If this letter by the shiite cleric Hadi Ma'ssumi published on the iran-chabar site is true then this is just mega explosive:
http://www.iran-chabar.de/1384/02/20/masoomi840220.htm Ê The letter to Rafsanjani is written by a Karaj based cleric. He says in the letter that he is ill and near death, so presumably that is what has given him the extra ordinary courage needed to write this letter. Ê IfÊthis letter was from an exiled opposition, it would not have been so controversial but to read this sort of thing from a Shiite cleric is truly remarkable. Ê In the letter, the cleric Hadi Ma'ssumi starts from the beginning of Islam in Iran. How the religion was forced upon Iranians, how the invading Arabs raped the Iranian women, massacred the population, looted our wealth, tried to run the windmills with the blood of Iranians and how they burned all our books and destroyed so much of our knowledge. Ê He then starts scrutinising 26 years of Rafsanjani's unrelentless power. He reminds Rafsanjani of what went on in Iran's political prisons in the 80s. How young virgin girls were raped before their executions using Koranic justifications - virgin girls go to heaven no matter what, so young female political activists were raped to ensure they didn't go to heaven - how thousands suffered torture and the massacre of Iranian political prisoners in 1988. Ê The many extra-judicial killings of Iranian dissidents both inside Iran and outside Iran.
"Ayatollah Rafsnajani, you know how murder, kidnapping and torture has become synonymous with your name" Ma'assumi writes in his letter. Ê Hadi Ma'ssumi asks about Rafsanjani's close relationship with the likes of Saeed Emami, responsible for murder of dissidents inside Iran and Vahid Gorji who is responsible for many assassinations of Iranian exiles outside Iran. Ê Ma'ssumiÊrecalls howÊRafsanjani unnecassarily prolonged the war with Iraq, casuing the death and injuries to millions and how he himself hugely profitted from the war instead. Ê Ma'ssumi asksÊRafsanjani to comment on the imprisonment of many of Iran's dissidents today. What he thinks of stoning, public flogging,Ê cutting limbs and forcing women to wear the veil. Ê He asks Rafsanjani why women in Iran are forced to wear the veil in summer heat and yetÊRafsanjani's daughter Faezeh dresses up in skimpy clothing when she travels through European cities ofÊParis, London and Geneva. Ê Even perhaps all this is not that controversial, there are after all many Iranian clerics who oppose the Islamic Republic and the rule of mullahs.
But just read this below. This is an exact translation of one paragraph ofÊan elderly Shiite cleric's statement on his death bed: Ê "You know like I do what lies behind this religion (Islam), after all this crime carried outÊagainst Iranians. lets do one good thing and tell the people what is behind this religion. Lets tell everyone that this religion is neither "martyr generating", nor pro-science nor pro the people, this religion tells the elite that it is for the plebs and it tells the plebs that it is for the elite, it tells the elite that all its silly laws are for the stupid plebs, in fact this religion is "ignorance generator". It has come about to humiliate people. As you (Rafsanjani) once told me, it isÊone religion for the elite and another for the plebs.ÊYou rightly regard yourself, the supreme leader and your Guardian Council as the elite, and the "martyrÊgenerating" nation of Iran are the plebs. Now for the sake of God tell the truth to the people that there is nothing in this religion but stupidity and ignorance, other than silly laws about what is considered clean and what is untouchable, what is allowed and what is not allowed, believe me that God and the people will then forgive you, although I know you areÊconscious enough NOT to believe in God!"
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*Potkin Azarmehr is a database consultant and an Iranian ex-patriot. He writes: "In my late teens when the mullahs came to power in Iran. Just a year later, the mullahs decided to have their own "cultural revolution", i.e. sack all the non-Islamic students and academics and create a new Islamic syllabus. IranÕs universities were closed and Iran did not produce any graduates for two years. During this time the mullahs gave three days warning for the non-Islamic elements to evacuate universities. I along with some of my friends went to defend the universities. During the three days warning there were minor clashes with the hired thugs, but on the final day, the onslaught was beyond all our expectations. Sixteen people died throughout Iran on that night. I managed to escape with just a few cuts and bruises, but one of my school friends, was amongst the thousands who were arrested that night. He was sentenced to 9 years in prison. In the 8th year of his sentence he was executed during the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. I ended up leaving Iran for England where I joined Dr. Shapur BakhtiarÕs organisation. Dr. Bakhtiar was an Iranian nationalist and a secular politician, who warned the Iranian people against the dictatorship of the mullahs during the mass frenzy of 1979. Dr. Bakhtiar was assassinated in Paris with the collusion of the Miterand Socialist government and the Islamic RepublicÕs death squads. Since then I have been active in the Iranian pro-democracy movement, supporting the cause of democracy, secularism and nationalism in Iran." Ê
