In Iran

Considering badges...

Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.

"This is reminiscent of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. "Iran is moving closer and closer to the ideology of the Nazis."

Iranian expatriates living in Canada yesterday confirmed reports that the Iranian parliament, called the Islamic Majlis, passed a law this week setting a dress code for all Iranians, requiring them to wear almost identical "standard Islamic garments."

The law, which must still be approved by Iran's "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenehi before being put into effect, also establishes special insignia to be worn by non-Muslims.

Iran's roughly 25,000 Jews would have to sew a yellow strip of cloth on the front of their clothes, while Christians would wear red badges and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear blue cloth.

Comments

[Mary Kay]

The more I hear about current Iranian leadership, the more it does sound like Nazism. Very scary thought.

[chris K]

And then we have this, all the while people are frenzied in their growing attacks against the remaining institution standing for human dignity (as some saint once said, "we're not dogs"):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 18, 2006

VERICHIP INJECTS ITSELF INTO IMMIGRATION DEBATE
Company Pushes RFID Implants for Immigrants, Guest Workers

Scott Silverman, Chairman of the Board of VeriChip Corporation, has alarmed civil libertarians by promoting the company's subcutaneous human tracking device as a way to identify immigrants and guest workers. He appeared on the Fox News Channel earlier this week, the morning after President Bush called for high-tech measures to clamp down on Mexican immigrants.

Privacy advocates Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre are warning that a government-sanctioned chipping program such as that suggested by Silverman could quickly be expanded to include U.S. citizens, as well.

The VeriChip is a glass encapsulated Radio Frequency Identification tag that is injected into the flesh to uniquely number and identify people. The tag can be read silently and invisibly by radio waves from up to a foot or more away, right through clothing. The highly controversial device is also being marketed as a way to access secure areas, link to medical records, and serve as a payment device when associated with a credit card.

"Makers of VeriChip have been planning for this day. They've lost millions of dollars trying to sell their invasive product to North America, and now they see an opportunity in the desperation of the people of Latin America," Albrecht observes.

VeriChip's Silverman bandied about the idea of chipping foreigners on national television Tuesday, emboldened by the Bush Administration call to know "who is in our country and why they are here." He told Fox & Friends that the VeriChip could be used to register guest workers, verify their identities as they cross the border, and "be used for enforcement purposes at the employer level." He added, "We have talked to many people in Washington about using it...."

Silverman is reportedly also planning to share his vision on CNBC's Squawk Box if a slot opens up tomorrow (Friday) morning sometime between 6 and 9 AM Eastern Time. He was originally scheduled to appear on the show this morning, but technical problems at the Florida studio prevented his appearance.

The numbering and chipping of people seems like a plot from a dystopian novel, but the company has gotten the buy-in from highly placed current and former government officials, including Columbian President Alvaro Uribe. He reportedly told Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) that he would consider having microchips implanted into Colombian workers before they are permitted to enter the United States to work on a seasonal basis.

"The mantra 'chip the foreigners' has little appeal once people realize the company wants to stamp its 'electronic tattoo' into every one of us," cautions McIntyre. "Electronically branding and tracking visitors like cattle is VeriChip's excuse to get the government on board. But if that happens, we'll all be in their sights."

Tommy Thompson, former Secretary of Health and Human Services joined the board of VeriChip Corporation after leaving his Bush administration cabinet post. Shortly thereafter, he went on national television recommending that all Americans get chipped as a way to link to their medical records. He also suggested the VeriChip could replace military dog tags, and a spokesman boasted that the company had been in talks with the Pentagon.

Privacy advocates warn that once people are numbered with a remotely readable RFID tag like the VeriChip, they can be tracked. Once they can be tracked, they can be monitored and controlled.

Albrecht and McIntyre, the authors of "Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID" believe the world's people will stand firm against chipping. "Our country was founded on principles of freedom and liberty. We're betting that the American people will see the end game and buck VeriChip's attempts," said Albrecht. "We also believe the people of Latin America will rise up in opposition once they read our book."

