Let us back into the universe

Evading the fact that no nation or culture or state can claim to have its own hyphenated version of human rights


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Let us back into the universe
by Reza Bayegan
20-Nov-2007
 

As Iranian human rights activists we are fighting to restore to our nation those rights that are universal and inalienable. These rights are founded on the incontrovertible truth that all human beings are born free and equal. The constitution of the Islamic Republic is incompatible with this omnipresent reality. It is riddled with inconsistencies and discrimination. It stands contrary to all those hard won liberties secured by human beings throughout the ages.

Human rights are not a product of the West. Neither are they the inheritance of one race or culture. They are the upshot of the accumulated experience and collective enlightenment of mankind as a whole. They are the intellectual tribute to the sweat and blood of black African slaves in the cotton plantations of Georgia as well as persecuted and murdered Christians under Roman emperors. These laws abhor the extermination of Jews in Nazi death camps as well as the massacre of Moslems in Srebrenica. The responsibility invoked by these laws does not stop at the gates of Buddhist temples in Burma nor behind the Great Wall of China.

When Mr Shahroudi the head of the Iranian judiciary and his cohort sit down together “to draw up scientific strategies” to introduce realities of Islamic human rights to world nations (IRNA, 15 November 2007) they fail to realize or rather maliciously ignore the meaning of the word ‘universal’ in the title of that historic declaration. They evade the fact that no nation or culture or state can claim to have its own hyphenated version of human rights.

Unlike the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights makes no distinction between men and women, agnostics and atheists, Baha’is and Moslems. It applies to everyone everywhere without any ambiguities and ifs or buts. What Mr Shahroudi and his “team of experts” can offer to the rest of the world as “scientific” human rights solutions envisaged in their religion is self-evident in the busy gallows and overcrowded jails and torture chambers of the clerical state.

Iranians are fighting tooth and nail for their release from the limbo of the Islamic Republic into the universe of shared values and rights that are the common legacy of humanity the world over.


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more from Reza Bayegan
 
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it makes sense

by simple Iranian (not verified) on

Your article makes sense to me .All these people that have opposed it are related to IRI,and they know their time is getting shorter and shorter.They will join the Tyrants of the history soon.


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"Good Thoughts, Good Words,

by male seeking female (not verified) on

"Good Thoughts, Good Words, Goods Deeds, is purely a self-motivated principle."

That is the most stupid thing I have ever read on Iranian.com. A trully idiotic statement and a minor accomplishment. Congratulations.


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As much as I resent

by Farhad Kashani (not verified) on

As much as I resent ultra-leftist ideology and communism, I should say that the IRI is a much bigger threat to world security than the USSR ever was. The reason I say that is the USSR as much as it didn’t value human dignity or prosperity, but it had little, and keyword here is little, regard for human life. That regard was what made USSR look as a slightly responsible superpower that although preached populist and inhumane ideologies, but it prevented the start of a third world war that would’ve had catastrophic consequences. The IRI on the other hand, has absolutely no regard for human dignity, prosperity or most importantly, human life. With only about 10% of former USSR abilities, IRI has become the biggest threat to world peace, what would happen if that 10% keeps going up?


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Iraqi kids dies because of

by Nader - West Covina (not verified) on

Iraqi kids dies because of the action of Saddam Hussain who led his beautful country to wars and conflicts with everyone from its neighbor to countires thousands of miles away. I don't see you upset about the 1 million Kurds that he killed or the 300,000 Shites or the god knows how many thousand Sunnis.


alimostofi

Again no quite right, hu

by alimostofi on

Again no quite right, humanism, as it is defined in the link below, clearly shows, it is not related to religion.  And the beauty of Iranian philosophy is that it is purely humanistic.  What we have left of Iranian philosophy in the Zend Avesta, it is clear that Iranians saw the world from a human's prespective.  Good Thoughts, Good Words, Goods Deeds, is purely a self-motivated principle.

//www.answers.com/humanism?nafid=3 

.

 

Ali Mostofi

//www.alimostofi.com

 


Jahanshah Rashidian

Human Rights is Indpendet

by Jahanshah Rashidian on

Human Rights is above any geographical entities, its criteria are puerly moral with no approach to any  ideology or religion. It is a direct product of humanism and secularism.

