# RIP Mohsen Amir-Aslani **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 4, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411 "2014-10-04T22:09:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/1 "2014-10-04T22:09:45Z")
[http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/29/iran-executes-man-heresy-mohsen-amir-aslani](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/29/iran-executes-man-heresy-mohsen-amir-aslani) For attempting to give interpretations contrary to what the mullahs claim is true, if the Guardian is correct, a brave man and a brave Muslim was just executed. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/2 "2014-10-04T22:44:07Z")
Heresy isn’t a crime, it is a duty. If there is such a thing as the Truth, it will survive criticism. Doubt is as holy as faith, as a prophylactic against self-righteous fanaticism. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/3 "2014-10-04T23:01:24Z")
An Iranian, uh who cares? Iran always makes me cringe, whether the government or it’s people. To hell with all of them. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/4 "2014-10-04T23:02:42Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > An Iranian, uh who cares? Iran always makes me cringe, whether the government or it’s people. > > To hell with all of them. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/5 "2014-10-04T23:03:44Z")
I wonder if those idiots thought this through? They kill in the name of their god, not realizing that\* if \*their god did in fact exist, he could take care of this himself. That is, if it really pissed him off that much. So either it doesn’t piss him off, or he doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/6 "2014-10-04T23:07:47Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > An Iranian, uh who cares? Iran always makes me cringe, whether the government or it’s people. > > To hell with all of them. n/m wait, it’s the pit. Bill O’Reilly? ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/7 "2014-10-04T23:10:07Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Heresy isn’t a crime, it is a duty. If there is such a thing as the Truth, it will survive criticism. Doubt is as holy as faith, as a prophylactic against self-righteous fanaticism. Sadly enough, when you have a government based on the Quran and Plato’s The Republic ruled by a Philosopher King the idea that “The Truth” is possible to discover and needs to be enforced is unavoidable. A dictatorship of intellectuals is as a dictatorship of ignoramuses. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/8 "2014-10-04T23:10:48Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Wow. Seriously. All of a sudden, the brutal judicial murder of a harmless religious dissident is _almost_ not the worst thing in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/9 "2014-10-04T23:17:45Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Seriously. All of a sudden, the brutal judicial murder of a harmless religious dissident is _almost_ not the worst thing in this thread. You know, believe it or not, there are probably people in Iran that support the government. Just like there were people in Libya that supported Qaddafi, and people in Iraq that supported Saddam. We in the west seem to assume that any middle eastern dictator must be, by definition, unsupported by the people. This is not necessarily so. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/10 "2014-10-04T23:18:03Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > An Iranian, uh who cares? Iran always makes me cringe, whether the government or it’s people. > > To hell with all of them. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Wow. > [@Kimstu](#): > > Seriously. All of a sudden, the brutal judicial murder of a harmless religious dissident is _almost_ not the worst thing in this thread. Yep, it’s a coming out for another of our resident racist assholes. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/11 "2014-10-04T23:19:02Z")
My apologies, really I am a very empathetic person and I feel for anyone who is unfortunate in any way. It’s just that news relating to Iran makes gag. Another country that makes my stomach churn is Russia. And no I am not the Bill O’ Reilly. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/12 "2014-10-04T23:26:36Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > It’s just that news relating to Iran makes gag. Another country that makes my stomach churn is Russia. I once had a professor claim that the two nationalities most besotted with poetry as an art form were the Iranians and the Russians ( he happened to be Iranian ). Coincidence one wonders? Stupid poetic easterners :mad:. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/13 "2014-10-04T23:29:08Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > You know, believe it or not, there are probably people in Iran that support the government. Just like there were people in Libya that supported Qaddafi, and people in Iraq that supported Saddam. > > We in the west seem to assume that any middle eastern dictator must be, by definition, unsupported by the people. This is not necessarily so. From what I’ve read about the Iranian people, they’re much more moderate than their government. But even if this story was in North Korea, no country’s people deserve brutal treatment. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/14 "2014-10-04T23:29:46Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > You know, believe it or not, there are probably people in Iran that support the government. Just like there were people in Libya that supported Qaddafi, and people in Iraq that supported Saddam. > > We in the west seem to assume that any middle eastern dictator must be, by definition, unsupported by the people. This is not necessarily so. Governments that have to fix elections to stay in power are by definition, not popular. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/15 "2014-10-04T23:29:58Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > You know, believe it or not, there are probably people in Iran that support the government. Just like there were people in Libya that supported Qaddafi, and people in Iraq that supported Saddam. > > We in the west seem to assume that any middle eastern dictator must be, by definition, unsupported by the people. This is not necessarily so. Unless your point is “Yeah! To hell with all of them” or you think **Kimstu** is suggesting _all_ Iranians are dissidents, I don’t understand how your post is relevant as a reply to the criticism. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/16 "2014-10-04T23:30:46Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > I once had a professor claim that the two nationalities most besotted with poetry as an art form were the Iranians and the Russians ( he happened to be Iranian ). Coincidence one wonders? > > Stupid poetic easterners :mad:. True, though I’m sure many Arabs would disagree. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/17 "2014-10-04T23:33:08Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > My apologies, really I am a very empathetic person and I feel for anyone who is unfortunate in any way. It’s just that news relating to Iran makes gag. Another country that makes my stomach churn is Russia. Trenchant analysis. You’re just the sort of foreign policy wonk that President Bachmann will need on her team. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/18 "2014-10-04T23:35:16Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > You know, believe it or not, there are probably people in Iran that support the government. Undoubtedly. That in no way justifies a biased overgeneralization like “To hell with _all_ of them” (emphasis added). Especially when it’s preceded by the callously dismissive “An Iranian, uh who cares?” _applied to the actual **victim** of the brutal judicial murder in question_, who I think it’s safe to say did **not** support the Iranian government’s action. In fact, I am rather impressed by the depth of your insensitivity and/or cluelessness in attempting to justify hating on _all_ Iranian people because _some_ of them “support the government”, _even when that hate is being directed specifically toward **an innocent Iranian victim of his own government’s tyranny** _. > [@Nema98](#): > > My apologies, really I am a very empathetic person and I feel for anyone who is unfortunate in any way. It’s just that news relating to Iran makes gag. I appreciate your retraction and sympathize with your involuntary momentary fuck-everything reaction. Anyway, I think **Frank** ’s reaction has possibly nudged out yours for the coveted spot of second-worst thing in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/19 "2014-10-04T23:35:53Z")
Nm ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411/20 "2014-10-04T23:38:32Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Trenchant analysis. You’re just the sort of foreign policy wonk that President Bachmann will need on her team. Weirdly, prospective First Lady _Mister_ Bachmann also has a list of things that make him gag. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mohsen-amir-aslani/700411.md?page=2)