The Spanish language version of "Spychips" will be hitting shelves across Latin America next month.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABOUT THE BOOK

"Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track your Every Move with RFID" (Nelson Current) was released in October 2005. Already in its fifth printing, "Spychips" is the winner of the 2006 Lysander Spooner Award for Advancing the Literature of Liberty and has received wide critical acclaim. Authored by Harvard doctoral researcher Katherine Albrecht and former bank examiner Liz McIntyre, the book is meticulously researched, drawing on patent documents, corporate source materials, conference proceedings, and firsthand interviews to paint a convincing -- and frightening -- picture of the threat posed by RFID.

[Charles]

Who's gonna say it?

[SteveM]

What the VeriChip has to do with this topic is beyond me.

Related to the badges in Iran, why should that surprise anyone? The Islamic government of Iran is being perfectly consistent with the oppressive laws of dhimmitude. That is Islam.

I hope that those unfortunate non-Muslims have the courage to act in solidarity by wearing all three badges simultaneously.

I’ll pray for them too…

SteveM

[Maclin Horton]

That is Islam.

I hope you're wrong. A friend of mine complained the other day about my use of the term "Islamo-fascist." Fair enough, it's not a very nice term, but my intention in using it was not to demonize Muslims but to distinguish between the violent and repressive fanatics and other Muslims. I'd like to think it's a valid distinction.

[SteveM]

Maclin,

Suggest you visit this page:

http://jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/

SteveM

[Liam]

This is deadly serious stuff: do not ignore or minimalise it as mere kookery.

[Dale Price]

The letter written by Ahmanijedad to the President, and the one being written to the Holy Father apparently have a very disturbing precedent:

http://theanchoressonline.com/2006/05/18/dear-pope-please-come-to-mecca-and-stay/

[scotch meg]

And what will the Bahai's be wearing? Oh, yeah, I forgot, they don't allow Bahai's in Iran at all... They'll be wearing nooses, I guess.

[Marion]

Fascism? Iran is a model pro-life country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_Iran

[Rob]

I think Dale is right. Between the letter to the President, a supposed letter to Pope Benedict and this, that little nutjob is up to something.

[Maclin Horton]

Yeah, I'm familiar with that site, SteveM. Don't worry, I'm not exactly starry-eyed, just hopeful that some sort of moderation or reform is possible.

[chris K]

What the VeriChip has to do with this topic is beyond me.

Well, we have one country, due to its style of government and open approval by its authorities, beginning to openly classify particular groups of human beings for its own purposes. And then we have another country, accepted as standing for freedom and non-discrimnation, perhaps considering to act in another way of classification of human beings for its own purposes, but in a more "acceptable" way through the use of hidden technology. Either way, there cannot be justification for any dehumanizing tracking of specified groups of human beings. One way may be an "in your face" overt method, easy to point to, but the other more covert method does not mean there is any less bias towards classification of humans as more worthy or not of human consideration.

[Maureen O'Brien]

Well, duh. The culture of death attacks on all fronts at once, including the homefront.

But in this country, we can oppose this sort of thing without fearing prison or death (at the moment, anyway). In Iran, the students, union workers, and ordinary men and women who oppose Ahmadinejad and the mullahs face great danger and hardship when they protest.

And yet, they protest.

May God be with them and protect them, because they are locked in the same country with a dictatorship of the desperate and real madmen.

[Ken]

And what will the Bahai's be wearing?

What Bahais? They will have been "Cleansed".

[Celine]

Marion is right. We murder 45 million kids over the last 30 years, yet become hysterical because Iran might require distinctive clothing for Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians. Why, next we'll declare preventative war on them for thier putative crime!

Anyway, there is a long tradition of this sort of thing in Christian and Muslim countries entirely sanctioned by the highest Church authorities. As just one example, in 1215 the Fourth Lateran Council led by Pope Innocent III declared: "Jews and Saracens of both sexes in every Christian province and at all times shall be marked off in the eyes of the public from other peoples through the character of their dress." (Canon 68). Shocking, those popes and Councils!

