The demonization of
Iran for executing criminals
Mohammad S. Tahir
April 19, 2010
There's been a lot of news and talk recently about Afghan citizens being
arrested for drug trafficking, and then being executed by the Iranian
authorities. Some Afghans have legitimate concerns that the Afghans in Iran may have
been mistreated and executed without a fair trial. However, the majority of the
people, many of them being anti-Shia (and thus anti-Iranian), pro-Taliban
Afghans, and Americans are using this opportunity to demonize Iran, and in the
process hurt Afghan-Iranian relations.
The stories being published and talked about are indeed troubling. For example, an
Afghan man who is a father and a husband attempts to smuggle drugs into Iran; he
is caught, arrested, jailed and then executed by the Iranian authorities. The
body is then returned to his family. It's sad to see that Afghans are involved
in these types of activities in the first place. Being poor can cause some
people to take risks, and in the end, the risk they take only hurts their
families in a much worse way.
Even though the stories are sad, let's not forget the fact that these people
are choosing to engage in an illegal activity. Just like alcohol, drug
trafficking, and drug abuse is against Islam. Anyone involved in these types of
activities deserve to be punished, because they are participating in the
destruction of other people's lives. People involved in these activities are
criminals and deserve death, because their actions, directly or indirectly, ruin
lives, lead to the deaths of innocent people, and destroy families. Being poor
should not be an excuse to participate in smuggling drugs or other activities.
It is much more honorable to die hungry, then to participate in an act that is
against Islam, and in the end, destroys the lives of other people.
Moreover, the Iranian government has publicly made it aware to people that if you
engage in drug trafficking, you may end up dead. The Iranians have the right to
decide the type of punishment that will occur for illegal activities committed
on their soil. In fact, the penalty for drug smuggling has been the same in Iran
since the time of the Shah. The death penalty is not just for Afghans, but
for anyone, including Iranians that engage in these types of activities.
Illegal drugs are smuggled into Iran; some are sold there, and then
eventually make their way to Europe and the United States. Iran is one of the
few countries that have been successful in reducing the amount of illegal drugs
being smuggled out of Afghanistan. They have invested quite a bit of money,
because their own population has suffered a lot from these illegal drugs. For
this, they should be applauded, not attacked and demonized.
So, what type of people are twisting the facts and using this as an
opportunity to attack Iran? Iran has two enemies in Afghanistan: the Americans
and the pro-Taliban, anti-Shia Afghans.
Since getting involved in Afghanistan in late 2001, the Americans have been
trying to "cool" Afghan-Iranian relations. Despite being power hungry and corrupt,
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has resisted pressure from the Americans to publicly criticize the
Iranian President, and downgrade diplomatic relations between the two countries.
With Pakistan arming and financing the Taliban to commit gruesome attacks on
Afghan soil, Afghanistan, and especially Karzai's government, needs all the
friends it can get. The Iranians have been very committed to the new Afghan
government, despite propaganda by U.S. sources claiming that they are secretly
arming the Taliban. So far, there has been no credible evidence to show that
Iran is working against Karzai's government or supporting the Taliban.
Interestingly enough, the other group of people who are against the Iranians
are the pro-Taliban, anti-Shia Afghans. The majority of Iranians are Shia and
the Taliban hate them because they are Shiites. These people may not publicly
claim they support the Taliban, and many are secretly on the payroll of
Pakistan's ISI. They are quiet when the Pakistani authorities abuse Afghan
refugees, yet when it comes to Iran, they go out of their way to attack and
demonize Iran.
For those Afghans who have genuine concerns, let it be known that, so far,
there has been no credible evidence to show that the Iranian authorities are
mistreating Afghan citizens. If they are executing criminals, then they have
every right to do so. Of greater concern for the Afghans should be the innocent
civilians being killed by both the Pakistani-supported Taliban, and the US and
NATO forces. It's not Iran that is conducting deadly night raids, and it is not
Iran that is training and funding the Taliban so that they can commit suicide
attacks in Afghan cities, which ends up killing numerous Afghan civilians - many
of them women and children. Let's focus our energies to keep innocent women and
children alive, not the drug trafficking criminals. Don't buy the propaganda
against Iran.
Mohammad S. Tahir
can be reached at mohammad.tahir17@gmail.com
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