Abū Sīnā, the jewel of Persia in medicine and many other fields of knowledge, astronomy, chemistry, geology, paleontology, mathematics, physics, poetry, psychology, just to name a few, is turning in his grave as you read these words. I have no doubt about it. But, the best of his contribution was teaching science in academic centers some 9-10 centuries ago. He is turning in his grave because the land that he lived in, the place that he so passionately worked hard to advance, by spread of scientific concepts, is now amputating limbs as a source of punishment.
The official website for the Public Relations Office of the Khuzestan Court House has reported that the amputation sentence of a man has been carried out already in the Karoun Prison in the province capital city of Ahvaz. This is the fifth case of amputation in the city of Ahvaz during the last 12 months. It is hard to believe, yet we must believe and accept that the Islamic Republic of Iran is a barbaric regime, that in the twenty-first century, where most civilized nations in the world try their best to save a limb, the so called compassionate Islamic regime in Iran does its cruelest to get rid of one.
It was only two days ago that Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, one of the sources of emulation in Qom, was exclaiming that the world must be shown that Islam is not a religion of violence. The man who believes in certain circumstances death by stoning could be replaced by other methods of punishment (be mindful that he is not condemning stoning all together), the man who has objections over women attending soccer matches in stadiums, and the man who recently declared that temporary marriage is one of the most progressive commandments of Islam, now wants the world to know that Islam is not a religion of violence. besyar khob, but what the hell does he mean by violence! Isn’t cutting off someone’s limb an act of violence? Didn’t they drag the poor man to the butcher shop and chopped his hand off, or foot, or whatever it was that they chopped off. Didn’t he scream bloody murder before, during, and after they chopped off his limb? Where is Makarem Shirazi to scream bloody murder that this in not Islam and the real Islam is not a religion of violence? I’ll tell you in a minute that this act of amputation (chopping off) is no different than a man being attacked by a wild animal, but first, are we supposed to believe that the meaningless words of those cruel religious men in Qom have more meaning than the lifeless limbs of a man. Do these religious sources of emulation in Qom think the world is blind to their cruelty?
In 1997, left arms of two Taiwanese men were reattached after 7 hours of microsurgery. In 2007, the left arm of a Taiwanese veterinarian was severed by a Nile crocodile (a wild animal) in a zoo (where wild animals are kept). The arm was reattached again after 5 hours of surgery. The Taiwanese are reattaching limbs, while IRI is removing them. Maybe the Taiwanese could teach the IRI what they must do to make Islam not a religion of violence. Maybe Abū Sīnā will stop turning in his grave then. Maybe one day we’ll keep all wild animals in zoos where they belong.