[Hannah]

"Fascism? Iran is a model pro-life country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_Iran"

I'm not sure what you're getting at here, here, but Iran is definitely NOT a pro-life country, even if you narrowly define pro-life as abortion being illegal.

Family planning is actively promoted by the government, the official slogan which is printed on Iranian food packages is: Fewer children for a better life.

According to the Wikepedia article, abortion is not completely illegal. Actually abortion is rampart there. The more common form is to induce miscarriage through herbal potions, but many doctors will perform the procedure under a false medical procedure for the records.

Pro-life is a mentality that values all life, it is not just a law that allows abortion. The intent behind it matters. Khomeini was anti-abortion because he believed Muslims should breed soldiers for Allah. Almost all out-of-wedlock babies are aborted, their mothers are lucky if they are not aborted along with them!

[SteveM]

Celine,

Re: Anyway, there is a long tradition of this sort of thing in Christian and Muslim countries entirely sanctioned by the highest Church authorities. As just one example, in 1215 the Fourth Lateran Council led by Pope Innocent III declared: "Jews and Saracens of both sexes in every Christian province and at all times shall be marked off in the eyes of the public from other peoples through the character of their dress." (Canon 68). Shocking, those popes and Councils!

I think that we have been around this block before. The critical distinction is that the popes and Councils corrupted the fundamental message of Christ. While the Muslim oppression is entirely congruent with the instruction of Mohammed (and therefore Allah.)

SteveM

[JohnG]

Badges?! We don't need no stinking badges!

[Donald R. McClarey]

As Bernard Lewis said recently it is looking to him like 1938 again in regard to Iran, in more ways than one apparently.

[Celine]

People: It appears that this whole story is another piece of lying propaganda: http://www.940news.com/locale.php?news=2512
It's what we should have learned to expect from our war-whoopers by now.

Hannah: I agree with your seamless garment philosophy that being prolife is far more than just being anti-abortion. Now if only we can convince all the anti-life warmongers that we were right about immorality of the Iraq War and they are wrong about their death-making designs on Iraq!

SteveM: Boy, is that ever lame. I thought that Councils and popes proported to speak with the authority of Christ?

[Charles]

Thank you, JohnG. I was wondering how long that hanging curve was gonna sit out there.

[Old Zhou]

From a much longer article:

A colour code for Iran's 'infidels'
Amir Taheri, National Post
Published: Friday, May 19, 2006

...The new law replaces the one passed in 1982 dealing with women's clothes. That law imposed the hijab and focused on the need to force women to cover their hair in public. The emphasis on the hijab was based on the belief that women's hair emanates an "evil ray" that drives men "into lustful irrationality" and thus causes harm to Islam....

...According to Ahmadinejad, the new Islamic uniforms will establish "visual equality" for Iranians as they prepare for the return of the Hidden Imam....

....Islamic legislators are unanimous that Islam is incompatible with "gay, wild, provocative colours" such as red, yellow, and light blue, which are supposed to be favoured by Satan. The colours to be imposed by law are expected to be black, brown, dark blue and dark grey.

Some Majlis members have been trying to lift the ban on green, which is, after all, the colour of the Bani Hashem, the family of the Prophet Muhammad, and thus regarded as the colour of Islam. The majority view, however, is that green is not "serious enough" to underline the gravity of a Muslim man's position.

Religious minorities would have their own colour schemes. They will also have to wear special insignia, known as zonnar, to indicate their non-Islamic faiths. Jews would be marked out with a yellow strip of cloth sewn in front of their clothes while Christians will be assigned the colour red. Zoroastrians end up with Persian blue as the colour of their zonnar. It is not clear what will happen to followers of other religions, including Hindus, Bahais and Buddhists, not to mention plain agnostics and atheists, whose very existence is denied by the Islamic Republic.

The new law imposes a total ban on wearing neckties and bow-ties which are regarded as "symbols of the Cross." Will Iranian Christians be allowed to wear them, nevertheless? No one knows.

The law also mandates the government to wage a campaign against "expensive attire" without defining it....

