# Iran executes two men convicted of blasphemy **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 8, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756 "2023-05-08T16:32:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/1 "2023-05-08T16:32:07Z")
I have to quote the notebooks of Lazarus Long here: "Of all the strange ‘crimes’ that human beings have legislated out of nothing, “blasphemy” is the most amazing… " ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/2 "2023-05-08T19:27:15Z")
They were arrested for running online “anti-islam groups and channels” according to MSM. Members of a Telegram channel entitled “Critique of Superstition and Religion”. Surely they knew this wasn’t a good idea in Iran. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/3 "2023-05-08T19:59:11Z")
You would think so. Why didn’t they get out? Maybe they wanted to stay in their home country and not be killed for exercising free speech? I have to wonder if Bush invaded the wrong middle east country in 2003. Sorry, I have had it with ‘respecting cultural relativism’. Sooner or later there is going to have to be a showdown between obsolete theocratic dictatorships and modern democratic, humanist & scientific society. We need to get our game on, and stop pretending to tolerate this. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/4 "2023-05-08T20:13:50Z")
There are a lot of people who are all for executing people for blasphemy. I’m sure if the guys running the country accidentally shot themselves a group who believe the same would take over. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/5 "2023-05-08T20:26:42Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I’m sure if the guys running the country accidentally shot themselves a group who believe the same would take over That seems to be more or less what happened after Bush’s ‘shock and awe’ in Iraq. We seemed to exchange a rather secular dictator for a patchwork of islamic warlords all fighting each other, but they all hate us. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/6 "2023-05-08T21:07:07Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Maybe they wanted to stay in their home country and not be killed for exercising free speech? There’s no such thing as free speech in Iran (and many other countries). That much is clear. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/7 "2023-05-08T21:08:30Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Sooner or later there is going to have to be a showdown between obsolete theocratic dictatorships and modern democratic, humanist & scientific society. so, canada and western europe need to take on the US? based on what i’ve seen lately, i can get behind that . . . ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/8 "2023-05-08T21:43:35Z")
You can have my maple syrup when you pry it from my cold, dead hand! No, wait… ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/9 "2023-05-08T21:45:21Z")
Quadop, I hear what you are saying, The US seems to have a large population of intolerant fundementalist christian zeolots. Though perhaps muslim zeolots are more numerous and perhaps more dangerous to the human race overall. Towards the end of the 20th century, we used to think that religion was an obsolete mental disease. But it is more contagious than we realized… ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2023, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/10 "2023-05-09T01:03:20Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > so, canada and western europe need to take on the US? based on what i’ve seen lately, i can get behind that No, just Texas and Florida. I for one welcome our Canadian overlords. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2023, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/11 "2023-05-09T01:14:47Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Though perhaps muslim zeolots are more numerous and perhaps more dangerous to the human race overall. …the zealots in America are in control of the most powerful military in the world, have a nuclear arsenal, a militarized police force, and an unparalleled ability to spread propaganda. And that isn’t to take anything away from the evilness on display in the OP. (Well maybe not the OP, because it didn’t even provide us with a link) But if you were to ask me what was “more dangerous to the human race” right now it wouldn’t be the leadership in Iran. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2023, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/12 "2023-05-09T01:22:09Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …the zealots in America are in control of the most powerful military in the world, have a nuclear arsenal, a militarized police force, and an unparalleled ability to spread propaganda. As my man Joe would say: That is not hyperbole. (And man, let me tell you. They are way more racist and intolerant than they let on.) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2023, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/13 "2023-05-09T01:26:18Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > The US seems to have a large population of intolerant fundementalist christian zeolots. - Remember the outcry about Sharia law coming to the US? Turns out Sharia law wasn’t the problem, it was the competition. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2023, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/14 "2023-05-09T09:12:43Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > That seems to be more or less what happened after Bush’s ‘shock and awe’ in Iraq. We seemed to exchange a rather secular dictator for a patchwork of islamic warlords all fighting each other, but they all hate us. A secular dictator who enacted his own very bloody and completely capricious version of blasphemy laws. We shouldn’t forget what he was capable of or the reign of terror he presided over. ---
**Author:** ![Yelnick\_McWawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/839c29/32.png) [@Yelnick\_McWawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yelnick_McWawa)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2023, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/15 "2023-05-09T14:47:28Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Towards the end of the 20th century, we used to think that religion was an obsolete mental disease. But it is more contagious than we realized… **As for religion, I’ve concluded that it is a form of society or a culture worshipping itself** ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2023, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/16 "2023-05-09T16:35:18Z")
Someone complained that there was no link in the original post. Here is one: > **[Iran hangs two men for blasphemy](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-hangs-two-men-blasphemy-mizan-2023-05-08/)** > > Iran has executed two people who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy, the judiciary's news website Mizan reported on Monday, drawing an angry reaction from human rights group Amnesty International. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/17 "2023-05-11T15:23:36Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > A secular dictator who enacted his own very bloody and completely capricious version of blasphemy laws. We shouldn’t forget what he was capable of or the reign of terror he presided over. Not at all saying that Saddam was in any way a good guy. But was this really the best use of our forces? Of course there’s a reasonable argument that the US shouldn’t unilaterally invade another country which is not formally at war with us. The moral high ground was severely lost there… ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/18 "2023-05-11T16:18:32Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Not at all saying that Saddam was in any way a good guy. No, I know you weren’t but I bristle slightly when his true nature is not given due prominence. He was a brutal, murderous, genocidal maniac. > [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > But was this really the best use of our forces? and that’s a very relevant question which we can only properly assess with due consideration of what we are removing and what might take it’s place. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/19 "2023-05-11T17:07:22Z")
Blasphemy is a weird sin. It’s basically admitting that your god is so weak that It needs humans to stop other humans from being mean to It and saying bad things about It. If your god is right and it’s the one true way, surely humans will figure that out. Or, maybe god should stop blasphemers all by Itself without having to rely on humans to do Its dirty work. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756/20 "2023-05-11T18:31:14Z")
Lets try the experiment. Jehovah, I don’t believe you exist. Smite me with a thunderbolt. Allah, I don’t believe you exist. Smite me with a thunderbolt. (etc etc) I will get back to you tomorrow. I think I will still be here. (Thor seems to be a fairly fun god you might want to have a beer with, mind you). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-executes-two-men-convicted-of-blasphemy/983756.md?page=2)