‎

At the invitation of the "Committee to Investigate Rogue Arrests," and coinciding with the ‎Islamic celebration of Eid-e Fetr at the end of the fasting month of Ramazan, a number of human ‎rights activists and families of political and ideological prisoners gathered at the office of the ‎Iranian Student Alumni Organization ["Sazman-e Danesh-Amukhtegan-e Iran"] to hold a ‎conference titled, "Freedom of Speech and Rights of Religious Minorities" in order to protest the ‎legalization of the death penalty for under the pretext of "mortad" (converters from Islam into ‎other faiths) and the recent confrontations of members of religious minorities. ‎

Dr. Hashem Aghajari is a prominent Iranian historian and reformist cleric who has been a critic ‎of the Iranian regime from an intellectual and theoretic perspective. Today, he is a history ‎professor at the Tabiyat-e Moalem University, and was the keynote speaker at the event. He ‎opened his speech by noting, "Our fellow citizens who are followers of other religions and faiths ‎must know that discrimination is imposed not only on them, but that we face a discriminatory ‎regime which, in addition to discriminating against non-Muslims or people who may essentially ‎not be committed to any religion, discriminates also against Muslims. We see today that on this ‎land, members of the Sunni faith are suppressed in the name of Shiism. This discrimination has ‎entered the circle of Shias as well. Shias who subscribe to Sufi sects have witnessed the ‎destruction of their holy centers in recent years." ‎

Aghajari then commented on the passage of the "Islamic Penal Code" bill in the Majlis which, ‎for the first time, authorizes the death sentence for mortads (a Shite term for people who convert ‎from Islam into other faiths), claiming that the passage of this bill may pave the way for new ‎rounds of pressure against fellow citizens in the name of defending religion and faith. ‎

Aghajari then asked, "Where has religion authorized suppression of thought?" noting, "In the ‎Qoran a link is never established between oppression and thought," adding, "The holy Qoran ‎clearly states that religion cannot be imposed. Therefore, given the text of the Qoran, one cannot ‎justify recourse to violence or oppression to impose religion and disable others from freely ‎choosing religion or faith." ‎

Noting that the standing of subscribers to other faiths is clearly stated in the Qoran, this ‎university history professor said, "Qoran teaches us to live in peace and harmony with people ‎who think differently." He then commented on the life of the holy prophet of Islam and his ‎reaction to other faiths, asking, "Which one of the prophet's wars were for the purpose of ‎imposing religion?" ‎

Noting that "the experience of the past three decades has brought progress in Sharia logic and ‎jurisprudence, at least among progressive jurists," he referred to grand ayatollah Montazeri's ‎views on the necessity of respecting the Bahai faith, adding, "This fatwa, its essence and ‎meaning is that Iran is a united land that belongs to all Iranian peoples - regardless of their ‎religion. These people are owners and rulers of this land, therefore every single one is a citizen ‎of this land." ‎

This religious researcher hailed the addition of the concept of "citizenship" to the fatwa's of Shia ‎clerics and hoped that we see further reforms in the future in the world of Islam, asking, "How is ‎it that in those who, in Iran, do not allow the others to participate in choosing the government, ‎electing, free speech or free expression, advocate that these very rights be protected for those ‎who think like them in other countries?"‎

Aghajari insisted, "According to Qoranic logic, faith without freedom is not faith. Islam means ‎free and a conscious choice. Although God expects that human beings have faith in him, no ‎where in the Qoran is the death penalty authorized for mortads." ‎