...One aim of the new law is to impose a total ban on imports of clothes and dress designs from the West. The Majlis hopes that all jeans will disappear from the Iranian scene within five years. The boutiques selling haute couture Western gear for men and women will also be closed over the next few years. A total ban on designer items, marked by logos, will come into force by the end of the year.

"There is no sense in a Muslim man or woman wearing something that is, in fact, an advertisement for an infidel designer or clothing merchant," says Pourharandi....

...During the committee debates on the new law, some Majlis members tried to include articles determining the shape and size of men's beards and mustaches and impose an Islamic standard for male facial hair. But it was agreed that the issue be tackled in another bill to be presented to the Majlis next year.

By September the Majlis is expected to approve an initial budget of US$800-million to help "the poor and the needy" to adopt the new uniforms. All public sector workers, estimated to number 4.5 million, will be in uniform by 2009 at the latest.

What is already labelled "the Islamic clothes revolution" will not be limited to Iran. Tehran has already sent a team to Lebanon to inform the Hezbollah of the new law and train cadres to impose it on Lebanese Shiites.

"Our aim is to make sure that every Muslim, wherever he or she happens to be on this Earth, is a living and walking symbol of Islam," says Pourharandi....

Maybe Ron Howard needs to make a new film: "The Iran Dress Code."

Watch out for those evil rays emanating from women's hair, and bow-ties as secret symbols of the Christian cross. Listen to your inner zonnar. Facial hair TBD.

[Anglican Peggy]

And the really scary thing?

No mention of a color for Baha'is. If there is any group more hated by the current regime it is this group. They aren't recognized as a religious group but in some respects they are they are this regimes "Jews" more than any other group in Iran.

Apparently they cant even legally bury their dead. They have to bury them in secret. If the other groups are going to be wearing special badges, I hate to even think about what might be in store for those the regime considers religious heretics. God help them all.

[mulopwepaul]

"Because, of course, the circumstances at the time of the Fourth Lateran Council are exactly the same as those today, we can easily declare Pope Innocent IV a corrupter of Christ's message."

I maintain nothing of the kind; anyone who wants to apologise for the Fourth Lateran Council can go ahead, but don't include me in your doomed bid for secular approval.

Anyone who can't see that sumptuary laws dealing with religious communities have an entirely different significance after the Holocaust is either in denial or has another agenda.

PVO

[mulopwepaul]

Actually, it was Innocent III who called the Fourth Lateran Council, not Innocent IV, but the point remains that anyone who accepts a modern secular analysis of Church councils is going to wind up apologising their faith entirely away.

PVO

[SteveM]

Celine,

In the New Testament, I don’t recall Jesus calling us to oppress others. Those popes and kings corrupted the true message of Christianity regardless of whom they said they spoke for. The subjugation of Dhimmis though is suffused throughout the Koran and Hadiths. Mohammed evolved into a wretched, violent despot and his unfortunate theology has encumbered hundreds of millions since then.

SteveM

[Anglican Peggy]

Celine,

To employ the language used in the article, the Iranian people apparently havent had any trouble with all sorts of religious discrimination before now. Why draw the line at badges?

They tolerated signage for businesses that declared the business owners religious affiliation. They have tolerated the laws that refuse recognition for Bahais. They have tolerated all kinds of things of this nature.

So the word of one independent reporter for whom no professional credentials were given other than his description as someone who lives in the region and has spoken to some people somehow proves that the story is a lie? He seems to assume that the people of Iran are in charge of the government and that the government answers to their will. Gotta wonder about that since by all accounts the government does as it pleases over there. This mysterious independent reporter just so happens to be in perfect agreement with the regime's party line that they are in power by the will of the Iranian people. Hmmmmm.

So tell me, if this story does turn out to be false, exactly how does that change the fact that the regime has for decades engaged in Nazi like campaigns of discrimination and oppression against minority groups? How does it change the fact that under this regime, religious minorities are quickly vanishing? If its all a lie shouldnt these groups be thriving instead of vanishing? Generally when a group is protected and tolerated, their numbers dont plummet. To agree with the Iranian government that they are "protecting" and "respecting" religious minorities in a way that is merely different from the west but no less valid is to buy wholesale into double-speak. Protected groups do not flee and they do not vanish. Hence if they do either of these things they are not in the least bit "protected" no matter what empty meaningless claims a government may make.

