The brutal Iranian theocracy is still threatening to execute Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, apparently, after some buzz yesterday that the death sentence for apostasy from Islam might be overturned. The general silence of the West about this blatant human rights violation–the arrest and imprisonment alone should spark protest–is a blot on our support for universal human rights. The Speaker of the House issued a brief statement, but President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton have remained silent, but for one statement back in July. One hopes they are working feverishly behind the scenes, but I am not confident. I just did a Google search and it was very dispiriting shallow pool, reflecting how deeply indifferent the media remain. Disgraceful.
Thursday, September 29, 2011, 10:49 AM
September 29th, 2011 | 10:59 am
You beat me to it. The silence on the part of the media, the Obama Administration, and the usual protestors is deafening and disheartening. And the contrast with the coverage of the American hikers and the execution of Troy Davis is telling.
September 29th, 2011 | 12:39 pm
It would be encouraging to see more media coverage of this, but I’m not sure that a public statement from Obama would have the desired effect. If the “Great Satan” says one thing, the Iranians are going to take that as evidence that the opposite is right. If it were almost any other country, Obama might have some influence, but I don’t think there’s much he can say to Iran, unfortunately.
September 29th, 2011 | 12:56 pm
I’m sure the evil mullahs will “pardon” him by giving him some other severe punishment short of execution, and we can go on pretending that the Iranian theocracy is full of perfectly reasonable people who we can deal with just like a civilized government.
September 29th, 2011 | 2:11 pm
Where are the world religious leaders? Has the Vatican made a statement? Where are the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Episcopal Church, the National Council of Churches, and the National Association of Evangelicals?
Would a public rebuke from Obama really do good, or might it do harm? I really don’t think it is appropriate to use this to denounce the Obama administration. If the administration can do anything at all, I am sure private diplomacy is the best hope. It is Iran that is perpetrating the outrage. Don’t blame it on Obama or the State Department.
September 29th, 2011 | 5:36 pm
David, I appreciate what you’re saying, but I really am made unhappy by the idea that the President of the United States is afraid to publicly call out an intolerably, undisputably unacceptable act by a foreign government because it might backfire.
THEY should be afraid of the consequences of THEIR actions, not us being afraid of the consequences of publicly pointing out how unacceptable the course of action is that they are planning.
The fastest way to lose the prestige that enables you have the clout to affect situations like this, is to act like you don’t have it.
September 30th, 2011 | 2:14 pm
Rather than some other severe punishment short of execution, if Pastor Nadarkhani is “pardoned” and freed, he will probably be left in society without police protection (not that it would help him) and at risk of being killed by anyone.
September 30th, 2011 | 8:17 pm
[...] Christian Pastor may be murdered for not recanting his faith. More here. The White House condemns the planned killing of this [...]
October 3rd, 2011 | 2:56 pm
[...] Christian Pastor may be murdered for not recanting his faith. More here. The White House condemns the planned killing of this [...]
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