July 1, 2010 – Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

Iran: Stop the Stoning of Sakine Ashtiani

Human rights activists around the world are condemning the Islamic Republic of Iran court’s decision to stone Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani for adultery. We condemn this barbaric and inhuman practice and demand that the U.S. government and international justice and human rights groups speak out on this. We demand that the Islamic Republic of Iran ENDS this inhuman practice of stoning.

Protests are being held in Washington DC and London on July 2 and in Toronto and Cologne Germany on July 4. The international point of contact is maria.rohaly@gmail.com

The Washington DC protests on July 2 beginning at 6 PM will be held at the Islamic Republic of Iran Interest area of the Pakistan Embassy at 2209 Wisconsin Ave N.W., Washington DC. The protest organizers state that the event will include “Walk to DuPont Circle to read demands and share information with the community about Sakine Mohammadi, Zeinab Jalalian, and removing the Islamic Republic from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.”

Iran: Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani to be Stoned for Adultery

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Protest Statement for Washington DC Event

Friday July 2 at 6pm in front of the Islamic Republic’s Interests Section of the Pakistani Embassy (2209 Wisconsin Ave NW, Wash DC).

The children of Sakine Mohammadi Ashtiani have reached out to the world with a heart-rending appeal: Protest against our mother’s stoning!

Mission Free Iran is organizing Washington DC’s participation in the global protest to respond to the appeal of Sakine’s children and demand a stop to the barbaric execution of Sakine by stoning.

We will meet in front of the Islamic Republic’s Interests Section of the Pakistani Embassy at 6pm on Friday, July 2, 2010 to tell the Islamic Republic that we will not stay silent while one more woman is stoned to death in Iran. We will later walk to DuPont Circle and raise awareness of Sakine’s situation in the community.

Please feel free to bring your own signs with messages protesting the barbaric and criminal stoning act that the Islamic Republic has planned for our sister, Sakine Mohammadi Ashtiani.

* We will demand freedom for Sakine.
* We will demand an end to stoning, and to all executions in Iran.
* We will demand removal of the Islamic Republic from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
* We will demand that the Islamic Republic be put on trial in international court for its crimes against humanity.

There will be an open mike so that anyone who wishes to speak may express themselves.

“He said his mother was an outspoken critic of the regime and especially Khomeini from day one. She was a teacher and had spoken against the regime and authorities at work. “One day when we were all having lunch, they stormed in and took my mother with them … it all happened so quickly. It didn’t even take two weeks when, one day, they announced in the town ‘come and witness a women being stoned.’ That woman was my mother.”

He said that with fear and in a state of shock, he went and from a distance witnessed his mother being stoned to death… he believes though that his mother was still alive when buried. This man has sent me his indictment against the savage thuggery of this anti-human, fascist regime, to be introduced to an international court.”
– Rescue Sakine Mohammadi Ashtiani, Prosecute Leaders of the Islamic Republic! by Mina Ahadi

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— International Committee Against Stoning Protest Letter

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News Media Reports:

CNN: Iran: Death by stoning imminent for Iranian woman, attorney says
— CNN: “Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani, a mother of two, is waiting to die in Iran by a method of execution described by her lawyer as ‘barbaric’ — stoning.”
— “She will be buried up to her chest, deeper than a man would be, and the stones that will be hurled at her will be large enough to cause pain but not so large as to kill her immediately, according to an Amnesty International report that cited the Iranian penal code.”
— “The 42-year-old woman from the northern city of Tabriz was convicted of adultery in 2006, and her execution is imminent, said prominent human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei.”
— “Ashtiani was forced to confess after being subjected to 99 lashes, Mostafaei said Thursday in a telephone interview from Tehran.”

— Daily Mail: ‘Help us save our mother’: Pleas from the children of ‘adulterous’ Iranian woman who faces death by stoning

— Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty: Fear For Iranian Woman Facing Death By Stoning
— RFE/RL: “According to Article 83 of the Laws of Islamic Punishment in Iran, ratified in 1991, the penalty for adultery is death by stoning.”

