Ahmad Khatami proclaimed on 6-22-07 that the fatwah against Rushdie "must be carried out".

Submitted by James Vesce (United States), Jun 26, 2007 at 19:31

I've included, below, part of the translation of the Friday Sermon by Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, of the Iranian Assemmbly of Experts, aired on channel 1 of Iranian TV on June 22, 2007.

Lest anyone miss the point of this, Khatami is stating authoritatively as the clerical leader of the Academay of Experts that it is still obligatory for "all zealous Muslims" to kill Salman Rushdie in response to the fatwah against him, a fatwah which Khatami reinforced 5 days ago on the Iranian national TV network by speaking about it the way he did. It is almost as though Khatami issued the fatwah anew himself, but I think it may be a bit more potent than that, from the point of view of sharia, since Ayatollah Khatami explicitly cited Ayatollah Khomeini. Khatami's words, "it must be carried out", carry weight of their own, and that weight is added to the weight of Khomeini's fatwah.

The message seems to be that, if you are Muslim, you better be dead sure you're seen as being "a zealous Muslim" in order to not be seen as being in league with Rushdie, and the best way to clarify any uncertainty about your Islamic zeal is to carry out the death sentence against Rushdie. (No wonder the "Muslim Moderates" are so quiet right now. Could this be why there weren't a lot of "Rushie Rocks" posters at the demonstrations, held aloft by so-called moderates?)

Khatami also declares explicitly that knighting Rushdie places England in conflict with one and a half billion Muslims, the "Muslim world roaring together".

We shouldn't think this is only about England and Rushdie. In calling England "America's branded slave", Khatami seems to be saying that WE are in conflict with the "Muslim world roaring together" yet one more time. A couple of weeks ago he re-iterated his denouncement of the US as being Satan, as an explicit counterpoint to our attempt to negotiate with Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. Any precautions that England should take we should take, since we are painted with the same brush that paints England or Israel.

Ahmad Khatami: "This old, decrepit government of England should know that the days of its imperialistic aspirations are gone, and today it is considered America's branded slave. They must also know that the wave of Islamic revival in the world has begun, whether they like it or not. Under these circumstances, awarding England's highest honor to a wretched man, who lacks any talent whatsoever... He is not considered a prominent novelist or author. They awarded him this medal only because he cursed the Prophet. Under these circumstances, awarding a medal to such a man entails a conflict with one and a half billion Muslims throughout the world, and you will gain nothing from this. The one thing that will happen is that you will see the Islamic world roaring together. In Islamic Iran, this revolutionary fatwa of Imam Khomeini still exists. It is unchangeable and with God's grace, it must be carried out."

You may check the reference for yourselves: go to www.MEMRI.org, and read dispatch No. 1636, dated June 27, 2007. Those of you who can comprehend Khatami's language can view the video clip on the MEMRI.org Web site, and check the translation for accuracy.

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