Riots in Iran, Zoroastrians Strike Back

Iran steals body of nephew after arresting pro-reform opposition, followers of ancient religion resist Islam

By Robin Rowe

Iran steals body of nephew after arresting pro-reform opposition, followers of ancient religion resist Islam

By Robin Rowe

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 12/29/2009 – “What has happened to this religious system that it orders the killing of innocent people during the holy day of Ashura?” asked moderate cleric Karoubi in a report posted by Jaras. Iran arrested at least ten prominent opposition figures on Monday, including three advisers to opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi, leader of the banned Freedom Movement Ebrahim Yazdi, and members of the exiled opposition group Mujahideen Khalq Organization.

A group of Mousavi supporters that had gathered in front of Ebn- e Sina hospital where his nephew’s body was kept were dispersed by police firing teargas. The body of Mousavi’s nephew was then taken from the hospital. “We cannot hold a funeral until my brother’s body is found,” said another of Mousavi’s nephews according to Parlemannews. Further clashes were expected at the funeral ceremony.

Opposition leader Mehdi Karoubi accused Iran’s hard-line rulers of killing innocent people. Thousands of people took to the streets in cities across Iran during Sunday’s Ashura festival.

YouTube videos of the Iranian protests are the top videos being viewed today as Iranian censors are losing their grip. Foreign media are banned from covering protests directly and the cellphone text messaging system was down in Tehran on Monday.

“Keep fighting Braves Zoroastrians Persians!!!”, says a comment on the YouTube video. Made using mobile phones, Iranian videos of riots is slipping through the net of Iranian censorship which searches Internet packet transmissions for words like “democracy” and “freedom”. A similar phenomena emerged during the Russian revolution as email was effectively censored by automated filters but the technology was useless against fax machines.

Zoroastrians have experienced extreme persecution in Iran including being sold into slavery. Prior to the Islamization of Iran, Zoroastrianism was the primary religion of Persia. Enslaved Zoroastrians could free themselves by converting to Islam. Once converted to Islam, the family’s children had to learn Arabic and the teachings of the Quran. Once converted, the penalty for renouncing Islam was death. The Arab Muslim conquest of Persia brought the end of the Sassanid Empire in 644.

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 12/29/2009 – “What has happened to this religious system that it orders the killing of innocent people during the holy day of Ashura?” asked moderate cleric Karoubi in a report posted by Jaras. Iran arrested at least ten prominent opposition figures on Monday, including three advisers to opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi, leader of the banned Freedom Movement Ebrahim Yazdi, and members of the exiled opposition group Mujahideen Khalq Organization.

A group of Mousavi supporters that had gathered in front of Ebn- e Sina hospital where his nephew’s body was kept were dispersed by police firing teargas. The body of Mousavi’s nephew was then taken from the hospital. “We cannot hold a funeral until my brother’s body is found,” said another of Mousavi’s nephews according to Parlemannews. Further clashes were expected at the funeral ceremony.

Opposition leader Mehdi Karoubi accused Iran’s hard-line rulers of killing innocent people. Thousands of people took to the streets in cities across Iran during Sunday’s Ashura festival.

YouTube videos of the Iranian protests are the top videos being viewed today as Iranian censors are losing their grip. Foreign media are banned from covering protests directly and the cellphone text messaging system was down in Tehran on Monday.

“Keep fighting Braves Zoroastrians Persians!!!”, says a comment on the YouTube video. Made using mobile phones, Iranian videos of riots is slipping through the net of Iranian censorship which searches Internet packet transmissions for words like “democracy” and “freedom”. A similar phenomena emerged during the Russian revolution as email was effectively censored by automated filters but the technology was useless against fax machines.

Zoroastrians have experienced extreme persecution in Iran including being sold into slavery. Prior to the Islamization of Iran, Zoroastrianism was the primary religion of Persia. Enslaved Zoroastrians could free themselves by converting to Islam. Once converted to Islam, the family’s children had to learn Arabic and the teachings of the Quran. Once converted, the penalty for renouncing Islam was death. The Arab Muslim conquest of Persia brought the end of the Sassanid Empire in 644.