Video: Nazanin Afshin-Jam on child executions and shari’a in Iran
posted at 9:20 pm on May 11, 2007 by Allahpundit
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She’s almost too good to be true, as her bio on StopChildExecutions.com will attest. Her issues with the regime are obviously personal and longstanding, her father having been tortured by the Revolutionary Guard, but the cause she’s chosen to champion is Iranian minors on death row. She raised enough of a ruckus on behalf of a female inmate to win her release in January; the girl had been awaiting execution for the crime of stabbing men who were trying to rape her.
She and O’R segue into a brief discussion of the joys of shari’a before settling on the pros and cons of bombing Iran. Her position may surprise you.
As an appetizer, here’s recent video of what’s alleged to be Iranian morals police kicking a woman into a police car for not wearing her hijab.
Afshin-Jam’s a former Miss World Canada, by the way, and it’s not hard to see why. Good lord.
Update: Gateway Pundit’s got the clip of Afshin-Jam’s first music video, for a song about Iran’s youth.
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Charming, and with a good head on her shoulders too. Her cause is honorable.
As for war with Iran, I would like to know how our subversion and civic action programs (within Iran) are going first. Then the question, who will rule Iran once we depose the mullahs? If these programs have made headway and a government in waiting is prepared, I say do it. Our Air Force assets are aging fast and this delay by the cowardly, unpatriotic democrap controlled congress is not helping.
Zorro on May 11, 2007 at 9:38 PM
Afshin-Jam Akbar!
Chris L. on May 11, 2007 at 9:40 PM
I’m guessing that kind of information is secret.
The power structure will emerge as the NGO’s within Iran become more cohesive. Transition is not always bloody. They may give up power. One man beating down a few cops to free a woman headed for jail because she did not wear her jihab could spark a non-violent revolution. Women openly not wearing the jihab would be a catalyst to change, if not the tipping point itself.
Theworldisnotenough on May 11, 2007 at 9:42 PM
Middle Eastern women, and Persians in particular, are smoking. I think it is the eyes.
Theworldisnotenough on May 11, 2007 at 9:47 PM
Wow (rubs eyes)! I didn’t hear a word she said.
It would be a crime to cover a face like that.
CliffHanger on May 11, 2007 at 9:48 PM
Let’s see. Scroll past video and try again…
CliffHanger on May 11, 2007 at 9:49 PM
Beautiful and smart although I really could not see any male teacher giving her a grade below an A+, unless he was a silky pony. Double Major Degree in International Relations and Political Science.
Political Science, when Randy Newman was still for America!
abinitioadinfinitum on May 11, 2007 at 9:51 PM
The outcome you describe would mean the programs I mentioned would have worked perfectly. It would be the best outcome. I hope the Iranian patriots are up to the task. It is always best to avoid war.
Zorro on May 11, 2007 at 9:52 PM
Halal!
locomotivebreath1901 on May 11, 2007 at 9:55 PM
I do give Hillary credit for this IF she follows it up and does more checking of the Iranians. Notice however that Bush still gets the blame for this from the Washington Post.
Clinton concern over Iranian-American academic Fri May 11, 5:50 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Friday said she was deeply concerned at the “inexplicable detention” of Iranian-American academic Haleh Esfandiari in Tehran.
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A dual US-Iranian national who has lived in the United States for more than 25 years, Esfandiari returned to Iran in December to visit her ailing mother and has since been prevented from leaving by authorities.
She was jailed in Tehran’s Evin prison on Tuesday, said the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, where she works as director the Middle East Program.
“I am deeply concerned about the inexplicable detention of renowned scholar Dr Haleh Esfandiari by the Iranian government,” Clinton said in a statement.
Clinton said Esfandiari had made significant contributions to international womens issues and Iranian politics.
“This imprisonment contradicts the very essence of her work, which focuses on ensuring the promise of democracy and freedom to those who live under tyranny,” the New York senator said.
“I urge the government of Iran to release Dr. Esfandiari,” she said, and also called on Iran to ease travel restrictions on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Parnaz Azima who was also unable to leave Iran.
Senator Joseph Lieberman (news, bio, voting record) meanwhile said Esfandiari had been “inexplicably and inexcusably imprisoned.”
On Wednesday, the State Department confirmed the Iranian action against Esfandiari, and said Iran had also confiscated the passport of two other Iranian-American women, including Parnaz Azima.
The third woman was not identified.
The Washington Post, citing relatives and colleagues of the three women, described them as “soft hostages” apparently caught up in an Iranian reaction to a 75 million dollar initiative launched last year by President George W. Bush to promote democracy in Iran.
