On April 24, 2009, the National Iranian-American Council (NIAC), in response to a well-documented lecture on “Islamic Regime’s Lobbies in the US” by Mr. Hassan Dai, (member of the Board of Directors of the Progressive American-Iranian Committee (PAIC) in Washington D.C.) has issued a statement. In this statement, NIAC has claimed that it has been very successful in its accomplishments on behalf of Iranian-American community. The statement proclaims, NIAC has prevented war with Iran, and has stopped Hollywood to produce films which present a bad image of Iranians in this country among others. (1)

In this article, I try to shed some light on the self-claimed accomplishments by the NIAC in Hollywood on behalf of the Iranians, and also examine and evaluate the truthfulness of this claim.

After reading and pondering about NIAC’s statement of April 24, 2009 and in search of finding facts surrounding the claimed accomplishments, I observed how this organization with Mr. Terita Parsi, as its President, distort the facts about Iran under the “Satanic Regime.” I noticed they provide face lifting and lip service to the regime and claim success of the Iranian-American community. This is alarming, which requires close attention of Iranian-American communities, who are mostly victims of the Islamic Regime terrorism, one way or another, and who have escaped from the Regime’s terror machine to save their life.

Mr. Wayne Kramer has been working on the production of a film “Crossing Over” in 2007. The film addresses the subject of honor killing in immigrant communities.

On May 14, 2007, Mr. Terita Parsi, as President of NIAC and on behalf of the Iranian-American writes to Mr. Kramer and in the letter says, “There is no statistical evidence of honor killings occurring in Iran. In Tehran, which houses over1/6 of the population, or about 12 million people, the practice is nonexistent. Indeed honor killing has no roots in Iranian culture.” (2)

Etemad news paper in Tehran reports “in the first six month of the year in 2008, there has been fifty cases of honor killing in Tehran only, which counts 35 percent of  murders in Tehran and shows an increasing trend, which is alarming.” This is only official reported cases! (3) It should be mentioned that there is no accurate statistics about honor killings, because many of these murders will not be reported. But, according to the Sociologist without Boarders report “Between 1376-1380 Iranian calendar year (1997-2001), there has been more than 7000 cases of murder in which includes 400 honor-killing cases. (3) Ironically, these facts are denied by Mr. Terita Parsi and NIAC.

Mr. Terita Parsi emigrated from Sweden to the United States not too long ago, and in fact, there was a report of the honor killings among Iranian immigrant community in Sweden, in 2004 as well.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in his speech at Columbia University in September 2008, announced, “There are no homosexuals in Iran.” Could that be because the regime is executing homosexuals ‘like “Mehran” the 13 years old boy whom the regime hanged? In his interview with the New York Times on September 26, 2008, Ahmadinejad denied execution of juveniles in Iran. In 2008 alone, eight children were executed and the Islamic Republic is ranked number one in child execution. In fact, 140 plus juveniles are awaiting execution at the moment. In addition, in 2008 alone, the Islamic Republic had the highest per capita executions in the World.

Despite being a signatory to international treaties that clearly prohibit the heinous practice of child execution in Iran, the Islamic regime has carried out and continues to carry out, many executions for crimes committed by people younger than 18 years of age, against international human rights law. In 2006, the President of the Islamic Republic, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, blocked efforts to stop juvenile executions in Iran, according to Human Rights Watch.

Again, Ahmadinejad in his speech at the National Press Club, in September 2008 stated that, “The freest women in the world are women in Iran.” Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the “Satanic Regime” in Tehran declared “Iran is the most democratic and free country in the world.” You notice how these three aforementioned leaders blatantly deny unmitigated facts under the “Satanic Regime” in Iran.

Over the years, much of the world has been preoccupied with its own problems and shown little concern for the plight of the Iranian people until the Mullahs installed a firebrand Islamist, Ahmadinejad, as the President of the country.

Ahmadinejad is a racist, an Anti-Semitic, a Holocaust denier and allegedly, one of the hostage takers of the American diplomats in U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979, is also denying child executions in Iran. One of the Islamic Republic’s point man in the U.S., Terita Parsi of the NIAC, denying honor killings in Iran. It is farce and it is a shame. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellow beings.”

His hateful rhetoric aside, President Ahmadinejad has reported on events that are terribly strange, to say the least: Behaviors and statements that raise serious questions about his mental state. During his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September of 2005, for instance, he claimed to have been enveloped by a light that made the entire audience focused on him for the duration without anyone blinking.

Honor killing is an act of murder, carried out by a husband, an immediate male family member or cousins, to punish a family member, who is perceived to have brought dishonor upon an entire family.

Unless this kind of self-reflection and self-criticism become the norm in the Muslim community, much-needed reform will remain elusive. This includes addressing the root causes of honor killings and sanctioned violence against Muslim women. Some of the actions which lead to honor killings in Muslim families are: committing adultery or fornication, being the victim of rape or sexual assault, refusing an arranged marriage, pre-marital sex, flirting, seeking divorce etc. In honor killing, Muslims who commit or assist in the commission of the murders, view these murders as heroic even and fulfillment of their religious obligation.

Throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, many young Muslim women are being targeted for violence. The cases reported show the killings are primarily a Muslim-on-Muslim crime, and ninety-percent of the cases reported in the U.S. is among the Muslim communities.(4) United nations estimate that at least 5,000 women are murdered every year for dishonoring their families.(5)

Honor Killings are the worst violation of human rights against women. Nonetheless, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, these crimes are condoned by Islamic penal code. Article 630 and 220 of the Islamic penal code in Iran, is giving approval to these crimes. Iranian legal experts say that “These two Islamic penal codes license and promote the honor killings in Iran”. (6)

If those who commit or assist in the commission of honor killings view these killings as bravery act, view the murder as the fulfillment of their religious obligation, and wash their shame with blood, Terita Parsi is washing the thick blood from the face of “Satanic Regime” with honor.

It should be mentioned that the “Satanic Regime” has established an extended direct and indirect network of front companies, mosques and other organizations in every country in Europe and North America, to promote its interest and policies. Second generation of Iranians who are interested in their Persian heritage, should be cautioned and alerted not to fall in the trap of these anti-Iranian organizations that are very similar to pro-Islamic Republic lobbyists, NIAC.

Dr. Siavash Abghari  , May 20, 2009

Iranians, Vol. 13, Number 423, Friday, April, 2009

2. http://www.niacouncil.org/images/PDF_files/letter

3. http://www.etemaad.ir/Released/87-09-09/97.htm#124602

4. Phylli Chesler: Are Honor Killings Simply Domestic Violence?” Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2009, pp. 61-69

5. The State of World Population, 2000, UN Population Fund. Chapter 3: Ending

Violence against Women and Girls.

6. http://www.we-change.org/spip.php?page=print&id_article=2683