Human Rights in Iran: The Abuse of Cultural Relativism (Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights)

386 Pages·2001·2.27 MB·English

by  Reza Afshari

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I Human Rights in Iran
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PennsylvaniaStudiesinHumanRights
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G BertB.Lockwood,Jr.,SeriesEditor
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Human Rights in Iran
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A REZA AFSHARI

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PENN
UniversityofPennsylvaniaPress
Philadelphia

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Copyright©2001UniversityofPennsylvaniaPress
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RezaAfshari.
p.cm.—(Pennsylvaniastudiesinhumanrights)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-8122-3605-X(cloth:alk.paper)
1.Humanrights—Iran.
I.Title. II.Series.
JC599.I65A38 2001
323'.095521 2001033037

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I To the memory of my father Ali Afshari,
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G secular educator and my first teacher
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Contents
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ANoteonTransliteration xiii
Preface xv
HumanRightsDiscourse xv
MainSourcesUsedinThisBook xvii
UNReports xvii
PrisonMemoirsandTheirSignificance xviii
TheStructureoftheBook xxi
Chapter1.IslamicCulturalRelativisminHumanRightsDiscourse 1
PoliticalCulture:AssumingtheFailureofSecularization 1
TheIslamicRepublicClaimsCulturalExceptionalism 3
TheMirageofCulturalAuthenticity 8
TheIrrelevanceofCulturalRelativism 10
Chapter2.TheShiiteTheocracy 14
InstitutionalizingtheShiiteTheocracy:Velayat-eFaqih 15
RulingtheContemporaryState:TheLimitsofIslamicLaw 19
IslamizationofSociety 20
PoliticalContextofHumanRightsViolationsDuringthe1980s 22
PoliticalContextofHumanRightsViolationsDuringthe1990s 23
TheTwoFacesoftheReligiousStateUnderPresidentRafsanjani 25
MuhammadKhatami’sPresidencySince1997 29
Chapter3.TheRighttoLife 33
ThroughthePrismofPrisonMemoirs 33
MonitoringViolations:TheInternationalCommunityDuringthe
1980s 38

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1990s 38
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ExecutionsforDrugTraffickingandMoralCrimes 40
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MonitoringViolations:TheInternationalCommunityDuringthe
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Chapter5.TheRighttoLibertyandSecurityofPersonandtoFreedom
fromArbitraryArrest 57
ThroughthePrismofPrisonMemoirs 57
MonitoringViolations:TheInternationalCommunityDuringthe
1980s 61
MonitoringViolations:TheInternationalCommunityDuringthe
1990s 62
InsecurityinPublicSpacesandPrivateHomes 64
Chapter6.TheRighttoaFairTrial 68
ThroughthePrismofPrisonMemoirs 69
MonitoringViolations:TheInternationalCommunityDuringthe
1980s 74
MonitoringViolations:TheInternationalCommunityDuringthe
1990s 75
Chapter7.TheRighttoFreedomofConscience,Thought,and
Religion 83
PoliticalPrisonsastheMicrocosmoftheIdealIslamicSociety 84
TheTawaban(RepentantPrisoners) 86
ImpositionoftheBlackChador 92
ADelugeofReligiousIncantationsandRituals 95
PrisonersandTheirIslamicEducators 100
Chapter8.RenounceYourConscienceorFaceDeath:ThePrison
Massacreof1988 104
TheRelativeCalmBeforetheStorm,1984–88 105
TheSummerMassacre 108

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Chapter10.OfficialResponsestotheUnitedNations:Counteringthe
ChargesofViolationsinthe1980s 146
PoliticizationoftheProcess 147
EquivalencyinInstitutionalArchitectureandFormalityofWritten
Law 150
PreconditionsforCooperation 152
TheMilitantGroups 153
IranianBaha’is 156
DemandingRespectforIslamicDifférance 158
Chapter11.ChangeofTacticsAfterAyatollahKhomeini’sDeath 163
NewDiplomaticInitiatives 164
PresentingtheOutlawedPoliticalGroupsastheOnlyHumanRights
Violators 167
Creating‘‘Nongovernmental’’DelegationsandGroups 169
Chapter12.TheSpecialRepresentative’sMeetingswiththeJudiciaryand
SecurityOfficials 175
UNVisitstoEvinPrison 175
DiscussionsMeetingswiththeJudiciaryOfficials 177
TheSpecialRepresentativeRemainedUnconvinced 181
Chapter13.TheRighttoFreedomofOpinion,Expression,andthe
Press 185
PoliticalContextoftheViolations 186
TargetingtheDigarAndishan 188
ResurfacingofIslamicReformism 189

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