— Ynet – Iran: Children appeal for help in saving mother from execution
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Other Global Protests

LONDON, England: Friday July 2, 18:00-21:00 outside the Islamic Republic Embassy, 16 Prince’s Gate, London SW7 1PT, تلفن اطلاعات: 07515732665

KÖLN (Cologne), Germany: Sunday July 4, Mourning Mothers will gather at the Church Door in the City Center at 11am to protest the threatened executions of Sakine Mohammadi Ashtiani and Zeinab Jalalian.

TORONTO, Canada: Sunday July 4, Community Fair at the Toronto Pride Week festivities; activities will consist of handing out fliers and talking to the community about stopping the stoning of Sakine. (more details forthcoming)

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Washington DC Protests Logistics Information

The Washington DC protests on July 2 beginning at 6 PM will be held at the Islamic Republic of Iran Interest area of the Pakistan Embassy at 2209 Wisconsin Ave N.W., which is in the vicinity of the Dupont Circle or Woodley Park/Adams Morgan subway stops (Red Line); however, note this may be a significant walk. Walking should take about 45 minutes. See detailed walking directions below.

The protest organizers state that the event will include “Walk to DuPont Circle to read demands and share information with the community about Sakine Mohammadi, Zeinab Jalalian, and removing the Islamic Republic from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.”

Google Street Map Area of 2209 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington DC

Washington DC: Street Map Showing Area Around 2209 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.

Google Walking Directions from:
— Dupont Circle Metro Stop (1525 20th Street Northwest, Washington, DC) to 2209 Wisconsin Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC

1.   Head north on 20th St NW toward Q St NW   33 ft
2.   Turn left at Q St NW       1.1 mi
3.   Turn right at Wisconsin Ave NW 0.7 mi
Destination will be on the right

Walking Directions Map from Dupont Circle

Google Walking Directions from:
— Woodley Park/Adams Morgan Metro Stop (2700 Connecticut Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC) to 2209 Wisconsin Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC

1.   Head southeast on Connecticut Ave NW toward Woodley Rd NW 207 ft
2.   Turn right at Woodley Rd NW 0.3 mi
3.   Continue onto Garfield St NW 0.5 mi
4.   Turn left at 34th St NW   0.2 mi
5.   Turn right at Massachusetts Ave NW 246 ft
6.   Turn left at Observatory Cir NW   0.3 mi
7.   Continue onto Calvert St NW   0.1 mi
8.   Turn left at Wisconsin Ave NW 0.3 mi
Destination will be on the left

Washington DC - Street View of Intersection of Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. and W Place, N.W.

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South Carolina: White Nationalist Group Promotes Confederate and Gadsden Flags

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) rejects the symbols of division and hate, and rejects the views of “white nationalism.”

On June 26, 2010, the white nationalist, anti-Semitic group Occidental Dissent held a rally in South Carolina promoting the Confederate Flag. In their rally, they jointly waved the Confederate Flag and the Gadsden Flag together.

The Occidental Dissent group claims to seek “the creation of a Jew-free, racially exclusive White ethnostate in North America” The group also has a history of seeking to deny women’s rights, and has publicly stated its goals are to infiltrate political organizations to promote “white nationalism.”

South Carolina: White Nationalist, Anti-Semitic Group Occidental Dissent Flies Confederate and Gadsden Flags Together (Photo: YouTube)

One of the speakers at the event referred to the NAACP as the “National Association of Retarded People” to laughter from the crowd.

South Carolina: Pro-Confederate Speaker Attacks NAACP as "National Association for Retarded People" to Crowd Laughter (Photo: YouTube)

The Occidental Dissent views that the “Ku Klux Klan is an authentic expression of American nationalism.” The Virginia-headquartered Occidental Dissent has been seeking to reach out to the Ku Klux Klan in Virginia, as well as the white supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens, (CofCC), the Nazi skinhead Volksfront group, and the American Renaissance, for the promotion of white nationalism and anti-Semitism.

Our Children Must Learn the Symbols of Hope and Unity, Not Hate and Division (Photo: YouTube)

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Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) supports our universal human rights, equality and liberty for all. R.E.A.L. rejects racism, rejects anti-Semitism, and rejects hate and intolerance. On August 28, 2009, R.E.A.L. called for an end to promotion of symbols of division and hate, at the Robert E. Lee Memorial.

