Iran: Prof. Aghajari in danger to be executed

After one and a half years on the death row in Tehran's Evin prison, Prof. Sayyed Hashem Aghajari has been sentenced to death for blasphemy again, informs the Iranian Rationalist Group RA. The 47-year-old invalid war veteran, who has been suffering from lack of medical treatment during his detention, refuses to lodge an appeal against the judgement, as he considers the trial against him a farce, says his defense lawyer Saleh Nikbakht. Three judges of the Supreme Court are to take the final decision on Prof. Aghajari's fate.

In November 2002, the historian and university teacher Prof. Aghajari had been sentenced to death in an obscure and secret trial by a provincial court in Hamedan. His 'crime' was a public speech, challenging the right of the clergy to rule Iran and calling for reformation of Islam. The judgement had sparked a nation wide revolt against Iran's clerical leaders. To silence the growing mass protest, 'Supreme Leader' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered a review of the case. In January 2003, the Supreme Court rejected the death sentence on technical grounds and referred the case back to the first court, which "rectified all flaws" and renewed its original decision, "in line with Islamic and Iranian law".

The verdict is contrary to the principle of Freedom of Expression, as it is enshrined in the Constitution of Iran and in the Declaration of Human Rights.

It comes at a time, when unelected mullahs are tightening their iron grip on the country again. The Iranian parliament is back in the hands of the hardliners, after the Guardian Council banned 2500 liberal candidates, among them 80 sitting legislators, from the February elections. Additionally more than thousand terrified aspirants withdrew. A heavy crackdown on the media silenced protest. In the new political climate, the public is pressed into indifference and most of the thousands of earlier supporters of Prof. Aghajari don't dare to raise their voices any more.

[See our earlier reports in Bulletin # 106 and # 108.]

Europe: France reaffirms rejection of god in future EU Constitution

Supported by Belgium and Britain, France reaffirmed its rejection of references to god and religion in the draft EU-Constitution. In a new session of negotiations, the 25 foreign ministers of the European Union are trying to overcome their differences on the role of religion.

God had been successfully kept out of the preamble and the article on European values, till Poland, Italy, Portugal, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia and the Czech Republic made a fresh attempt to press for the Pope-line. The foreign ministers of these countries have demanded to "recognize the historical truth" by paying "further attention to a reference to the Christian roots of Europe". Germany, in respect to the god reference in its own constitution, joined the pious fraction. So far, the disputed part of the preamble reads: "The European Union draws inspiration from the cultural, religious and humanist heritage of Europe".

The traditional god-lobby in the EU has recently been strengthened by some of the ten new member states. Most of them are strongly influenced by the Roman Catholic Church, which encouraged and promoted their entry in order to increase its stake in the EU. Turkey, on the other hand, has been refused the entry for now, after it disturbed the "Christian Club" by demanding equal positions for Islam and Judaism, if there had to be references to religion at all.

Besides disputes regarding direct references, there is still the controversial Article 51 in the draft, which defines the "status of churches and non-confessional organizations". Secularists want this article to be cut without substitute. Though already watered down from its original version, it still protects national privileges of the churches and grants them on Union level the privilege of extraordinary representation as regular dialogue partner of EU institutions (though dialogue "with all parties of civil society" is already subject of Article 46). As a result of long fights, the status of the Christian churches has been formally equated with the status of (other) "religious associations or communities, philosophical and non-confessional organizations". Considering, however, the ratio of non-religious and religious organizations in the extended EU, it is obvious that the imminent dynamics of the article are designed to work in favor of religion.

The draft EU Constitution is supposed to be finalized in the summit on 17/18 of June.

Nigeria: Muslim panic stops polio immunization

The government of Nigeria had to stop its nationwide polio immunization program because of massive resistance by the Muslim dominated states in the north of the country, reports the British Medical Journal on 28 May. Dr. Ibrahim Datti Ahmed, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Sharia, asked for suspension of the program, as the imported vaccine was according to him unsafe and posed a threat to Muslims. There was evidence, he said, that it was made to effect fertility.

Since 1975, the USA had a policy of depopulating Africa and the Muslim countries, said Dr. Ahmed. They developed a special vaccine with added hormones, which had already been used in Nigeria, Tanzania, Philippines, Nicaragua and Mexico.

To end confusion and panic, which had started months ago, the Nigerian government gave the vaccine for examination to laboratories in Nigeria, South Africa and India, which did not find any reason to worry. But Muslim leaders don't trust the government. If there should be an immunization at all, they insisted to import vaccine from Muslim countries only.

Nigeria is one of eight countries in the world, where the polio immunization program threatens to fail because of widespread panic and resistance against it. Dr. Abba Zakeri, director of the primary healthcare program, pointed out that there was high incidence of wild polio especially in Jigawa state in north Nigeria. The government hopes to be able to sort out the problems and restart the program in September.