It is sad when some pro-IRI people, with  penchant for religion or ideology, malignantly and one-sided use the term to play down the crimes of the IRI by only highlighting human rights violations of Guantanama or Abugharib.

It is derisive when the term can be misused by Mullah Sharoodi or his criminal likes who have no clue and interest to know what the term means.


alimostofi

Human rights is derived

by alimostofi on

Human rights is derived from respecting Life.  Before the creation of Zend-Avesta, and the Rig-Veda, no one on Earth considered Life, as being the most valuable asset.  Even today, many people value death more, and morally support it, by making it an act of faith, or courage.

So I am afraid, I have to disagree with your comment, "Human rights are not a product of the West. Neither are they the inheritance of one race or culture.  They are the upshot of the accumulated experience and collective enlightenment of mankind as a whole."

.

Ali Mostofi

//www.alimostofi.com

 


SCE Campaign

Well said

by SCE Campaign on

Dear Mr. Bayegan

Great analogy. We reflected your view at Stop Child Executions Campaign blog: //scenews.blog.com/2329980/ 

Regards

SCE Campaign 


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To say that Islamic human

by da (not verified) on

To say that Islamic human rights is evident by gallows, torture chambers and overcrowded prisons is HILARIOUS.

Because America has the most prisoners per capita in the world, it is the one responsible for the worst torture in the world (let us not forget that it was the US that trained SAVAK and then through that SAVAMA was trained).

Let us not forget Guantanamo and Abu Gharib.

And who gave the right to the UN in the 1940's to created a hyphenated human rights called "UNIVERSAL human rights". Did God tell them it was universal? Was it God that told them this is the perfect way to get everyone to get along?

We should declare those people prophets, because they claimed to know what was best for the whole world, yet none of them even carried a psychology degree, let alone actually knowing and understnading the cultures and differences in the world.


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Fact: Human rights are NOT universal

by Anonymous 21 (not verified) on

The fact is that every single government that is pounding its chest about human rights in Iran is guilty of worse human rights violations themselves.

This lovely USA of yours has for example injected hospital patients with plutonium without their knowledge, not to mention backed nun-raping death squads and giving chemical weapons to Saddam.

So, your claim that human rights are universal is simply FALSE.

Now go cry about it somewhere else.


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By choosing your real name "Anonymous Fucker"!! LOL

by LOL (not verified) on

To this person who posted under Name "Anonymous Fucker":

You are a real idiot. You ask why? I say you gave away your stupidity by choosing your real name "Anonymous Fucker"!! LOL


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Human Rights

by Shae'r (not verified) on

A Hangman's Noose ..
The Shot of A Firing Squad ..
...
Blood Pouring Down My Chin ..
The Cry of Agony ..
...
Gnashing of Teeth ..
No Mercy Upon My Soul ..
...
O' God O' My Creator ..
My Protector, The Unfathomable ..
...
The Knower of All Knowledge ..
The Bastion of All Wisdom ..
...
When Cometh Thou ..
To Avenge My Suffering ..
...
When Cometh Thou ..
To Have "Your" Retribution ..
...
When Cometh Thou ..
To Nurture The Wounded ..
...
And Finally,
When Cometh Thou ..
To Lift Up The Afflicted ..
...
O' God O' Father, My Soul ..
Justice Delayed is Justice Denied ..
Quicken Your Steps, As in Glory ..
That My Strenght, Slow To Quiver, at Nigh and Nigh ..


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Oh put a sock in it.

by Anonymous Fucker (not verified) on

Oh put a sock in it. We don't need 5th grade lectures about human rights from a keyboard warrior, OK? Go get a job and STFU.
Over 1.8 million Iraqi civilians are dead from the result of the US sanctions/war there. SO I guess your idea of "universal human rights" ain't so universal after all, huh? Dirty stupid fucker.


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Universal Human Rights is part of our Iranian history

by ---> (not verified) on

Their real intention is to genecide our Iranian culture and replaced it with something unknown and foreign to us. Universal Human Rights is part of our Iranian history.


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