Your one "independent" reporter makes no difference at all against the over all truth of the Iranian regime and its treatment of minorities.

[ken]

Why do the different religions have to wear different colors? If they are all unclean why not just one symbolic color?

[Old Zhou]

The whole purpose of "The Iran Dress Code" is so that:

the new Islamic uniforms will establish "visual equality" for Iranians as they prepare for the return of the Hidden Imam.

Wow. What happens if the favorite colors of the Hidden Imam turn out to be yellow and red?

[mulopwepaul]

"In the New Testament, I don’t recall Jesus calling us to oppress others."

Hey, why bother with laws at all? After all, we wouldn't want to opress.

Or maybe the issue is more complicated than you would like to imagine it.

PVO

[ken]

Zhou wrote, "Wow. What happens if the favorite colors of the Hidden Imam turn out to be yellow and red?"
Worse yet, what if he wears a rainbow sash?

[Liam]

The color yellow for Jews comes actually from medieval Christian practice.

The color red for Christians comes from the fact that the red cross is the traditional emblem of our faith, used by Crusaders. It is also the opposite color of the green that traditionally is associated with Islam, but Islam also has uses for red.

As for the color blue, I imagine it has something to do with vestments of Persian shahs and Zoroastrian priests and/or holy men.

[mulopwepaul]

The earliest association of yellow badges with Jews in sumptuary law dates to the Umayyad Caliphate:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_badge

PVO

[xavier]

Old Zhou:
Doesn't the new Iranian law smack of sumputary laws that European countries imposed during the Middle ages? Well it,s progress the Iranian legislator went from the 7th century to the 12th! Errr how does imposing different colours lead to visual equality??

I agree the thug(tm) is up to something. He'll use the excuse of the western leaders blowing off his letters as justification to commit an act of war. I'm betting that Ahmadinejad is about to committ a similar miostake when Hitaler declared war against the U.S. after Pearl Habour.
Ahmadinejad isn't a moonbat just malvolent.
xavier

[Charles A.]

re: the 4th Lateran council and Innocent III

I think it should be obvious that councils and popes can err, and have erred, regarding such topics as religious freedom, discrimination, ecumenism, etc. etc.

These are not matters de fide.

[Charles A.]

... in other words, it's hardly a matter of "corrupting Christ's message" it's merely an error of prudential judgement, which comes along with this fallen state....

[Old Zhou]

Lots of English news coming from Australia, such as this, quoting (the only) Jewish member of Iranian parliament saying that the Canadian article is nonsense.

Well, nonsense in regards to religious minorities, not nonsense in regards to general civil dress codes.

Mr Motammed said he had been present in parliament when a bill to promote "an Iranian and Islamic style of dress for women" was voted. "In the law, there is no mention of religious minorities," he added.

MPs representing Iran's Jewish, Christian and Zoroastrian minorities sit on all parliamentary committees, particularly the cultural one, he said.

Advertisement:
"This is an insult to the Iranian people and to religious minorities in Iran," he said.

Whew!

I was worried that I was going to have to wear a bow tie as a mark of being Christian.

But you do have to keep the women covered up because "women's hair emanates an 'evil ray' that drives men 'into lustful irrationality'.

[mulopwepaul]

Making Jews (or Muslims) wear badges or other distinctive dress would in fact be an 8th century approach, but one which endured into the 19th century in most parts of the world.

PVO

[Charles A.]

Celine wrote: "I thought that Councils and popes proported to speak with the authority of Christ?"

Not always. Only on solemn definitions and anathemas, and that THEY will not err. Remember that the infallibility promise is a negative one.

[mulopwepaul]

Furthermore, they will only be preserved from error on matters of faith and morals.

Now, it can be argued that what one wears has a moral component, but requiring Saracens and Jews to dress distinctively from Christians did not by itself have a moral component to it. Rather, it was the rationale for the law which has moral weight which must be considered.