Our children need to be taught messages of hope and unity, not ones of hate and division.

Our message to groups that promote symbols of hate and division is consistently the same…

Choose Love, Note Hate. Love Wins.

R.E.A.L. Video to Occidental Dissent White Nationalists at Holocaust Memorial Museum Attack Remembrance – Choose Love, Not Hate

Chicago: Anti-Democracy Hizb ut-Tahrir Group on Cancellation

After Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) reported on June 28 about the cancellation of the Hizb ut-Tahrir America conference at the Oak Brook Marriott – on Thursday night, June 30, Hizb ut-Tahrir notified its supporters, stating:

“Due to unavoidable circumstances, the date and the venue of the Khilafah Conference are being changed. We are currently in the final stages of finalizing the new date and venue. Given the significance of the fall of the Khilafah on 28 Rajab, 1342 Hijri, it is very important that the Khilafah Conference take place in Rajab or around it. The new date of the Khilafah Conference will be either Sunday, July 18, 2010 or Sunday, July 25, 2010. Please keep visiting www.hizb-america.org for more details on the new date and venue of the Khilafah Conference. We will also provide more details on the circumstances leading to the change in date and venue.”

Hizb ut-Tahrir America also states that it will update its Facebook web page for the event “Khilafah Conference (USA) 2010- EMERGING WORLD ORDER.” On the previous Facebook “event listing” for this conference, HT showed that there were over 460 individuals planning to attend.

Hizb ut-Tahrir Event at Chicago Marriott Oak Brook - NOT ANYMORE (Photo: YouTube)

Hizb ut-Tahrir America's 2010 Conference to Promote Islamic Caliphate (Photo: YouTube)

Human rights activists had been informing Chicago area hotels of Hizb ut-Tahrir America’s decision last year to distribute pamphlets calling for the “death penalty” for those who seek freedom of religion to leave Islam. At Hizb ut-Tahrir America’s July 19, 2009 event in Chicago, they distributed a pamphlet (page 62) that supports killing those individuals who leave Islam as guilty of “treason and a political attack on the Khilafah.” The Hizb ut-Tahrir America website promoting this year’s conference in Chicago promotes links to the main Hizb ut-Tahrir website, Khilafah.com, where this pamphlet is still distributed online by Hizb ut-Tahrir.

At the December 2009 event at the Lombard community center, Hizb ut-Tahrir America denounced democracy, denounced “the Kafir,” and urged Muslim attendees “do not take the Jews and Christians for your allies.” HT also blamed U.S. President Obama as part of a plot to take over Muslim-majority nations. Hizb ut-Tahrir rejects democracy because it “is the rule of people, for the people, by the people.” (page 24) Hizb ut-Tahrir has called for Muslims to boycott voting.

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) continues to challenge Hizb ut-Tahrir’s leadership to debate us before the American people, a challenge that we extended on June 18. R.E.A.L. has not received a reply from Hizb ut-Tahrir. R.E.A.L. will continue with our event on July 11 at 2 PM at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool steps.

We urge all Americans, especially Muslim Americans, to join us in our nation’s capital on July 11, 2010 (the original date of the Hizb ut-Tahrir) conference to send a message to those who seek to attack democracy and freedom, that we will stand united for such freedoms together – as one nation, one people, – responsible for equality and liberty – for all.

We urge other Muslims and all others in America who also share our commitment for such freedoms, especially for our shared freedoms and democracy to contact Responsible for Equality And Liberty via email at info@realcourage.org .

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See additional R.E.A.L. postings on the anti-democracy Hizb ut-Tahrir movement at:

http://bit.ly/htwatch

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Pakistan: Sufi Muslim Shrine Attacked – Many Killed

In Lahore, Pakistan, two suicide bombers blew themselves up among crowds of worshipers at the shrine to Sufi saint Data Ganj Bakhsh in Lahore, capital of Punjab province. 43 have been reported killed in this terrorist attack and atrocity against human rights. Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) condemns this attack on those seeking to exercise their freedom of religion and freedom of worship, and we support such religious freedoms as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18.

R.E.A.L. urges all people to Choose Love, Not Hate – Love Wins.