A Christian Pastor in Iran, Yousef Nadarkhani, has been condemned to execution. Iran, more properly the Islamic Republic of Iran, operates in accord with Islamic law. In accord with Articles 168 and 170 of their Constitution, the Courts are bound to apply Islamic law in "political offenses" and "obliged to refrain from executing statutes and regulations... that are in conflict with the laws or norms of Islam...."
Pastor Nadarkhani, who says that he has never accepted Islam although he grew up in Iran, has been adjudged guilty of denying Islam and "convert[ing] to Christianity, that he "encouraged other Muslims to convert to Christianity," and that he advertised and pastored a church wherein he "repeatedly professed his Christian faith and denied the prophet Mohammad and the 12th Imam and denied the entire Koran and truth of the Koran." These quotations are drawn directly from the ruling of the Iranian Supreme Court decision of December 5, 2010.
The Court went on to remand, or return, the case to the state court for the reason that there had not been evidence given sufficient to prove that from puberty (15 years) to 19 years of age the Pastor had not professed Islam. The Court went on to say, "[Nadarkhani] must repent his Christian faith if this is the case. No research has been done to prove this, if it can be proven that he was a practicing Muslim as an adult and has not repented, the execution must be carried out."
Of course, human rights groups have been up in arms about oppression in Iran generally, and this case has drawn international attention.
So, as of October 1st, the Iranian State news agency has begun reporting that the entire case is actually really and truly about "rape" and "extortion" allegedly committed by Pastor Nadarkhani. Of course, there has not been a word, hint or whisper of these "crimes" in any prior proceedings.
It appears that the Iranian regime is adopting a principle employed by Hitler's Nazis: a simple lie told loudly and often will be in time accepted as true by the masses.
It also appears that an Islamic doctrine is being put into play: Taqiyya. Unless you are familiar with Islam, you probably have no idea what that word means. Simply put, it means that the Muslim is not bound to tell the truth to non-Muslims, nor can a Muslim be bound by an oath given to a non-Muslim.
The Islamic doctrine of Taqiyya is particularly relevant where the advancement of Islam is concerned. That is, if the aims of Islam are being advanced, the Muslim may be even obligated to lie. You won't hear the term Taqiyya in the media, because (1) they assume religious people of all stripes are bound by some code to be honest (since they feel all religions are the same,) and, (2) like the American government, they just don't want to know. But you need to know, because it may help you - for example, in discerning Iran's motives.
In the case of Pastor Nadarkhani, the Islamic Republic has adjudged him an unrepentant Christian who must be killed to satisfy Islamic law. However, to present a more palatable image of Islam to the unbelieving world, they have decided to loudly claim that the Pastor actually committed secular "crimes." So truth becomes irrelevant.
Taqiyya. You don't have to know how to pronounce it, but when it comes to interpreting and understanding what Muslims are telling you, you had better understand what it means.
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