In the case of the sumptuary instructions of the Fourth Lateran Council, the stated rationale was to avoid unwitting familiarities between individuals of the different groups (especially between individuals of different sexes and different groups) which would cause disturbances of the peace.

The moral notion that civil authorities take steps to avoid those disturbances is correct, even if one objects to the means selected at the time which were later abused.

The means to the end may have been erroneous (although I challenge the smug and easy judgment of people today projected back 800 years) but the moral teaching underlying them was correct.

PVO

[Maclin Horton]

The National Post is not a fly-by-night org, so presumably they will investigate further and see if there is any fire beneath this smoke. For now, though, they themselves are running a Canadian Press story contradicting the earlier one.

[reluctant penitent]

This is nothing new. The Ottoman Empire required all non-Muslims to wear distinctive clothing. For example:

'Ottoman rulers decreed a dress code to ensure that Muslims were distinguished above all others. For example, the holy green shade of Islam was forbidden to non-Muslims and only Muslims were permitted to wear white turbans. The fabrics of the clothing worn by Jews could not be more luxurious than those worn by Muslims. So, they were forbidden to wear muslin, silk, expensive furs and other rich materials.'

(http://www.dcjcc.org/arts/bronfmangallery/currentexhibition.php)

[Hass]

THIS STORY NOT TRUE!
Iran: Lawmakers Debate Women's Clothing
Associated Press May 20, 2006

... Emad Afroogh, the legislator who sponsored the bill and is chairman of Parliament's Cultural Committee, said that the Canadian report was untrue and that the measure sought only to make women dress more conservatively and avoid Western fashions. Another lawmaker, Morris Motamed, a Jew, also said the Canadian report was false.

ALSO NOT TRUE Holocaust "historian" Edwin Black claimed that Iran was responsible for the Holocaust. But see Iran, Jews and the Holocaust: An answer to Mr. Black by Dr Abbas Milani of Stanford University.

More about Jews of Iran:
1- Jews in Iran Describe a Life of Freedom, Christian Science Monitor, February 03, 1998
(http://csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/durableRedirect.pl?/durable/1998/02/03/intl/intl.3.html)

2- Polish Jews were given refuge in Iran during WWII
Associated Press
Thursday, November 23, 2000
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A53268-2000Nov22?language=printer)

3- Iranian Jews PREFER Tehran to Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem Post Nov. 3, 2005
(http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1131043721479&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull)

[Donald R. McClarey]

What a relief is this story turns out not to be true! Huzzah, the Iranian government does not wish to designate Jews and Christians and other religious minorities with badges! All it wants to do is destroy all the Jews in Israel with nukes! Happy Day!

[ami]

Would that the American bishops would focus on the lawful emigration of those poor souls many of who could be accepted here. The Mexicans do not have nearly the claim on us that those people do.

[Martin CLarke]

"This is reminiscent of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. "Iran is moving closer and closer to the ideology of the Nazis."

Just like it's always 1939 for the neocons, it's always the holocuast for the Jews.

[Katolik Shinja]

THIS STORY IS YELLOW JOURNALISM! WE'VE BEEN NEO-CONNED!

"A copy of the draft law obtained by The Associated Press made no mention of religious minorities or any requirement of special attire for them, and the Post later posted an article on its Web site backing off the report"

From:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060520/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_dress_code;_ylt=AoRdrEgKk4mvi_tGk0QSaxUDW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBhZDhxNDFzBHNlYwNtZW5ld3M-

[Katolik Shinja]

PS: The ealier story about wiping Israel off the map was also likely faked:

Ahmadinejad: Lost in Translation
.

[Maclin Horton]

I'm not so sure about that second one. Al Jazeera is not usually in on the neo-con plots.

[Katoilk Shinja]

Mr. Horton,

Thanks for the correction.

Ms. Welborn,

With all due respect, I think Christian charity calls on you to post in the clearest of terms that this story of the badges for Jews was a fabrication. Rumor-mongering is basically what psychological warfare is all about.

How many people remember that the story about the Iraqi soldiers pulling Kuwaiti babies out of incubators was false? The "nurse" who testified before Congress was the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador.