When Ahmadinejad said Iran has “Near Perfect Freedom” he did leave some wiggle room for the crackdowns that have taken place after the rigged June 12 presidential election. Afterall, he did not say that it has “Perfect Freedom.” He said it has “Near Perfect Freedom.”
Let’s see what kind of leeway the word “near” provides to KhamCo:
- Women are obligated to wear hijab.
- A woman’s testimony in court is worth half of a man’s.
- Men can marry multiple women, even temorarily. A woman can only marry one man.
- A man and a woman cannot even walk next to each other in public if they are not family or married.
- Nobody is allowed to question the Supreme Leader, in any way shape or form. His word is final in all matters.
- Nobody is allowed to discuss any form of government other than the “Islamic Republic” unless they are denouncing the other forms of government. On the other hand, any criticism of the Islamic Republic can get you arrested, tortured, imprisoned and possibly killed.
- If you are a reporter you are considered an enemy of the state. You are subject to constant monitoring, possible arrest, torture, imprisonment and death.
- If you are arrested, you may be held without access to any representation and forced via torture to confess to crimes you may not have committed.
- The state controls all media. All reporting is censored by the state.
- If you choose to protest any decision of the government’s in public, you are considered an enemy of the state. Again, same deal applies: arrest, torture, imprisonment and possibly death.
- If you hold a funeral or memorial for a relative that has been killed by the regime, you may be arrested, tortured, put into prison, or killed.
- If you drink alcohol, or take any kind of illicit drug: arrest, torture, imprisonment or death await you.
- If you decide that Islam is not for you, and change your religion, the penalty is death.
- Adultery = possible death by stoning.
I’m sure there a hundreds if not thousands of other “minor” imperfections to their Near Perfect Freedom.
Mr. Ahmadinejad and the rest of KhamCo: we the people of Iran have a different vision of Near Perfect Freedom. It does not include any of the above. It does not include you.
- In our version of freedom a man and woman will be considered equal before the law.
- In our version of freedom religion will be reserved for Church, Mosque, Synagogue, Temple or wherever a faith’s followers wish to worship or pray, and anyone can choose any religion they wish.
- In our version of freedom spirituality is in the domain of the individual, and not mandated by the state.
- In our version of freedom nobody is above the law.
- In our version of freedom the people will choose their leader and anyone from any race, creed, color, sex, class or religion can become the leader, so long as they are chosen by the people.
- In our version of freedom journalists will be afforded the highest esteem for revealing the truth.
- In our version of freedom there will be no political prisoners.
- In our version of freedom revenge will never be the motive of our judicial system. JUSTICE will be.
- In our version of freedom lovers can walk freely together without fear of being harassed by the government.
- In our version of freedom anyone can believe anything that they wish. Indeed they can SAY whatever the wish without fear. In our version of freedom there will be FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
- In our version of freedom nobody will be beaten, arrested, tortured, raped or murdered because they partook in a protest or expressed their political views.
- In our version of freedom people can listen to music. They can even dance to it if they wish.
- In our version of freedom every man and woman will be treated with dignity and respect by their government.
- In our version of freedom the government will fear the people, not the other way around.
- In our version of freedom you will be looked upon as an abhorrent anomaly in the development of the nation.
- In our version of freedom Iran will be open to the world, and the world will be open to Iran.
Our version of freedom will also be a Near Perfect Freedom, except it will be much nearer to real freedom than your backwards, medievil, tyrannical, dictatorial version ever was.