William Amos on May 11, 2007 at 10:07 PM
Yeah she lovely. But I’ve heard this tune before.
That link is to 1971. Eight years before she was born.
And eight years before her Mohamed-worshiping countrymen invaded my embassy in the country she fled.
And now she understands the perspective that the US is more of a threat to the world?
Please lady,
find the Canadian border
get on the other side of it
Stay!
Do not sit in my country and insult it.
I am, at long last, tired of this crap.
Stephen M on May 11, 2007 at 10:17 PM
She’s working for a great cause, she’s smokin’ and she knows it and she’s smart enough to back herself up, she’s using it to bring interest to such an important cause to great effect. Awesome, and I hope her campaign is very successful.
Bad Candy on May 11, 2007 at 10:21 PM
O’R doesn’t let even an intelligent woman like this get a word in edgewise.
Her position is honorable and should be heard. The revolution and overthrow of the current regime must take place from within and must be suppported by the US and other democracies.
Bombing the entire counrty is NOT the answer!
I hope her message is heard. O’R has no interest in letting her be heard!
LonelyMassRepublican on May 11, 2007 at 10:21 PM
She can understand both perspectives…hum…Iran is bad but America is BAD. Pretty does not replace brains although it is an excuse.
mjkazee on May 11, 2007 at 10:29 PM
If we go to war with Iran we won’t be occupying squat. We’re just going to bomb it into oblivian.
Mojave Mark on May 11, 2007 at 10:34 PM
Someday…..someday….Iran will have a nuke.
Ya gotta love her. I don’t want to bet the life of my family on her youthful idealism though. Her someday better come soon. (see the pacifisim thread)
Buck Turgidson on May 11, 2007 at 11:04 PM
I don’t remember if I’ve ever been on the verge of tears after watching a music video, but this one did it. Her dedication and hope are very moving, but the video also brought to mind the unwillingness of so many in the world even recognize tyranny and fascism for what it is. How long can freedom last, even in our own country, if people don’t wake up?
3 stars on YouTube out of 67 votes. What a joke.
insomni on May 11, 2007 at 11:12 PM
The Iranian “youth” have been doing a lot of nothing for 28 years.
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
I prefer a pre-emptive strike against all Iranian nuclear sites.
Then the “youth” can use this opportunity to overthrow the mad mullahs.
Or not.
But at least we’ll have done our part.
As we have done more than enough for the Iraqis, who have demonstrated their inability to be rational and work in their own self-interest to rebuilt a decent home for their children, but instead blow one another up over whether the Shi’ites or the Sunnis deserve Mohammad’s murderous mantle.
profitsbeard on May 11, 2007 at 11:15 PM
Someone needs to edit her bio, though. Ouch.
Bob's Kid on May 11, 2007 at 11:28 PM
She is using her celebrity as Miss Canada in a noble cause. She has saved the life of one brave Iranian girl. Brava!
That being said, she is still basically Canadian — which means fuzzy-headed on the whole “diplomacy” thing.
Canadians derive their identity from being not-American. This is a poor position to evaluate a nuclear threat from the disciples of the hidden Imam. If a glorious youth movement overtakes the Ayatollahs in an Iranian velvet (or even orange) revolution, I will be the first on my block to hand out pistachios and dates in celebration (not that anyone would understand). Until then, I say keep the B-1s, B-2s, and B-52s on standby.
Anton on May 11, 2007 at 11:33 PM
Yeah, she’s a smokin’ ex-beauty queen, and her primary cause is a wonderful endeavor and all that, but I think I’d feel more enlightened and would be far more convinced if the expressed personal views on Iranian society’s ills were coming from an Iranian woman who lived her whole life there, then bucked “the system” and became an international champion of all the Iranian people who yearn for freedom and democracy.
This woman left Iran as an infant. Her only claim to “being Iranian” is she was born there. She was raised, educated, nurtured, and all her life’s experience is in Western society. She’s still entitled to her cause(s) and her opinion’s for sure, but all I get from it is just another pretty mouthpiece in the cause of Western interests, and not the ‘real deal’, when she speaks about Iran’s shortcomings.
I wish her luck in her valiant efforts to stop the execution of children in Iran, 100%, regardless.
SilverStar830 on May 11, 2007 at 11:33 PM
Holy crap! You ain’t kidding!
Tim Burton on May 11, 2007 at 11:42 PM
AP, you too much of a sucker for a pretty face.
Noble cause? Yes. But I bet I can put out the candle at her right ear by blowing into her left.
