In Iran, a Reign of Terror
The reign of terror in the Islamic Republic of Iran deepens. Eighty percent of political prisoners executed in the world during the last year were from Iran. Anyone deemed an enemy of the state can be summarily executed without a trial. Ethnic minorities are targeted, too. So are homosexuals. And now the European Parliament has called on Iran to end its executions and release political prisoners.
More on this reign of terror, and the ineffectual European efforts to end it, can be found here:
European Parliament Slams Iran Over Surge in Executions, Brutal Repression
by Ailin Vilches Arguello, Algemeiner, May 21, 2026:
European lawmakers have stepped up pressure on Iran amid mounting alarm over the country’s human rights situation, marked by a surge in executions, mass arrests, and an intensifying security crackdown, warning of what they described as a growing campaign of repression.
On Thursday, the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, adopted a resolution — 516 votes in favor, 14 against, 92 abstentions — calling on the Islamist regime to immediately halt executions, release political prisoners, and hold officials accountable for alleged human rights violations.
The newly adopted resolution also voiced deep concern over escalating pressure on women, civil society activists, and religious minorities, warning of a widening climate of intimidation, surveillance, and systematic restrictions on basic freedoms across the country….
Since March 17, at least 36 people have been executed in Iran on political charges.
Earlier this year, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), an independent monitoring group, released a report outlining a deeply troubling human rights situation all across the country over the past 12 months, citing crackdowns on protesters, harassment of activists, threats to minorities, executions of children, violations of women’s rights, and dire prison conditions.
According to HRANA’s Statistics and Documentation Center, 78,907 people were arrested on ideological or political grounds from March 2025 to March 2026, highlighting a pervasive climate of repression across the country.
But the report warned that the number of arrests was likely much higher, given the difficulty of tracking such cases — especially earlier this year during recent nationwide anti-government protests, which security forces violently crushed, leaving thousands of demonstrators tortured or killed.
HRANA reported in February that over 7,000 protesters, including hundreds of children, were killed during the protests, with an additional nearly 12,000 cases still under verification. Multiple reports have put the death toll at over 30,000, and US President Donald Trump claimed the figure was over 40,000….
The larger figure, of over 40,000 killed on Jan. 8 and 9, comes from Iran International, a well-informed group of Iranians in exile who base that number on reports from inside Iran.
On women’s rights, HRANA reported that 105 women were murdered, including seven so-called “honor killings” — murders committed under the pretext of preserving family honor — and documents 68 cases of rape or sexual abuse.
Some women have been killed, such as Mahsa Amini, simply for not wearing their hijabs correctly. Other women have been killed for such “crimes” against the family honor as being out with an unrelated male.
Members of the ethnic minorities, like the Kurds and Azeris, can also be killed for supposedly posing a threat to rule by the dominant Persians. Political dissidents deserve death as they are a threat to the regime. Homosexuals are hung for their crimes against nature.
The fanatics in Iran will not stop. They are determined to crush any conceivable dissent, and to strictly enforce the Sharia. The European Parliament’s denunciation is sloughed off in Tehran. The only way to end the reign of terror is to change the regime, as the Israelis had initially insisted must be done. But Trump has decided that that is no longer one of his war aims; he will be content if he can obtain a guarantee from Iran to give up its 440 kg. of uranium enriched to a just-below weapons-grade level of 60%. Still worse, he has cut Israel out of the negotiations. Meanwhile, the miserable people of Iran will have to endure their torment, until that moment when the economic collapse of the country becomes so severe that millions of Iranians will again take to the streets, and this time their numbers will overwhelm those of the Basij and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who are sent out to crush them.
Afghanistan: Senior Muslim cleric says subjects such as science and technology ‘not necessary for women’
We can all hope, for the sake of the women and girls in Afghanistan, and for Afghan society as a whole, that the claims of those who say that these restrictions have no basis in Islamic teachings will win out. But Westerners should not kid themselves (yes, I know, they will anyway). The Islamic case against Din Mohammad’s views is hardly open and shut. He is saying that women should learn some religious subjects but don’t need to learn science and technology. That emanates from an idea of female intellectual inferiority that is found in several hadiths. One of those hadiths depicts Muhammad saying that the majority of the inhabitants of hell are women: “I looked into Paradise and I saw that the majority of its people were the poor. And I looked into Hell and I saw that the majority of its people are women.” Sahih Bukhari 3241; Sahih Muslim 2737)
When asked about this, he explained: “I was shown Hell and I have never seen anything more terrifying than it. And I saw that the majority of its people are women.” They said, “Why, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “Because of their ingratitude (kufr).” It was said, “Are they ungrateful to Allah?” He said, “They are ungrateful to their companions (husbands) and ungrateful for good treatment. If you are kind to one of them for a lifetime then she sees one (undesirable) thing in you, she will say, ‘I have never had anything good from you.’” (Sahih Bukhari 1052)
And in another hadith: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went out to the musalla (prayer place) on the day of Eid al-Adha or Eid al-Fitr. He passed by the women and said, ‘O women! Give charity, for I have seen that you form the majority of the people of Hell.’ They asked, ‘Why is that, O Messenger of Allah?’ He replied, ‘You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religious commitment than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you.’ The women asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is deficient in our intelligence and religious commitment?’ He said, ‘Is not the testimony of two women equal to the testimony of one man?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Is it not true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?’ The women said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘This is the deficiency in her religious commitment.’” (Sahih Bukhari 304)
So to say that Din Mohammad’s restrictions on the education of women has no basis in Islamic teachings is exaggerated. It would be enlightening to see one of his critics explaining how the above hadiths do not open the door to restricting educational opportunities for women. But “moderate” Muslims never, ever get that specific in their explications of Islam. One might even get the idea that they’re more interested in lulling non-Muslims into complacency than in actually convincing their fellow Muslims that equal treatment for women is in accord with Islam.
Taliban cleric says girls’ education is forbidden
by Mehrdad Herawi, Amu.tv, May 31, 2026 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
A senior Taliban cleric in Kabul has said that schooling for women and girls is “forbidden,” arguing that they should be limited to studying certain religious subjects, including matters related to marriage, child-rearing and household responsibilities.
Din Mohammad, head of the Taliban’s Council of Ulema in Kabul, made the remarks in an audio recording that circulated widely on social media in recent days.
In the recording, he argued that women and girls should be limited to studying certain religious subjects and described modern disciplines, including science and technology, as unnecessary for them.
“We are talking about religious sciences, while they are talking about schools,” Din Mohammad said. “Such matters are not necessary for women. What they need are the sciences related to their obligations, such as issues of menstruation, childbirth, the rights of husbands, the rights of children and household duties.”
Notice: The rights of women is not mentioned, because women have no rights in Islam.
He said women could pursue additional studies only under strict conditions, including wearing what he described as proper Islamic dress, obtaining a husband’s permission and avoiding contact with unrelated men.
“If these conditions are not met, then even attending a madrasa is not permissible,” he said. “As for other forms of education, they are impermissible regardless.”
The comments prompted criticism from some religious scholars and human rights advocates, who said the remarks have no basis in Islamic teachings….
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