. The report cited witnesses as saying the opposition activists rescued Khatami and quickly repelled the assailants.

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Hardliners and Reformers Both Want to Keep Iran a Theocracy

While the post-election protests and beatings continue in Iran, the reality for now is that both camps, the hardliners and the reformers have one main thing in common. They are both are committed to Islam.

Under the Islamic umbrella: Hardliners and reformers both want to keep Iran a theocracy
BY SANAM VAKIL
Thursday, June 25th 2009

Nearing the two-week mark, Iran's postelection drama continues to unfold as the government seeks to restore national stability in the wake of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed victory. A standoff continues between the main political factions: hard-line conservatives against reformists.

The two camps differ over the future ideological vision for the Islamic Republic - with reformists seeking greater social, political and economic liberalization, while hard-liners hope to stay true to the revolutionary principles proffered by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini 30 years ago.

It is a profound struggle. But rather than focusing only on these differences, Americans must also understand what both camps have in common. The common ground is not insignificant.

Most importantly, both camps remain committed to the Islamic umbrella holding the theocratic republic together. As a result, whatever the outcome, it is clear that for now, the Islamic Republic will stay intact.

Promises in defense of Islamic ideals rain down as both factions compete to be the defenders of the Iranian faithful. Night after night in Tehran, cries of "Allahu Akbar," or "God is Great," have resonated throughout the city, emulating similar calls heard during the 1979 revolution. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in his Friday prayer sermon, invoked the help of the Hidden Imam http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Imam+Mahdi to assist in resolving this conflict.

On the other side, Mir Hossein Mousavi, the reformist hopeful, has also been careful not to cross the threshold in criticizing the Islamic foundations of the Islamic Republic, stating in his manifesto, "With trust in God and hope for the future . . . we are not up against our sacred regime and its legal structures; this structure guards our independence, freedom and Islamic Republic. We are up against the deviations and deceptions, and we want to reform them, a reformation that returns us to the pure principles of the Islamic revolution."

Mohammad Khatami too, the former reformist president, has stated, "In resolving this problem why not look to the approach and methods of our dear Imam \[Khomeini\], who was faced with similar situations. The primary objective should be to denounce violence and to replace the current environment of animosity, spite and accusations in favor of a new atmosphere based on truth and honesty with kindness, friendship and cooperation. It is then that no matter what the price, the Islamic Republic and all its values will be safe and immune."

The world has witnessed days of intense protesting, violence and death, in which demonstrations have been muted with the help of the government's heavy hand and in which journalists, activists and politicians have been arrested and detained. From abroad, interpreting the actions and events surrounding this political unrest has become more of a challenge as the regime has restricted Internet, cell phone and satellite access while also barring international reporting.

But beneath the bloodshed, this inconvenient - for the West - truth remains: Despite the hardened divide between the two factions, both sides remain united in their loyalty to the theocratic system. Held together by the fusion of Islamic justice and independence, the factions have both invoked the banner of Islam as a rallying cry and unifying umbrella in defense of their political cause.

The use of Islamic imagery coupled with calls to resurrect the lost ideals of Khomeini's revolution suggest that there will be no dramatic revision to the Iranian political system. Indeed, by respecting the integrity of the Islamic system, hard-liners and reformists alike have adeptly navigated through these tense political waters, allowing room for compromise between them.

What remains uncertain, though, is how these two camps, composed of one-time allies and revolutionary contemporaries, will reconcile their countering ideological visions. This is the true conflict that lies under the banner of Islam and poses the greatest challenge for the future of Iran.

Vakil is a visiting scholar and adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington and Bologna, Italy. She is writing a book on female and civil society activism in Iran.

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US:Hamas vs. Fatah Rally Video

Not only has Muslim immigration dragged the Hamas-Palestine conflict and the Sunni-Shiite conflict into North America, it has now brought the Hamas-Fatah conflict to us. This video is from a recent rally in Minnesota in which Muslim Congressman Keith Ellison gave a speech.

Watch at 1:40 as there is a verbal attack on a Jewish protester. At 2:15 we hear chants in Arabic praising martyrs. Finally at 4:30 Congressman Ellison takes the mic and says that he his not there to condemn anybody. Obviously that includes Hamas.

Group Protests Islam Outside Tampa Mosque

Over the past few years it is clear to see that more and more non-Muslims are waking up to what Islam brings to the West. Now we are starting to see some people taking it up a notch and hitting the streets with protests and billboards against Islam. Everyone who is speaking out and protesting is part of the solution, I applaud you all.


Group Protests Islam Outside Tampa Mosque

TBO.com
January 31, 2009

More than 20 people from a "biblical group" gathered Saturday outside the Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area, 7326 E. Sligh Ave., with signs and a bullhorn to denounce the religion of Islam.
Members of the group engaged in a "spirited debate" with Muslims inside the mosque, but the encounter was peaceful, according to officers with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. The demonstration, which began around 12:30 p.m., ended about 30 minutes later.

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