TwinkietheKid on May 11, 2007 at 11:44 PM
So would the Iranian children who are in prison facing execution be in favor of bombing the regime that is about to execute them?
I hear the “don’t attack Iran” theme a lot from Iranian expats so I am sure they believe it but it is so incongrous with their opinion of the Mullahs that is is hard for my logical western brain to process. In the end, how about we just act in America’s self interest, like when we played both sides of the Iran-iraq war. Jeez, stuff like this is turning me into Brent Scocroft(SP?).
Bill C on May 11, 2007 at 11:46 PM
SilverStar830: I love that. First you invalidate her for not having lived in Iran, then you say you support her efforts. (Reminds me a little of “we support the troops, but not their mission.”) Yes, she was “raised, educated, nurtured, and all her life’s experience is in Western society.” So isn’t it remarkable that rather than just taking what she has been privileged with for granted (unlike most celebrities — a certain Hilton comes to mind), she is using her minor fame to save lives from an oppressive government? What is the point of criticizing this woman for growing up in the West if you acknowledge that what she is doing is noble?
insomni on May 11, 2007 at 11:48 PM
It’s official. Muslims are crazy. What kind of culture teaches their children to strap bombs on themselves and murder innocent people and then turn around and have the gall to jail anyone for anything? What is worse than murdering innocents? Not wearing your veil properly? Did someone eat a ham sandwich? Did they cause someone to have a “special thought”? Or as my wife just pointed out, they probably committed the horrible sin of becoming a Christian.
csdeven on May 11, 2007 at 11:51 PM
Brilliant. She’s putting pressure on Iran to not kill children and you’re making “dumb model” jokes. Tell me again who has air between their ears?
insomni on May 11, 2007 at 11:53 PM
Yum.
Jaibones on May 11, 2007 at 11:54 PM
Bill C: I don’t know what to think about bombing/invading Iran, but I can’t easily discount the opinions of the expats who say we shouldn’t. Supporting a revolution (perhaps indirectly) is one thing, but bombing or invading may turn the Iranian people against us, especially when some of them are inevitably killed by friendly fire and their deaths are plastered all over the world media. If the Soviet Union fell thanks to a collapsing system, non-military pressure from the outside, and people taking to the streets, it can happen in Iran as well.
insomni on May 12, 2007 at 12:04 AM
There was also the fact the Russians feared death by nukes as much as we did…not the psychos running Iran.
EnochCain on May 12, 2007 at 12:19 AM
As for people complaining about the lack of overthrow, you’d be a bit squeamish about it given the sheer brutality of the regime. Its a bit unnerving for sane people to try and protest or or revolt with nothing but rocks and pipes when you know there’s a good chance the Revolutionary Guard will turn heavy guns on you.
Bad Candy on May 12, 2007 at 12:24 AM
Nothing particulary NEW here. Don’t ALL beauty pageant contestants want to single-handedly save the entire world?
CyberCipher on May 12, 2007 at 12:46 AM
I’m glad to hear about her, and wish her well in her noble efforts. But the most impressive woman to me is still Bridget Gabriel. She’s the real deal. Her tale of growing up as a Lebanese Christian during the flood of muslim immigration and murder is gut-wrenching and spellbinding. Her book, Because they Hate is a must read.
Buck Turgidson on May 12, 2007 at 12:50 AM
But see, we have to understand and respect their cultural differences… (Worships Marx, listens to Margaret Cho comedy routine)
Jim Treacher on May 12, 2007 at 4:26 AM
Just wondering…is [or was] this woman Muslim, or is she, perhaps, Bahai, as were roughly 15% of Iranians at the time of the Islamic Revolution. I knew lots of Iranian Bahai who were in the U.S. in 1979, typically at universities. In many cases, their parents, who still lived in Iran, were executed by the Islamic regime. My point is that the Bahai always seem to be completely reasonable folk, in great contrast to the Muslim Revolutionaries.
Henry Bowman on May 12, 2007 at 10:30 AM
I agree with you about Bridget and her book is a enlightening read. Bridget is better than this Nazanin lightweight.
TwinkietheKid on May 12, 2007 at 10:41 AM
A woman in a class of mine is Bahai and recently talked about the persecution she and her family faced in Iran (you can’t even mention the fact that you’re Bahai in public). She does seem reasonable, but still isn’t in favor of a U.S. invasion of Iran.
Nonfactor on May 12, 2007 at 11:31 AM
yowza! excuse me while I pick my jaw off the floor and wipe the drool off my keyboard.
Though the gravity of message should not be diminished by the mesmerizing messenger. great post AP.
zb42 on May 12, 2007 at 2:05 PM
8-) Don’t know I can say it’s all Middle Eastern women necessarily, but it’s most definitely Persian women!
Agree… a little too much Kumbaya in that performance. Otherwise, timely & appreciated.
She doesn’t have the first-hand experience of Hirsi Ali or Brigitte Gabriel, and it shows. But I’d vote for her for Miss Canada!
Ahem. What the @#% do you think the Cold War, the Reagan defense buildup, Afghanistan, and the threat of SDI were, genius?
And no one’s discounting the opinions of expats who counsel against bombing Iran, least of all this one. But, as pointed out on a related thread, that will be a foregone conclusion if nukes are detonated by jihadis on U.S. soil. So whatever her strategy is for revolution from within, it had better play itself out in time.
(And clearly there’s a lot more the world could be doing to help … though I trust we are doing things we won’t hear about for a while, because they’re more or less a secret.)
RD on May 12, 2007 at 2:13 PM
I cant stand when people get away with saying “The govt of Iran is using religion to control the people”
Stop with the BS… Is the Govt of Iran being true to Islam or not… (I say yes). If its’ being true, then it’s not “using” the religion.. it’s following it.
VinceP1974 on May 12, 2007 at 6:49 PM
She sees the iranian governement as being a threat mainly to it’s own people.
Bill sees it as being mainly a threat to the rest of the world.
Both are right. The mullahs and Imadinnerjacket need to be liquidated.
Aylios on May 12, 2007 at 7:10 PM
Oh yeah and 32 kids on death row. Jesus!
I think the next time some dumb liberal tells me about how the US is ‘inhuman’ because many states still have the death penalty my head is gonna explode and my brains will splash all over him/her.
Aylios on May 12, 2007 at 7:13 PM
The Iran people are moderate and don’t trust their government but sadly due to the events of the last 4 years they trust US, America a lot less. We need new management in D.C. that will mend those fences. The Iran people think we are going to attack them today so that gives their government credibility when they build defenses, like Nukes. WE KNOW WE ARE GREAT AND SUPER, but the “Where Team America, Where here to help, F.U.”, has worn thin. Bush is a one trick pony, Military. Can you imagine him in any diplomatic situation? Cheney? Shoots his buddy and gets his buddy to apologize to him? WOW that is Gangster, yoyoyo.
The Kurds, Shiite and Sunni in Iraq do the same thing, THEY KILL KIDS; you know these are the people we’re giving “freedom to” in Iraq.
I hate the gore sites, the ones that show the Iraq war videos, gross, depression, but I found my self on one yesterday. There is a grainy video of a teen girl being stoned to death (or very large cinder blocks. Have you ever seen someone really killed the “old testament” way? Her lifeless body flops around as men came forward kick her in the head or torso, where a huge pool of blood had formed. HER CRIME? She ran away from home to marry a man from a different muslim group(?). She was given sanctuary in a mosque, but after may weeks, she was convinced that she was forgiven by her family. That is when they killed her! Animals.
THESE ARE THE PEOPLE OUR SOLDIERS ARE SPILLING THEIR BLOOD FOR. THE PEOPLE WE ARE SPENDING 9 BILLION ON A MONTH. This is why the civil war we are in the middle of is so serious. These people have religious fervour and will kill because of it. Woman, Children does not matter to them. (May be why our founding fathers keep the separation of Church and State? hummmmm you think.)
As a Christian I don’t bash any religion, BUT, not all religion is GOOD. Christians historically have done evil in the name of the Lord for a Millennium or two, Catholic pedophile priest today. Today there is still bad things going on under the religious banner of all “brands” of religion. But lets GET REAL, Muslims, specifically Muslims in the beginning of the 21st century, specifically the radical, fanatical, fundamentalist are our enemey. They can scream Allah and Mohammad all they want, they are evil devils who want to destroy us. I get that, but why are good law biding peaceful Muslims so quite? Are they in fear of fellow muslims or just OK with it? That seems to be the what Islam is about fear. I know some do speak out.
We should have seen this coming now. What was it, 1988, Satanic Verses by Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, who got a death warrant by the Ayatollah. You can’t criticize a religion that is being used for evil? Is that like conservatives who complain about the MSM because it is critical of a republican president? Kind of.
gmcjetpilot on May 12, 2007 at 8:32 PM
DEDICATED TO PRESIDENT BUSH: MANI TURKZADEH
From PERSIANWARRIORS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3CAfEQRQOI&NR
Connie on May 13, 2007 at 8:11 PM
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